5-13 It's Friday the 13th.

Are you superstitious?

Well, today is Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious? If you are I wish you luck. We're not. We just think of it as just another day.

When we got back from our trip last fall the grass in one part of the lawn looked really bad, but it was fall and the grass was going dormant and it was time to turn off the sprinklers for the winter so we really didn't worry too much about it. When Larry turned the system on this year he used bowls to capture and measure how much water our system was putting on the grass, he discovered that one area was getting half as much water as the rest of the yard. One of the things he decided to do was to replace all of the adjustable spray sprinkler heads with new, more efficient rotator heads. Our new heads arrived the other day so Larry decided to replace them today. The heads get buried below the grass so first he had to find and mark the location of all the sprinklers. To locate them you turn on the system so the heads popup and then you can mark where they are, he discovered one wasn't popping up at all. That one ended up being really hard to find. The next step was to dig them up a little to get to the heads. Once the sprinklers were dug up he changed out the heads. The last step was adjusting the sprinklers. This took some time but he got them working great. While Larry was replacing the heads Flo and I kept him company. After the heads were adjusted it looked like the heads were covering the grass evenly and these new heads are suppose to use a bit less water. He will need to get his bowls back out and measure the amount of water going on the lawn to figure out if the system is really working correctly and to figure out how long we need to water with the new heads to get the proper amount of water on the grass. Once he knows the correct amount of time he can reprogram the sprinkler controller.

Larry weed eating around the sprinklers

Larry digging out the sprinklers heads

New sprinkler head spraying

Old sprinkler head spraying

Larry and I had finished reading The Devil's Bed and listening to Northwest Angle so we needed to return them to the library. After lunch we loaded Flo into the car and off to the library we went. While we were at the library we found the next Cork O'Connor book in the series we hadn't read which was Tamarack County. We checked it out. We had put the Northwest Angle book on hold last week but since we had listened to it via the audio book we told them to take it off hold. We asked them to put the last Cork O'Connor book on hold, which is Windigo Island. Once the book is returned we will get an e-mail saying it's available for us to check out.

Watching television

 After dinner Larry and I went for a little ride just to get out of house. When we got home we watched the rest of Janis Joplin: American Masters. It was a very good documentary about Janis Joplin's career. Then we streamed Arm Of Lights: Faith and Guns on PBS through the ROKU. It was a good documentary that gave you both sides of the story of guns and faith through six different ministers. We had a very relaxing evening.

5-12 What a great day!!!!!!

Swimming in Nolan Creek

Once again it was overcast in the morning. We needed to go to The UPS Store to pickup a package so we loaded Flo into the car and went to town. The package that was waiting for us was our new sprinklers heads that Larry just ordered a couple of days ago. Then we stopped by and filled up the car with gas. Afterwards Flo's wish came true, we took her to Nolan Creek so she could go swimming. The creek was higher than it was the other day but that didn't stop Flo. I think she really enjoys swimming in the current of Nolan Creek. She just hangs in the current and swims, when she's finished she swims out of the current. While I was walking Flo around the area Larry read. On the way to The UPS Store Larry stopped by the bakery across the street from the high school. Larry had read that it had great food and you had to get there early before the items disappeared, once the item is gone they don't bake it again until the next day. He bought a cinnamon roll. It was huge so he only bought one. When we got home we had lunch and ate the roll as our lunch dessert. The reviews were right, the cinnamon roll was delicious. In the afternoon I finished listening to the Cork O'Connor book, Northwest Angle and Larry finished reading The Devil's Bed. I vacuumed the house.

Vacuuming the house

Audio Books

After listening to Northwest Angle via the audio book I have decided I prefer to either read the book on the kindle or having the book in my hands. It was a good experience but I found that it takes a lot of concentration otherwise you loose your place and miss pieces of the book. I didn't want to disturb Larry so I had to wear ear phones. I noticed that the volume had to be adjusted once in awhile because they start to slip out of my ears. Other times the ear phones made my ears sore.

