There was fog and overcast skies when we took our walk this morning.  I wasn't sure if the ladies were going to play golf, so when we got back home, I called Leslie and found out the golf was canceled.  With the rains yesterday and fog this morning, the course was just too muddy.  

John headed over to Jan M's house after breakfast to repair the screen door on their porch.  Racoons had pushed out one corner of the screen, so John put it back on and also covered it with chicken wire to deter the racoons.

While John was busy at Metcaf's, I headed into town to the post office, dropped some books off at the library and picked up a new mystery, and then made a final stop at the grocery store to pick up an ingredient I was needing for the casserole I was taking to the RV potluck this evening. 


It started to clear up by mid-afternoon, so John and I decided to play a round of golf.  The course was still muddy in spots, but we managed to avoid them most of the time.  We both played a so-so round.


We got home just in time for me to get the casserole made and put in the oven.  Tim and Mary Ellen picked us up and we headed over to the RV park.  There was quite a crowd this evening--they had to bring in an extra table and chairs to accommodate everyone.  We even had four tables for "31".  I lost both of my games, but John lost one and won one.  It's his first win this winter.

 

The temperature was at least 10 degrees warmer this morning and, even though the sky was overcast, it was more pleasant walking this today.  A little after noon, the rain and colder temps settled in for the rest of the day.

After the three day carving seminar of last week, it felt good to get back to our regular routine.  Following breakfast, Tim picked up John and they headed off to wood carvers.  They were back home by 11:30 a.m. because of the Chili Cookoff being held at the RV park at noon.  I'm not a Chili eater, so John and I skipped that event.

While John was carving, I spent the morning doing laundry and changing bed linens.  We were just hanging out after lunch when Ralph Ramsey stopped in to visit.  John noticed we were low on milk, so after Ralph left, he headed into town to pick some up along with a few other items we needed.

Mary Ellen had called this morning inviting us over to their place to play cards this evening, so after an early supper, we headed over to the condos.  We played a game of Hand & Foot and Mary Ellen and I were the winners tonight--we beat the guys pretty good. 

Today was a much quieter one for us.  We took our usual walk, ate breakfast, got cleaned up, and headed off to church.

Following lunch, we relaxed for a while watching some TV.  Since there didn't seem to be many people playing golf (it was cloudy and chilly), John wanted to get in another nine holes.  We headed down to the clubhouse, signed in, and started playing.  John had a great round until the ninth hole, when he had a double bogie and finished up one over par.  I also played my best round, hitting better off the tees, but my putting still needs work.

When we returned home, it was supper time, so we made a couple of cheese steaks and spent the evening watching some favorite TV shows.  Like I said, a pretty quiet day.

John and I both had a busy day.  After our morning walk, we ate breakfast and got cleaned up.  John headed off to the Historical Society meeting while Nancy, Tudi, Lois, Darlene and I were off to Del Rio to attend the Winter Bazaar.  We made a quick stop at Wal Mart first and then went to the Convention Center where we met up with some other gals from the fort.  By the time we left the craft show, most of us had several bags in hand.  Purchases included handbags, pottery dishes, roosters, scarves, and a few other miscellaneous items.

Before taking a break for lunch, our group hit the mall and JC Penny.  Lois needed to return a watch she had purchased and then we hit the women's clothing department.  Of course, several more purchases were made.  From there we headed to Del Rio's Old Town and a burger place we all wanted to try.  I must say the burgers were outstanding and everyone enjoyed a good meal.

Our group then went to a second hand clothing shop and made one final stop at an antique mall.  Tudi found some beautiful smokey crystal glassware to give her granddaughter as a wedding gift.  By this time we were ready to call it a day and headed back to the fort.  I arrived home a little before 5p.m.

John's day was just as busy.  After the Historical Society meeting, he decided to play some golf.  He had to get done before noon as the course was having a special golfing event.  While he was golfing he saw Sam Lark and he asked if John could give him a hand moving things out of his condo.  He sold it and needs to have everything out in two weeks.  So after lunch, John spent the rest of the day helping Sam and Leta move boxes from the condo to Leta's place.  It was after 7 p.m. by the time John got home, so we had a late supper and spent the evening watching some college basketball.

