Thursday 10-30-25 Dentist, Games & Having Fun

 

Awesome Day

 

We had a cool day with the low of 40 degrees and the high was 70 degrees. 

We started the day out by going to town, I had a dentist appointment at 8:30 am. The appointment was to check the implant that was put in before our trip. While I was getting it checked out Larry went next door to Ace Hardware to kill some time. The dentist assistant took x-rays of the implant. The dentist looked at the x-rays and said the implant is working out perfect. It took about five minutes and didn't cost anything. Then I walked next door and found Larry.

On the way home we stopped at the UPS Store to check our mail. Then we walked next door to Walmart to pickup some Simple Green cleaner. Then Larry treated me to breakfast at Jack 'n' Jill Donuts.

 

Running errands

When we got home Larry put the solar battery back in the Minnie. Before doing so he cut some foam to fit under the battery to give it some insulation from the cold. Larry is now finished with all of his Minnie projects. The one thing left is to take it to the shop and have the front end checked. We are having a problem with the right side front tire wearing on the outside edge.

I did housework. I vacuumed the house, cleaned the bathrooms, dusted and mopped the floors. I also did laundry. This took about an hour to do.

 

Housework

 

I played the Daily Event, which was Event: The Hard Road of 16 games. It took me 2 hours, 31 minutes and 35 seconds, which put me in 20th place in my group. I played Angry Birds and Friends and Angry Birds 2. 

Later on I played seven games of pinball, which were Big Bang Bar, Big Lebowski, The Great Houdini, Indianapolis 500, Jaws, Rambo and Willow. I didn't get on the board on the songs but I had played great games.

 

Big Bang Bar

 

Big Lebowski

 

Indianapolis 500

 

Jaws

 

Rambo

 

The Great Houdini

 

Willow

I started assembling a new jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle is 2,000 pieces and made by Kodacolor Puzzle. It looks like a centerpiece. I got the frame together. It's going to take a bit to do. 

 

Centerpiece puzzle

We watched our YouTube videos. 

Larry's VR headset gave him a message that it was running low on memory. He figured it was due to the pictures and videos I capture when I play pinball. He worked on his headset first and was removing one picture at a time. It was the only way he could figure out how to do it and it was the process described by the manufacture, Meta. He said this would take forever so he searched on YouTube to see if there were any videos on removing pictures and videos. There was a few so we watched them. He figured out how to remove multiple pictures and videos at a time. He said this works a lot better. My headset had almost 2000 images to be removed.

Afterward we watched Shrek 2 from our movies collection. We really enjoyed watching Shrek and Shrek 2 because they are very cute and funny. When Larry went to bed I watched the second The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. I ended up doing 5,000 steps.

 

Relaxing in front of the television

 

 

 

  

Wednesday 10-29-25 Day of Virtual Square Dancing, Minnie Project & More

 

Windy Day

 

We had a very windy day. The wind came out of the north which made it cold. The low was 49 degrees and the high was 66 degrees.

We started the day off by going to Killeen to 195 Used Auto Parts, which is a junkyard. It took us about 40 minutes to get there. We paid $2.00 each to get into the junkyard. Larry had printed out where the vehicles were located in the junkyard. The lady, who took care of us told us how it works. We went to the farthest aisle where a van was located but the crossmember wouldn't work. While we were walking to the next aisle Larry saw a van that was closer to our year. He checked it out and found the crossmember was the exact one we needed. It had a small bend in it but not bad enough to cause a problem. We went back to the truck and got the tools we brought with us. Before we were allowed back in the yard they checked our tools to make sure were didn't have parts in the box. Larry crawled under the van and using a ratchet strap he strapped the transmission up so it wouldn't fall. Then he removed the crossmember from the van. He was surprised it came off so easy. We left the strap that was holding the transmission up. Then we paid for the part and they made sure we didn't have other parts in our box. Then we went back to the truck and went home. We were gone a couple of hours.

