Saturday 6-29-24 Crafting, Games, Puzzle and Horizon Worlds

 

Awesome Day

We had an awesome day.

Larry spent the day doing a paper crafting project using his Cameo. A while back a caller we know, Joe Saltel, fell while he was calling out of town. He lives in the Rio Grande Valley, when he got home he went to the hospital where they discovered multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Since then he has been in a lot of pain, he has been in and out of the hospital due to complications. He has now developed blood clots in his lungs. His lungs needs to be operated on by a specialist which will require a trip to a Houston hospital. 

A couple of weeks ago we sent him a card wishing him well. Larry wanted to make a card to send him so today he got on the Dreaming Tree site to see what he could find. Joe not only calls he is also a recording artist for square dance music, he has a terrific voice. Larry wanted to make a card that pertained to music and square dancing. He found a card that was bundled with a jukebox and record player. He customized the card and it came out super. When you open it the record on the left spins.

 

The finished card

The inside of the card

 

It has been almost two years since Larry did a paper crafting project. During that time he has used his Silhouette Cameo to make decals and labels for his pinball machine, arcade and jukeboxes. He says his paper crafting skills have deteriorated a bit. He also could not remember how to get text to follow a shape, to relearn that he had to watch a YouTube video.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Hard Road Mini of 5 games. It took me 24 minutes and 32 seconds, which put me in 18th place in my group. Then I moved onto playing Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds and Friends.

In the afternoon I played pinball. I played Game of Thrones, The Get Away, Mustang and NASCAR. I didn't do too well but I had fun.

The Get Away

Mustang

NASCAR

Game of Thrones

 

I worked out with Synth Riders for an hour.

After Larry finished his project he and I decided to play a little bit with our Virtual Reality headset. I played Epic Roller Coasters for about a half hour. Then I went into Horizon Worlds. It has been a long time since I have been in Horizon Worlds and I forgot how to move in the the worlds. I asked Larry so he join me. We went to Puzzle Paradise, where I helped put a couple of puzzles together, they were a peacock and a blue bird. Larry was there with me and told me how to move in the worlds. Then we went to Bar Cade, where we walked around and checked it out. We went to the room in the Bar Cade called Road Rage. It's a maze where you collect different fruit, such as bananas, apples, cherries and others. I had fun.

 

Epic Roller Coasters

A creature we saw in Road Rage

Peacock puzzle

 

Different people working on a puzzle in Paradise Puzzle World

 

Blue bird

 

In the evening we watched a couple of episodes of Northern Exposure. Then I continued watching The Alice on Acorn. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

    

   

Friday 6-28-24 No Dancing, Movie Time & Games

 

We had a great day with the high of 97 degrees.

We started the day off by going to town to see a movie. Kevin Costner wrote and paid for a four part movie series called Horizon: An American Saga. He has completed two chapters of the series and is working on the third chapter. Yesterday, Horizon First Chapter came to the local theaters. It's a western that takes place during the pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American west. The movie started at 8:45 and was 3 hours and 1 minute long. It was very well written, the acting was excellent and the scenery was spectacular. We liked it, however it dragged on a little bit and while it was not a cliff hanger it certainly didn't have an end. We are looking forward to seeing the second chapter which will be released August 16th.

 

Going to the movies

After the movie we stopped by Freddy's Steakburger restaurant to have lunch. We shared a double steakburger, medium fries and medium drink.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango 20 games (10 Klondike and 10 Free Cell). It took me 1 hour, 32 minutes and 44 seconds, which put me in 11th place in my group. Then I played some Angry Birds.

I played some pinball and had a super time. The games I played Game of Thrones, Junk Yard and Medieval Madness. 

If you look at the picture of Junk Yard you will see a clock, in VR some games have a clock, most don't. The clock is accurate, kind of a nice touch because when you are playing in VR you can't see your real one. Some games have what they call minimal VR rooms, nothing in them but the game, two walls and a ceiling, some are very complex. Fish Tales has a fabulous VR room. You are standing on the dock of a cabin, there is a dog, a fisherman, fish and turtles swim by and a crab will even walks across your feet. Twister has multiple rooms to choose from.

 

Game of Thrones

 

Junk Yard

Medieval Madness

Larry started to read a book. I worked on my jigsaw puzzle.

I worked out with Synth Riders for a half hour.

Working out

In the evening we watched Mr. Holmes on Amazon. I continued watching The Alice on Acorn. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

 

 

Thursday 6-27-24 Hot Day, Games & Puzzle

 

Summertime with friends

We had very hot day, it got up to 99 degrees. 

99 degrees at the house

Larry did a project on his two older jukeboxes. Originally these two jukeboxes had three lights on top next to the coin slot. The first light was always on, the second came on if you put a dime in the machine and if you put in a quarter the last one lit up. When Larry converted the machines he installed labels in those areas but no lights. He decided to wire in some lights. Once they were installed they were a little too bright so he figured out how to dim them a little bit. He is quite happy with how they turned out.