It was another beautiful day here in Texas.  Even though the temps were on the chilly side this morning when we took our walk (41 degrees), by mid morning it warmed up enough for shorts and tee shirts.

Following breakfast, we met up with Lloyd and Ginny to play some golf.  John and I were much improved over yesterday so I guess the time we spent on the driving range helped work out the kinks in our swings.  We finished playing a little after noon, and since we were all hungry, headed into town and Daddy's Grill for lunch.  

This afternoon we rested up a little bit--John by napping while I started a new book on my Kindle.  He felt refreshed enough to go out and play more golf by himself while I did a few things around the house.  He still wasn't home when I had to leave to meet up with Nancy and Tudi for a ride to Bingo.  There was a much larger crowd this evening, but I still managed to win one of the games.  Tomorrow looks like another busy day.

John had an appointment for a haircut at 8:30 a.m. so we were up nice and early for our walk so he could eat breakfast and get to his appointment on time.

When he got home, it was time to get down to the clubhouse and meet up with Rodger and Tudi for nine holes of golf.  Everyone of us had an off day--balls out of bounds, missed putts, you name it and it happened today.  It was noon when we finished, so we decided to head into town for some lunch.  Our original plan was to eat at Burger and Shake, but it was closed.  We ran into the Bevins in the parking lot, so the six of us decided to hit Subway for something to eat.


This afternoon John and I went to the driving range to see if we could figure out what we were doing wrong with our swings.  John then went out and played a few more holes of golf.  He thinks he might have figured out what he was doing wrong, but we'll see how it goes when we play again.


John had wood carvers this evening and I spent some time cleaning up the kitchen and getting caught up on finances.  We watched a little TV when he got home and then headed off to bed.

We had a thunderstorm in the early morning hours which resulted in some much needed rain.  I'm not sure of the amount we received, but it poured for a little while.  The sky was still overcast when we took our walk this morning, but the rain had moved out.

After breakfast, Tim picked John up and they headed off for the final day of their wood carving seminar.  Last night at the potluck several of the ladies decided they needed a shopping day in Del Rio.  I made plans to meet up with them at Wendy's after my WW meeting.  There were five of us--Ginny, Jeanne, Kathy, Theresa, and me.  When we finished eating, we sat around the table visiting for a bit before heading off to Marshalls and JC Penny.  Everyone found something they just had to have.  I still needed to do some grocery shopping at Wal Mart, so I bid the ladies farewell, and took off to gas up the Honda and restock the pantry.  The gals were planning to stop for a cup of coffee and something sweet to eat, but I didn't think I had enough time to do that and still get my other shopping done.

It was almost 5 p.m. by the time I got home after a final stop at Subway to pick up subs for supper.  John had gotten home about 40 minutes earlier and even though he enjoyed the class and learned a lot, he was glad to have it done.  Carving for three straight days was a challenge.  He has finished the carving part of his project and now has to get it painted.  John will have Becky help him with that when they both have some free time.  This photo doesn't do the his project justice--you can't see all the detail work he did on things like finger joints, fingernails, and feathers.

 

 

 

 Chief Limp Feather

We spent some time this evening watching the rest of Sam and Hanna's basketball CD and then a little TV before calling it a day.

Our weather today was on the cloudy and cool side with a few light showers off and on.  We took our walk nice and early so John could get to the wood carving seminar on time.

John and I left the house at about the same time.  He headed off to pick up Tim for carving and I went to the clubhouse to meet the ladies for golf.  We had ten playing this morning and were able to have three teams.  Natalie, Kathy, and I played the back nine and I scored one over par on three holes.  That's a best for me.  We ran into a little rain, but nothing that lasted very long and we were able to complete our game.

John met me back at the house for lunch.  He said the carving was going much better today.  He should be finished with his figure by the end of tomorrow's session.  I am anxious to see how it turns out. 

