Sunday 10-30 Dancing & Playing Games

 

Smile and have fun

Today was just another day of hanging around the house. I played my computer games, the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. I did the Solitaire Event: Pyramid Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 24 minutes and 14 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. Then I moved on to Angry Birds. 

Larry continued tweaking his pinball machine box design. Now he ready to buy plywood so he can make it. When he finished I played a few games of pinball.

The monitor used for keeping score

 

One of the pinball games

I attended Ett McAtee's Sunday C Series dance at 1:00. This week Ett called three tips of C1 and three tips of C2. I did the C1 session, that had 15 participants. I didn't do too well. Ett calls more complex than the other callers and doesn't cue much. But I'll continue dancing with her to keep up my skills.

We watched YouTube videos.

In the evening we watched the second movie of Downtown Abbey on Amazon. It was called Downton Abbey: A New Era. Then I watched the third movie of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Then I watched an episode of Bergerac. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group for the week for the total of 191,622 steps. 

 

Saturday 10-29 Darren Gallina's Dance & Games

 

Overcast day

We had an overcast day.

The rain was gone so we went to town to do a couple of errands. We went to Walmart to pick up a few items we couldn't get at HEB. Afterwards Larry walked over to the UPS Store to pick up our mail. He came back empty handed, I asked him why. He said we only got junk mail so he threw it in the trash.

Doing errands

By the time we got home it was time for Darren Gallina's Mainstream/Plus dance at 1:00. Darren called one mainstream tip with 7 participants and two plus tips with 8 participants. Darren called a singing call after each pattern song. In between each tip we played Trivia about Halloween. I had a fun time.

Darren and Thom the hosts of the dance

The participants

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong and the Event: Hard Road Mini of 5 games. It took me 33 minutes and 48 seconds to complete, which put me in 21st place in my group. I played some Angry Birds games.

While I danced and played games Larry continued on his pinball project.

Before relaxing in front of the television I played some pinball games. Larry was very excited because he could watch while I played and see things in the games he couldn't see while playing. I had fun playing pinball.

In the evening we rented Downton Abby: The Motion Picture. It was very good. Then I watched the second The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Then I watched an episode of Bergerac. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.

 

 

Friday 10-28 Grocery Shopping & Dancing

 

 

I hope everyone had a great Friday. 

We had a rainy deary day with heavy rain in the morning. We need the rain so I won't complain. 

Playing in the rain

We started the day by going to town. We stopped at HEB to do a little grocery shopping.

Grocery shopping at HEB

Larry has spent most of the week working on designing his pinball machine. Using cardboard he built a model, he made some changes and built a second model, after a few more changes he made a third model that he is happy with. Now he is learning a new design software so he can make a proper scaled drawing, currently he has been working with some rough hand drawn plans he made. His hand drawn sketches would probably suffice but he wants something more precise.

While Larry worked on his project I played my games. I did a few Sudoku games and some Angry Birds. I did my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. Today's event was Free Cell Mini of 10 games. It took me 45 minutes and 52 seconds, which put me in 20th place in my group.

Years ago I got in a habit of making a frozen pizza for our Friday night dinner. We have not done this is a long time so today I bought a new pizza from HEB, Rising Crust Uncured Pepperoni Pizza. It was very good.

HEB Rising Crust Pepperoni Pizza

In the evening I attended Ett McAtee's Weekly A2/C1 dance at 6:30 for an hour and fifteen minutes. She called 4 tips of A2 with 12 participants and 1 tip of C1with 12 participants. During the A2 tips she worked on Hourglass calls. The C1 tip was a workshop on the moves Loren taught last Sunday, which was Triangles: Outpoint, Inpoint, inside, outside. I had fun dancing with friends.

