Over the past several days we have noticed more and more people on the fort--the Winter Texans are returning in full force. The day started off with cooler temperatures, but by the afternoon we had one beautiful day.

After our walk, we ate breakfast and got cleaned up. John decided to ride his bike down to the post office to pick up the mail. While he was gone, I made a Jello salad to take to this evening's New Year's party at our church. When John got back, we headed down to the Par 3 for one more round of golf in 2010. There was a group playing the second hole, so we crossed the street and started our round on the 6th. By the time we finished the 9th hole, they were done on the first five, so we had that all to ourselves. I pared the last hole I played, so I ended up the year on a high note. Hopefully that will continue the next time we play.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching a couple of college football games, and then left for the church. Everyone brought a dish to share so there was plenty to eat. It was a fun evening visiting and playing games. We called it a night a little before 10p.m. and came home to watch the new year come in. We wish you all a very happy and blessed New Year!!

We were up and out early for our morning walk. John had a 9 a.m. appointment for a haircut, so we had to take our shorter route so he would have time to eat breakfast and get cleaned up before leaving.

While John was gone, I changed the bed linens, started some laundry, and began making bread. When he returned home, John did a few maintenance jobs around the house--one was spaying Home Defense around the windows, doors, and foundation so the insects stay outside where they belong. He then took a walk over to the driving range where he found 30 golf balls and talked with a border patrol agent who was on the lookout for some illegals in the area.

After lunch John went over to Sam's and the guys loaded up a bed and delivered it for some folks who are coming into the fort tomorrow. That job didn't take very long, so after John got home we headed off to the Par 3 for some golf. Neither one of us had a very good game but we sure had a good time playing.



This evening after supper, John went to wood carvers. Due to delivering the paper for the past two weeks, he has missed attending on Monday mornings. He was anxious to get back to his carving. We spent the remainder of the evening watching some TV and reading.

It was cloudy, 61 degrees, and a little on the humid side when we left the house for our walk. After being on the run for the past two days, we thought we would have a nice quiet day at home to get some laundry done along with some other chores.

After breakfast, John worked on the golf cart still trying to figure out why the batteries won't charge. While we were in Uvalde on Monday, we dropped the charger off with a guy who works repairing golf carts. He called and told John that the charger is fine, so the problem must be with the cart. He rechecked the wires once again, and replaced a couple connectors. We'll have to wait until we get the charger back and see if what he has done corrected the problem. While he was working on the cart, Jan called with an SOS--her kitchen sink was leaking. John ran over to her house, worked his magic, and stopped the leak; however, a new faucet is needed.

The sky cleared off by mid-morning, so after lunch John and I headed down to the Par 3 to play some golf. We had just finished the 2nd hole, when Stan Metcalf called and asked if we would like to take a run to Eagle Pass and the Lowe's store with him and Jan. We said "yes" and that we would be ready to leave after we finished our game. Sam Lark hailed us as we were playing the 4th hole, and asked John if he could help with another project. John told him he would stop over this evening when we got home.

The Metcalf's picked us up and we were off to Eagle Pass and Lowe's. After much discussion, we all finally agreed on the right faucet for Jan's sink. John picked up a few other supplies needed for installation and then we were off to Fuddruckers for supper. This was our first time eating there and I must say we will definitely be trying it again. They served one delicious hamburger.

We got back home around 7:30 p.m. and John headed over to Sam's to get the details settled for their next project--moving and setting up a bed for folks who will be arriving on Friday. John returned from Sam's with a bag full of fresh oranges--his neighbor brought them back from somewhere in Texas. We ended our "quiet" day watching some college basketball--hopefully tomorrow I will finally get some chores done.

It was almost 20 degrees warmer this morning when we left the house for our walk--if felt like a heatwave compared to the below freezing temps of the past two mornings. We kept waiting for the sun to break through the clouds, but we had one of our rare cloudy days.

First thing this morning we had a surprise visit from Everett and Darlene Endris--we didn't think they would be back at the fort until after the first of the year. It was so good to see them and to catch up on what they have been doing. They will be leaving again in a day or so to head to Arizona for their grand-daughter's wedding.

I headed off to town for a much needed haircut and then we left for Del Rio. We made deliveries at about four or five places, and then stopped for lunch at Wendy's. From there we finished with the paper--our final stop was right next to the grocery store, so John and I did some food shopping. John has another project to do for our neighbor, so we made one last stop at the lumber yard and Home Depot to check out some gutter material.

John and I unloaded the groceries when we got back home and while I stored everything away, he went over to Stan's to drop off the leftover papers. Looks like Stan will be back on the job next week--he is on the mend.

We spent the evening watching the Eagles lose to the Vikings. We were rooting for the Eagles, but were glad to see the Vikes play such a good game.

Today was paper delivery day again, so we had to be up and out of the house by 7 a.m. It was another very chilly morning as we headed off to Hondo to pick up the Kinney County News. Our first stop of the morning was McDonald's in Uvalde get some breakfast--the hot meal sure hit the spot. From there it was on to Hondo and the printing shop. They were just starting to print the paper when we got there, so we had about a 20 minute wait until it was finished and loaded into the car.

We delivered all the papers in Uvalde and then stopped at Wendy's for lunch before heading back to Brackettville to drop off papers at the post office, library, and other businesses. John and I made much better time this week as we knew where all the drop off spots were located and didn't have to do any back tracking. After delivering a few papers in Unit 37, we were done for the day. We deliver in Del Rio some time tomorrow.

A couple of weeks ago we received an invitation from Ken and Ruth Spencer inviting us to an after Christmas gathering at their home this afternoon. We got back to our place with an hour to spare--just enough time to rest for a little bit and then change clothes and head off to Spencer's. Ruth had quite a spread of snacks and beverages--everyone seemed to get plenty to eat and had a good time visiting. Our evening was pretty quiet watching Monday Night Football.