While John was gone this afternoon, I made a hot dish for the RV potluck.  There was quite a crowd this evening and we had three tables for 31.  John lost both of his games--I lost the first and won the second.  It was a fun evening with plenty of food and visiting.

We were up nice and early for our walk and were back home just as the sun was coming up over the horizon.  The temps were a little cooler this morning, but it still felt good to be outside in the fresh air.

The wood carvers are having a three day seminar this week.  Wallace, who heads up the group, invited Jon Nelson, from Colorado Springs, to come and teach a class on carving caricatures (faces).  Each member of the class purchased a roughout of the character they want to carve.  John is doing a piece entitled Chief Limp Feather.  Jon spends time with each person answering questions and working on the pieces they are carving.  Today's session lasted about 6 hours.

The carvers hard at work on their projects

Since we have been so busy this past week, I appreciated time home alone to get caught up on some of the chores that have been neglected.  I changed the bed linens, did quite a few loads of laundry, baked bread, and got some much needed cleaning out of the way.  It's amazing how much I got accomplished with no one here to make me go play golf.  Oh, I forgot, there was no golfing today as the course is closed on Mondays.

In today's mail we received a basketball CD from Matt and Sara, so this evening we were able to watch a couple of Sam and Hanna's games.

The skies were overcast and there was light misting when we left the house for our morning walk.  We were a little damp by the time we returned home, but the temps were warm enough that getting a little wet didn't matter.

John and I ate a leisurely breakfast, got cleaned up, and headed off to church.  It was misting enough that we needed to use the windshield wipers on our drive into town.  By the time the service was over, the clouds were breaking up and we had a beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon.


We started to watch the first NFL playoff game, but could see that only a few people were playing golf on the big course.  John suggested we go play while the course was so empty.  We took the golf cart down to the clubhouse, signed in, and teed off on the first hole.  We saw John Bridger putting on the first green and asked if he wanted to join us.  John B. has a unique way of playing golf.  He uses only two clubs--a driver and a putter--and does very well with those two clubs.  He makes some amazing shots.  I played my best round of golf this afternoon and made my very first par on the big course.  


John and I got home just in time to see the end of the Ravens and Patriots game.  We made some cheese steaks for supper and then watched the San Francisco/Giants game.  Our evening ended with watching some of American Idol before heading off to bed.

The warm sunny weather of the past few days took a vacation for today.  While we were walking this morning we saw a beautiful sunrise and thought we would have a nice sunny day; however, by mid-morning the clouds moved in and hung around all day along with cooler temps.

After breakfast John went to the monthly board meeting as there was an important issue concerning the RV park coming up for a vote and he wanted to show his support for the Winter Texans--the vote went in favor of the RV park residents.  As John was leaving the meeting, Rodger asked if we would want to play golf this afternoon, so we set up a tee time of 3:00 p.m.

We were just hanging out after lunch when Tim and Mary Ellen Miner came knocking on our door.  They had just arrived at the fort late this morning and, in addition to visiting with us, wanted to pick up the items we stored for them over the summer.  Before they left we made plans to have supper at Burger and Shake.  The Miner's left to resume their unpacking and John and I headed off to the club house where we met Rodger and Tudi.  I actually had a half way decent round of golf this afternoon and we all had a good time playing the front nine.  As we were getting ready to head home, John invited them to join us for supper.  Rodger asked if he could invite Randy and Nancy along, too.  John said that would be fine with us and set a time to meet at Burger and Shake.


Tim and Mary Ellen gave us a ride to B & S where we met up with the others.  We had a good time visiting and at times the conversation led to quite a bit of laughter.  We were a pretty rowdy group tonight.  


This evening we had a  Skyp session with Matt's family.  It was good to see the grand kids and catch up on their schooling and sports activities.  We were also able to visit with Matt and Sara--we sure miss everyone while we're here in Texas.  We just don't miss the weather.  They're getting inches of snow tonight.







