Sunday 5-14 Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mothers that follow my blog, Happy Mother's Day. I'm a mother of Flo, my four legged child. We don't have any children so I consider her my child. I treat her like a child and talk to her all the time. 

I started my day out by going for a three and a half mile walk to Temple Lake Park and through the park to the boat ramp with Larry. As we walked through the park we saw people fishing off the banks and boat trailers in the parking lot. It was a very nice walk. By the time we got back to the house we were tired.

Flo wanted to go for a ride so she pestered us about it. I did dishes and then loaded her into the car. We went to Walmart in Belton and bought an apple pie for mother's day.

In the afternoon we hung around the house and watched a couple of episodes of GizWiz along with some YouTube videos.

In the evening we watched an Amazon movie called Leonie. The movie was a drama biography about an early 20th century American editor, educator and journalist Leonie Gilmore. It was a very good movie. After the movie I worked on my puzzle. We had a marvelous day.  

Saturday 5-13 Fun Day

Having fun with friends

What a wonderful day we had!!! 

For last 68 years the ASRDA (Austin Square and Round Dance Association) has had a two day event in May and this years event is this weekend. Friday night local caller Wayne Weston called the square dancing and Lucy and Jerry Pate did the cuing for round dancing. They invited Dan Nordbye from Mesa Arizona to call the Saturday events (A Workshop 10:00 am and Square Dancing Workshop at 3:00, Square Dance at 8:00 pm). Bob and Kay Kurczewski cured the round dancing. We attended the morning A workshop. There were enough people for four squares. Dan started the workshop out by calling a tip to get a feel of the floor then he walked us through moves people were having problems with and introduced us to a couple of C1 moves. Dan did a super job. We had a great time dancing with our Sundancers friends and other friends we haven't danced with for a long time.

Dan Nordbye calling the A workshop

On the way home from Georgetown we stopped at Chipotle Mexican Grill. We hadn't been there for many years. Larry and I shared a bowl with Barbacoa, which is a spicy shredded beef and chips. It was ok. Then we went to the VFW Post 1820 Car Show. It was a small show so it only took us a half hour to walk through it. In the hall they had a small swap meet. We didn't buy anything. We had looking at the cars and walking through the swap meet. When we got home Flo was waiting for us in the hall.

One of the cars in the show

Larry checking out one of the cars in the show

During the afternoon I worked on my puzzle and Larry put a couple of coats of teak oil on the boat platform. We had a relaxing afternoon.

In the evening we watched our YouTube videos and a movie off Amazon. The movie we watched was The Dressmaker, it was a comedy drama. It was a good movie starring Kate Winslet. Then I watched two episodes of Midsomer Murders on KLRU.       

Friday 5-12 Movie Time

What an exciting day we had!!!!

This morning the temperature was very cool and it was windy, a great morning for Larry and I to go for a walk. We walked the same route we did earlier in the week but when we got to Temple Lake Park we walked the picnic area loop all the way out to the point, by doing this we ended up walking an extra mile. It was a very pleasant walk.

When we got home we relaxed for about an hour and then had lunch. After lunch Larry and I went to town, we left Flo at home. Larry surprised me by taking me to the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Before the movie started Larry was talking to one of the workers who told him that if we sat through the credits there were five extra scenes. We have the first Guardians of the Galaxy on DVD and we really like it, the new one was also quite good, of course only those who like action movies would enjoy this.

Guardians of the Galaxy figures

On the way home we went into Belton to check the mail and do our weekly grocery shopping. By the time we got home Flo was very happy to see us. After putting the groceries away we put the boat's platform out in the sun so the newly applied teak oil can bake in, Then I worked on my puzzle until dinnertime.

After dinner Larry put another coat of teak oil on the platform and I did dishes. Then we watched YouTube videos. We had a fun day. 

Boat platform baking on the truck tailgate

 

Watching television

Thursday 5-11 Back to Dancing A

We didn't have anything on the agenda today so we just hung around the house. I did some house cleaning and worked on my puzzle.

Thursday nights are when we go to Sun City for their weekly A dance. We are fairly new A dancers and after not dancing for seven weeks we decided it would be prudent for us to review the moves via the Taminations program. It's an excellent program to help people learn square dancing moves, it really helped us through our classes. Twice we sat down and reviewed all the moves.

Around 4:30 we had dinner considering our friends Larry and Patricia meet up with us at the house at 5:00 to ride with us to the dance.