Brrrrr!! It was 27 degrees outside when we woke up around 7 a.m. John took one look at the temperature and asked me if I wanted to skip the walk this morning. I said "yes", I didn't even have to think about it. We spent a leisurely morning eating breakfast, doing some reading, and then getting ready for church. Frontier Baptist had a guest speaker this morning as our pastor was out of town visiting with family for Christmas. Our numbers were way down as many of the folks were also away.

Following lunch, we decided to play some golf, so we got in the cart and headed off down the road. If you'll recall, we haven't been able to recharge the batteries in the cart, and today they finally gave out about half way to the course. We pulled off the main road onto a side pathway and walked back to the house. John called Stan and asked to borrow his cart to tow ours home. We got Stan's cart and a chain and then went back to get our golf cart. John hooked up the chain and while I steered our cart, towed it back to our place. Stan gave John the name of a place in Uvalde that can check out the charger--it's a mystery why it won't charge, everything has checked out. Hopefully we will find an answer to this problem real soon.

Stan told us to keep his cart until we can figure out what the problem is with ours, so John loaded our clubs onto Stan's cart and we went back down to the Par 3 and played a round of golf. We got done in time to watch the Packers defeat the Giants. The Eagles have clinched first place in their division. Yea!!

Stan is still not fully recovered from his surgery, so tomorrow John and I will once again be delivering papers in Uvalde and Brackettville. Since there was no Sunday night football due to the big snow storm in Philadelphia, we spent the evening watching movies.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

We started off the day with our usual morning walk. The temps were much lower this morning, and a strong breeze keep the day cool even though the sun shining.

After breakfast, John started on the gravy for today's dinner while I finished up the jello salad. When everything was finished and ready to go, we had some time before we had to leave for Sandwick's, so we took a plate of Christmas cookies across the street and visited with our neighbor, Neva. She is such a sweet little lady and we enjoyed spending some time with her. Neva told us she would be sharing Christmas with her son's family here in Brackettville.

When we got back from Neva's it was time to load up the food and head off to Sandwick's. We enjoyed a delicious meal of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, beans, jello salad, and much more. An apple pie finished off the meal--we were all stuffed by the end of the afternoon.


John called his Dad and Sister to wish them a Merry Christmas, and we received calls from our kids. We really miss being home at this time of year, but when we we hear about all the snow (24 inches) and temps in the single digits, we are happy to be here in warmer, sunny Texas.

This morning was warm and very humid when we took our walk--we really worked up a sweat. After we got home, the rain started. This is the first rain they've had here since September; however, it came in just one downpour, and then cleared off. A cold front is coming in behind the rain--suppose to be in the low 30's tonight with a high of 60 tomorrow.

John wanted to play golf again this morning, so off we went to the Par 3. Right now we are just about the only ones playing on it and we can play whenever we want without waiting. We can take our time and, if you hit a bad shot, take it over. After the holidays, the Winter Texans will be here in full force, so we'll be sharing it with more golfers.

Early this evening we attended our church's Christmas Eve candlelight service. Tomorrow we will be joining the Sandwick's and Ralph for dinner, so I baked a pie and made a salad to take for the meal. Tonight we watched It's A Wonderful Life--I just love this movie and look forward to seeing it every Christmas. We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!!!

With a morning temperature of 57 degrees John and I didn't have to wear so many layers of clothing when we took our walk. Even though the sky was cloudy, there was no fog or misting like the past couple of days.

After breakfast, we decided to head down to the Par 3 for another round of golf. As we played the course, the winds got stronger and the temps started to drop. By the time we finished, we were both pretty cold--it was a good day for some hot soup for lunch.

Following lunch, John went over to Sam Lark's to install some racks he made for his gun cabinet and ended up also installing a new faucet on the kitchen sink. Since it was so cool and windy outside, we spent the rest of the afternoon watching a movie--The Polar Express.

This evening we went over to Ann and Lyle's for a little Christmas get together. Ann prepared many tasty snacks along with a delicious eggnog. It was a fun evening of meeting new people and hearing many interesting stories. We ended the evening watching some college basketball and catching up on emails and blogs.

We took our walk in a heavy fog this morning. As the day progressed, we kept waiting for the sun to come out, but it stayed misty and cloudy the whole day. After being on the go for the past two days, it felt rather good to stay home. I did some laundry while John took care of a few chores around here and made a run to the post office.

Since outside activities were out of the question, we decided to bake some Christmas cookies this afternoon. I mixed the dough and John rolled it out and cut out the cookies. We had a pretty good system going and it wasn't too long before we had a container full of delicious cookies.


After supper we spent a quiet evening watching some college football and a movie.

This morning we woke to gray skies, fog, and light mist. At least it was much warmer this morning when we left for our walk--51 degrees--felt nice and warm after the 30+ degrees of the past several mornings.

After breakfast we headed off to Del Rio to finish delivering the Kinney County Post to the businesses Stan had on his list. We made about 20 different stops and had everything done by noon. Since it was lunch time, we decided to try out a new place for us, Jack In The Box. The place was nice and clean, and the food was pretty good, We will probably eat there again when in Del Rio. It was then on to Wal Mart where John picked up some headlights for the golf cart and a few groceries.

The afternoon was just perfect, so as soon as we got home we hopped in the golf cart and headed off to the Par 3 course. My golf game was much improved today--I shot par on one hole and chipped one in for par on another. Best I have ever played. John also had a string of pars this afternoon. Having a good game every once in a while is what keeps you playing the game even though it seems bad games far out number the good ones.

We were just finishing supper when Ralph Ramsey called and invited us to join him and the Sandwicks sitting around the fire he built in his backyard. John and I grabbed our jackets and headed off to Ralph's. It was a perfect evening to sit outside--no wind, clear skies, and a bright, full moon. We stayed until the fire died down and the night began to turn cool. It was a fun time just visiting and telling stories.

Our evening ended watching some college basketball and starting a new book on my Kindle.

A couple of weeks ago, John's friend, Stan Metcalf, asked John if he would take care of picking up and distributing the Kinney Country Post after he (Stan) had surgery. Well, Stan had his surgery last Friday, so this morning, John and I left the house at 7 a.m. and headed off to Hondo to pick up the newspaper. We arrived a little after 9 a.m. and found the paper was ready to go. We loaded all 1200 copies into the back of the Honda and headed back to Uvalde to start delivering them.