Having fun with friends

After the dance we watched a couple of episodes of Doc Martin. Then I started watching the three movies of the Hobbits. I watched the first one , which was Unexpected Journey. Then I watched an episode of Bergerac. I ended up doing 26,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

 

Relaxing in front of the television

Thursday 10/27 Mowing, Dancing, Games and Puzzle

 

Have a great Thursday

We had a great sunny day with the high in the mid 70s.

Greeson Lawn Services has been our mowing company every since we moved into this house. Most years we hire them in the spring while we are traveling, they mow our lawns, weedeat and blow off the porches and driveway. Many years when we return we mow it ourselves during the summer and then hire Greeson again when we travel in the fall. This year we decided to have them take care of the yards all year. The crew does an outstanding job, we have them come every other week and the week they don't come we mow the yards when needed. Today was the last day for the crew to mow until the spring. In the wintertime the yards don't need to be mowed if they do we 'll be around to do the mowing.

Mowing the backyard

 

  All done

We attended Dayle Hodge's Weekly C1 at 11:00 for an hour. He called four two couple tips with 11 participants and one four couple tip with 10 participants. We were one of the two couples so the single dancers pinned us. Dayle is a fantastic caller. He sight calls so when the dancers were in the wrong place he could get them back where they belong. If there are multiple variations of where we should be he usually can fix the problem and get everyone home. We had a super time dancing to Dayle and with friends.

 

Get a partner and dance

Louise gave me a couple of small jigsaw puzzle for my birthday. I haven't put a puzzle together since January. I spend a lot of time playing computer games. I decided to put one of the puzzles together to change up my routine. The puzzle was called Coca Cola, it had a little over 200 pieces. It came in a cool circular canister. The pieces were big so it only took me an hour and a half to assemble it. It was a cute puzzle.

The canister the puzzle came in 

 

The finished puzzle (20" X 16")

I played my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong before I went to bed. After put the puzzle together I did the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 33 minutes and 13 seconds to complete, which put me in 11th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

We watched YouTube videos.

In the evening we watched a movie on Amazon called Argentina, 1985. It was originally in Spanish but was translated into English. It was about a team of lawyers, who take on the heads of Argentina's bloody military dictatorship in court. They prosecute them on crimes committed during war time. It was a good movie. Then I watched The Lords of the Ring: The Return of the King. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group.

 

Wednesday 10-26 Dance Day & Landscaping

 Home Projects

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

Back in May of 2020 Larry and I replaced the landscaping timbers on the south side of the house with a block wall. The landscape timbers going around the rest of the house are now also rotting out. Before our trip our mailbox was replaced by Juan, who is the owner of Omega Landscaping. His crew did a great job. Larry called him and asked if he could do the landscaping timbers, Juan and he said he could do it this week.

Juan and his crew came out Monday and started the project. They removed the timbers and the rain came so they called it a day. On Tuesday they started about 8:00 am and didn't leave until 7:00 pm. They worked hard all day and were almost done but they ran out of blocks. They came back this morning and were finished in a couple of hours. 

By the time the project was finished the area was a little larger and looked outstanding. 

 

 Old landscaping timbers

Gravel after the timbers were removed

 

Blocks in front of the porch

 

Digging out the gravel and laying the blocks

The finished project

 

North side of the house

 

The back side and where it was extended

I attended four virtual square dances. First was Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly Plus at 10:00 for an hour. Di and Terry took turns calling five tips with 13 participants. They walked us through moves we were having problems with. I had a great time.

Second was Dayle Hodge's Weekly A1/A2 at 11:00 for an hour. Larry danced with me. Dayle called five tips, two tips of two couple A1 with 13 participants, two tips of two couple A2 with 16 participants and one four couple tip with 15 participants. We had an outstanding time dancing to Dayle and with friends.

Third was Ett McAtee's Weekly C1 at 1:00 for an hour and 15 minutes. Ett called four tips with 22 participants and one tip of a full square with 20 participants. We just danced and she walked us through sequences we were having problems with. I had a fun time.

