Monday 10-30-23 Halloween Dance, Pinball Machine Upgrade & Crafting

 

Cold Day

We had a cold day. It started out at 42 degrees and only got up to 48 degrees. We had a little rain and a breeze which made it colder outside. We spent the day hanging around the house and keeping warm. 

Yesterday we were going to take the truck to town but it wouldn't start, the battery was too low to start it so we took the car. Larry looked online at all of the auto parts stores and ended up ordering a Die Hard battery at Advance Auto Parts. He then removed the old battery so he could take it with us when we picked up the new one. The new one started the truck right up. It was amazing, the last time we put a new battery in the truck was back in May of 2015. Wow, it lasted over 8 years.  

We attended Di Green and Terry McCann's Halloween Dance at 10:00. This past weekend the European countries changed their time so our dances with Di and Terry are an hour later then normal. Last week the dancers decided to dress for Halloween. Di and Terry dressed up as Dracula and the Bride of Dracula. Di even put bite marks on her neck. Michael dressed up as Princess Leia, Amy dressed up as Cat Woman and other dresser also dressed up. Larry and I dressed up in orange and black outfits and wore our orange hats. I wore my Halloween vest. Di called five tips to 19 participants. We had an outstanding time dancing with friends.

Terry and Di Halloween outfits

Before the dance Larry started his upgrade project on the pinball machine. First thing he had to do was to remove the computer from the machine. This required a bit of disassembly. Then he had to decide how he was going to do the project. After lunch Larry continued working on it. He was installing a much larger and more powerful video card. The computer was not designed for a card this powerful so he also has to install a new power supply. Since the new video card was too large to fit in the computer he had to modify the computer case, this meant stripping everything out of it so he could cut a piece out of it. He then had to build a new taller piece to replace what he removed. He could now fit the card into the computer. The card sticks up above the computer but since he does not put the cover on it will be fine. He also had to modify the monitor mounting board, I helped by holding it while he cut it with a jig saw. At the end of the day he was far enough along that he could plug everything in and see that the new power supply and video card are working. He was very happy. Tomorrow he will continue with the project.

After some of the modifications

After removing the computer

I did the daily event of Solitaire, which was Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me31 minutes and 9 seconds, which put me in 11th place in my group. I played Angry Birds.

After lunch I took a nap. When I woke up I helped Larry cut the monitor board. While Larry worked on his project I worked on my diamond painting of Disney.

In the evening we watched a couple of episodes of A Touch of Frost, a detective series on Amazon. It ran from December 6, 1992 to April 5, 2010. Then I watched the first Guardians of the Galaxy and an episode of The X-Files. I ended up doing 15,000 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group.

Sunday 10-29-23 Cold Front, Project and New Diamond Painting

 

Cold Front

When Larry got up at 6:00 am the temperature outside was 73 degrees. As the day went on the temperature dropped, by 10:00 pm it was 44 degrees. It also sprinkled on and off in the afternoon. 

I woke up about 8:00 am and we went to town. Yesterday, I made an online shopping list for Walmart but they didn't have a few things we wanted. We decided to get these items at HEB. We bought a couple of bags of candy for Halloween, tostada shells we like and the other items we couldn't get online at Walmart. On the way home we swung by Top Donuts to buy a couple of donuts for breakfast.

Grocery shopping

When we got home Larry went through the shopping list online. Then put in the order for delivery. Our groceries were delivered at 5:45 pm.

In the afternoon I played the Solitaire event, which was Event: Pyramid Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 54 minutes and 15 seconds to complete, which put me in 11th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

Today was the beginning of my weekly pinball challenge. The new game was Haunted House. Larry downloaded it and installed it. It's a new version so it took Larry some time. He had to debug the game. Then he played it to make sure it worked correctly. After he played I played the game. My high score was 146,760. 

Beginning high score

Afterwards I played three more pinball games. They were Iron Man, Indiana Jones and Junkyard. 

Iron Man

 

Indiana Jones

Junk Yard

Before playing games I finished my diamond painting of Stitch. Then I started another diamond painting project, which was Disney.