 

 

 

Our beautiful warm weather continued today which made it perfect for walking in the morning and playing golf.

We just returned home from our walk when Rodger called and said he had secured a 9:30 a.m. tee time.  John and I ate breakfast, got cleaned up, and headed off to the clubhouse where we met up with Tudi and Rodger.  We played the front nine and, as usual, we all had some good shots, some bad, and a lot of fun.


We had just finished eating lunch when Gene and Jeanne Bevins stopped in for a visit.  It was such a nice afternoon we sat out on the deck to visit.  I only stayed for a little while as I had an appointment to get my hair cut.  When I got done at the salon, I made a stop at the post office to see if we had any mail and then the library to check out their new novels.  I came home with two new books.  John decided to play a few more holes of golf this afternoon and see if he could do better with his drives.  He played seven holes and made five pars, one birdie, and one bogie.  He's bound and determined to improve his game.

A few days ago Tudi asked me if I would like to go to Bingo on Friday evening.  I have never been to Bingo before, so I said okay.  After supper Nancy and Tudi picked me up and we headed off for an evening of Bingo.  I had a lot of fun with the gals and experienced something new.  Many of the Winter Texans were big winners tonight.

We were right on time for our morning walk as John had booked a 9:30 a.m. tee off time for us.  Thursday afternoon is couple's golf at the course, so we needed to be done our round by noon.  

John and I were on our way to the clubhouse when Lloyd J. called and asked about playing this morning.  John told him we were on our way to the golf course and would meet Ginny and him there.  We played the front nine and then headed to Burger and Shake for lunch.  It seems several other Fort Clark residents had the same idea.

One of our dear friends, Lois Endris, celebrated her 80th birthday today and her husband, Chuck, planned a big surprise birthday party for her.  It was one of the best kept secrets in Fort Clark Springs as over 100 people attended and no one spilled the beans.  Lois was completely surprised.  A delicious supper was provided, followed by cake and a program put on by their children.  Chuck ended the program by singing "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" to Lois.  There were some tears flowing by the time he finished his song.  

Ready for the party to begin

 Lois and Chuck arriving

Quite a crowd

 Chuck serenading Lois

We were a little later taking our morning walk as we overslept and didn't leave the house until after 7:30 a.m.  The sun was up by then making it a little warmer and very pleasant to be outside.

After breakfast, John headed off to the club house to meet up with the guys to play a best ball round of golf.  There were enough men to make up four teams of four.  John played with Hoagie, Jerry, and Gene--they ended up one under par. 


Shortly after John left, I headed off to Del Rio for my weekly Weight Watchers meeting.  There were almost 30 women in attendance today.  I've never seen such a large group at one of our WW meetings.  I guess with the start of the new year, many have made the decision to lose weight.  Following the meeting, I stopped for a quick lunch, then headed to the mall and the Penny's store.  From there I went to Wal Mart to return some water filters we purchased by mistake and to pick up a few groceries.  It took me longer to return the filters than it did to do the rest of my shopping.  There were two clerks working in Customer Service.  I was third in line and thought the return wouldn't take long.  Boy, was I wrong.  The two people already being waited on took a long time to take care of their returns.  When the first clerk was free, the next lady in line went to the counter to be helped.  The other clerk kept working on paper work after her customer left, then instead of helping the next person in line, just walked away.  I wish I had had a camera with me to record the expression on the guy's face in front of me. Also, by this time there were ten people in line behind me waiting to make returns or to take care of some other business.  I finally got to return the filters after being line for almost 40 minutes.  I found that Wal Mart doesn't carry the brand of water filter we need, so when I finished up there, I headed across the street to Home Depot.  They carried the brand I needed, but had no filters in stock.  So the search for the right filter will have to continue another day.

John told me he had a so so day on the golf course and was having trouble with his drives off the tee.  After lunch he spent some time on the driving range and feels he has corrected the problem.  We'll see if that's true tomorrow.  From the driving range, John spent some time visiting with Dave and Valada S. before returning home.