Stan had taken John along with him a few weeks ago to show him where to pick up the paper and all the places where copies had to be dropped off. John wrote down all the stops, how many copies had to be left at each one, and some rough directions on where each drop off spot was located--papers have to be left in Uvalde, Brackettville, and Del Rio. We made 21 stops in Uvalde and had trouble finding only one place. After our final Uvalde delivery, we stopped at A & W for lunch and then headed back to Brackettville.

Delivering the papers here was much easier as we knew where all the different businesses were located, so it didn't take long to get the job done. John dropped a few papers off to individuals living on the fort and then we stopped at Metcalf's to report on what we did today. Tomorrow morning we will head off to Del Rio to deliver the paper--hope it goes as good as today. We were home about an hour when John headed off to another Planning Committee Meeting.

After such a busy day, we spent a quiet evening watching the Minnesota Vikings play the Chicago Bears. Watching that game made us glad to be here in sunny, warm, Texas.

We are finally on the upward swing with our weather. Today was just perfect with the high in the low 70's. The next several days are to have high's near 80 degrees--time to break out the shorts again. Since it was Sunday morning, John and I walked the golf course which is a shorter route. We can't take our usual longer one or we wouldn't be on time for church.

This morning the choir presented a Christmas musical which was followed by a short message by our pastor. Several church ladies made a dinner of stew, Texas Chili, and rice which was served following the service. There were also some nice, yummy desserts. John managed to sample of little of everything.

Since it was such a nice day, we decided to head down to the Par 3 and play some golf. We ended up playing 11 holes and we both had some real nice shots. As we were finishing up with the golf, Matt called to tell us about the Eagles big win over the NY Giants. John just hung up when his brother, Gus, called from Ohio to talk about the game. Unfortunately, the Eagles were not on TV down here in Texas, so we weren't able to see the game which according to Matt and Gus was one of the best ever played by the Eagles.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching some football and then settled in to watch the finale of Survivor.

The cooler weather hung around for another day--the temp was 34 degrees when we left the house for our walk this morning. By this afternoon it was nice outside, but you still needed a sweatshirt, even in the sun.

This past summer our neighbor built a house across the street from us and has it up for sale. We have been wanting to see the inside and today he invited us for a tour. It is a beautiful three bedroom house with a fireplace and granite counter tops. He is hoping for some nice folks to buy it as he lives right next door.

John kept busy today going to the post office, helping Sam Lark set up his new bed, and trying to fix the golf cart. Mike Palmer came over this afternoon to give John a hand checking out the wiring on the charger and batteries. They replaced a couple of wires that looked to be in poor condition. It was decided to run the cart for a while longer and then try charging the batteries. Right now all of them are at full charge and Mike thinks that's why the charger won't kick in when plugged into the cart.

This evening John worked on some things for the Planning Committee and then we watched a movie. Nothing too exciting happening tonight.

The colder weather that had been forecast finally settled in today. It was pretty chilly when we left the house for our morning walk--34 degrees--and the temps only reached the upper 50's this afternoon.

After breakfast, John spent some time working on the project for Sam Lark's gun cabinet. We then went to the post office, bank, and hardware store where John picked up a new shower head to be installed in one of the condo's. On our way home, we decided to stop in and visit the Sandwicks. We haven't had a chance to visit with them since their return from Mexico. The weather was too chilly to sit out on their patio, so we ended up visiting inside.

This afternoon, John went to install the shower head and I baked a dessert to take to the condo party this afternoon. We had about 15 people in attendance and a good assortment of food. With the cooler weather, no one lingered after the sun went down.

We spent a pretty quiet evening watching some TV and catching up on emails and blogs.

John and I took a different route this morning--we usually only see one or two people, but today we saw many dogs walking their owners. I really mean it--the dogs were walking their owners! The humans were literally being dragged down the road, and the pups weren't even very big. Our walk took us to Unit 37 where Betty and Harlan were already up and out--everyone else must have still been in bed--not a soul was stirring.

After breakfast, John went over to Carlson's to cut up some wood for the projects he has for Sam and Jan--he was able to get her's completed this afternoon. While he was at that end of the fort, he made a quick run to the post office. We are receiving a few Christmas cards everyday. It is fun to read everyone's Christmas letters and learn what has been happening with friends and family.

We decided to try a new bread recipe, but found that we didn't have the right size pan, so that meant another trip into town and the Dollar General Store. We found just the pan we were looking for, made up the dough, and let it rise while we ate supper. The baking bread smelled so good, we couldn't resist having a little piece once it was cool enough to cut. It was delicious--best bread we've ever made.

Our evening was spent watching some NFL and a couple of nature shows. Will really be glad when the days get longer and one can get outside after supper.

We had one beautiful day again--temps reached the upper 70's this afternoon. A cold front will be coming through over the next couple of days, so we'll be back to long pants and sweatshirts.

After our morning walk, we did a few chores around the house and then headed to Del Rio. John attended the Weight Watchers meeting with me--I thought that was a brave thing to do as he was the only man in the room. From there we went for lunch and then on to Home Depot where John picked up the materials he needs to fix Sam Lark's gun cabinet. Our final stop of the afternoon was HEB for groceries and gas.

Our evening was spent watching Survivor (poor Jane got voted off) and The Sing Off.

Shorts today!! It was a beautiful day here in southwest Texas. Even though it was cold when we took our walk this morning, by noon the temps were in the upper 60's.

John kept busy this morning running to the post office, visiting Betty Wright, and getting a new project from Sam Lark. After lunch we headed to the Par 3 for a round of golf. The trees on the course are in full color right now and look spectacular against the blue sky. We both had some real good shots as well as many poor ones--in other words, our normal game.