Stitch

 

Disney

In the evening we watched a movie on Amazon called Tracks. It was an Australian adventure movie about a young woman who traveled 1600 miles across the Australian desert on camels. It was based on a real story of Robyn Davidson. It was very good. Then I watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Then I watched a couple of episodes of The X-Files. I ended up doing 15,000 steps, which put me in first place in my group for the week with 105,130 steps.

 

 

 

Saturday 10-28-23 Project, Playing Pinball & Crafting

 

Another fun day

We had another fun day. It rained a little bit and the rain is suppose to come back tomorrow. The high was in the mid 70's. 

Larry continued working on his jukebox project. He got the program working and it works super.

While he did his project I worked on my diamond painting of Stitch. I played a few games of pinball. I played the weekly challenge and four other games. The games were Aerosmith, Cactus Canyon, Mustang and Rock 'n' Roll Diner. When I played Mustang I got the #1 high score. 

Aerosmith

 

Cactus Canyon

 

Mustang

Rock 'n' Roll Diner

I did the daily event, which was Event: Hard Road Mini of 5 games, It took me 52 minutes and 28 seconds, which put me in 25th place in my group. I played some Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds and Friends.

In the evening we watched a movie on Amazon called The Burial. It was based on a real story about a lawyer Willie E. Gary and his client Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe's lawsuit against the Loewen funeral company. It was very good and starred Jamie Foxx as Willie and Tommy Lee Jones as Jeremiah. Then I watched the second Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Afterwards I watched a couple of episodes of The X-Files. I ended up doing 15,000 steps, which kept me in first place in my group of the challenge of 30K steps.

 

 

Friday 10-27-23 Jukebox Project, Diamond Painting & Having Fun

 

Having fun

We had an awesome day. I didn't have any dances today because Ett was in Germany.

Larry spent most of the day working on his jukebox project. He decided to start all over with it. He reloaded the program and went from there.

While he was working on his project I continued doing my diamond painting of Stitch. I did the daily event, which was Event: Experts Only of 10 games. It took me 2 hours, 47 minutes and 8 seconds, which put me in 7th place in my group.

Larry took me out to What-a-Burger for lunch. We used a coupon we received in the mail. With the purchase of a medium fries and drink you got a chili cheese burger. What-a-Burger decided to reintroduce the chili cheese burger for a limited time. The sandwich had two beef patties, bacon, two pieces of cheese, Fritos and chili. It was huge so we shared it. It was very good.

Chili cheese burger

After lunch we went to the UPS Store to pickup our mail. We had three packages waiting for us so The packages were hinges for Louise's computer, new power supply and video card for the pinball machine. 

The three items we received were all used and purchased off of E-Bay. When we got home Larry discovered the power supply did not work. He ended up ordering a new one via Amazon and he will work on getting a refund on the one that didn't work. Without the power supply he could not check out the video card. Louise will come out next week so Larry can install the hinges on her computer.

I played the weekly challenge of Godzilla and four other games. The games were Guardians of the Galaxy, Monster Bash, Medieval Madness and Metallica.

Guardians of the Galaxy

 

Monster Bash

 

Metallica

Medieval Madness

In the evening we watched The 2021 release of Suicide Squad. The first one is a lot better. This one was poorly written, language was bad and there was too much violence. I guess I'm getting old. Afterwards I watched Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Then I watched a couple of episodes of The X-Files. I ended up doing 15,000 steps, which kept me in first place in my group. 

   

Thursday 10-26-23 Dancing, New Project for Larry & More

 

Just having fun

It rained in the morning very hard. The rain went away but the clouds stayed. The high today was in the 70s.

Larry started a new project. He wanted something to do so he decided to work on making a jukebox. The software he is going to use runs on a Raspberry Pi computer. He ordered one the other day and it arrived yesterday. He downloaded the program for the jukebox. He already had a monitor he wanted to use. Today he installed the Raspberry Pi software and the jukebox programs. Everything worked perfect until he wanted to use a touch screen. The monitor is a touch screen that has worked in the past but Larry could not get the touch part to work. He worked on it for hours trying it on both the Raspberry Pi and a Windows computer, he believes something went wrong with the monitor so he ordered another one on Amazon. It should be here tomorrow. 