Our evening was pretty quiet--just watched some TV and did some work on the computer.

We had an absolutely beautiful day today.  It was much warmer this morning when we left the house a little after 7 a.m.  We only needed to wear our hooded sweatshirts instead of several layers of clothing.

Since it was nice and warm this morning, the lady golfers decided to meet at the club house and tee off at 9:30 a.m.  We had enough gals to divide up into three groups of three players.  Nancy, Darlene, and I played the back nine along with one other group.  I did much better with my drives off the tee, but my putting was way off today.

While I was golfing with the ladies, John and Ned also played the back nine.  John called after I returned home and said Lloyd and Ginny wanted to play at 2 p.m. and would I want to play with them. I said "Yes", so after a quick lunch, we met up with them at the club house and played the front nine of the course.  

We got finished with golf and back home in time to get cleaned up, grab the left over macaroni salad, and head over to the RV park for the potluck and cards.  I am sad to report that both John and I were losers tonight.  We both held on until the final rounds, but couldn't pull off the win.  The rest of our evening was pretty quiet--just watched a little TV before heading off to bed. 

It was cloudy with misting this morning when we woke up, so our usual walk was canceled.  After breakfast, John gathered up his carving tools and headed over to the RV park where he met up with the other carvers for their Monday morning session.  We were invited to a potluck meal  later this afternoon, so my morning was spent making a macaroni salad from a new recipe I had found on line.

John and I were just finishing up lunch when Ralph Ramsey dropped in for a visit.  He stayed for half an hour or so, and then bid us farewell.  We got our golfing gear ready and headed down to the clubhouse where we met up with five other couples to play nine holes of best ball.  We divided up into three teams of four and hit the course.  Our team started out paring every hole, but then everyone of us started having bad shots and we ended up two over par.  When we were done playing, we sat around outside at the club house talking about our games and our good and bad shots.

John and I returned home to pick up the salad I made and then met up with everyone at Leslie and Wally Jones house for supper.  Wally provided the grilled chicken and the rest of us the other dishes and deserts.  After the meal, the ladies retired to the inside to play cards while the guys stayed on the patio visiting.  We all finally headed home around 8:30 p.m.  It was a very busy day and I think it will be early to bed tonight.

Today started off sunny with temps about 20 degrees warmer than yesterday morning.  Since it was Sunday, we walked a shorter route so we could get home in time to eat breakfast, get showered up, and leave on time for Sunday School.

When we left church around noon, the day had turned cloudy and cool with some light misting.  John and I ate lunch while watching the first NFL playoff game.  Our Wisconsin friends invited some folks over to watch the Green Bay game, so we headed over to Dick and Lynn Ebert's place around 3 p.m.  Dick has a big 52 inch HD TV, so it was like being in a movie theater watching the game.  As usual when folks get together, there was plenty of good food and drink.  The only downer was that Green Bay lost to the Giants.  The Packer fans were very disappointed in the outcome of the game.  I was the only one rooting for the Giants, but I keep my cheering very low key and made sure I didn't rub in the Giant's victory.  We ended our day watching a movie before heading off to bed.

The weather forecast this morning as the last one with below freezing temps for a while.  It was 27 degrees when we left for our walk, but with no breeze and sunshine, it didn't feel too cold and it didn't take us long to get warmed up.

After breakfast, John went to the post office to get the mail and, while he was there, ran into Ned S.  They decided to play nine holes of golf before lunch.  John didn't have quite the score he did yesterday, but was still happy with the way he was hitting the ball.  We wanted to play some golf after lunch and managed to get a couples of holes in when we had to stop and come off the course due to a tournament taking place this afternoon.


We spent the rest of the day watching some Olympic trials and then the NFL playoffs.  Warmer weather is on the way for next week, so hopefully we'll be able to get in more outside activities and golf.

We had another chilly morning--temp was 31 degrees when John and I left the house for our walk.  Even though we had sunny skies, the temps remained on the cool side most of the day.

