Friday 10-16 Wildlife in the Backyard

It didn't get as cool overnight as the weatherman predicted but it was still nice. There was a breeze out of the north all day which kept the temperature in in the low 70's. 

The wildlife really enjoy this cool weather. I've been putting a bowl of bird feed under an oak tree for the squirrels and raccoons. This helps keep the squirrels and raccoons out of the birdfeeder, it only works if I keep the food in the bowl. Today, we saw a squirrel, a fox, deer and raccoon eating the food. I put food in the bowl three different times and each time a different critter would come. The fox only ate the nuts and left the sunflower seeds but the rest of the animals ate all of the food. We have bought the birdseed three different times and each time it was different. The one we bought a couple of days ago, which was called Song Birds Feed the sunflower seeds are larger and the nuts were larger.

 

New food

 We enjoy virtual square dancing but at times it can be frustrating because you breakdown. Today we started dancing to Don Moger's weekly C1 dance. A lot of the dancers kept breaking down but he continued calling without cueing until he finished the sequence. After not being able to get through a sequence we decided to leave. We weren't having fun and we're very frustrated. 

Later we attended Di Green Weekly C1 Workshop, her workshops and dances aren't stressful. Di had 39 participants. She walked us through 4 couples moves and 2 couples moves. She cued through out the workshop and did an excellent job. We had a super time.

During the day Larry worked on the Cameo.

I did my Solitaire games. I did the Daily Challenges of 5 games and the Event: Free Cell Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 1 minute and 51 seconds, which put me in 23rd place in my group. Today was Free Cell Friday, where every Free Cell game you completed you double your points. I also did 8 Star Club Free Cell games. 

In the evening we watched two episodes of The Yorkshire Vet. I finished watching the first season of Janet King on Acorn. I ended up doing 23,500 steps, which put me in third place in my group with 127,562 steps.

    

 

 

 

Thursday 10-15 Flu Shot and More

It's flu season

 

We had a super day. 

Last night Larry went to the Walmart site to see what we had to do to get our shots. Walmart had a online form for you to fill out and you could make an appointment online. This morning at 10:00 was our appointment. This online procedure was new to the pharmacist so it took a bit to get the shot. They were out of the vaccine for people who were over 65 but they did have the regular vaccine. We were given the regular vaccine. I was getting low on birdseed so while we were there we picked up a bag. This was my first time inside Walmart since the pandemic began. They have now reopened both sets of entry and exit doors and removed the one way aisles. The parking lot and inside the store looked just as busy as it use to be.

While we were at Walmart Larry got a phone call from the dentist, they said his crown was in and they could get him in at 2:00 today to get it put on. This was a pleasant surprise because he was scheduled for late next week. 

 

Getting a crown put on Larry's implant

 

We attended three virtual square dances. The first dance was Dayle Hodge's Weekly C1 dance at 11:00 for an hour. We had 39 participants in zoom for the dance. Dayle called four tips and made the dance challenging by putting us in positions we weren't use to being in. I broke down more then usual but we had a great time.

The second dance was Jeremy Butler's Weekly A2/C1 dance at 6:00 for an hour. We had 27 participants for the four tips of A2 and 23 participants for the C1 tip. Jeremy called complex moves to the left. We had fun dancing to Jeremy.

The third dance was Michael Levy's Weekly A2 dance at 7:30 for an hour. We had 16 participants. Michael always put us in weird position and at time it can be frustrating. Michael called four tips, Larry was tired so I danced the last tip by myself. We had fun dancing to Michael.

 

In between the dances Larry continued working with the Cameo. 

I played my Solitaire games. I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: World Tour Mini of 7 games. I didn't do too well. It took me 23 minutes and 49 seconds, which put me in 38th place in my group. I also did a few Star Club games.

After the last dance we watched a couple of episodes of The Yorkshire Vet on Acorn. Then I started to watch Janet King The Enemy Within on Acorn. It was a series about a female prosecutor returns to work after taking a year off because of she had twins. It's a very good series. I ended up doing 25,500 steps, which put me in second place in my group with 104,051 steps for the week so far.    

 

 

 

Wednesday 10-14 Fun Day

We had a beautiful day of having fun.

We attended three virtual square dances. First was Dayle Hodge's Weekly A2 dance at 11:00 for an hour. We had 33 participants on Zoom. Dayle called four tips. The third tip was a workshop, where he went over Box Transfer in different positions. Dayle did an outstanding job of calling and cued through out the dance. We had a super time.

The second dance was Ken Burke's Weekly A2 dance at 5:30 for an hour. We had 9 participants on Zoom. Ken called three tips and did a great job. He called using four couples and two couples square. We had a small group but we had fun.

The third dance was Doren McBroom's Weekly C1 dance at 6:30 for an hour and a half. We had 17 participants on Zoom. Doren called five tips. Doren called some weird stuff and broke us down but it was fun. We had a great evening of dancing to Doren.

In between dances we kept busy doing this and that.