Fourth was Dave Eno and Dave Hutchinson's Weekly C1/A2 at 6:30 for two hours. This week Karen Rabe and Greg Moore helped Dave Eno call because Dave Hutchinson was busy. Dave called two tips of C1 with 10 participants, Karen and Greg called two tips of A2 together and Dave called one tip of A2 with 10 participants and the last three tips were C1 where all three took turns calling together with 9 participants. It had been over two months since I danced to Dave but I did pretty well. They all helped me by telling me where I should be. Dave introduced us to two C2 moves, which were Bounce, Single Bounce and Kick Off and Cross Kick Off. It was fun learning new moves. I had a great time.  

While I danced Larry continued working on his project.

In between the dances I played games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. Then I did the Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Spider and 5 Pyramid). It took me 1 hour, 30 minutes and 19 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group. I played Angry Birds.

After the dance we watched an episode of Doc Martin. After Larry went to bed I watched The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on Amazon. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group.

   

Tuesday 10/25 Scooper, Dancing & More

 

Smile and have fun

Sorry about no blog yesterday. The power went out at 8:pm last night and didn't come up until early morning.

Larry woke me up at 7:30 am and asked if I would like to go to town. I got up and got dressed. On the way to town we stopped at Top Donuts for breakfast. Next stop was at the UPS Store to pick up our mail and a package.

Afterwards we went to the Bell County Tax Appraisal building. Our truck tags were due and Larry tried to renew them online but couldn't because our inspection receipt wasn't on the system. We live in a small town so most things are nearby and seldom busy. We were in and out within 5 minutes. We haven't been there in a few years and there were a few changes. First of all they installed an automatic sign in where you receive a number. Then they call your number and tell you which window to go to. At the window they had installed plastic windows with a microphone system. The clerk talks to you through the microphone and they can hear you respond through the microphone in the window. The clerk was very friendly and efficient.

The last stop was The Home Depot. Larry is in the process of designing a pinball machine. He wanted to check out the selection and price of plywood. Like everything else it has gone up a lot. It will cost about $80.00 for a sheet.

When we got home it was almost time for our virtual dance. 

Yesterday we attended Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 at 9:00 for an hour. Di called five tips with 20 participants. She was very happy to see Larry dancing. She worked on moves the dancers were having problems with. I did a lot better because Larry danced with me. We had a super time.

Today we attended Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly A2 at 10:00 for an hour. Di and Terry took turns calling five tips with 15 participants. We had a great time. Di and Terry are always a pleasure to dance to because they are smooth callers and dance with us.

We have two ice cream scoops. They originally belonged to Larry's mom, he thinks she bought them used from Woolco when they were shutting down their restaurant area. They are certainly over 50 years old. Before we went on our trip the spring in the smaller one broke. Larry hated to throw it away, it is heavy duty and we really liked it. There was manufacturing information etched into the metal, they were made by Hamilton Beach. He went on the internet and did some research. He found that these scoops are actually called dishers, they come in many sizes and were designed to measure out specific amounts of food in commercial restaurants. They are used to measure out things like tuna salad, sorbet, cookie dough, anything that requires a specified amount of a food product. The bottom of the handles are color coded to the size. The really unbelievably thing is they are still made today. Larry was able to locate replacement springs and someone had even made a YouTube video on how to replace the springs. Larry ordered the springs via EBay. When he opened the package he found the replacement springs were a little different. The old one had a bushing and a spring and the new one just had the spring. He got the broken scooper out and pulled up the video on YouTube. He watched the video at the same time as he fixed the scooper. It works perfect. 

Don't you just love using things that are decades old, especially when they came from someone. Many times when you are using them you think about that person.

 

 Replacement spring

 

Old broken spring and bushing

 

Our ice cream scoopers

After lunch I played games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. Then I did the Event: Easy Street of 30 games. It took me 1 hour, 20 minutes and 7 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. Then I played some Angry Birds. 