We were just finishing up breakfast, when Ned S. stopped by and asked John to play some golf.  John had a score of 39 for nine holes, four over par.  His best score so far this year. While John was gone I took care of a few chores around the house and made a salad to take to this evening's condo party.

Rodger called around noon and asked if we wanted to play nine holes after lunch.  We met Tudi and Rodger at the club house and played the front nine.  I actually had a half way decent round this afternoon.  We got home just in time to grab the salad I made and head over to Dee and Jerry's place for the condo party.  They graciously offered their house for the gathering as it was a little cool to be sitting outside.  We had several new folks in attendance who are staying on the fort for the next couple of months--one couple is from Minnesota and the other from Kansas.  It was a fun evening of good food and conversation.

Axis deer feeding in Dee's yard

The beautiful weather of yesterday was replaced by a cold front that moved in overnight.  With cooler temps and a brisk north wind, John and I had to bundle up for our walk this morning.

The weather canceled our golf plans, so we decided to go to Eagle Pass for the day (it's a border town about 50 miles southeast of us).
We spent an hour or so in the mall and did a little birthday shopping.  From there we hit Whataburger for lunch, and then went on to Kohls, Wal Mart, and Lowes.   Soon it was time to head home so John could get to wood carvers this evening.

Eagle Pass

While John was at carvers, I did a load of laundry, some straightening up around the house, and ended the evening with a little TV.

The temps this morning were once again on the cold side--33 degrees when we left the house for our walk.  With no breeze, it didn't take long to get warmed up and enjoy the beautiful morning which turned into a very beautiful day with highs in the upper 70's.  

Wednesday is men's golf and Weight Watchers, so this meant that John and I pretty much went our separate ways for most of the day.  There were 15 guys playing this morning, so they divided up into five teams of three.  John's team ended up one over par for nine holes.  After lunch John installed headlights on the golf cart.  He bought the lights last year, but never got around to getting them on the cart.  Now he needs to have Chuck E. come over and help him with the wiring.

I attended my WW meeting then stopped for a quick lunch, checked out the sales in JC Penny, and then headed to HEB for some fresh produce and a few grocery items.  While I was shopping, John called and said Rodger and Tudi invited some folks over for a hotdog roast at 4 p.m., so I needed to keep an eye on the clock to get home in time to go.

Twelve of us gathered around the fire on Rodger's back patio and enjoyed a nice meal and conversation. 

 Gene, Everett, John, and Chuck

 Nancy and Randy

 Tudi and Rodger

 Hotdogs cooking

 John Roasting the above hotdogs

Rodger and Gene

Once the sun went down, the party broke up and we all returned to our cozy homes.

After almost 24 hours on the anti-viral medicine, I felt much better this morning and was able to take our usual morning walk.  There was no power walking today, but at least I was able to get in some much needed exercise.

Following breakfast, John headed into the post office for the mail and then stopped over to visit with Ralph R. for a while.  We were out of bread, so I got busy getting a couple of loaves baked before lunch time.  The ladies played golf this afternoon, but I just didn't feel good enough to join them.  Instead, I spent my time relaxing and getting a casserole ready for the RV potluck this evening.  Lois and Chuck Endris heard I was under the weather and stopped in for a visit while they were out riding around in their golf cart.  


The numbers were down for the potluck meal this evening with a lot of sickness still going around, but we ended up with 15 people staying afterward to play 31.  I won the first game at my table but lost the second--John lost both of his games.  Maybe I need to give him some refresher points on how to play 31. 
 

This morning was cool with rain as we left the house a little after 7 a.m. to hit the highway to Uvalde.  John and I arrived at the clinic as it was opening and were back in an exam room within 5 minutes. The doctor took one look at me and said "Shingles".  He wrote me a 
prescription for an anti-viral medicine and a Shingles shot.  I now have to take what looks like horse pills four times a day for the next ten days.  The doc also put me on another pill for nerve pain, so hopefully I'll soon be on the mend.

