Wednesday Afternoon January 29, 2014

Today would have been Joe and Alice's 59th anniversary.

Today was a cold day in the valley after an overnight low below freezing.  A most unusual ice event showed up here overnight.  We could hear sleet hitting the Silver Star overnight. While Lela and I were taking our walk this morning there was ice falling from the palm trees.  That was something I hope I never see again.  Temps are supposed to rebound into the 70's tomorrow and 80 by Saturday. I hope they are right!  We are holed up trying to stay warm today.  Lela made some Weight Watchers potato and cheese soup for our dinner.

Monday I went to Monte Christo Golf and Country Club with a few of the men from the park. 
http://montecristogcc.com/
It is a nice layout, but very flat, and still in winter condition.  I played well enough to be encouraged about my game (46-40 with 5 penalties).

I signed up again for next week.  Normally that course would be on Tuesday, but because of the cold weather forecast it was changed to Monday.

Gloria called and told us that she received official word that she had passed her boards on her first try.  We are very proud of her.  Now she can really begin her nursing career.

Tuesday, Lela and Becky went "antiquing" in Harlingen.  I stayed home and figured out how to get the computer set up to digitize VHS to DVD.  Becky called and Teddy and I met the girls for dinner at The Cattle Barbeque. 

They had three Longhorn Cattle in the corral behind the building.  Those are the longest horns I had ever seen.

After dinner we stopped at the Walmart for groceries and then home where it is warm.

Sunday Night January 26, 2014

Today was a beautiful RGV (Rio Grande Valley) day.  It was supposed to be in the middle 60's but ended up in the low 80's.  As always, the wind was blowing.

We began the day by going to church.  It is really convenient having the building so close to us.  The minister there is Gene Head.  He has been here about ten years.  He is similar to Kenneth, our home church minister.  He is soft spoken and very knowledgeable of the Bible.  We are very comfortable there.

After Wednesday Bible study I was asked to lead singing Sunday Morning.  Having been told about James 4:17 by Norma Kinard, I couldn't refuse, so Lela and I have become part of this congregation for the time we have here.  I was asked to sing again next week, so I guess I did Okay.

After church this morning we (eight of us) traveled into Harlingen to the IHOP.   We have friends here who belong to the Church of Christ, so we seem to be hanging out together.  Teddy and Becky, Fred and Elaine, Jim and Gloria and us are becoming good friends.

We did some laundry, walked the park and went back to church for evening services.

Saturday, we went for an extended walk through a neighboring park.  They had an interesting sign there.

Also it is named Citrus Park because everyone has an orange, tangerine, or grapefruit tree in their yard.  there is even a banana tree with bananas on it.

In the late afternoon, Teddy and Becky took us to Fat Daddy's BBQ Shack. 

The food was excellent.  The shack was just that... a shack.

 

We took the scenic road home and saw sugar cane growing in the field.  I had not seen that before. 

We saw another interesting sign at a shooting range on the way.

They took us around La Feria and we saw some of the old Spanish architecture.  All in all it was most enjoyable.

Friday Morning January 24, 2014

We are "enjoying" winter here in South Texas this morning.  Our overnight temperature was 37 degrees with a sustained wind near 30 MPH.  That produces a wind chill of 27 degrees.  The overnight temperature here tonight should be similar.  In this neck of the woods, that is COLD!  I know the weather at home is miserably cold, so I shouldn't complain.

I neglected to turn on the furnace in the Silver Star last night so we awoke to an inside temperature of 47 degrees.  We had been sleeping comfortably under our electric blanket until I got up to get coffee. That was a rude start to our Friday.  Most people are hunkered down in their unit, waiting for the warm weather to return tomorrow.  Lela and I have been walking everyday in an effort to live forever, or at least to stay healthy.

This week has been busy for us.

After the last blog entry, we attended the Chili Cook Off at the clubhouse.  We did not participate in the competition, but we certainly participated in the consumption.  We met several people and we feel very comfortable at home here.

On Tuesday night we had dinner at a local Mexican Restaurant, Don Bedo's.  Our neighbors here, Teddy and Becky (Tupelo, Mississippi) and Jim and Gloria (West Virginia) got together for dinner.  We had a great dinner and wonderful conversation. We seem to be very compatible in our views.  Teddy and Becky are members, as we are, of the Church of Christ.