This evening we had two squares for the A dance. Everyone there said they really missed us. We did a lot better than we thought we would. We had a super evening of dancing with the Sundancers.

    

Wednesday 5-10 Yardwork

Larry and I started the day off by going for a walk to Temple Lake Park and back, it was about 3 miles. It was overcast and there was a little breeze which made the walk pleasant. Larry wanted to check out the park considering it was closed for about a year. Last spring the park was underwater and when the water went down it had damaged the restrooms. They wanted to open the park to the public but didn't have the money to rebuild the restrooms so they have put in port a johns. As we were walking the road to the park we saw some wild berries growing on the hill by the road. Once at the park we walked through it to the entrance and took the road back to the house. The park looked great. 

When we got home we rested about an hour and then Larry decided to trim an oak tree on the side of the house. One of the branches was touching the roof. He got his extension ladder out and put the standoffs on it so he could get on the roof, while he was climbing the ladder I handed him his saws. He trimmed the tree the best he could from the roof and then he got off the roof and used a pole saw to cut the rest of the arm off. After lunch we took care of the trimming. 

The tree that needed to be trimmed back

Starting trimming off the branch

More trimming

When we were on our trip we hired a yard crew to mow every other week. They came last week and mowed but the front yard was starting to get a bit uneven so I decided to mow. It took me forty-five minutes to do the front yard. Larry got out his gorilla ladder out and sealed the tree where he had taken the arm off. Then he blew off the driveway.

Mowing the yard

When it was time for dinner I barbecued sausages on the gas grill. The last time I used the grill the temperature gauge on the lid didn't work. I told Larry and he ordered a new one. When it came in he installed it. I had forgotten he had replaced the gauge so when I turned on the grill I was surprised to see that it was working. Then I remembered that Larry had replaced it. It's tough getting old.

Getting ready to grill sausage

The new gauge working

In the evening we watched an Amazon movie called Manchester By The Sea. Before watching it Larry read the reviews and said they weren't great but the movie had won a couple of awards so we decided to watch it. It was a slow moving movie and we didn't like it. After the movie I worked on my puzzle until it was time to go to bed. We had a nice day.

   

Tuesday 5-9 Boating Season is Near

Overcast Skies

Boating season is just around the corner. The last couple of years we haven't been able to put the boat in the lake until July because the boat ramps have been underwater due to so much rain. This year the lake is full and the ramps are open.

It has been overcast all day which made it perfect to get the boat ready for the season. The other day Larry had ordered parts for the boat trailer brakes and we received them yesterday. This morning Larry started back on repairing the brakes and I helped him. The first thing he did was feed a metal snake through the tube where the line goes, then he taped the new brake line to the snake and fed the line through the tube. Once the line was through he put the connectors on and then using a flaring tool he flared both ends of the line. Next he connected the line to the front of the trailer before moving to the back to finish up the job. When he finished replacing the brake line he had to bleed all the air out of  the system, this is where I helped him. Once the system was bled we made sure the brakes worked and there were no leaks, after that he pulled it down the road to make sure everything was working correctly.

Ready for the lake

Assembling the brake line

Bleeding the brake line

We also hooked the engine up to a water hose and got it running, along with this we loaded our water sports equipment: Air Chair, surf board, wake board and ski rope. Then we put the platform on the back of the boat and put a coat of teak oil on it. Now we're ready to go boating.

Later in the day I worked on my puzzle and did laundry while Flo slept. When it was time for dinner I barbecued the rest of the Italian sausage patties.

In the evening we watched YouTube videos then we watched our PBS Sunday shows. We had a super day. 

Monday 5-8 Back in the Saddle Again

Today was just another manic Monday. We started off by taking the Minnie back to storage, then we filled the car with gas and afterwards did a little shopping for car maintenance stuff.  

Going Shopping

After lunch Larry went outside and treated for bugs. I worked on my puzzle and did some Sudoku. When it was time for dinner I barbecued Italian sausage patties on the charcoal grill. Flo came out to keep me company.

Getting the charcoal ready

Flo keeping me company

In the evening we went to Sun City to dance with the Sundancers. We hadn't been square dancing in about seven weeks so I was a little rusty. I was glad we didn't dance any A moves. They had seven squares. Everyone was glad to see us, it always feels good when people miss you. We missed dancing with the Sundancers and to Brad Caldwell. We had a great evening. We're back in the saddle again. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!