Larry finished reading his book so he decided to start another project on the Cameo. He found a project and downloaded it to the computer. There were no directions so he had to figure out how to do it and decide what paper to use for each layer. Next he started cutting the layers out using the Cameo.

While Larry worked on this I played my Solitaire games. I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour and 46 seconds to complete, which put me in 18th place in my group. Then I completed a couple of games in the Star Club Challenge.

After the last dance we watched a couple of episodes of The Yorkshire Vet. Then I watched a couple of episodes of Columbo. I ended up doing 26,000 steps, which put me in third place in my group with 78,541 steps.

  

 

 

 

Tuesday 10-13 Wonderful Day

Smile and be happy

 

We had a wonderful day. 

Larry started the day off by going to town and doing a few errands. He stopped by The Home to return a hinge and then Walmart to pickup a few things.

So when I woke up Larry was gone. I played my Solitaire games. Today was called Tri Peaks Tuesday, all the Tri Peaks games your points were doubles and the Event games are doubled. I played the Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango of 20 games, 10 games of Klondike and 10 games of Tri Peaks. It took me 1 hour, 19 minutes and 45 seconds, which put me in 9th place in my group. I also finished up a couple levels of the Tri Peaks in the Star Club.

We attended three virtual square dances. The first dance was Dayle Hodge's Weekly Plus dance at 11:00 for an hour. We had 36 participants. Dayle called four tips and cued all the way through the dance. We had a great time.

The second dance was Di Green's Weekly A1/A2 Workshops at 1:30 for two hours with a 15 minute break. We attended the A2 session, there were 31 participants. Di and Terry shared the calling during the workshop of 5 tips. The last tip Di walked through different positions of Turn and Deal, Larry had asked her if she could. When you do the Turn and Deal you have to remember to pass by the right shoulder unless the caller tells you to go left shoulder. We had a fun time.

The third dance was Don Moger's Weekly A2 Dance at 6:00 for an hour and a half. We had 60 participants. Don called six tips. The second tip was a workshop where Don went over a couple of moves dancers were having problems. The moves he walked us through were Facing Recycle and Center Part of Cast the Shadow. We had a very nice evening dancing to Don.

In between the dances Larry read and we watched YouTube videos. After the last dance we started to watch a series on Amazon called Dogs with Jobs. The series is about the amazing jobs dogs have to make life easier for people and help people. We watched a couple of episodes. Then we watched a couple of episodes of The Yorkshire Vet. After Larry went to bed I finished watching the 9th season of Columbo and started the 10th season. I ended up doing 26,500 steps, which put me 4th place in my group.       

 

Monday 10-12 Gorgeous Fall Day

Gorgeous Fall Day

 

We had a gorgeous fall day. There was a breeze out of the north which kept the temperature at 82 degrees. It doesn't seem like it's fall because the lots on both side of us are full of wildflowers. My flowers are still going strong, today I counted 24 flowers in bloom and a few more buds. 

 

Wildflowers next door

My flowers going strong

 

Larry started the day out by finishing up making ornaments. He has been making the ornaments with glitter paper and the Cameo machine. It takes a lot of time because there are multiple layers and a lot of weeding of each layer. The ornaments Larry made are gorgeous. When he was done he spent a lot of time cleaning up and vacuuming, the glitter paper is not suppose to shed  but it does.

 

Christmas ornaments made by Larry

Christmas tree by Larry

Larry put a post on a Facebook group he follows about building a cabinet for our Silhouette machine. He had 567 likes and 99 comments. A couple of the ladies wanted to know the dimensions of the cabinet so he added a drawing to the post. 

 

The cabinet

What the cabinet looks likes when the door is open

I played Solitaire games. I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. I completed the event in 1 hour, 3 minutes and 20 seconds, which put me in 25th place in my group. I also did a few Star Club Tri Peaks games.

We attended two virtual square dances. The first dance was an A1/A2 with Joachim Rühenbeck at 12:30 for two hours with a half hour break in between. During the A1 session we had 31 participants and A2 session we had 35 participants. Joachim called five tips during each session. Joachim is a fantastic caller. He calls fast and steady, you have to concentrate not to fall behind or you'll breakdown. I fell behind a few times and Larry tried to get me back on track, sometimes he was successful. We had an outstanding afternoon of dancing to Joachim Rühenbeck and other dancers.

The second dance was Ett McAtee's Monday C1 Workshop at 6:30 for an hour and a half. We had 51 participants. Ett called six tips and walked us through the Butterfly Formation. She put in different positions, which made the workshop challenging. It was an ok workshop.

A gentleman came to house to replace the windshield on the Minnie. He said he would be back tomorrow with a helper because he couldn't replace it by himself because of the overhang. 

After Ett's dance we watched two episodes of The Yorkshire Vet. Then I watched two episodes of Columbo. I ended up doing 26,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group.    