While I danced Larry worked on replacing the crossmember. First he cleaned the replacement we got at the junkyard. Then he jacked up the Minnie. Next he slid under the Minnie and removed the crossmember from the Minnie. Then he installed the replacement. It went right on the Minnie. He is a happy man because the replacement fit perfect.

The crossmember replacement

 

The Minnie jacked up ready to go

 

Larry removing the old crossmember from the Minnie

 

I attended three virtual square dances. First was Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly Plus dance at 11:00 am for an hour. Next week they will be back to their normal time, which is 10:00 am. Today was their Halloween Dance, Di dressed up as Dracula and Terry wore a cape and a witch's hat. In fact Di wore a Dracula mask (four tips) and a Bride of Dracula mask (one tip). I wore my Halloween vest, orange shirt, black pants, orange belly dance belt and an orange hat with a black band. A couple of the ladies dressed up like a witch. Usually Di starts the dance off but she wasn't sure if she could call with her mask on so Terry called the first tip and the third tip. Di called the second, fourth and fifth tips. When Di called with a mask on it sound great. Di and Terry called five tips to 13 participants. Di called a few four couple moves, which were Coordinate, Track 2, Spin Chain the Gears. I had a super time dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

 

Di with her Dracula mask on

 

Dancers at the dance

 

Di with her Bride of Dracula mask on

Second was Ett McAtee's Weekly C1 at 1:00 for an hour. Ett called four tips to 12 participants. I was the only one dressed up for Halloween. I had fun dancing to Ett and with friends.

Third was Dave Eno's Weekly C1/A2 at 6:00 for an hour and a half. Karin Rabe and Greg Moore helped call the dance. The format was three tips of C1, three tips of A2 and two Trivia questions in between the A2 tips. During the C1 session we had 7 participants and the A2 session had 8 participants. I had good evening dancing to Dave, Karin and Greg and with friends.

 

Dancing with friends

 

I played a game of Asteroid Outpost on Bounce Arcade. I earned a gold trophy. I tried to mine the asteroids in space 13 times and was successful twice. I played a couple of multiballs and earned an extra ball. I had a great game.

 

Asteroid Outpost

I played four games of pinball, which were Medieval Madness, The Lord of the Rings, Time Lord and Indianapolis 500. I didn't get on the board playing pinball but I still had a super time.

 

Indianapolis 500

 

Medieval Madness

 

Time Lord

 

The Lord of the Rings

After the dance we watched Shrek from our movies collection. When Larry went to bed I started to watch The Lord of the Rings movie series from our movies collection. It was The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. I ended up doing 3,500 steps.

I played the Solitaire Event, which was Event: Medium Mayhem Mini of 5 games. It took me 9 hours, 3 minutes and 35 seconds, which put me in 19th place in my group. It took me so long because the program crashed and wouldn't load up. I played Angry Birds and Friends. 

  

 

 

    

Tuesday 10-28-25 Dancing at Liberty Hill & Games

 

Get a partner and dance

 

We had a very nice day. The low was 65 degrees, which was at 10:00 pm and the high was 83 degrees at 12:00 pm. The wind came up at 2:00 pm while we were dancing.

We spent the day in Liberty Hill dancing C1/A2 to John Kephart. We left the house at 10:15 am to be at the Ski's house at 12:00 pm. On the way to Liberty Hill we stopped at a convenience store to have lunch. I made a sandwich before leaving the house and put chips and snacks in a Walmart bag. After eating lunch we continued to the Ski's house. This week Kay and Bob were back at home. It was nice to see them again. We got there a little early and Susan and Henry arrived a few minutes after we did. We started dancing C1 a little before noon. We danced C1 to three different callers (Johnny Preston, Don Moger and Tony Collingwood) for an hour. We had a great time dancing with Susan and Henry. At 1:00 we danced A2 for a couple of hours. We had two squares and two guys sitting out. John called to two squares by using cards, that way dancers know what square they dance in and what tip they dance. We had exactly eight women so we had to dance all tips. The last tip John did a singing call and did a super job. He has a great voice. We had fun dancing to John and with friends.