The pharmacy at Wal Mart didn't open until 9 a.m., so John and I ate breakfast at McDonald's, then dropped off the prescription, and did a little shopping while waiting to pick up the meds.  We were back on the road home by 10 a.m.

When we got home, I took the first dose of medicine and pretty much laid low the rest of the day.  It's not that I feel sick, it's more the nerve pain that keeps me down.  John ran a few errands this afternoon and took a quick trip over to the driving range.  We spent the evening watching the Alabama-LSU game and doing some work on the computer.  Hopefully by tomorrow the meds I have taken today will start to kick in and I'll start to mend.

We overslept a little this morning, so decided to forgo our walk for a more leisurely morning before church.  After eating breakfast and showering, we loaded the casserole in the car and headed off to church for the Sunday service.  Our numbers were down a little today, but we still had plenty of delicious food for the meal.

As the afternoon was overcast with a little misting, we spent our time watching the NFL Wildcard games.  I'm happy to say that both of the teams we liked won their games.  The ending of the Broncos game was sure exciting.  

Tomorrow morning bright and early, we are heading back over to the Urgent Care Unit in Uvalde.   I am still having some sort of flare up with my autoimmune system and started breaking out in a bad rash that follows the nerve endings in my neck and chest.  I need to find out if I'm dealing with Shingles or if it's an allergic reaction to the steroids I've been on.  It sure feels like Shingles.  Hopefully I'll get some relief from the pain tomorrow and get some answers.

 

We had a pretty quiet day today.  After our walk, John made us a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.  Then it was showers and getting started on the day.  John headed off to the post office and then made a stop at Wallace's to trim the base off the cowboy carving he has started.

Since we were gone all day yesterday, I occupied my time today by changing bed linens, catching up on the laundry, and finishing clearing out football photos from my laptop.  I now have all the photos on discs and ready to mail to Sam.  John made several trips across the street to the driving range to get in some practice with his driver.  He says he still has a combination of good and bad shots.  This afternoon and evening we watched the NFL Wildcard games.  We are having potluck after church tomorrow, so between games I made a casserole to take.  That's pretty much how our day went.

Even though the temps were a little on the cool side this morning, it was still perfect weather for walking.  We really put on the miles this week and are so thankful that John can be walking without any pain.

Last night at wood carvers some of the guys decided on an outing to Del Rio for an early lunch and to see the movie War Horse.  Since we were to meet up at the Sirloin Stockade by 11 a.m., we didn't linger over breakfast and showers.


Everyone was right on time and after an hour or so of good food and conversation, we all headed down the street to the mall and movie complex.  There were 6 couples in our group--Lois and Chuck, Darlene and Everett, Jeanne and Gene, Rodger and Tudi, Betty and Harlan, and John and I. The movie was just great and I highly recommend it--I even teared up at the ending.

After leaving the theater, I think just about everyone of us ended up at Wal Mart to do some shopping.  John and I picked up a couple of items that I missed the other day and we also found a new TV.  The one we had was only 24 inches and hard to see from across the room.  We found a 42 inch one still on sale from the holidays and grabbed it before it was gone.  The TV inventory in the store was pretty low and we were fortunate to be able to find one in stock. When John and I got home, we unloaded the new TV, got it all set up, and are now enjoying a bigger and better TV picture.  Life is good!

Well, I'm a little late in posting tonight as I have spent most of the evening having the computer fixed via a remote technician.  I hope when I push the Publish bottom, I'll see the new post with the right size and color of font.  I probably should have left my design alone, but after a couple of years, felt it needed a change.  Just didn't realize how difficult it was going to be to make it.

We were up and out right on time this morning for our walk.  When we returned to the house, Ned S. was driving by on his way to play some early golf and we ended up standing out in the yard visiting for almost an hour.  That made breakfast and showers pretty late today.

After eating, John headed off to the post office to see if there was any mail.  I had made a photo calendar on Shutterfly and have been anxiously awaiting its arrival.  It finally came and looks pretty good hanging on the fridge. John did a few chores around here the rest of the morning while I worked on clearing photos off the computer.  I have a ton of pictures from Sam's football games this past fall and decided to put them all on discs and send them to him.  