On our way home from playing golf, we swung into Unit 37 and visited with John and Lois Carlson. Lois is my Weight Watcher's buddy, so I wanted to see if she was going to be able to go tomorrow. She has a conflict, so John will come to Del Rio with me, wait while I attend the meeting, and then we will hit the grocery store. After we left Carlson's we made a quick stop at the RV park to see who was back on the fort. Saw John and TJ sitting outside, so stopped and chatted with them--found out that most folks will be back after the holidays. We also learned that the Tuesday night potlucks have started, so we will put that on our calendar for next week.

John grilled a couple of steaks for supper (they were delicious) and then we settled in to watch the finale of The Biggest Loser.

I was feeling a little under the weather this morning, so I slept in while John went off to wood carvers. After getting a little extra shut-eye, I felt much better and managed to do some laundry and change the bed linens by the time John got home around noon. He said there were only four carvers there today--many folks have gone home for the Christmas holidays.

Since we didn't get our walk in this morning, we decided to take one this afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day with temps in the low 60's. Shortly after we returned from our walk, John left to attend the Planning Committee meeting--he was appointed to that last spring before we went home to Minnesota for the summer. After such a busy day yesterday, it felt good to just have a quiet one today.

With the temperature at 34 degrees, we had to bundle up for our morning walk--no shorts today. It was a beautiful day with bright blue skies, but it never got very warm--needed a sweater and long pants.

John and I had a rather full day. After breakfast it was off to church for Sunday service. A delicious potluck dinner followed--there were so many different casseroles, salads, and desserts. Everyone had plenty to eat, including us.

We were back home for only an hour when it was time to head out for the Christmas Tour of Homes. There were three homes on the tour and each was decorated with beautiful mementos, antiques, and art work along with many unusual Christmas decorations. After we visited the third home, we headed off to the Palisado Kitchen for refreshments. From there we went to the Kinney Country Museum where we saw many photos showing some of the history of Brackettville. We never realized this museum was right there in town--we'll be sure to stop back one day when we can spend more time looking at the exhibits.

After being on the go all day, it felt good just to spend a relaxing evening watching some TV and reading. To all our Minnesota friends and family - STAY WARM!!

It was a perfect southwest Texas day--blue skies, sunshine, warm breezes and temps. We took a nice long walk this morning, just enjoying the beautiful morning. After breakfast we broke out the bread maker and made some homemade bread. We haven't had any for such a long time, so we decided that today was the day to make some--it sure tasted good with butter and homemade peach jam.

The weather forecast for next week is calling for the return of cooler temps, so we decided to hit the Par 3 course again today while the weather was so nice. It's potluck Sunday at church tomorrow, so after our golf game, I baked a cake to take for the dinner.

This evening was the first annual Christmas parade here at the fort. Folks decorated their golf carts and drove them around some of the streets before ending up at the front gate where people gathered for the lighting of the big Christmas tree. John, along with Dee Smith, were the parade judges--they had to decide which carts were the best decorated and pick first, second and third place winners. It was a difficult decision as some of the carts were very nicely decorated. On our way back home from the parade, we drove around several of the streets looking at the Christmas lights--some home are just amazing!



We just kicked back for the rest of the evening by watching some college basketball and John's favorite, The Outdoor Channel.

The temperature was about ten degrees warmer this morning and that sure made for a very enjoyable walk. As we wound away around the fort, we noticed that over the past couple of days folks have been busy getting their Christmas lights and decorations up. Here in Texas most wait until about two weeks before Christmas to get that done--in Minnesota, we put them up in October while it is still above freezing. Can't imagine putting up outside lights with two feet of snow on the ground and temps below zero.

Stan wanted some modification to the handle on the raffle cage, so after breakfast John went over to his house to get it and brought it back home. He then went to Jack's to make the part he needed, came home and painted it, and put it on the cage. The raffle cage is now back at Stan's, ready to be used.

We have a couple of bird feeders in the yard and over the past few days have had many doves coming to them. There have been some woodpeckers, too. It is fun to watch the birds feed and fight with each other over the seeds.


After lunch we went down to the Par 3 course and played some golf. I did pretty good on the first five holes, but after that, it was horrible. It still amazes me how you hit do so many good shots in a row, and then just hit all bad ones. I guess that is the mystery of golf.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening reading and watching a few TV shows--in other words, just "vegging out".

It was a beautiful, but cool morning. We decided to take a different route for our walk and I think we covered well over four miles. Fall has come to the fort--many of the trees have lost or are losing their leaves and others have leaves that are changing colors. At home in Minnesota all the leaves were off the trees by the first week of October. It is amazing how the seasons are so different with each part of the country.

Today was the day we tackled the job of wet mopping our floor. We did it in sections, moving the furniture and doing one part, waiting for the floor to dry, and then moving the furniture back in place before starting another area. It took us a little over an hour to get it done, but now the floor looks nice and shiny.

After lunch we went to the post office and mailed out our Christmas cards. Glad that job is finally done! Then it was on to the library to return some books and pick out something new to read. We also made a trip to the Recycling Center--we had accumulated quite a bit to recycle
since we had some left from last spring.

John had started a new project in wood carvers--a snowman. He began it when he got down here and the other night he finished it up. We bought some paints the other day while we were in Del Rio so John could try his hand at painting his snowman. It looks real nice--he did a good job on it.



We spent a pretty quiet evening reading and watching the Colts and Titans. It gets dark so early now that we can't get outside after supper.

The colder weather is still hanging on--the temps were in the upper 30's when we left the house this morning for our walk and the daytime high was only in the low 60's. One good thing about the cooler weather, it makes you walk faster to get warmed up.

We were just finishing breakfast when Ralph Ramsey stopped in for a visit. He said he had been over to our place a couple of times, but we were never home. I couldn't visit very long as I had to pick up Lois Carlson for our Weight Watchers meeting.

Before the WW meeting, Lois and I went to Wal Mart (our usual stop each week) so she could pick up some cleaning supplies. I was on the lookout for a pair of heavier socks to wear for our morning walks and finally found some I think will work. While I was at the meeting, John went over to Metcalf's and did some jobs for Jan--he also delivered the completed raffle cage.

We spent the rest of the afternoon finishing up the Christmas cards--they are now ready to go to the post office--and doing a few odd jobs around the house. The evening was spent watching Survivor and the second hour of The Sing Off.