 

Chrome jukebox

 

Chrome jukebox with lights dimmed

 

Blue jukebox

Blue Jukebox with lights

While Larry was working on his project he realized he needed some small screws that he didn't have so we went to Ace Hardware. On the way we stopped by Jack-In-The-Box to have lunch. We had received some coupons in the mail and one of the coupons was buy a Jack Wrap and get one free. The Jack Wrap is chicken strips wrapped in a flour tortilla with a special sauce and lettuce. You have a choice between original or spicy chicken, prepared on the grill or deep fried (crispy). We ordered the wraps spicy and grilled but they gave us the crispy ones. That was ok, they were good. We also shared a value size french fries. Ace Hardware didn't have the screws Larry wanted but while going through them he got a new idea. When we got home he cut down some small screws he already had and used them.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Tri Peaks Mini of 5 games. It took me 13 minutes and 15 seconds, which put me in 32nd place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

In the afternoon I took a two hour nap.

When I got up I played some pinball. I started playing the Weekly Challenge of Game of Thrones in 2D because yesterday I had problems with it crashing in Virtual Reality. Playing in 2D is very different and you can't really see how to get up the some of the ramps. After playing the game a few times I gave up on getting a new high score. I moved back to Virtual Reality and the game worked perfect, it didn't crash. I ended up getting a new Grand Champion score of 397,245,440 and I also got a new high score of 177, 345,980. The new high score put me in 26th place out of 39 participants. Then I played White Water and The Flintstones. When I played White Water I got the 3rd high score of 82,806,380. I had a great day of playing pinball.

 

Game of Thrones new Grand Champion score

 

The Flintstones

 

White Water

 

I worked on my jigsaw puzzle.

In the evening we watched a movie on Amazon called My Sailor, My Love. It was a good movie up until the ending which made little sense. It had great acting and the script was well done. After Larry went to bed I started watching a 2006 series on Amazon called The Alice. It took place in Alice Spring, Australia and was taken from the movie. It a cute series about people living in Alice Spring. I like it so far. I ended up doing 17,500 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

 

    

Wednesday 6-26-24 Dentist Appointments, 2 Dances & Games

 

Having Fun

We had another hot day with the temperature of 97 degrees. 

We started the day out by going to Belton Family Dental for our sixth month cleaning. The appointment was at 9:00 so I missed Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly Plus dance. Everything went great. We have a new dentist and he recommended, that I get a root canal on a tooth in front of my implant. He also said that the tooth in the back of my right side is getting worse. I was going to get a implant but it's not giving any problems so I've been putting it off for a few years. I decided to put both teeth off for a little while longer. Our next cleaning is scheduled for January 9th.

 

6th month cleaning at the dentist

 

After the dentist appointment we swung by the UPS Store to pick up our mail. Then we went to Walmart to do the rest of our grocery shopping, there were some items that we couldn't get delivered the other day. 

I attended two square dances. First was Ett McAtee's Weekly C1 at 1:00 for an hour. She called four tips to 20 participants. She worked on Magic Transfer the Column from both right and left, other Magic Concepts, Vertical Concepts and other C1 moves. I had a fun time dancing to Ett and with friends.

Second was Dave Eno's Weekly C1/A2 at 6:00 for an hour and a half. This week Ett McAtee filled in for Karin Rabe and Greg Moore because they went to the National Square Dancing Convention. The format was 4 tips of C1 to 7 participants, 3 tips of A2 to 7 participants and a couple of trivia. Ett called 2 C1 tips and 1 A2 tip, Dave called 2 C1 tips and 1 A2 tip and the last A2 tip Ett and Dave called together. It was a small group but it was a lot of fun.

 

Get a partner and dance

 

I did the Daily Challenge of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Spider Adventure of 20 games. It took me 3 hours, 12 minutes and 49 seconds, which put me in 14th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds. 

I played the Weekly Pinball Challenge of Game of Thrones. We found a problem in the game when I get an extra ball the game will stop. I still having fun playing the game.

Game of Thrones

I worked out with Synth Riders for an hour.

In the evening we watched Housewife 49 on Prime. It was about a 49 year old housewife, who in the late 1930s agrees to send details of her routine to the Mass Observation Project. A non-governmental scheme designed to chronicle the lives of ordinary people in the U.K. It was a good movie and has a lot of humor in it. Then I watched Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Rooster Cogburn from our movies. I ended up doing 17,500 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

 

 

   

Tuesday 6-25-24 New Couch, Dancing & Games

 

A beautiful day

We had an exciting day. It was a beautiful day with the high of 97 degrees.

We started the day out by attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly A2 dance at 10:00 for an hour. Di and Terry took turns calling 5 tips with 9 participants. Di concentrated on four couple moves like Coordinate, Motivate left/right, Chain Reaction left/right and Pass and Roll left/right. Larry danced four of the tips with me. We had a great time dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

 

We love square dancing

Before the dance we received a phone call from Ashley Furniture, they said our couch was in and is ready to be picked up. We were very surprised because we didn't expect it for a week or more. We ordered it Friday and it arrived on Tuesday. 

Larry emptied the bed of the truck. After lunch I helped Larry remove the cover off the bed. It was heavy. I didn't realized how weak I was until I helped lift the cover off and I couldn't lift it too high. I haven't lifted any weight in many years. I guess I need to start lifting some light weight. 