Wednesday, Lela went to a luncheon at a Chinese Buffet in the area with Becky and Carol and about twenty others ladies from our park.  While they were gone I managed to get some of my mess in the truck organized including my golf clubs and paraphernalia.  Then in the evening we went to church for a Bible study.

Thursday is golf day at a local municipal golf course.  I signed up and set out to impress the locals with my golfing prowess.  Needless-to-say, that didn't happen.  I played well enough that I wasn't embarrassed, but I doubt that anyone was impressed.  The course we played is the Tony Butler GC.  If it was rated, it would be a one star course.  The weather was great, although windy (as it is here all the time).  The forecast is for winter weather to show up Thursday night.

Monday January 20, 2014  Afternoon

Last Friday we went back to SHSU to visit one more time with Drew before we left to go to La Feria (pronounced  la fair-e-ah).  We ate lunch at Chili's, shopped for a couple things he needed for his dorm room, went to the bookstore, and then home.

Drew and G'ma

 

Saturday we rose early to see Noel off to work, as that would be the last chance we had to see her and give good-bye hugs.  Then I went to the ranch and hooked up The Silver Star.  Patrick was going to meet me after he got off work at 7 AM, but I managed it on my own.

We packed up and were on the road at about 8:30.  We stopped for the night in Mathis, TX at about 2:30 PM.

Sunday morning we left Mathis about 11:00 AM and headed to La Feria arriving about 2 PM.  The GPS wasn't very cooperative when we were near our destination but we found our way.

We are happy with our site and the park is very nice. 
 If you are interested here is the web site where we are staying. http://viplaferia.com/

The cowboy is on guard so we feel very secure.

There are several other Missourians here.  There was an ice cream social here last evening, but it we had to skip in order to go to church at 6 PM.

The La Feria Church Of Christ is just across the fence from our spot, only abut 150 feet from our door.  I'm sure we will attend most of their services.

 

Today, Monday MLK Day is windy and warm.  The temperature is supposed to reach 81 today.  We signed up to attend the chili cook off this afternoon.  For $2.50 each we can eat our fill.

Gloria started her first job, as a nurse, today.  She is in the SSM System working on the "med-surg" floor.  She is in orientation this week.  Pray for her to pass her boards on Saturday.  She is studying hard!  We are veeery proud of what she has accomplished.

 First Day!

 

 

Thursday, January 16, 2014      5 PM

Nic had his 12th birthday last Monday.  Christy sent some pictures of all the boys.  Nic bought a new skateboard with some of his birthday money.  Then they all went to the skate park.

G'ma has been under the weather with her usual Houston TX sinus infection.  Noel took her to a doctor and got an antibiotic on Tuesday.  She is recovering under her "sick" blanket, and hopes to be able to travel on Saturday.

Tuesday Evening Lela stayed home while "the boys" went to the theater to see "Lone Survivor" on the big screen. 

It is an awesome movie which will make you very angry and very proud.  We met Noel in a local restaurant after the movie. 

Yesterday Lela continued to improve but still stayed pretty much under the electric blanket.  We did pretty much "nuthin" yesterday.

Today Noel had to go in to work as a favor to her supervisor.  Patrick and I went to play a game similar to golf.  We couldn't really call it golf as we played pretty poorly. But as they say, "a bad day on the golf course is still better than a good day at work."

Lela continues to improve.

Monday January 13, 2014

Today is our grandson Nic's birthday!  Happy birthday Nic!  See you soon!

Drew returned from his snowboarding trip to Colorado and began packing up his "stuff" to return to Sam Houston State University.  We left Saturday morning for Sam to see the living quarters for our Drew. 

Noel and Grandma could not help themselves.  They did a little mother/grandma clean up in the room!  Drew took it well, but Patrick and Paul rolled their eyes at us, like let him clean his own room! 

It involved a trip to Wal-Mart (as usual), and a late lunch at Mama Juanitas.  Then Drew settled in to wait for his roommate, Caleb who was arriving on Sunday.

We attended Worship services on Sunday morning and returned home.