The weather was still chilly today and we had to bundle up a little more for our walk this morning. Once the sun rises, it helps to take the chill out of the air, and by the time we are finished our route, we are plenty warm.

John needed a latch for the raffle cage he has been making, so after breakfast we headed out to Del Rio and the Home Depot. We found a latch we thought would work, checked out, and then went across the street to Wal Mart where we picked up some milk and a few other things we needed.

When we got back home, John installed the latch, and finished up the cage. I think it turned out pretty good.


With that project finished John worked on our golf--one of the front tires kept going flat. He removed the tire and took it into town to the repair shop. It was fixed within about 15 minutes, so now the golf cart is good to go. I spent the afternoon uploading pictures to Shutterfly and making our 2011 calendar. I have just a little more to do then I can order the calendar--I am running out of days before l will need it. We spent a quiet evening watching The Biggest Loser and some college basketball.

The cold front that came through the other night was still around today. It was 30 degrees this morning and the temps made it to only the low 60's by this afternoon. We didn't take our walk this morning as John had to be ready to leave the house by 7 a.m. Stan will be having surgery, so he asked John to help out with their newspaper--picking it up from the printer's in Hondo and delivering it to the different outlets in Uvalde and Del Rio. So today was the day for Stan to show John what needed to be done. John sure hopes he can remember everything.

Since John was gone all day, I did laundry and gave the house a good cleaning. I also got the Christmas cards ready to mail--just need to go to the post office tomorrow and get some more stamps.

Late this afternoon Axis deer came into the yard. There several bucks and a set of twin fawns. They hung around for awhile before moving on across the road. We spent a rather quiet night watching Monday Night Football and working on the computer.

Another cold front came through last night and even though the sun was shinning all day, the temps remained on the cool side. We got our morning walk done, ate breakfast, and then headed off to church. Since it was the first Sunday of the month, we had Communion. More of the winter Texans have returned, so attendance was up this morning. There will even more returning after Christmas.

Following the service, a group of us went to Julie's for dinner. They have an excellent buffet and the brisket was delicious. Sam Lark called when we got home and asked if John could come over and help assemble his new electric fireplace. It went together pretty easily and Sam had it running in no time. While John was gone, I did some work on the finances and Christmas cards, and watched some NFL.

Over the past few days we have had three does come into the yard and bed down for the afternoon. I can walk out on the deck to photograph them and they don't even run off. They must know we are harmless.



All in all, it was a pretty quiet, relaxing day. We spent the evening watching The Amazing Race and Sunday Night Football.

As we returned to the fort yesterday afternoon, we saw a sign advertising a moving sale for this morning. We found that the address was on our walking route, so we left the house a little earlier in order to reach the sale when it opened. There were several people at the sale when we got there, and after looking over everything, we decided there was nothing that we needed or could use. We continued our walk back home with empty hands and money in our pockets.

John spent his entire day making a raffle bin for Stan Metcalf. His friend, Jack Simpson, has some power tools, so John went over to his shop to cut out some of the parts he needed. I was called upon this afternoon to provide extra hands to help with some of the assembly. My day was spent writing our annual Christmas letter and working on the Christmas cards. Hopefully I will have them ready to be mailed this week. It always feels good to get that holiday job out of the way.

This morning John called to me to come outside and see the tarantula that was sitting in the grass. Now, I'm not one of those people who freaks out over spiders (snakes are another matter), but I must say I approached this one with extreme caution. John wanted me to photograph it, so I used the telephoto lens to get a close up--there was no way I was going near it.


In between writing Christmas letters and building raffle bins, we managed see some of the college championship games. Tonight we watched the Nebraska and Oklahoma.

It's funny the way things work out sometimes. The repairman that was suppose to be here on Monday had called Wednesday and said he would be here to fix the dishwasher on Friday morning. Since he was coming from Del Rio, we thought that would be sometime between ten and noon, or even later. We had finished breakfast and John was just getting out of the shower, when I saw the service truck pull into the driveway. I warned John that we had company and let the guy in to fix the dishwasher. He must have left Del Rio at first light to be at our place before 9 a.m. It took about 15 minutes for him to replace the heating element and he was ready to go
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As he was leaving, John asked him if he knew how we could check whether our golf cart charger was getting power. Clayton (we learned his first name by now) said he would be happy to check it out. He got out his testers and went to work. He ended up taking the charger apart and cleaning all the contacts and circuit board, and didn't see anything wrong with it. They reached the conclusion that the golf cart batteries need to run down more before the charger will kick in when plugged into the cart. Clayton suggested just running the cart for awhile and then try charging it. What a nice guy--John even called the appliance service center and told Clayton's boss what a good employee he had working for him.

After lunch we decided on a quick trip to Uvalde to look for a full length mirror for the bedroom and found exactly what we were looking for in Wal Mart. It was then back home to make a pasta salad. It was decided earlier in the week to have a condo party this afternoon to celebrate Jim Palmer's 85th birthday. We had a good turn out and fun visiting with folks who have just arrived back at the fort for the winter.

This evening John went with Stan into the school to watch the 7th graders play basketball. While he was gone, I caught up on emails and watched a little TV.

Today was a perfect Texas winter day--blue skies, bright sunshine, and temps in the low 70's. Unfortunately, we couldn't take our walk this morning as we had to leave for Del Rio by 8:15. John was trading in the old golf cart batteries and they had to be at the shop in time to be picked up when the new batteries were delivered. When he dropped the batteries off, he was told the new ones should be there within the hour. We had many other errands to run, so that wasn't a problem.

Our first stop was Home Depot to pick up several items John needs to do a couple of jobs around the fort. Then we made a quick stop at Wal Mart and then headed to HEB for some groceries. By the time we were finished shopping, the batteries were ready to be picked up.

While I put the groceries away, John worked on the golf cart. He cleaned under the seat where the batteries are stored--gave it a good scrubbing and then hosed it off. Then he installed the new ones and hooked up all the cables. Good news--the golf cart runs. Bad news--the charger still is not working.