The warehouse was right behind the store. The workers loaded the couch in the truck's bed. Then Larry used an old ski rope to tie the couch in the truck. The couch fit perfectly. 

On the way home there was a wreck on the two lane highway from Killeen to Belton, we got through it very easy because one of the police officers directed traffic. When we got home we unloaded the couch in the garage and removed all the packaging, we will let it air out a bit. We have a window opened a bit and a blower pointed at the couch. Larry has problems with the chemicals that are used on furniture, sometimes it takes a long time before we can use it. But we're not in a hurry, we still have the old couch.

 

New couch wrapped in plastic

 

The couch airing out

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Pyramid). It took me 50 minutes and 26 seconds, which put me in 25th place in my group. Then I played some Angry Birds.

I played three different games of pinball. I played the weekly challenge of Game of Thrones. I was doing excellent and got over 200,000,000 before it crashed. It did this a few times so I gave up on playing Game of Thrones. I didn't get a new high score but had fun. Then I played The Lost World Jurassic Park and Iron Man to see if there was something wrong with the pinball machine. They played great and I had fun. It appears there might be a bug in Game of Thrones causing it to crash.

Game of Thrones

Iron Man

The Lost World Jurassic Park

I continued working on my jig saw puzzle. I worked out with Synth Riders for an hour.

In the evening we finished watching the second season of D.I. Ray. It had a great ending for the season. Then I watched a couple of movies from our collection, they were Sherlock Holmes and True Grit starring John Wayne. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

 

   

Monday 6-24-24 Di's C1 Dance, Games & Having FUn

 

We had a great day.

We started the day out by attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 dance at 9:00 for an hour and fifteen minutes. Di called five tips to 14 participants. We went over the hour due to dancers, who hadn't been to the dance for a bit and people catching up for lost time. Larry danced four tips with me. I danced the last tip by myself. We had a super time dancing with friends.

 

Dancing with friends

 

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me 26 minutes and 18 seconds, which put me in 11th place in my group. Then I moved onto playing Angry Birds.

Larry and I played pinball. Larry played Game of Thrones and NASCAR. I played Game of Thrones, NASCAR and Indiana Jones. While playing Game of Thrones I got a new high score of 140,557,280, which put me in 13th place out of 19 participants. When I played NASCAR and Indiana Jones I got into the Grand Champion position. We both had a super day of playing pinball.

 

Game of Thrones

Indiana Jones

 

NASCAR

 

I continued working on my jigsaw puzzle. I worked out with Synth Riders for an hour.

Working out

In the evening we started to watch the second season of D.I. Ray on PBS. Then I watched the third episode of My Life Is Murder on Acorn. Then I watched Chocolat from our movies. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which is good beginning for the week. This put me in third place in my group.

While I was playing pinball the fox came to visit. I have been putting nectar our for the hummingbirds and been putting a small bowl on the porch of nectar for the squirrels. I've been noticing every morning the small bowl was completely empty. I assumed it was the squirrel drinking it but I was wrong it was the fox. Today the fox appeared earlier then normal and we saw it drinking out of the bowl. It was there for a long time. We have been seeing the fox every night in the frontyard. I wasn't sure if it was a fox or a dog because it doesn't have a tail. 

 

The fox enjoying the nectar

The fox checking us out

 

 

Sunday 6-23-24 New Pinball Challenge & Having Fun

 

Happy Sunday

We had a laid back Sunday with the high of 95 degrees. We hung around the house keeping cool under the air conditioner.

Laid back day

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 55 minutes and 24 seconds to complete, which put me in 21st place in my group. I played some Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds and Friends.

Larry did his morning routine. In the afternoon when my next weekly pinball challenge was announced he downloaded the game. Larry gave up trying to guess the new challenge because the last few weeks they have picked games that were not on their list. This week the challenge is Game of Thrones. It took Larry a bit to install the game, sometimes there are notes that help with what goes where and how to configure the game, not this week, and this game was different. He read through a bunch of comments and finally got it installed, it works super. This week the game was in both 2D and Virtual Reality so Larry installed both versions. After installing the game he played it and had fun. He also played The Flintstones and played very well.

I played last week challenge Beavis and Butt-Head to see if I could get a new high score but was unsuccessful. My final high score for Beavis and Butt-Head was 6,873,510, which put me in 49th place out of 60 participants. I played the new challenge Game of Thrones. It's a lot of fun. My high score was the Grand Champion of 279,169,420 but I couldn't enter it on the challenge  because Grand Champion scores are not allowed. My #1 high score was 104,132,330, which I entered on the challenge. This score put me in 6th place out of 9 participants. I also played Fun House and The Flintstones.

 

Game of Thrones

 

The Flintstones

 

Fun House

 

Beavis and Butt-Head

I worked out with the Synth Riders for an hour. I spent most of the day assembling the jigsaw puzzle.

In the evening we finished watching the 9th season of Grantchester on PBS. It had a great season closure. Then I watched a couple of episodes of My Life Is Murder 4th season on Acorn. Afterwards I watched Beauty and the Beast out of our movie collection. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group for the week with a total of 122,109 steps.

 

Relaxing in front of the television