Monday 1-6-25 Cold Front, Rainbow Dance & Games

 

Cold Front

We woke up to the temperature of 28 degrees and a breeze out of the north. The high was 44 degrees.

We started the day out attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 dance. It was called the Rainbow Dance. Di called six tips to 19 participants. Each tip she called to songs with a different color (1st tip was red, 2nd tip orange, 3rd yellow, 4th blue, 5th green and 6th rainbow with all the colors). Di did a super job of calling and cueing the dance. Larry danced four of the tips. Some of the dancers wore the color, that was in the song. We had a great time.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event:Tri Peaks Adventure of 20 games. I just solved 19 of the games. It took me 1 hour, 31 minutes and 24 seconds, which put me in 18th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

After lunch we went to town to Walmart to buy some spray Polyurethane to use on the mini pinball cabinet. When we got home Larry experimented with the polyurethane on a scrap piece of wood. While there were picked up a few items.

 

Grocery shopping

I worked out with the Wii Fit for a half hour and Gold's Gym for a half hour. Then I played Pirate's Plunder a couple of times in Bounce Arcade. The first game I got a bronze trophy and the second game I got a silver trophy and a new high score. I also defeated my enemy twice, which got a couple of skulls. I was very excited about this accomplishment.

 

My bronze trophy game

 

My silver trophy game

 

I played four games of pinball, which were Tales of the Arabian Nights, Star Wars, Game of Thrones and Cirqus Voltaire. While playing Tales of the Arabian Nights I got a new high score of 38,422,250, which moved me from 19th place to 3rd place in my group. When I played Star Wars and Game of Thrones I entered my initials as high score #3. I had an outstanding day of playing pinball.

 

Cirqus Voltaire

 

Game of Thrones

 

Star Wars

 

Tales of the Arabian Nights

 

In the evening we watched The Truman Show movie starring Jim Carrey. We watched it years ago and like it. It's is a 1998 movie and is still a good movie. When Larry went to bed I continued watching the fourth season of Everwood. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group.

 

 

Sunday 1-5-25 Dancing , New Pinball Challenge, Crafting & Mini Pinball Cabinet

 

Cold Front

The weather today was weird. We started the day at 65 degrees by 10:00 it was the high, which was 70 degrees. Then it started to drop by 11:00 pm it was 32 degrees. It 's suppose to get into the 20's by the morning.

We started the day by going to the storage center to get the Minnie ready for the cold front. Larry setup the heaters and drained the water from the lines and the water pump. On our last spring trip the pump was leaking, Larry discovered a small crack, he replaced the pump and when we got home he repaired the old one. The only thing he could think of that may have caused the crack was a freeze. He is not sure how that would have happened since we had heaters in there all winter, however, maybe the power went out and it got too cold. Hopefully this won't happen again.

On the way home we stopped by Walmart to buy a small heater. Larry has been using a small heater to help dry the urethane once it was applied. He had been using a small heater and it only works on high. While there we picked plastic wrap because I was getting low in it.

Yesterday Larry painted the interior of the mini pinball cabinet. When the temperatures warm back up he will paint the exterior and apply graphics. He then wants to apply a final finish, probably Poly-Urethane. Today he experimented, he made a test piece with paint and graphics and put a coat of urethane on it, every couple of hours he put on another coat. He now has five coats applied. He also did an experiment using epoxy.

Bottom piece of cabinet

 

The monitor piece

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games (3 Free Cell and 3 Pyramid). It took me 12 minutes and 45 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

Today was the beginning of a new week so I got a new weekly challenge in pinball. Before the Die Hard challenge finished today I played it to try to get a new high score. I wasn't successful. I finished in 38th place out of 53 participants. The new challenge is Tales of the Arabian Nights. We already have the game so Larry only had to change the number of balls from 5 to 3. While he was doing this he changed the number of balls in Die Hard from 3 to 5. I played Tales of the Arabian Nights. My first high score was 6,914,860, which put me in 13th place so far.

 

Die Hard

 

Tales of the Arabian Nights

I worked out with the Wii Fit for a half hour, three programs with Just Dance (Just Dance 2016, Just Dance 2018 and Just Dance 2019) for a half hour and Synth Rider for a half hour.

 

Just dance 2016 songs (All About the Bass, Born This Way and Up Town Funk)

 

 

Just Dance 2018 songs (Foot Loose, Got That and Kissing Strangers)

 

Just Dance 2019 songs (Water, Little Party Never Killed Nobody and One Kiss)

 

This week Joe is suppose to try calling his first dance since he fell and was badly injured. He is still having major medical issues but wants to try and get back to calling. Larry made him a card. It came out great.