On the way home we stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things we needed. We were at home by 4:45 pm. After putting things away I made dinner.

After dinner I played four games of pinball. They were the weekly challenge of Indianapolis 500, Big Bang Bar, Big Buck Hunter Pro and Fish Tales. While playing Indianapolis 500 I got a new high score, which put me in 18th place out of 36 participants. 

 

Big Bang Bar

 

Big Buck Hunter Pro

 

Fish Tales

 

Indianapolis 500

We watched our YouTube videos. 

In the evening we watched Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness from our movies collection. When Larry went to bed I watched the third Star Trek movie called Star Trek Beyond from our movies collection. I ended up doing 4,000 steps.

I played the Solitaire Event: Event Tri Peaks Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 40 minutes and 14 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds and Friends.

I also finished reading Mephisto Waltz by Frank Tallis. 

 

Relax with a book

 

 

   

Monday 10-27-25 Dancing with Di, Junkyard & Games

 

Smile and Have Fun

 

We had a beautiful day with sunshine. The low was 59 degrees and the high was 88. It was humid. 

Larry started the day out by continuing working on the charging station. 

This weekend the UK Daylight Savings Time Ended, which means their clocks fell back an hour. The United States ends this weekend. On Mondays we attended Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 dance at 9:00 am but this week it was at 10:00 am. it was a Halloween dance so some of the dancers dressed up for Halloween. I wore my Halloween vest, black pants, orange blouse, orange belly dancing belt and an orange hat with a black band. Larry wore black shorts, orange shirt and orange hat. Di wore a skeleton outfit and Terry wore a witch's hat. Di called five tips to 12 participants. Larry danced with me four of the tips. We had a super time dancing to Di and with friends.

 

Dance participants

After the dance we had lunch. Then we went to town. We paid our property taxes. 

While Larry was changing shocks on the Minnie he noticed, that the trans crossmember was bent. Apparently when we had it worked on in Colorado someone tried to jack it up using the crossmember and bent it. He went online and researched to see where he could find a replacement. He found a junkyard right here in Belton had a couple of vans that may have the part. After stopping to pay our property taxes we went to the junkyard. The junkyard was a self-service yard. It cost $3.00 a each to walk through the yard to find what you need. Before you enter into the yard you give them the make of your vehicle, year and what part you need. The lady entered the information into their computer system and printing off where to find it. The paper told us on what aisle the vehicle is located. We went to where the vehicles were and checked to see if they had the trans crossmember. The first one did but it also had the transmission still in the vehicle. There was no way Larry could get the part without dropping the transmission. You're not allowed to bring in any jacks. The other vehicle didn't have the part on it. We went back inside and a gentleman suggested to use straps. We walked back to where the vehicle was and after looking at it again Larry found it was also bent, not badly but once again it appeared someone used a jack on it. We went back inside and the gentleman said there was another vehicle that may work. We walked to the far end of the yard and found it was the wrong vehicle and the trans crossmember wouldn't work. We thanked the gentleman who helped us. Then we went home.

When we got home I played pinball on both the big cabinet and mini cabinet. 

On the big cabinet I played Indianapolis 500, Big Lebowski, Aerosmith and The Addams Family. While playing Indianapolis 500 I got a new high score of 507,572.280, which put me in 18th place out of 28 participants so far. The other three games I didn't get on the board but had fun.

 

Aerosmith

 

Big Lebowski

 

Indianapolis 500

 

The Addams Family

 

 On the mini cabinet I played five games, which were James Bond 60th Anniversary, Dr. No, No Fear, World Joker Poker and Creature From The Black Lagoon. I played James Bond 60th Anniversary twice and came in high score #3. I also came in high score #3 while playing Dr. No and World Joker Poker. I had a great game playing Creature From The Black Lagoon even if I didn't get on the board. I had a great time.