Friends enjoying themselves during the Coryell County Squares Dance

Waiting for the next call

Dale Smith and Wendell Moore calling the dance

Larry enjoying watching friends square dance

Deer grazing in our backyard

In the evening Larry and I went to Gatesville to dance with the Coryell County Squares. While we were waiting to leave for the dance we looked out our window and saw four deer walking along the tree line in our backyard. It's always a pleasure to watch the deer grazing. Ed Larder still wasn't feeling well so Wendell Moore called the Coryell County Squares. Dale Smith and his wife Pam were there so Dale helped Wendell call the dance. There were enough people for two squares and had a few people leftover. We had a fun time.

What a great day!!!!!

We had a great day. We took Flo for a swim and I walked a long the banks of Nolan Creek. Larry and I finished reading our books. We went dancing in the evening. While doing our activities we laughed and had fun. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!      

5-11 Just Having Fun

Going to the movies

Having dessert

It started raining last night and didn't stop until early this morning. When Larry woke up it was wet outside. The third Captain America started playing at the theaters Friday so Larry rented the first two from Amazon to refresh our memory. The Cinemark theater in Temple currently has daytime movie prices of $5 and they were showing Captain America so this morning Larry and I went. It was a very good movie. After the movie we went to lunch at Chili's. We had the Mex Mix meal with two beef tostadas, beans and rice.When we finished lunch we stopped by the post office to mail a book. On the way home we stopped by Freddy's and had a Hawaiian Delight Sundae. When we got home Flo was laying under the desk waiting for us.

During the afternoon I continued listening to the Cork O'Connor book. Larry received an e-mail from The Home Depot Seeds program so he went through the list and chose a couple items to review. Flo really wanted to go swimming but we didn't feel like going back to town. Maybe we'll take her tomorrow.

Dan and Kathy round dancing to Lucy Pate

Friends having fun square dancing to Dan Clairmont

Everyone having fun dancing to Dan calling

Bill and Suzy round dancing to Lucy

In the evening we went to Georgetown and danced with the Shirts 'n' Skirts Club. This week Dan Clairmont called the dance for Jim Hayes and Lucy Pate cued the rounds. We had seven squares and some round dancers. We had fun dancing to Dan and watching friends round dancing to Lucy. We had a fun day.     

Spring Cleaning

What is in the tree?

Yesterday, while we were hanging around the house Larry looked out the back window and saw something in the tree. I did a little exploring. I first took a picture and then I walked on the porch to look a little closer. It looked like it was a growth but then it moved, it was a squirrel. It had been sitting there eating. It had its tail curled around it and you could not tell it was a squirrel. But once it moved it became clear it was a squirrel. 

What the porch railing cover looked like before

What it looked like once it was cleaned

Larry cleaning the gs grill

Larry helping me clean the porch railing

The grill after it was cleaned

Part of the railing after it was cleaned

This morning it was overcast and we didn't have anything on our agenda. When we built the house Larry and I installed a plastic railing on the back porch to prevent someone from falling off the porch. The railing is out in the elements so it gets filthy. Last year we cleaned the railing around this time of the year. We have been waiting for the oak trees to quit shedding their stuff so we can clean them again. We decided this morning was the perfect time. While I cleaned the railing Larry cleaned the gas grill. When he finished he helped me with the railing. Flo stayed out with us during our project.  The only problem cleaning the railing was the caps, they have groves in them and the dirt is difficult to get out. It's nice when someone comes behind you and cleans the places you missed. The railing looks like new. It took us an hour and a half and by the time we finished it was starting to get hot and the clouds were gone.

Reading is fun

Watching television

The rest of the day we hung around the house. I finished reading The Devil's Bed, it was very good and then I started listening to the Cork O'Connor book Northwest Angle. Larry had finished this book yesterday and then today he started reading The Devil's Bed. In the evening we watched PBS Independence Lens: Peace Officer, then we watched the second Captain America. Peace Officer was very well done about how SWAT policing has changed. We had a very relaxing evening.  