John and I decided to give the golf cart a test drive to see how the new batteries made it run. We went over to Unit 37 to see the Sandwicks--they had been in Mexico the entire month of November. Their car was gone, so we kept going down the street and stopped in to visit with Chuck and Lois Endris. From there we made a quick stop at Wright's and then swung by Sandwick's again. We found them sitting on the patio visiting with their neighbor's. They had just returned from San Antonio. We stopped in to say a quick hello and then headed back home so John could eat supper before going to wood carvers. The golf cart ran like a charm--we just have to be able to recharge the batteries when they run down.

Brrrr!! It was a cold night with the low hitting 29 degrees. The temp reached 30 degrees by the time we took our walk around 7:15 a.m. John finally had to put long pants on--the shorts just wouldn't cut it this morning. We walked our shorter route as we both had things planned for today. This morning we had our first turkeys in the yard.


After breakfast, Stan Metcalf picked up John and they headed off to Del Rio. Stan knew a gentleman who runs towing and repair shop that might be able to help John with his battery problem. After some discussion, it was decided the batteries were bad and he had to order new ones. They will be in tomorrow. (John got a tester and checked the batteries when he got home, and sure enough, they were all bad. The batteries are over five years old and that is about how long they last.) John will be delivering newspapers for Stan when he has his surgery, so today they went over the route in Del Rio so John will know where to take the papers. They also did some other errands and didn't get home until late in the afternoon.

While John was busy with Stan, Lois Carlson and I went to Weight Watchers. Lois and her husband, John, are finishing up a remodeling job, so while we were in Del Rio we shopped for some light fixtures and mirrors. We stopped at Wendy's for some lunch and then hit Wal Mart for a few items we both needed.

Our neighbor, Neva, dropped in for a little visit after we got home and brought us a plate of homemade brownies. Every time she comes over she brings us some of her delicious baking--she is just the sweetest lady.

This evening we watched Survivor--can't believe two people quit with only 11 days left to go--and some other favorite TV shows. Also, completed the jigsaw puzzle.

Another cold front came through last night bringing very strong winds and cooler temperatures. By this morning the winds had calmed down, but even with sunny skies, the temps remained cool all day. Since we had nothing pressing this morning, we walked our three and a half mile route around the fort. Along our walk we saw this orange tree just loaded with oranges--someone gets plenty of fresh juice for breakfast.



Following breakfast, John went down to Lou Green's house to cut some branches that were rubbing on her garage roof. When he got back, Stan dropped in for a little visit and then John went to Ken Spencer's to see about a door that needs to be replaced.

John is still trying to get the golf cart battery situation resolved, so before we ate lunch, we went over to John and Lois Carlson's to see if he had any ideas about what to do. This was the first we had seen the Carlson's since we got back to Fort Clark--that meant it was not a short in and out visit. Lois got a Kindle (which I covet) and showed me how it works and also let me try it out while the guys were visiting and went to look at the house John C. is remodeling.

We made a quick run to the post office before returning home. John had gotten out our Christmas tree, so I spent some time trimming it this afternoon--should get it done sometime tomorrow.

Every evening we have some visitors in our yard. Here are a couple that showed up over the past few days.


This evening we watched The Biggest Loser and worked on the jigsaw puzzle--it's almost finished.

It's Monday, so that means wood carvers. We walked our shorter route this morning so John would be able to get to carvers on time. The weather was nice and warm, so shorts were the order for the day. While John was at carvers, I spent the morning giving the bedroom a good cleaning--washed all the bedding and mopped the floor.

After lunch John was in and out most of the afternoon. He fixed a closet door in one of the condos and then rode his bike over to Metcalf's to double check what Jan wanted done and to return a shelf he had fixed. John and Stan then went into town to watch the 7th grade boys play basketball. I was house bound today waiting for a service man who was suppose to come and fix something on our dishwasher. While we were in Minnesota, we received a recall notification from Maytag concerning a possible electrical failure in the dishwasher's heating element. When we got here, we checked the model number and went online to Maytag's recall site and found our model was among those affected by the recall. I filled out the forms online and received an email telling me a service man would be here today sometime between 8 and 5. Just one problem--he never showed up. I have the phone number of the company that was suppose to come today, so I will give them a call tomorrow and see what's up. On the plus side, I was able to get a lot more of my jigsaw puzzle done--just didn't like being stuck around the house all day.

The golf cart saga also continues. John still can't tell if the batteries are charging or if the golf cart charger works. We took the cart to the driving range yesterday, but it was very slow, like it was low on power. He plans to try and work on the charger tomorrow. We spent the evening watching Monday Night Football and finishing up the pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving. Sure was tasted good!

John and I spent a pretty quiet Sunday. We took our usual morning walk around the golf course and then after breakfast headed off to Frontier Baptist for Sunday services.

Following lunch, we watched some NFL and then went to the driving range to get in some practice hitting golf balls. We didn't stay very long because John wanted to get back to watch the Eagles. Unfortunately, they lost to the Bears. The game just ended when the phone rang--it was the Bears' fans from home wanting to know what happened to the Eagles.

Our evening was spent working on a jigsaw puzzle and watching the new Hallmark movie.

It's hard to believe that we have been back here at the fort a little over a week. We are slowly but surely getting into a routine that works for us and a big part of that routine is walking every morning. It was 34 degrees when we left the house around 7:15 a.m. Even though it was colder than yesterday, there was no breeze and that made a big difference. John and I didn't see another person out walking--usually we run into three or four folks out and about. Guess the cold weather scared them off.

Today was Fort Clark's annual Art and Craft Show, so after breakfast we headed to the Service Club to see the different exhibits. There was some beautiful art work on display along with many other handcrafted items, but John's interest was snagged by the table with honey and honeycomb products. He purchased a small jar of honey and some hand cream made from beeswax. As we were heading back to the car, we ran into Jan Metcalf along with the folks who own the lot across the street from us and ended up visiting for a few minutes.