In the evening we finished watching Lords of the Rings: The Ring of Power on Amazon. I didn't like the ending because it was a cliffhanger. Afterwards we watched a couple episodes of Doc Martin. Then I started watching the original Lords of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I watched an episode of Bergerac. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group.

          

Sunday 10/23 Dancing and Games

 

Hold on tight

We had a windy day.

I got caught up with my Daily Challenges of Mahjong. I did the Daily Challenge of Solitaire and the Event: Medium Mayhem of 27 games. It took me 1 hour, 30 minutes and 26 second to complete, which put me in 11th place in my group. I also played some Angry Birds games.

I attended two virtual squares dances. First was Ett McAtee's C Series at 1:00 for an hour and a half. This week Ett called 6 tips of C1 with 18 participants. She worked on Cross Chain Thru and other moves we were having problems with. I struggled a bit because I was rusty but I had fun.

Second was Loren Smith's Weekly A2/C1 at 7:30 for and hour and a half. Loren called 3 tips of A2 with 13 participants. He called 4 tips of C1 with 11 participants. He worked on Triangles Formation. I had a great time dancing to Loren and friends.

We watched YouTube videos and an episode of Lords of the Rings: The Ring of Power on Amazon. I started watching the 8th season of Bergerac. I ended up doing 26,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group for the week with 191,274 steps.

Saturday 10/22 Playing Games and Having Fun

 

Awesome Day

We had a windy day with a lot of sunshine. It got up to 87 degrees. 

While I was on our trip I didn't play any of my daily Microsoft games. I spent the afternoon catching up on this month's Daily Challenges of Solitaire. I started working on the Daily Challenges of Mahjong. I did the Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Free Cell). It took me 44 minutes, which put me in 16th place in my group. I also played Angry Birds.

While I played my games Larry continued on his new project, its going to take him a bit, he's making an electronic pinball machine. He bought a used desktop computer that he updated with new memory, drive and graphics card. He had to install software to run the games and then the games themselves. He has been educating himself via reading websites and watching YouTube videos. The software is very complex and certainly not user friendly. Each game requires manual configuration. He has a few installed and has been playing them. This afternoon I played a couple of them and it was fun.

Putting together this part of the project has taken many days and it has also taken over our dining room table which is where Larry does his crafting. There will be no crafting for quite awhile. Currently he has two computers (one laptop and one desktop) and two monitors along with keyboards, mice, power supplies and lots of cables all on top of the table.

Once he has this piece of the project working he will move on to building a cabinet. We really don't have room for a traditional type of pinball machine so he will be building something a bit different. 

Most people spend more than a year constructing their machines but Larry has the advantage of being retired and being able to learn from lots of folks who have already done this and have been kind enough to document it. Of course each build is different and Larry's will not be quite like anyone else's. 

In the evening we continued watching Lords of the Rings: The Ring of Power on Amazon. Afterwards I finished watching the 7th season of Bergerac. I ended up doing 27,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

Friday 10-21 Dancing with Ett McAtee and More

 

Doing the happy dance

We had a fantastic Friday of having fun.

We started the day off by taking the Minnie back to the storage center. Larry drove the Minnie and I followed in the truck. The truck tags are due and it needed an inspection. 

After putting the Minnie in storage we stopped by Valvoline Instant Oil Change. Then we went to HEB to do our weekly grocery shopping. Last stop was the UPS Store to pick up our mail and a package, unfortunately there was a long line so we left.

Grocery shopping

During the day I played Angry Birds. I did some of the Microsoft Daily Solitaire games. Larry continued playing with his electronic project.

In the evening I attended Ett McAtee's Weekly A2/C1 dance at 6:30 for an hour and fifteen minutes. She called 5 tips of A2 with 10 participants and 1 C1 tip with 9 participants. During the A2 tips she worked on Spin Chain Thru and the C1 tip she worked on Cross Chain Thru. I had a great time dancing to Ett and with friends.

