After several days of cloudy, cold, damp weather, today dawned bright and clear.  When we left the house for our morning walk, the thermometer read 31 degrees, but once the sun came up, it didn't take long to warm up.  We ended up with a beautiful day to be outside.  

John and I followed our usual Sunday morning routine and were home from church a little after noon.  On our way home, John B. called and asked John if he would like to play a round of golf.  The guys decided to meet up at the clubhouse at 1:15 p.m.  While John was gone, I cleaned up the kitchen, did some reading, and watched the Colts/Ravens game.  When he returned home, John asked if I would like to go out with him and do some chipping and putting after he teed off and played the fairways.  We played nine holes before calling it a day.  With the warmer weather and sunshine, there were plenty of golfers out today.

We spent a pretty quiet evening watching more NFL, a few of our favorite TV shows, and just vegging out.

John and I were up and out the door for our walk before first light.  The morning was cloudy and cold, but by afternoon, the clouds moved out and the sunshine returned.  The temps remained on the cold side even with the sun--high's only reached into the upper 40's. 

As soon as we got home from our walk, we gathered up plates and eating utensils and headed over to the RV park for the weekly breakfast.  We ate with John and Natalie T. from Walker, MN.  They arrived back at the fort the early part of December, but this was the first we had a chance to visit with them.  Attendance at the breakfast was down this morning due to the cold temps.

Before heading back home, we made a quick stop in town to pick up the mail and then spent the rest of the morning doing a few chores around the house.  Following lunch, John met up with John B. and Paul E. for a round of golf.  I opted out and stayed home to make some buns and watch the Texans played the first wildcard game.  This evening we're watching the Vikings game.  

John and I slept in a little later this morning and didn't leave the house until 8 a.m. for our walk. We had thunder, rain, and some sleet overnight that left some big puddles and muddy paths on the golf course.

I need to bring a copy of my MRI to my doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks, so since it was cold and rainy, we thought this would be a good day to drive over to Uvalde and pick it up.  I called the hospital's radiology department first thing this morning and they said I could pick up the report and disc around noon.  We got to the hospital right after noon and I only had to wait a few minutes to get what I needed.  From there we went to Wendy's for a quick lunch, and then on to Wal Mart to pick up a few items we missed yesterday.  

John and I arrived back at the fort just in time for me to drop him off at home and then head back into town for my haircut appointment.  That pretty much sums up our day--not much happening around here on a cold, rainy day.  Weather is suppose to improve next week.  

John and I bundled up once again for our morning walk.  The cold weather continued again today with high temps only reaching into the upper 40's.  Add to that were cloudy skies and dampness which made the day a pretty miserable to be out of doors. 

Since we didn't plan to play couples' golf this afternoon (not sure anyone played due to the cold), we decided to head off to Del Rio and do some shopping.  We arrived in town just in time for lunch, so our first stop was Wendy's.  From there we went to Home Depot to pick a 20 amp circuit breaker.  The current 15 amp breaker keeps kicking out when our little heater runs when the TV and lights are on in the living room.  We stopped to gas up the Honda and then made a final stop at Wal Mart for a few groceries, fresh produce, and a few other miscellaneous items.  We were back at the fort a little before 4 p.m. and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening staying toasty warm in the house.  Tomorrow's weather is suppose to be even cooler than today. 

Today was cold and cloudy, but at least the strong winds of yesterday died down.  We were up and out the door at first light for our morning walk.  John and I took the shorter route around the golf course this morning.

After breakfast, John headed down to the clubhouse for men's golf.  Due to the chilly temps (47 degrees) only six guys showed up so they had two teams of three each.  John said he played a good round and his drives were nice and straight.  John B. and Paul E. were among the six who played this morning and, along with John, decided to play again after lunch.  John asked me if I wanted to go along to chip and putt, but I opted out.  It was just too cold to sit in the cart while they played the fairways.  I stayed nice and warm at home reading and watching a Closer episode on my Kindle.

It's suppose remain pretty chilly here over the next couple of days, so most folks are hunkered down inside and that makes things pretty quiet here on the fort.

 

After a late night, we still got up early for our morning walk--there was no sleeping in.  We must be gluttons for punishment.  The temps remained on the chilly side today with some weak sunshine and strong winds.  As we were eating breakfast, this big guy came through our yard.

 During the party last night, the guys made arrangements to play golf this morning.  We all bundled up against the elements and, with the strong winds, everyone pretty much played a lousy round.  When the golfing finally got done, we headed down to Burger and Shake for some lunch.  Darlene and Everett were already there with Chuck and Lois who just returned late yesterday afternoon from visiting family for the Christmas holidays.  As usual the conversation was interesting and lively.

When we returned home, John headed over to Ralph's to install a new kitchen faucet.  Once he was finished with that chore, he went to the driving range to practice his swing.  He said he hit the ball far and straight and doesn't know why he struggled so much playing this morning.  While he was gone, I watched the final episode of the first season of Downton Abby on my Kindle and did some reading.  Our evening was a pretty quiet one spent watching the Rose and Orange Bowls. 

December 31, 2012 - Due to the late hour last night, yesterday's happenings are being published this morning.

The temps were 20 degrees warmer this morning when we left the house for our walk and it felt almost balmy.  We started out with winter hats and gloves, but soon had to take them off.  

Becky called as we were eating breakfast to say that wood carvers was canceled because Wallace was under the weather.  John called Gene B. to let him know and, since there was no carving, the guys decided to play a round of golf.  John also called Rodger and Tootie and that made a nice foursome.  

While John was gone, I did a little laundry and some cleaning around the house.  As John passed the house on his way to the ninth hole, he stuck his head in the door and said we would be eating lunch at Burger and Shake when the they were done playing.  It wasn't long before we were headed off to meet the group for lunch and an hour or so of conversation.

This evening Rodger, Tootie, Gene, Jeanne, Darlene, Everett, Paul, and Melinda gathered at our house to see in the New Year.  Everyone brought snacks, drinks, and games to share.  We had a fun night with much story telling and laughter.  The game playing went on until after midnight when the party finally broke up. After our guests left, John and I gathered up the empty cups and dishes, put leftover snacks away, and called it a night.  It was a great way to see in the New Year.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!