5-9 New Day, New Time For Advance Lessons

Swimming in Nolan Creek

The clouds were rolling in and out all day and it was windy. We hadn't picked up our mail at The UPS Store for about a week so we loaded Flo into the car and to town we went. Our first stop was HEB to pick up a couple of things. Then we went across the street to The UPS Store to get our mail. It's been muggy and hot for a few days and Flo has been pestering us about going swimming. So after we picked up the mail we went to Nolan Creek by the restaurants and parked the car. Then Flo and I went walking around the park area. While we did this Larry read a Wake Board magazine. Flo swam and explored. In the last year or so Flo has been slowing down and she can't walk too far but she still loves to swim. Today she swam a lot. She didn't want to get out of the cold water it felt too good. On the way back to the car after her swim a gentleman said hi to her. When we got back to the car I dried her off and Larry put her in the car. The rest of the day she slept.

Square Dancing is fun

We have been taking Advance square dancing lessons for about three months. We had lessons every other Sunday afternoon and a half hour review workshop the other Sundays. If we had continued the way we were going it was going to take forever to learn all of the A moves so the TIPS Club decided the lessons needed to be every week for two hours. The club also decided the best night would be Mondays at 7:00 pm. This is unfortunate for us because it means we will miss Monday's dance in Sun City to Brad Caldwell. Tonight was the first night, We were introduced to five new moves, now we have been introduced to 25 moves. We had two squares and a fun evening.

5-8 Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!!!! We woke up to overcast skies. There was no square dancing today. We spent the whole day at home relaxing. Last night I finished reading Tony Hillerman's Coyote Waits novel on the Kindle. It was a very good book about two Navajo cops solving a murder on the reservation in the New Mexico/Arizona border area. This was the first time I read a book on the Kindle and it was great. The text was very sharp and easy to read. The best part about reading on the Kindle is if you doze off you don't lose your place. Another good thing is you don't have to look for a book marker to know where you stop. You just turn on the Kindle and it returns to the page you stopped on. While we were hanging around the house I started another William Kent Krueger novel, The Devil's Bed. It's not a Cork O'Connor book but so far it's very good. Larry finished listening the book he was reading. In the afternoon it sprinkled a little but not too bad. When it was time for dinner I barbecued pork chops on the charcoal grill and they came out great. Along with the pork we had baked beans. In the evening we watched Call The Midwife and Wallander. Wallander is a detective series on PBS. This evening started the last season of Wallander. It was a very relaxing Mother's Day for me.     

5-7 Spring Festivals

Walking a chicken on a leash

This morning we loaded Flo into the car and headed to town. The first stop was the Cinco De Mayo Festival in downtown Temple, part of the festival was a VW Car show, when we arrived there were still cars arriving to be entered in the show so we decided to come back a bit later. We drove seven miles east of Temple to the Seaton Star Hall for the SPJST Car Show. This show is put on each year to raise funds for the Czech Heritage Museum of Temple and the SPJST Education and Nature Center. They were very well organized. They parked us in a farm field which was recently mowed. Larry asked if Flo could walk around and the gentleman said sure. It was a nice size car show. We walked around for about a half hour. Flo was getting tired so we put her back in the car. Then we walked in the building where there were a few booths setup for you to buy stuff. They had live music and snacks. It was a very nice show. Afterward we went back to the VW Car Show. We left Flo in the car and walked around. It was cool to see all the old VW buses and bugs. Most of the buses were in one row and the bugs were in a couple of rows. Some of the buses had surf boards on top of them. Some of them were very well kept up. The bugs had cool luggage racks on top of the car. The racks had picnic baskets in them. While we were walking around we saw a lady walking her chicken on a leash so I had to take her picture. We were in town for about two hours and had fun. Larry is still not feeling the best so we headed back to the house.

One of the cars at the SPJST Car Show

Another car at the SPJST Car Show

Another car at the SPJST Car Show

Larry checking out one of the VW bus at the show in Temple

A VW bug ready to go on a trip

A VW bug showing off its engine at the show

A VW bus ready to go surfing

During the afternoon we read our books. Well, I read a book on the Kindle and Larry listened to one. In the evening we watched Captain America. We rented it for three days. Then we watched the ending of Janis Joplin on our local PBS station. Then we watched America Reframed, which was about a teenage girl competing in Martial Arts and wrestling. It was very entertaining.