We attended Dayle Hodge's Weekly C1 dance at 11:00 for an hour. He called four two couple tips and one four couple tip to 12 participants. We had an outstanding time dancing to Dayle because he puts us in positions that are challenging. When the dancers breakdown he workshops the position. We had fun dancing with our friends.

Get a partner and dance

I played some pinball. I did the weekly challenge and had fun even though I didn't get a new high score. Then I played four other games, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Theatre of Magic, Who Dunnit (color) and Cactus Canyon.

Tales of the Arabian Nights

Cactus Canyon

 

Theatre of Magic

 

Who Dunnit

I also assembled more of my diamond painting of Stitch. I did the Daily Event, which was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 23 minutes and 1 second to complete, which put me in 16th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

I ended up doing 15,000 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group. 

In the evening we watched Suicide Squad. Afterwards we watched an hour of Thursday Night Football on Amazon. When Larry went to bed I watched Angel & Demons from our movie collection. Then I watched an episode of The X-Files.

  

Wednesday 10-25-23 Dance Day

 

Overcast Day

We had an overcast day with a little bit of rain.

Today there were four virtual 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 to 12 participants. I had a great time dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

Second was Dayle Hodge's Weekly A1/A2 at 11:00 for an hour. Dayle called two two couple tips of A1, two two couple tips of A2 and one four couple tip of A2 to 9 participants. It was nice to get back dancing to Dayle after two months. Larry danced with me and we had a super time.

Third was Ett McAtee's Weekly C1 at 1:00 for an hour and a half. Ett is in Germany so she asked Tony Collingwood from the U.K. to fill in for her. Tony called six tips of C1 to 12 participants. He did an outstanding job and I had a lot of fun. 

Fourth was Dave Eno's Weekly C1/A2 at 6:00 for an hour and a half. Karin Rabe and Greg Moore helped Dave call the dance. Karin and Greg called the first C1 tip, Dave called the second C1 tip and all three called the third C1 tip to 8 participants. Dave called the first A2 tip, Karin and Greg called the second A2 tip and all three called the third A2 tip to 12 participants. In between the first two tips of A2 we played a little Trivia. Dave, Karin and Greg were happy to see me back. I had a great evening of dancing to them and with friends.

Dancing is fun

While I danced Larry loaded a new pinball game on the arcade machine, which was The Game Show. Once he installed the new game he made sure it worked correctly and tweaked it.

In between the dances I worked on my diamond painting of Twitch. I played the weekly challenge of pinball Godzilla. I didn't get a new high score but had fun. I also did the Solitaire event, which was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Free Cell). It took me 43 minutes and 59 seconds, which put me in 7th place in my group.

After the last dance we finished watching the second season of World On Fire on PBS. When Larry went to bed I watched The De Vinci Code. I also watched an episode of The X-Files.  

 

Tuesday 10-24-23 Dancing, Diamond Painting & Playing Pinball

 

Rainy Day

The high today was 78 degrees. We had another damp day. The rain came in at mid afternoon and stayed around all night.

We attended Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly A2 dance at 10:00 for an hour. They took turns calling five tips to 12 participants. Larry danced with me. Di and Terry did a super job of calling and helping the dancers to get in the right place by cueing. We had a great time dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

Square dancing is fun

I spent most of the afternoon assembling a new diamond painting, which was Stitch. Stitch is one of the characters from the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch. I think it's going to come out very cute. This diamond painting has 22 different colors of diamonds instead of 25.

Stitch

Diamonds for Stitch

I played the Solitaire event, which was Event: TriPeaks Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 6 minutes and 45 seconds, which put in 4th place in my group. The n I played Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds and Friends.

While I played the Solitaire Event Larry played pinball on both the pinball machine and arcade machine. He had a super day of playing. He did a happy dance a couple of times because he became Grand Champion.

I also played pinball on both machines. On the pinball machine I played the weekly challenge Godzilla. Then I played Batman, Attack From Mars and Cirqus Voltaire. On the arcade machine I played Killer Klowns, Fun House and Cirqus Voltaire. I had a good day playing pinball even though I didn't get a new high score on the weekly challenge.