After the dance we started watching Lords of the Rings: The Ring of Power on Amazon. It has a lot of characters and is hard to follow. You have to concentrate on watching it. Then I watched The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Then I watched an episode of Bergerac. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group.

 

Thursday 10-20 Dancing with Dayle & Electronic Project

 

Just hanging out

We had another wonderful day with sunshine and the high of 88 degrees.

We didn't do too much but hung around the house. 

Larry continued working on a new electronic project.

I did housework. I figured I should considering I hadn't done any in over two months. I cleaned the bathrooms, dusted the house, vacuumed the house and wiped down the kitchen floor.

Time to clean the house

We attended one virtual square dance, Dayle Hodge's Weekly C1 at 11:00 for an hour. He called four tips of two couple calls and one of four couple full square calls. He had 12 people participating in dancing. Dayle was happy to see us after not seeing us in two months. We were a little rusty but overall we did very well. We had fun dancing to Dayle and with friends.

Just having fun with friends

I did some Sudoku games and played Angry Birds. I walked on my annual book.

In the evening we finished watching the 2nd season of Miss Scarlet & The Duke. Then I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Then I watched an episode of Bergerac. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group.

 

Wednesday 10-19 Dancing and Having Fun

 

Cool Autumn Day

We had another beautiful cool autumn day of sunshine. The high today was in the 70s and the low was in the high 40s. 

Larry started the day out by making biscuits for breakfast. I did some Sudoku games.

I attended two virtual square dances. First was Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly Plus at 10:00 for an hour. They took turns calling five tips with 11 participants. The last tip Di called to the song That's Life, she and Terry put on a hat. Some of the dancers, including me went and put on a hat to dance to the song. It was fun and everyone had a great time. 

Second was Ett McAtee's Weekly C1 at 1:00 for an hour. This week she worked on Linear Action in the 3/4 Line and 3/4 Tag Position and Stretch Concepts. Ett called four tips with 24 participants. She did a good job of walking us through the moves we were having problems with. I had a fun time.

I love square dancing

This morning it was in the 30's and too cold for Larry to work on the Minnie so after lunch he finished it up by putting the hoses on and adding anti-freeze in the radiator. Once he finished putting the Minnie back together he started it up and it ran perfect.

Then he started on his next project, which is an electronic project.

After I finished dancing I played Angry Birds and worked on my annual book. Then we watched YouTube videos.

In the evening we continued watching the 2nd season of Miss Scarlet & the Duke. Afterwards I watched The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. I watched an episode of Bergerac. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group.

 

Relaxing in front of the television

 

Tuesday 10/18 Back to Dancing & Working on the Minnie

 

We had a beautiful cool day with the high of 70 degrees and a little breeze.

After breakfast Larry continued working on the Minnie. I worked on my annual book.

Larry stopped working on the Minnie to attend Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly A2 dance at 10:00. This is the first square dance we have attended in two months. We were a little rusty but we did well. Everyone was happy to see us back and said they missed us. They asked if we had a good time. Larry said we had an excellent time considering a year ago he had broken his elbow on our fall trip. Di was very surprised it was a year ago. Di and Terry took turns calling five tips with 11 participants. We had an outstanding time dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

Get a partner and dance

After the dance we had lunch. Then Larry went back on working on the Minnie. I went back to working on my annual book.

I helped Larry when he needed me. He had discovered to bolts that were frozen in, yesterday he was able to remove one of them and today he got the other one out. In order for him to fix these bolts and work on the belt squeal he had to remove the alternator, bracket, smog pump, belts, radiator shroud, pulleys and bolts. He cleaned everything up and replaced the fan clutch. I helped him put the belts back on. He worked on the Minnie all afternoon. Not quite done yet.

We watched some YouTube videos.

In the evening we finished watching the 1st season of Miss Scarlet & the Duke and started the 2nd season. Afterwards I watched The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. I watched an episode of Bergerac. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group.