Noel and Patrick have seen a real estate agent and are preparing to sell their home in The Woodlands.  They plan to move to "the Ranch" eventually as they are planning to build a new home there.  In the meantime they will rent space in a storage locker and an apartment.  G'ma and Noel were checking out available apartment complexes on the internet. 

After an exhaustive search, they headed out to look at them in person.  Patrick was working and I stayed home to watch playoff football and looked after Piper and Patches.

Tuesday January 7, 2014

We arrived safely in The Woodlands on Sunday afternoon and pulled the Silver Star into Noel's neighborhood.  The streets are narrow and I was worried about maneuvering through the area.  After we unloaded our necessities at the house, I was able to squirrel my way out and headed for "The Diamond G Ranch."

Patrick installed the tongue jack I bought at Camping World.  Everything worked properly and we unhitched and left the Silver Star to the elements. Houston is expecting freezing weather for the next two nights.

Patrick's parents Dan and Joyce live nearby so we spent the afternoon with them and then headed to Lela's favorite TexMex restaurant, Lupe's.  We had a great dinner, everyone cleaned their plate, and then we came home. 

Patrick and Noel at Lupe's

On Monday, Patrick wrangled four tickets to the boat and RV show at the Reliant Center, where we went to the Rodeo last year.  We looked at a few boats, but spent most of the time looking through the RVs.

Paul and Noel eating cotton candy

Noel and Patrick checking out a boat

 

We headed home for Noel's chili which had been cooking all day in the crock.  We also picked up some wings to go with it. We were all hungry, as lunch was skipped during the show.

We settled in to watch the BCS Championship between Florida State and Auburn.  I was disappointed in the result as Florida State pulled out a come from behind victory.

Today the girls ran errands and I read Phil Robertson's book, Happy, Happy, Happy.
Patrick grilled steaks for dinner and now he and Noel are preparing to return to work tomorrow.

Saturday PM January 4, 2014

It is time for us to get out of town for the winter.  I actually had to shovel snow twice before we could leave.  I checked on the Silver Star after the December 15th snow.  It was ugly. She was covered in 7 inches of snow.

We were making our plans to leave on January 2, but that was was becoming less likely as the next snow was approaching.  We awoke to about 4-5 inches on Jan. 2.  Again, I had to shovel!

 

MOdot did a great job of clearing the roads.  I checked the MOdot cameras all the way to Joplin MO and the road was clear.  We decided to leave before the next snow storm and bitter cold was predicted to begin on the weekend.

We left about 1 PM and made our way to Joplin.  Stayed in a KOA park at exit 4 in MO.  The Silver Star was registering 32 degrees when we stopped for the night.  After we turned on the furnace and downed some hot drinks, we turned on the electric blanket and cuddled up for the night.

We awoke to 9 degree temperature, had some coffee, and hit the road for Bella Vista, Arkansas, where we had lunch with two of Lela's friends, Donna and Vicki.  It was a great lunch and the girls caught up on each other's lives.

Only Vicki is pictured because Donna is in the witness protection program :-)

After lunch we headed to Oklahoma City to visit with Lela's brother, H.E. and LeeAnn.  We had some trouble with the tongue jack on the trailer, but were able to get to their house just in time to see the opening kickoff of the Cotton Bowl.  A great back and forth game but Mizzou managed to win in the last few minutes over Oklahoma State.  I have to say it was fun to gloat over a couple OSU Cowboy fans. We had some Popeye's Chicken and a great visit with the family and the two new puppies.

H.E. and LeeAnn

Saturday morning the 4th brought warmer temps (40's) and we got on the road about 10 AM.  We are headed for Camping World in Denton TX.  I am afraid of my tongue jack, so I decided the best thing to do was repkace it.

Lela called our friend Lynn, who recently relocated to Fort Worth.  Lynn met us for lunch and we had a very nice visit. She want us to tell all her friends who view this blog "hello."

Then on to Corsicana, TX to American RV park where we are resting tonight before arriving in The Woodlands tomorrow.  Our weather today got up to 70 degrees,  It was very pleasant compared to the last few days.  Extreme cold and snow is forcast at home for the next few days.  The cold forcast for Houston is for the lower 20's at night. It will be their first hard freeze in three years  We are still winterized, and expect to remain that way until we head for south Texas in a couple weeks. We intend to store the Silver Star and stay at Noel's house.