 

Greeting card

 

Over the years our soup bowls have gotten chipped and some don't match. I asked Larry to order new ones. A while back he ordered some and while they worked they were really too large. It is difficult to find smaller ones with handles but he found some. They came in today. They should be perfect for our soup.

 

New soup bowls

 

In the evening we went to Sun City to dance with the Sundancers plus dance. We had three squares plus three people sitting out. Some of the new plus dancers from the class were there to get practice on the moves they know so far. The dance was basically a workshop but it was fun. There was a lot of food to snack on. I bought Betty Crocker Reese's Coffee cake. Gary did a great job calling the dance.

 

Get a partner and dance

 

We got home about 9:00. Larry checked his e-mail and relaxed. After he went to bed I continued watching the fourth season of Everwood. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group for the week with the total of 126,226 steps.

 

 

 

Saturday 1-4-25 Dancing to Brad & Scott, Workout, Mini Cabinet & Games

 

Awesome Day

We had an awesome day with the high of 70 degrees.

Larry spent the day working on his mini pinball cabinet. He painted the inside of the cabinet.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street of 30 games. It took me 1 hour, 7 minutes and 45 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds and Friends. 

I worked on my diamond painting of the Tiger.

I worked out with the Wii Fit for a half hour, Gold's Gym for a half hour and Synth Riders for a half hour.

Working Out

I had an exciting day playing in bounce arcade. I played Gunpowder Gulch three times and got a bronze trophy twice. I played Asteroid Outpost twice and got a bronze trophy both times. While playing the both games I mined the asteroids. During the first game I succeeded in mining one time and to play the game you need to succeed four times. The exciting thing was this was the first time I was successful.   

I played the weekly challenge pinball game Die Hard. I got a new high score of 28,725,820, which moved me into 29th place out of 38 participants.

 

Die Hard

 

In the evening went to Georgetown to celebrate the New Year with the Shirts & Skirts. It also was a special dance for Brad Caldwell, he was inducted into the Texas Callers Hall of Fame. They had a great turnout, 19 squares. There were also lots of people sitting out, lots of them were friends and family that no longer dance. Brad was surprised, he didn't know this was going on. The club invited Scott Bennett, a caller out of Oklahoma to come and call the dance with Brad. Brad has been calling for 37 years and tonight was his 37th anniversary of calling. Lucy and Jerry Pate cued the round dancing tips. The format was 6-6:30 Pre-rounds, 6:30-9:00 Mainstream and two tips of Plus 9:00-9:30. In between the Mainstream tips they had two tips of round dancing. They had a lot of food. After the first tip they took a break, where Brad was inducted into the Texas Callers Hall of Fame. They gave him a pin and a plaque. They had a slide shower about Brad and his calling for the last 37 years. We saw dancers we hadn't seen since before COVID. We danced all the square dancing tips. We had a super time.

 

President (Chet Miles) of the Texas Caller Association telling stories about Brad

 

Paula (Brad's wife)  pinning the pin on Brad's collar

 

Brad giving his speech

 

On the way home we stopped and filled the car with gas. We got home at 10:45. I finished my steps, which was 18,000 steps. This put me in 4th place in my group. I watched a few episodes of Everwood.

    

 

Friday 1-3-24 Damp Day, Games, Pinball Cabinet & Workout

 

Overcast Day

It was a damp day with a cloud covering. The ground was damp all day. It got up to 65 degrees.

Larry continues to work on the mini pinball cabinet, he completed removing all the components and started the process of cleaning and filling imperfections with wood filler. After the filler dried he sanded the pieces down. Then he filled areas that need more filler.

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event today was Event: Medium Mayhem Mini of 15 games. It took me 50 minutes and 15 seconds, which put me in 22nd place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

My workout today was a half hour of Wii Fit, a half hour of Just Dance and a half hour of Synth Riders. When working out with Just Dance I danced to two different program, which were Just Dance 3 and Just Dance 2014. 

 

 Working out

 

I played Bounce Arcade for a half hour. I played Monster Manor four times and got two bronze trophies. Both times I lit up the manor and fought the ghosts but I failed to stun the manor.

 

The fourth game score

 

Larry played a couple of games of pinball. I played five games of pinball. They were the weekly challenge of Die Hard, Rambo, Theatre of Magic, Medieval Madness and Mission Impossible. I got a new high score while playing Die Hard, which moved me from 26th to 23rd out of 30 participants. I entered my initials as high score #4 in Theatre of Magic, as high score #1 in Medieval Madness and as high score #4 in Mission Impossible. 

 

Die Hard new high score

 

Medieval Madness

Mission Impossible

 

Rambo

 

Theatre of Magic

 

I worked on my diamond painting of the tiger.

In the evening we watched a Sci-Fi movie on Amazon called The Creator. It was a great movie about a war against humans and robots with artificial intelligence. When Larry went to bed I started watching the fourth and final season of Everwood. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.