Attack From Mars

Batman

Cirqus Voltaire 

 

Cirqus Voltaire 

 

Fun House

Killer Klowns

In the evening we started watching the second season of World on Fire on PBS. Then I watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets and a couple of episodes of The X-Files. I ended up doing 15,000 steps, which put me in first place in my group. 

 

Monday 10-23-23 Back to Virtual Dancing

 

Overcast and Rainy Day

We had an overcast day with rain in the morning. Later afternoon the rain came back and stayed around. The rain wasn't hard but it was steady. I'm not complaining because we need the rain.

This morning we attended Di Green and Terry McCain's Weekly C1 dance at 9:00. This was our first virtual square dance in over two months. Everyone was happy to see us back. I was a little rusty but not as rusty as I thought I would be. Larry danced with me. Di called and danced with Terry to 17 participants. We had a super time dancing and seeing our friends.

Get a partner and dance

We hung around the house all day. I finished doing my diamond painting of Groot. It took me four days to complete it. It came out brighter than Lady and the Tramp.

Groot

Lady and the Tramp

The person who purchased our boat has sent us a few text messages. He and his family love the boat and find they are using it more than their old boat. Their old boat is also a Mastercraft but much newer and larger (he now owns 3 Mastercrafts). He sent us some photos with the boat on Lake Powell in Arizona. 

Our Old Boat on Lake Powell

I played the Solitaire Event, which was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Klondike and 3 Pyramid). It took me 13 minutes and 57 seconds, which put me in 11th place in my group. I played some Angry Birds. I played the weekly challenge of Godzilla and didn't get a new high score but had fun.

In the evening we watched the new Wonder Woman, which was Wonder Woman 1984. I didn't like it. I felt it was poorly written. The first Wonder Woman was very well done. Afterwards we finished watching the first season of World on Fire on PBS. After Larry went to bed I watched the first National Treasure out of our movie selection. I also watched a couple of episodes of The X-Files. I ended up doing 15,000 steps, which put me in first place in my group.

 

 

Sunday 10-22-23 Maintenance on the Minnie & Playing Pinball

 

Beautiful Day

We had a super day.

We spent the morning doing maintenance on the Minnie. 

During our trip Larry drove 5850 miles so it was time to change the oil and oil filter. Larry also wanted to flush the transmission fluid. He ordered the oil, oil filter and transmission fluid from Walmart. They arrived yesterday. Yesterday Larry marked two buckets, The larger bucket with a gallon line and the smaller one with lines for quarts. We started with the transmission. Larry crawled under the Minnie and detached the return line going to the back of transmission, he attached a long clear hose to the line. He then started the Minnie and the transmission would pump out the old oil. I watched the line and when bubble started to appear I would let him know. He would then turn off the engine and refill the fluid. For example: when he turned it off if the fluid got to a gallon line he would add a gallon of new fluid. We did this for five gallons. The new fluid was noticeably cleaner. 

Next Larry changed the engine oil and filter. After these two project were done we cleaned up by pouring the old oil and fluids in the empty containers. Then we cleaned the buckets.

The next project was dump the tanks. Today he decided to flush the tanks he hadn't done this in a long time. He filled the tanks with water and then he emptied them. Then he moved the Minnie from the side of the house to the front of the garage. 

While he was working on it he also cleaned the battery posts and changed the air filter.

Doing maintenance of the Minnie

New transmission fluid

 

Old fluid going in the bucket

While we were doing the maintenance on the Minnie two beautiful bucks came by.

Our visitors

In the afternoon I played the new weekly challenge Godzilla and got 140,311,010 as my high score. Then I played four other games: Red & Ted's Road Show, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Godzilla and Indiana Jones.

Weekly Challenge High Score

Godzilla

 

Indiana Jones

 

Red & Ted's Road Show

 

Tales of the Arabian Nights

After playing pinball I did the Solitaire event, which was Event: Easy Street of 15 games. It took me 37 minutes and 15 seconds, which put me in 19th place in my group. I played some Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds and Friends. I continued doing my diamonds painting of Groot.

Groot so far

In the evening we continued watching the first season of World on Fire on PBS. Then I watched Top Gun: Maverick and an episode of The X-Files. I ended up doing 12,000 steps, which put me in 7th place in my group for the week with a total of 36,362 steps.