Monday, November 22, 2010

And…the fun continued

After a great

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game in College Station on Saturday night, Karen and Kenneth made it by to the RV Park around 1 am.  Way to go Aggies!

Yesterday, we had a leisure morning…Kourtney and Caden wanted homemade blueberry pancakes…of course they got them.  And, before we could get the last bite in, they were ready for another day in the park.

While Caden and Uncle Kenneth were off riding bikes, Kourtney decided she wanted to

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climb in the tree.  Soon Caden returned

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from his bike ride and decided to

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join Kourtney in the tree.

Then, we need to check out

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the water park…a little too cold today, but a promise was made that we would come back in the summer.

Well, that thought was soon put on hold and they were

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off for

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tee time at Boo Boo’s golf course.

Some of you golfers might need a lesson from

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these two.

Well,

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the form might not be great, but

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the adventure was priceless.

We then managed to work in time for some grilled hot dogs, some afternoon football with the Dallas Cowboys , and naptime.

Wow…another great day!

Today, we enjoyed another leisure morning before starting the pick up and pack up process.  When it was time for Karen and Kenneth to head out,

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these two needed to say their good-byes to Yogi and

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catch a ride on the bus to Fort Worth with Poppa.

What a great weekend we had.  And, now, as we travel to Fort Worth, we are looking forward to time with family and friends.  We will be making our home at Cowtown RV Park this week, were we will be joined by Rod and Deb, JB and Brenda, Weldon and Sandy, and Joe and Sherri.

And, as we enter this week of Thanksgiving, we want to wish all of you a blessed holiday.  As we count our many blessings…we want you each to know that we are so blessed to be able to call each one of you family and friend.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Heading North

I know that this time of the year, North is not the direction to go.  However, when it gets to be Thanksgiving and Christmas time…this girl is going where family is.  And, besides that…North Texas isn’t really like going too far North…

At any rate, yesterday, in the warm sunshine of the RGV…

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Mark enjoyed one last cup of coffee before

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pulling out and hooking up.

We waved to several as we

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left Lark Drive and headed out

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83 and north on 281.

It wasn’t long until we were at the

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Border Patrol check.  This was a pretty busy place yesterday.  We thank these folks for the job they are doing.

We enjoyed the afternoon, not much traffic, and soon found ourselves arriving in Victoria, Texas, were we planned an overnight stop.  When here, we choose the

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Sam’s/Wal-Mart parking lot.  They are always very gracious about us staying on their lots.  And, I don’t know why they wouldn’t be…I mean after spending several dollars in both stores, we settled in for a good night’s sleep.

We were up and gone this morning before Sam’s opening.  And, once again, we headed up 77 North to Schulenburg, where we picked up I-10 East.

We made a stop at

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this beautiful roadside park.  After a short break, we traveled on East to just past Sealy, which is almost to Brookshire.  There we picked up a small farm road and headed North…and only in Texas, would you have to stop for

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a caravan of

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covered wagons and horses.

And, only in Texas…do they start riding

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at this age.

Thank goodness, at this point, we were only a few miles from

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our destination.  We checked in and settled into

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our site just in time.  It wasn’t long until Karen and Kenneth arrived to deliver

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two hungry campers.

After unloading the car, Karen and Kenneth were back in the car and on their way back to College Station.  They were looking forward to spending the rest of the day with fellow Aggies, tail-gating and going to the A&M/Nebraska football game.  Gig Em’ Aggies!

Well, once the parents were gone, (LOL), we settled in to an afternoon of fun…we

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rode bikes…

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played in the comfy zone…

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played hide and go seek…

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waved to Cindy Bear…

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went on a hayride and sang songs…

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colored shirts…

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helped Poppa wash the windshield…and

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learned how to

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make a great campfire!

Wow…and this was only day one of our trip North…and can’t wait for more just like it!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Looking Ahead…

Wow…this week has flown by.

After working so hard on the coach house, we finally have had time to just hang out.  The weather has been beautiful in the RGV this week.  We have enjoyed walks in the park, dips in the pool, pizza on the patio, visits with friends.  And, a special treat this morning was breakfast with the girls  at the Courtyard Cafe.  Afterwards, Pat, Linda, and I, decided we needed a nail appointment and a much needed pedicure. Wow, the week is almost gone.

And, now just as more and more folks arrive in the RGV, and our streets here at Retama begin to fill up, it has come time for us to hook up, and head North.

As, we look ahead…our travel plan will first take us to the Yogi Bear Park in Waller, Texas, where we plan to enjoy a couple of days with Kourtney and Caden…then it will be on to Fort Worth…where the pace will pick up.

Not only are we looking forward to time with family…we are also excited about spending a few days catching up with Rod and Deb and John and Brenda. We are also hoping that Joe and Sherri and maybe even Weldon and Sandy will be able to join us as well.  Gosh, this could be the making of a party!

So, for now, as this week draws to a close and we look forward, we invite you to travel with us and stayed tuned…for I am sure in the weeks ahead...there is an adventure in the making!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Weekend…

We woke yesterday to our first taste of fall weather.  It certainly wasn’t cold, but there was a chill in the air as we walked to the club house for Saturday morning coffee and chat.  Becky made pancakes and Mary Catherine made apple fritters.  We all sat and visited and as usual…with a bunch of  RV folks, there were more conversations and topics going on than you could keep up with.  Mark and I talked  with Ken and Fran, who are visiting here at Retama and may be prospective owners.  They are also Phaeton owners, so we shared some good Camp Red Bay stories.