Our first job after returning home was to wash all the windows, screens, and blinds. We thought we would be able to get this out of the way by lunch time. But as usually happens around here, we were interrupted by company. It was the folks we met earlier in the morning--they wanted to see what our house was like as they are thinking of building something similar after they retire--which is next month. They sold their home in Houston and will be living here full time.

It was after twelve by the time they left, so we decided to eat lunch before finishing the windows. It took us an hour to get all the windows and doors cleaned inside and out, but now the glass just sparkles. We took a little break to watch some college football, and then put up the outdoor Christmas lights. As we were walking this morning, we noticed that many of the homes were now decorated for the holidays. Next on the job list is to get the Christmas tree up and trimmed.

Right before supper we had several Axis deer come in the yard. They usually past right through, but tonight they lingered for a while. John also got the bird feeders up and we are just starting to get the birds coming. I took these photos through the glass in the door--good thing we got it cleaned today.

The cold front that was forecast for the past several days arrived late yesterday afternoon and brought much cooler temps overnight. The temperature was 40 degrees when we left the house for our walk, but we still wore shorts along with our heavy hooded sweatshirts. Once you got walking, you warmed up, and the cold felt pretty comfortable.

With the golf cart now out of the shed, John was able to get all the plastic crates and other boxes out of the house and stored there. Even though the house was closed up tight for six months, it still got pretty dusty and dirty both inside and out. Today we decided to start giving it a good cleaning--we got as far as washing the front door and cleaning it's glass. We stopped for lunch and then decided since it was such a beautiful afternoon, we would play some golf--more cleaning can wait until tomorrow. John and I had the whole Par 3 course to ourselves and took our time playing the nine holes. I did much, much better today than I did the first time. I think I am finally getting use to my new clubs.

We finished the golf game just in time to get home and make supper before it got dark. We decided on burgers and while John was grilling them, a nice looking buck came into the yard. He just stood out in the brush watching what John was doing--he certainly didn't seem nervous being close to people. He hung around for a few minutes and then moved on. Over the past couple of days we have noticed more deer coming into the yard--they sure are fun to watch.



Hopefully we will get more of the cleaning done tomorrow and put up our outside Christmas lights. We spent our evening watching some hunting shows and college football.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! We took a nice long walk this morning in preparation for eating a big Thanksgiving Dinner--thought it might help ease our conscience if we overate. When we got back to the house we watched a little of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and then John went out to check on how the battery charging was going. In a few minutes I heard the golf cart pulling under the carport. Finally, success!! The batteries reached full charge--now John hopes they will hold the charge. Time will tell.

For Thanksgiving dinner, eleven of us went to the Ramada in Del Rio for their annual Thanksgiving buffet. They served just about everything you could want--ham, roast beef, turkey, dressing, vegetables, salads, soup, gravy, and desserts. It was just like eating a home cooked meal only one didn't have to cook or clean up. There were waiters wearing white shirts and black bow ties that served your beverages and keep removing used plates. We ate a delicious meal and enjoyed the company of good friends.




The remainder of the day was spent watching the Dallas Cowboys lose (yea!!) and a movie we have been wanting to see.

John and I walked an entirely different route this morning and covered over three miles. We walked down by the Red Bridge and along the Los Moras. The morning was overcast with a little mist and slightly cooler temps than yesterday. By this afternoon the sun came out, the humidity dropped, and it was very pleasant for sitting out on the patio.

After breakfast John stopped over at Metcalf's to talk with Jan and find out what little jobs she wanted done--he will probably get to them next week. Our golf cart batteries are still not fully charged, so John went to talk with Wallace to see if he had any ideas about how to get them charged. He told John he needs to charge each of them for six to eight hours apiece. It's going to take a couple of days to get them charged up enough to run the golf cart.

This evening was the first that we saw deer in our yard. There were several does and a young buck--the turkeys haven't shown up yet.


Matt called and told us they got their first major snowfall of the year--eight to ten inches and they were getting more snow today along with high winds. Sara emailed a photo of Sam, Hanna, and Rachel enjoying the first snow. Looks like we left Minnesota at just the right time--glad we are here enjoying the nice warm days, although it looks like the kids are having a blast.

This morning was cloudy with a gentle misty rain. Since it was so warm, we decided to go ahead and take our walk--it was warm enough that even if we got wet, we certainly wouldn't get cold. Sounds crazy, but we actually had a good time walking in the rain.

Today was "chore" day. I had over a week's worth of laundry to get done as I hadn't done any since before we left Minnesota. John wanted to replace the weather stripping on one of our French doors. That job was completed in about 15 minutes--then he was on to the next one which was charging up the batteries in the golf cart. The cart runs on six, six volt batteries. The charge in them dropped so low over the summer that the cart charger couldn't recharge all of them at one time, so John had to do each one individually with a battery charger he borrowed from our pastor. It will probably take a day or two to get them ready to use. Hopefully, we won't have to replace them--six batteries all at once--yikes!!!

In between jobs, John went over to Sam Lark's and helped him replace a vent on the top of his camper. Seems Sam smashed the vent when he misjudged the height of a tree limb. This afternoon, I went to the post office for the mail, and then stopped at the library where I found a couple of new mysteries by my favorite authors. Should keep me occupied for a while in the evenings.

The weather forecast is calling for a big change in our weather--suppose to get much cooler in the evenings. Actually, the higher temps we have been having are unusual for this time in November. John took some time tonight getting our little gas fireplace all cleaned up and ready to go just in case we need to have a little shot of heat to keep the house toasty. I don't do well with a cold house.

Our evening was spent watching both The Biggest Loser and Dancing with the Stars. The remote got a real workout.

John and I left the house by 7 a.m. for our walk. Even though it was just starting to get light and the sky was overcast, the temperature was ten degrees warmer than yesterday morning. We wanted to get our walk done before the sun burned off the clouds and the temps really heated up.

After breakfast John headed off to wood carvers. He took his pelican and the purple ribbon it won at the fair so he could show it off to his carver friends. It is now sitting on a shelf for all to see when they come to Wallace's to carve. While John was gone, I did some more unpacking and sorting. With limited storage space it takes a while to find a home for all the things that came with us. It was also the time of month to pay some bills--that kept me busy a good portion of the morning.