Just having fun

 

 

Monday 10-17 My Continued Cough & Minnie Repair

 

Minnie Project

Awhile back I wrote that I have a cough. I have had it for over six weeks so this morning Larry took me to the Baylor Scott & White Convenient Care Clinic in Belton. The clinic opened at 8:00 and I had hoped to be there when they opened but I didn't get our of bed until 8:00. I had breakfast and we went to town.

When we arrived there was a line about six people deep. They were going to charge me a co-payment but I told them I had a supplement plan. They entered the information in their system and it took off the payment. The waiting room was busy and everyone is still required to wear a mask.

They took me back about an hour later. She was worried I'd had a cough so long so I got chest x-rays done. They came back normal and no problems. She checked my heart it sounded prefect. She called in a couple of prescriptions to help my cough and recommended I take Mucinex for 5 days.

On the way home we stopped by Walmart to pick up my prescriptions. Then we went to Taco Bell for lunch.

On our trip when Larry was working on the belt squeal problem on the Minnie he discovered that one of the bolts holding the alternator was seized and could not be loosened. Today he started working on that problem along with replacing the fan clutch. The alternator could not be removed from the bracket it was bolted to, the smog pump also bolted to the same bracket and it too had a bolt frozen in place. It took him quite some time but he was finally able to remove all three as one assembly. He has now gotten the frozen bolt out of the alternator but he has not yet been able to get the frozen bolt out of the smog pump. He has it soaking in penetration oil and hopefully tomorrow he will be able to get it out. This has turned into a large project. 

While he worked on the Minnie I worked on my annual book.

In the evening we continued watching the 1st season of Miss Scarlet & The Duke on PBS. When Larry went to bed I watched Hildalgo. Afterwards I started watching the 7th season of Bergerac. I ended up doing 27,500 steps, which is a great start of the week. This put me in 1st place in my group.   

Watching television

   

Sunday 10-16 Just Having Fun

 

Just having fun

This morning I woke up to freshly made pancakes. We spent the day relaxing and playing catch up.

I did some Sudoku games and worked on my annual book. Larry continued doing projects.

During the afternoon we continued catching up with YouTube videos.

After dinner we finished watching the 2nd season of Van Der Valk. Then we started watching the 1st season of Miss Scarlet & The Duke on PBS. When Larry went to bed I watched Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Afterwards I finished watching the 6th season of Bergerac. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group for the week with 180,559 steps.

  

Relaxing in front of the television

 

Saturday 10-15 Errands and Catching Up

 

Awesome Day

After being gone for a couple of months we had to do some errands. Larry had kept both the car and the truck plugged into small battery chargers so the car started right up. First stop was Murphy to fill the car with gas. It was nice to get gas for less than $3 dollars a gallon. On our trip we paid an average of $3.96 a gallon, the most we paid was $4.80. Next we went to Walmart and picked up a few items. We went to The UPS Store to pick up our mail and start it up again. We had a package waiting for us.

Before we went on vacation Larry had e-mailed The Home Depot Seeds Program and told them to cancel his last request. They said it was cancelled but I guess it was in the cue so it got shipped. In fact they sent two packages of the same item. 

The last stop was the post office to restart our mail delivery.

Doing Errands

Larry has a few projects he needs to do. First was to add bleach to the septic system. Then we took the motorcycle off the carrier and put it in the garage. He also worked on our portable solar panel, the plug was not working consistently, sometimes he would have to mess with it to get it to work. He did not want to work on it on the road, he was concerned if in repairing it it broke entirely we would be in trouble since we used it almost daily. Here at the house he was able to repair it. He has more things on his list.

While Larry did some of his projects I worked on our monthly expenses and I did laundry.

Doing laundry

We got caught up on a few of the YouTube folks we follow. 

In the evening we started watching the second season of Van Der Valk on PBS. Then I watched Hellboy. I continued watching the 6th season of Bergerac. I ended up doing 30,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group.

Relaxing in front of the television

We had a wonderful day of playing catching up.