 

 

 

Thursday 1-2-25 Workout, Games, Mini Pinball Cabinet & More

 

Happy January

A cold front came in today. We woke up to 40 degrees and the high was 60 degrees. It was overcast and a little nippy. I can't complain, at least we don't have snow. 

We went to Mosaic Grill for lunch, they specialize in Mediterranean food. It is right next to the UPS Store. A few years ago Jersey Mike's sandwich shop was in the space, when they left Mosaic Grill took over. It is a small space but must work well for them. The hostess hands you a menu and tells you to pick a table, when you are ready to order you walk back up to the hostess, place your order and pay your bill. Always seems funny when you pay in advance and the systems asks if you want to leave a tip, how would you know, at that point there has been no service. We split an order of Chicken Kabobs, they were served on a bed of rice. They used real plates and silverware. The food was good. We didn't find anything exciting or special about the place. However, they get terrific reviews and have been there for a few years so lots of folks are impressed.

 

Chicken kabobs with marinated corn rice

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The two day celebration of Solitaire ended today. I completed the Event: Solitaire Celebrates of 30 games. It took me 5 hours, 15 minutes and 44 seconds, which put me in 5th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds. 

I worked out with the Wii Fit for a half hour, Gold's Gym for a half hour and Synth Riders for a half hour. When I worked out using Gold's Gym I worked out with Left and Right Step Combo and Weaving Combo. Synth Riders I worked out with four different songs twice.

Workout program to choose from

I played Pirate's Plunder twice and got a Bronze Trophy in both games. I fought my enemy on the seas. I defeated my enemy in the second game and fought them a second time. I had a lot of fun.

Playing Pirate's Plunder

Larry started tearing down the mini pinball cabinet to do the finishing touches on it. It runs great and he is now ready to complete the painting and putting on the decals. He thinks it may take him a week or two. As he is tearing down the cabinet he's marking the parts and taking pictures to make sure he puts it back the same way it is now.

I worked on the horse diamond painting. I 'm almost done. 

In the evening we watched The Tomorrow Man on TUBI starring John Lithgow and Blythe Danner. Then we watched an episode of Elementary. After Larry went to bed I finished watching the third season of Everwood. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.

 

Wednesday 1-1-25 Happy New Year!!! Two Dances, Diamond Painting, Pinball & Workout

 

Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year!!!! Another year has gone by. We had a super 2024.

Our New Years Eve was very low key. We did enjoy consuming a fruit cake that Larry received for Christmas. Some of our neighbors celebrated with fireworks. We live about two blocks outside of the city limits so fireworks are legal.

I started the day out by working on my diamond painting of a horse.

Larry spent the day playing pinball in both the mini pinball cabinet and the bigger cabinet. When I woke up Larry was playing on the big cabinet. He continued working on a couple of games (Rambo and Theatre of Magic). Larry follows multiple virtual pinball groups and he yesterday someone created a VR Room for Rambo. Larry had it working in VR but without a room. The rooms make the game appear much nicer. It works great. Then he moved onto Theatre of Magic. Someone released a new VR Room. He installed the new room and played the game. 

In the afternoon and while I danced he played on the mini pinball cabinet. It's working great and he was able to compare playing games on it via the larger cabinet. He says when you play in VR you really can't tell a difference, everything appears and sounds the same as the big cabinet. The only real differences are the mini cabinet has a shaker motor and the buttons are closer together. He had a great afternoon playing the games on the mini cabinet. He played Creature From the Black Lagoon, Bond 60th, Rambo, Attack From Mars, Bond Dr. No, Medeval Madness, Nightmare Before Christmas, Mission Impossible and Elvira Scared Stiff. The sound is outstanding.

I attended two New Year's dances. First was Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly Plus at 10:00 for an hour and fifteen minutes. Di called the whole dance and Terry danced with her. She called five tips to 10 participants. It was great to start the year dancing to Di and Terry and with friends.

Dancers have fun visiting in between tips

Second was Dave Eno's Weekly C1/A2 at 6:00 for an hour and a half. Karin Rabe and Greg Moore helped him call the dance. This was a special dance because it was the 100th dance that Dave, Karin and Greg had called together. Dave Hutchinson showed up to celebrate the dance and he joined them in calling. The format was three tips of C1, three tips of A2 and two Trivia questions in between the A2 tips. Karin and Greg called the first C1 tip, Dave Hutchinson called the second C1 tip and Dave Eno called the third tip C1 tip to 11 participants. Karin and Greg called the first A2 tip, Dave Hutchinson called the second A2 tip and all four called the third A2 tip to 13 participants. It was nice to dance to Dave Hutchinson. I had a super time dancing and celebrating the 100th dance with friends and great callers.