Our supply of groceries was getting very low, so following lunch, we went to Del Rio to run a couple of errands and to tackle food shopping. Our first stop was Home Depot to get some weather stripping for the bottom of our exterior doors--the current stripping is coming off. Next, it was across the highway to Wal Mart for additional plastic storage containers and then on to HEB for groceries. We found some awesome sales on fresh produce, so we were able to stock up on a couple of our favorites.

We were just finishing supper when Stan stopped in to drop off our copy of the Kinney County News. As he was leaving, our neighbor, Richard, came over to welcome us back to the fort and to catch up on what has been happening with all of us over the summer. We spent a quiet evening watching Monday Night Football.

Since it is light so much earlier this far south, we were able to get out for our walk by 7 a.m. It was a warm morning with a temp of 60 degrees. The days usually start out cloudy, but by mid morning the sun is shining. We walked our usual route of the golf course and then cut over to the back streets--there were a couple of new homes added since we left last spring.

After breakfast, we got cleaned up and headed off to church at Frontier Baptist. They had a singing group this morning, The Border Line Singers. They are a group of retired gentlemen who sing Gospel and Bluegrass. Following the service, we had a potluck lunch--there was an over abundance of food and it was all delicious. John and I certainly ate our fill.

It was a beautiful afternoon, so we decided to work off some of our noon meal with a little golf. Must say neither of us did very well--hopefully we will improve as we play more this winter. We ended the day watching some more NFL and The Amazing Race.

The fort was having its monthly board meeting this morning, so we decided to get up early and attend the meeting. Since we have been gone from here for over six months, we thought this would be a good way to catch up on what has been happening around here. It also provided a way to visit with friends we haven't seen for a while.

After the meeting, we headed over to Unit 37 to see Ralph Ramsey. We spent almost an hour with him before stopping in to see Wallace and Becky. Upon reaching home, we remembered we still hadn't done any grocery shopping, so it was back into Brackettville to get just a few staples to hold us over until we can get to Del Rio on Monday. Following lunch, I got the kitchen area cleaned, started the grocery list and got some of the clothes put away. John hosed off the deck and set up all the outside furniture. This morning started out cloudy and cool, but this afternoon was very sunny and warm--John just had to break out the shorts.



Many of our plants died over the summer, but the cactus grew like crazy. The cactus in the picture had only two paddles when we left here last April. Look at it now!


We had a pretty steady stream of visitors this afternoon--folks just welcoming us back. Our pastor dropped in and invited us to the community Thanksgiving service at the church this evening and to also let us know there will be a potluck dinner after church tomorrow. We timed our arrival just right--they have super potluck meals.

It was a very nice service this evening followed by snacks in the Fellowship Hall. We find we are settling back into fort life very quickly. It's almost as if we were never away.

WE MADE IT!! After 11 hours in the car, we arrived in Fort Clark around 5 p.m. I started the morning wearing a winter jacket and by the time we reached Texas, we needed to turn the AC on in the car. Stan Metcalf stopped over a few minutes after we pulled into the driveway and brought us some delicious homemade soup and dessert for supper. He stayed and visited for a while and then we unloaded the car. Everything is just stacked up inside the house. It's going to take a few days to get unpacked and find a place for everything. The dry ice worked great--everything was still frozen solid when we unloaded the cooler. Time to just sit down and relax with a little TV before bed.

John and I got up early, loaded up the Honda, said good-bye to Amy and the boys, and were on the road by 7 a.m. We drove for about an hour and then pulled off the road for our favorite breakfast at McDonald's. The day was nice and sunny so we had good driving conditions. After 10 hours on the road, we reached our planned destination, Blackwell, OK. We ate a quick supper at Bram's and then spent sometime in the motel hot tub easing our stiff muscles. After watching a little TV, it was time for bed so we can be rested and fresh for another day on the road. We plan to be in Fort Clark by late tomorrow afternoon.

There might not be a blog update tomorrow evening--depends if we can get our internet up and running.

Today was another cloudy, cold damp day--we haven't seen any sunshine for a while, so we hope to see some tomorrow when we head south.

We spent the day running some errands. This morning after the boys were off to school, we headed to Hobby Lobby for some scrap booking supplies that are needed to work on a photo album while in Texas. I found exactly what I was looking for and, best of all, it was 50% off. From there we headed back to the school to pick up Noah and then on to home for some lunch. We had time for a couple of games of UNO before we had to leave again.

John wanted to pick up some dry ice to repack our frozen foods for the rest of our trip. Amy did an internet search and found an ice supplier not far from their home. After lunch, we all got back in the van to finish up our errands. First stop was the chiropractor for a back adjustment for Amy's--she felt much better after her treatment. Then it was on to the library to return books and to let Noah pick out some new ones. Sioux Falls has a beautiful public library--coming from a small town, it was amazing to see such a large library with so many books to choose from. Amy did a good job of navigating and we found the ice company without getting lost. John ran inside and picked up a 15 lb. block of dry ice and stored it in a cooler we brought along. We had a little time to kill before picking up Caleb and Isaiah from school, so we stopped at a Goodwill Store to look for kids' winter jackets--none were found.

When we got back to the house, John chopped up the dry ice, repacked all the frozen foods, and then put the cooler back in the Honda. He then took a little trip to the local gas station to fill up the car so we won't have to stop tomorrow morning and can just get right on the interstate.

Our evening was spent helping with homework and watching a little TV.

John and I spent a rather quiet day visiting with Amy after the boys went to school. Noah goes to preschool in the mornings, so he was back home by noon. The boys had received little wooden models to assemble, so after eating lunch, John and Noah worked on a little wooden bulldozer. They sanded, painted, and glued the parts together and by this evening it was finished.




After the boys got home from school, Caleb decided to go outside and play some football with his friends while Isaiah stayed inside and started on his sailboat model. He and John got that finished up after supper. Then it was time to help Caleb finish up his race car that he had started working on earlier. The boys sure kept John pretty busy today.