Following lunch, we headed down to the Par 3 and played some golf--game does not seemed to be getting any better.  On the way home we stopped and visited Rodger and Tudi as they just arrived from Michgan on Tuesday.  Then it was one final visit to see Lois Carlson.  She'll be starting chemo on Friday and probably won't be up to seeing folks for a while.  Lois is my Weight Watchers buddy and I miss going to the meetings with her.


John went back to wood carvers again this evening and is beginning a new project--a cowboy.  I will post some photos as soon as he gets a little further on it.  Like I said, my night was spent mostly in front of the computer watching someone else, located in Chicago, fix it.  Now it's time for bed.

I am still messing around with the arrangement and color of our blog.  I had some computer issues and I had to delete yesterday's entire post due to an error.  So I hope you'll hang with me until I can get things back under control.  I really appreciate the feedback about color and ease of reading.

This morning we took our usual walk and then John and I went our separate ways the rest of the day.  He headed off for his men's golf game and I hit the road to Del Rio to attend my Weight Watchers meeting and to do some shopping.  After the meeting, I stopped for a quick lunch and then checked out the sales in JC Penny and the new Marshalls store.   I have been looking for a pair of long sports pants to wear for walking these cooler mornings, and found a great deal on a pair of pants and matching jacket.  Now I'll be a well dressed walker.  From there I gassed up the Honda and then made the final stop at Wal Mart to restock the pantry.  Actually, it looked like Wal Mart needed to be restocked more than us.  I'm beginning to think that Wednesday might not be a good time to grocery shop.

I hit the road back to Brackettville, made a stop at the post office for mail, and then one final stop at the library to return a couple of books.  When I got back home John was relaxing watching some TV.  He told me he did a little house repair job for our pastor and just vegged the rest of the day.  We're both vegging out tonight watching college football.

 

This morning was sunny but much cooler than yesterday when we took our walk this morning--31 degrees.  Right after breakfast John left for wood carving while I started working on taking down the Christmas decorations and doing some much needed laundry.  I was hoping to get a few of the jobs around the house completed today, but last night Natalie called and said the gals wanted to play another round of golf this afternoon.  The course is usually closed on Mondays, but since today was a holiday, you could play for free.  There were several groups taking advantage of the free play.

While I was golfing with the ladies, John met up with Lloyd and Ginny and played about 5 holes down on the Par 3 Course before they had to leave for an event at the RV park.  He then came back and played some golf on the big course by himself.  When I got done with my ladies' game, I met him back at the house and we played about five more holes on the big course before calling it a day.  I don't think either of us will have trouble sleeping tonight.  If it's warm enough tomorrow morning, the ladies are scheduled to play again.  At least John was able to get the outside lights and wreaths down today--that leaves the tree for tomorrow.

Happy New Year everyone! I remember when we were younger how we always looked forward to going out on New Year's Eve and seeing in the new year with friends and family. Now that we're in our Golden Years and live in the Central Time Zone, we can see the ball drop in New York City at 11 p.m., call it good, and get to bed. Staying up past midnight is just not in the cards anymore.

This morning we did our usual Sunday routine--take a walk, eat breakfast, and head off to church for
Sunday School and worship service. After lunch we met up with five other couples at the club house for a best ball scramble. We divided up into three teams of four and played nine holes. It's a lot of fun as you end up playing with folks you haven't played with before. Two teams scored one under par and the other was two over. When we were finished playing, we all went over to Natalie and Jon's for a dinner of brats, beans, veggies, potato and jello salads. Today was Mary Jane's birthday, so for desert we had birthday cake. The weather was just perfect for playing golf and having a party outside on the patio. It was decided we'll get together and play again on the next holiday, January 16th, Martin Luther King, Jr. day. John and I got back home just in time to watch the Dallas-Giants game. We certainly had a busy and enjoyable New Year's Day.