I worked out with the Wii Fit for a half hour, Just Dance for a half hour and Synth Riders for a half hour. When I worked out with Just Dance I danced with Just Dance 2015, Just Dance 2016 and Just Dance 2018. It was a long time since I worked out with Just Dance and had a great time.

The songs I worked out from 2015

The songs I worked out from 2016

The songs I worked out from 2018

I played Asteroid Outpost for a half hour and played two games. The second game was the best, I earned a silver trophy, mined the asteroids four different times and earned an extra ball.

Asteroid Outpost

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was a special event and will be for two days. The event was Event:Solitaire Celebrates 10,000 games. The event has 30 games to complete. I completed 23 of the games. I'll finish the games tomorrow.

I didn't play any pinball because I ran out of time.

After Dave's dance we watched a few episodes of Elementary. Then I watched The Dark Knight Rises and an episode of Everwood. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 6th place in my group.

Tuesday 12-31-24 New Years Eve, Dancing,Gold's Gym, Pinball Project & Crafting

 It's New Year's Eve

We had a beautiful day with a lot of sunshine. A cold front rolled in so it only got up to 63 degrees. 

Larry started the day out by downloading a new pinball game called John Rambo. It was just released yesterday. After downloading the game he installed it in both 2D and VR on the big cabinet. Then played the game in both 2D and VR. He likes it a lot better in VR because you can see the ramps and other challenges.

We attended Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly A2 dance at 10:00 for an hour and fifteen minutes. Di called the five tips to 10 participants. Di wore an outfit for New Year's Eve. I wore blue jeans and a red, white and blue shirt. Larry wore blue jeans and a plaid shirt. We both wore our red hats, that light up in different positions we kept it on the flashing position. Donna from Colorado was there and said she was going to wear a blouse with flashers on it (like a belly dancing belt) to a dance tonight. So I went and put a belly dancing belt on and she put her vest on and we jiggled together through out the dance. There were a few other dancers wearing red to celebrate New Year's Eve. Shirley and Steve from the UK were in a motel room and wanted to dance so they had to dance in the bathroom of the room because it was the biggest area. They're used to it because they dance in their kitchen when they're home. Terry didn't call but he danced with Di. We had a great time dancing the last dance of the year with Di Green and Terry McCann and our Zoom friends.

 

Di Green

 

Dance participants

 

I worked out with Gold's Gym for 30 minutes. I moved onto Synth Riders for 45 minutes.

Afterwards I played Gunpowder Gulch twice. First game I got a Bronze Trophy and second game I got new high score and Silver Trophy. During the second game I did three different multi-balls, which were Saloon, Jailhouse Break and Safe Breakage. The events I did were shoot the barrels twice and failed, Shootout with the deputies twice and failed, quick Drawl with deputies once and Cracked the Safe. I got an extra ball. I had a great game.

Bronze Trophy score

Silver Trophy score

 

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me 3 hours, 38 minutes and 16 seconds, which put me in 41st place in my group of 50. I was very disappointed because I didn't really play the games that long. I must have forgot to sign out of the event when I was dancing and doing other things. I played Angry Birds.

Larry continued working on the nudge on the mini pinball cabinet. Over a couple of days he spent about 7 hours working on it and finally had it working really well. He did all of the setting changes in 2d because its easier to get in and out of tables. Yesterday he played in VR and the nudge was messed up, still worked great in 2d. He decided there was something different while in VR that was making the controller board more sensitive. When the shaker motor kicked in or the sound was turned up the ball started doing strange things. He decided to build a vibration isolation board to mount the controller on. He cut a couple of plastic pieces and used some foam. Took him most of the day but at the moment he thinks it has fixed the problem. His nudge is working and the rest of the sound is working excellent. Larry played a few games on the mini cabinet to make sure everything works correctly in both 2D and VR. 

In the picture below you can see the hole from the relocated button. He will fill that when he takes the machine apart for paint and graphics.

Larry playing pinball on the mini cabinet

I played five different games of pinball, which were Die Hard, Rambo, Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man and Aerosmith. While playing Die Hard I got a new high score for the challenge, which moved me into 19th place out of 23 participants. Rambo is a new game so I played it a couple of times. It's a lot of fun. When I played Aerosmith I entered my initials onto the high score board but I'm not sure what number I am. I had a great day of playing pinball.

 

Aerosmith

Die Hard

Iron Man

Rambo

Guardians of the Galaxy

I worked on my diamond painting the horse.

In the evening we relaxed in front of the television. We watched the movie The King's Man on Amazon. It was a British spy movie about the early 20th century, when the Kingsman agency was formed to protect millions of people. When Larry went to bed I watched The Dark Knight and an episode of Everwood. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 6th place in my group.