 

 

 

Sunday 10-11 Smile and Have Fun

Smile and have fun

 

We had a super Sunday. The temperature got into the low 90's with blue skies, there was a hot wind from the south.

We started the day going to the storage center to get the Minnie. Over the years the windshield in The Minnie has acquired a few chips and a crack, Larry has used those glass repair kits on them but earlier this year a new crack appeared and the windshield needs to be replaced. A couple of years ago our neighbor had a windshield replaced at his house, Larry went over and watched the guy replace it and talked to him for a bit. He got his business card so the other day he dug out the card and called the company. They are suppose to be out tomorrow and replace our windshield.

 

The Minnie

On the way to the storage center we stopped by a new donut shop, their donuts were very fresh and tasted good.

When we got home Larry continued working on making ornaments with the Cameo.

Today was Solitaire Sunday so your points double when you complete a Klondike game. I did my Solitaire games. I did my Daily Challenges and the Event: Klondike Mini of 10 games. It took me 30 minutes and 55 seconds, which put me in 21st place in my group.

 

Making ornaments

When Michael's opened at 10:00 we were waiting. Michael's had a special today on some paper where if you buy one pack of paper you get two packs free. It wasn't on all paper but it was on some of the paper Larry uses to make ornaments. The paper wasn't in the paper aisle so Larry asked a clerk to help locate it, she found it up against the front window.

We attended three virtual square dances. The first dance was Don Moger's Weekly C1 dance at 11:00 for an hour and a half. Don had 40 participants. The third tip was a workshop tip and Don went over Linear Action, which was great because we hadn't done this move in over 7 months. Don did a good job of explaining Linear Action. Don called calls from positions folks don't normally see and most of the dancers broke down, at times he kept calling and didn't cue the move, this was frustrating. We will continue dancing to him because we like him as a caller.

The second dance was Doren McBroom's Bi-Weekly DBD Plus dance with the Crossfires Club at 1:30 for an hour and a half. Doren had 20 participants. This week Doren invited Keith Stevens to come and call with him. We were having troubles hearing some of the calls, the music was too loud and there was not enough voice. It was an ok dance but we ended up leaving a bit early.

The third dance was Loren Smith's Weekly A2/C1 dance at 7:30 for an hour and a half. Loren calls three A2 tips, then an intro to C1 tip and then two C1 tips. The last A2 tip was a full square but he walks you through the more complex calls. During the intro to C1 tip Loren walked us through three calls; Flip Back, Tag Back to a Wave and Cross Your Neighbor and reviewed Dixie Diamond. Loren cues through out the dance. We had a great time.

 

 

In between and after the dances we watched YouTube videos. Then we watched an episode of The Yorkshire Vet. After Larry went to bed I watched a couple of episodes of Columbo on Peacock. I ended up doing 23,000 steps, which put me in 4th place in my group. I ended up doing 180,263 steps for the week.         

 

Saturday 10-10 Visiting Louise

Flowers in the backyard

 

We had a super Saturday with a lot of sunshine. It seemed like springtime because there were so many wildflowers and butterflies. It got up to 88 degrees.

We started the day by going to Round Rock to visit Louise and Alice (her dog). We gave her an early Christmas present. Every year Amazon has Prime Day, this year it's October 13th. A few days ago Amazon had a Pre-Prime day and they had an Echo Show 5 on sale. It was a super price so we bought one for Louise. She already has an Echo Show in her kitchen and she loves it. Larry thought she would like one in her bedroom so that's where he installed it. She was very happy getting the Echo Show because her bedroom clock had quit. For lunch we had a pizza from Papa Murphy's. Almost two months ago we gave Louise some balloons for her birthday and three of them are still inflated. Alice doesn't like the balloons, she's scared of them. Whenever she walks by them she tries to avoid them and hides from them. We had a great visit. 

 

New Echo show for Louise

 

Larry received a Kwikset Smartkey Security door handle to review. He installed it on Louise's front door. It looks and works great. Some of the features it has are; kick in resistant, bump proof and pick resistant. It has a certified high security deadbolt with a lifetime warranty.

 

Kwikset Smartkey Security front door lock kit

The door lock installed inside the door

The door lock installed on the outside of the door

When we got home Larry assembled the Cameo pad support and storage box that he cutout and stained the other day. He used hot glue and attached the hinges with small screws. The box is the perfect height and looks outstanding. 

I played my Solitaire games. I did the Daily Challenges and the Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 6 games, 3 Spider games and 3 Tri Peaks games. It took me 14 minutes and 39 seconds, which put me in 7th place in my group. I finished reading The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. It was just as good the second time around as the first time.

 

New box for the Cameo cabinet

The box when it's open

In the evening we watched YouTube videos. Then we finished watching Deadwater Fell on Acorn. This mini series wasn't that good because it dragged on and on. Then we watched an episode of The Yorkshire Vet. Afterwards I watched a couple of episodes of Columbo on Peacock. I ended up doing 28,000 steps, which put me in 5th place in my group with 157,212 steps for the week.