 

Creature From The Black Lagoon

 

Dr. No

 

James Bond 60th Anniversary

 

No Fear

 

World Joker Poker

I played one game of Gunpowder Gulch and Monster Manor on Bounce Arcade. While playing Gunpowder Gulch I earned a silver trophy. I played four multiballs, which were Jailhouse Breakout, Wooden Post Rally, Saloon and Cracked the Safe. I played three events, which were Quick Drawl (twice and was unsuccessful), Gunfight (once and was successful) and gunfight (once and was successful). I had a great game. While playing Monster Manor and earned a bronze trophy. I woke the manor twice and tried to stun the manor and failed. 

 

Gunpowder Gulch

 

Monster Manor

I continued reading Mephisto Waltz by Frank Tallis. We watched YouTube videos.

In the evening we watched Dr. Strange from our movies collection. When Larry went to bed I watched Star Trek Into Darkness from our movies collection.

 

Relaxing in front of the television

 

By the end of the day I did 8,000 steps. I played the Solitaire Daily Event, which was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 47 minutes and 43 seconds, which put me in 18th place in my group. I played Angry Birds and Friends. 

 

 

             

 

Sunday 10-26-25 New Challenge, Dancing with Loren & More

 

Just having fun

 

We had a beautiful fall day with the high of 78 degrees.

We didn't have anything on the agenda so we just hung around the house. 

Larry played with the lithium battery. He could not find anything wrong with it. He discharged the battery completely and charged it back up.

I spent a lot of the day continuing reading Mephisto Waltz by Frank Tallis.

Today was the beginning of a new week which means I get a new weekly challenge in pinball. This week's challenge is Indianapolis 500. We already have it so Larry just had to change the number of balls from 5 to 3. The new challenge starts at 2:00 so I played last week's challenge of Gillian's Island to get a new high score. I failed so my final high score was 19,469,980, which put me in 52nd place out of 72 participants. I played Indianapolis 500 a few time and my first high score was 251,647,230. It was approved so I currently 7th place out of 11 participants.

 

Gillian's Island final high score

 

Indianapolis 500

At 1:00 I attended Ett McAtee's Weekly C Series dance for an hour. This week Loren Smith covered for her and he called C1. I danced by myself. Loren called four tips to 6 participants. He worked on Motivate (A2 move) and Wheel Fan Thru during the third tip because some dancers were having problems. I had a great time dancing to Loren and with friends.

 

Get a partner and dance

After the dance I played six more pinball games, which were Metallica, The Godfather, Dr. No, Star Trek the Next Generation, Jaws and Willow. While playing Jaws I was high score #2 and Willow I was high score #1. I had fun playing pinball.

 

Dr. No

 

Jaws

 

Mettalica

 

Star Trek the Next Generation

 

The Godfather

 

Willow

I played one game of Asteroid Outpost on Bounce Arcade. I played for a half hour and earned a silver trophy. I mined the asteroids five times and was successful two times. I played one multiball and earned a new ball. I had a great game.

 

Asteroid Outpost

 

I played the Solitaire Daily Event, which was Event: Easy Street of 30 games. It took me 52 minutes and 53 seconds, which put me in 8th place in my group.

While I played games Larry watched some YouTube videos.

In the evening we finished watching the fourth season of Vienna Blood on PBS. Then we started watching The Gold, which is based on a true story about one of the largest robberies in British history. The Gold stars Hugh Bonneville. When Larry went to bed I watched another Diane Keaton movie on Amazon, which was Crimes of the Heart. It stars Diane Keaton, Jessica Lane and Sissy Spacek. It was about three sisters trying to cope after their mother committed suicide. Afterwards I watched Star Trek out of our movies collection. I ended up doing 6,000 steps.        

 

Relaxing in front of the television