As the coffee and chat session begin to break up, Mary Catherine, Becky, and I cleaned up the kitchen and got in some good girl talk.

Mark and I then decided to head out for a few errands.  I had a list of supplies I needed and I wanted to do a little window shopping for our last piece of furniture.  I also wanted to make a stop at Hobby Lobby where I had seen this

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cute basket vase.  Yep…that is just what I was looking for.

Then there was the stop at Target for those needed supplies.  After all this shopping, Mark was saying, “feed me”, so we decided on Chinese.

Now, for that last piece of furniture…which needs to be something to hold the microwave and coffee maker.  Also, want to consider a little storage.  I know in my mind what I want, but the thing that is holding me back is that I only have about 32” of wall space to work with.  Almost every server we looked at was a minimum of 40-42” and the regular microwave stands we looked at were just that.  So, now, it was time for me to start thinking outside the box…I will have to sleep on that.

This morning, the chill was still in the air and we had just a few sprinkles of rain, but there was a promise a nice day on the way.  And, sure enough by the time we got out of church, the sun was out and we were on our way to a beautiful afternoon.

I slept on that furniture idea and had a couple of places I wanted to look.  The first one was Lack’s Clearance Center in Pharr, but they didn’t open until 1:00.  Good deal, we have just enough time to stop at Jason’s Deli for soup and salad.  Yummy…one of my favorite spots and I certainly can think better on a full stomach.  It was off to Lack’s, but they didn’t have anything to offer.  Next, stop was at Oak Expressions…they had lots of pieces to choose from and several options…some I really really liked, but they were just to big…some I didn’t like…looked too much like a chest or something that belonged in a bedroom.

As I am walking around, thinking outside the box…I spotted a big computer cabinet, desk, bookshelf unit.  As I looked at it, I realized that it was lots of different mix and match pieces…so, I mixed and matched, it was working…so

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we brought it home with us.

I spent the rest of the afternoon, cleaning out a few extra dishes that we had collected in the motor home and put them here in the new cabinet.  We will bring the microwave from the storage barn in Fort Worth.

With the addition of the cabinet, we have just about finished the big projects.  When we return after the holidays, we will work on getting the cabinet unit made for

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the washer/dryer corner.

That just about wraps up our weekend, and, as a new week dawns, we look forward to warmer days, laid back days, and time with friends.

Friday, November 12, 2010

A Work In Progress…

Our work in progress is coming together day by day.  I can’t believe we have been here less than a month and have accomplished as much as we have.

I finally finished

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the wall collage.  All the pictures are from our trips.  And, the cross is the print that Lynette, made for us.  Thanks Lynette, it looks great in the collage.

I also found

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these two tiles that helped make this wall look a little more finished.

Then, I had so much fun with the wall words, that I decided to try my hand with a little

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wall art.  I am on the lookout for some butterflies to add to the flowers.

Today, Mark picked up the

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new refrigerator.

And, with it in place, I was pleased with the way

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this side of the room is shaping up.  I still have a few thoughts, and I am sure they will fall into place as I start to work on

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the other side.  Guess that means a shopping trip or two.  I have one piece of furniture left to shop for and then I will put this work in progress on hold until after the holidays.

Thanks for all the great compliments!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Not Boring Here…

I have heard some folks say that retired life is slow and boring.  Well, I can’t believe that it is already mid week again.  Seems as though, it was just the weekend.

  Yesterday we were busy all day.  First thing, Direct TV arrived to deliver the receiver boxes that we ordered on Sunday.  While Mark was busy with them, I went to the clubhouse for the first HOA meeting of the season.  Mark joined sooner than I thought.  Well, come to find out the Direct TV boxes were the wrong ones…so they had to be reordered and delivery was rescheduled for today.  To make a long story short, we really didn’t need the HD boxes after all, we just needed updated regular boxes.

After the HOA meeting, we hung around the club house, visiting and signing up for this and that.  My mom says…I was always holding my hand up…volunteering her for something.  I guess, I never changed, as I was always volunteering for something when our children were growing up…and I am still holding my hand up and probably always will.

Before, leaving the club house, I picked out two Angels from the Christmas Angel Tree.  I selected two little girls, ages 2 and 4 and look forward to shopping for them.

We headed back to the motor home for a quick lunch before Mark needed to go back to the club house kitchen.  He and some of the other guys were baking cakes.  More about that in a minute.

While he was gone, I was busy do a little baking on my own for the Tuesday evening street party.  It was a beautiful evening and the food and fellowship was great.  We all stayed a visited at Kathy and Denny’s until the chill ran us in.

This morning was another early morning…Direct TV was to arrive around 8:00 and believe it or not, they were on time.  In fact, Mark had to go meet them at the gate to let them in.  This time the correct boxes were installed, authorized, and working in short time.

By the time they were finished, it was time for us to make a trip into town to pick up the furniture at the Rooms To Go warehouse.  We got there and back pretty quick.  And, again, in short order,

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the furniture was in place and looking good.

I now had just enough time to change clothes and walk up to the club house

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for our monthly ladies luncheon.

We usually all bring a dish to share, but today we were treated to lunch…cooked by the guys.  That is why Mark was helping bake cakes yesterday.  And, not only was the food prepared by the guys, they served it to us and stayed to clean up the kitchen.  Thanks guys…lunch was great.  We all enjoyed it so much, they have decided to make this an annual event for our November luncheon.

After lunch, we made a run to Wal-Mart to pick up some pictures I had uploaded for print.  I am working on filling

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the wall collage using pictures that we have taken from our travels.

The afternoon heated up quite nicely, so a trip to the pool and hot tub was in order.  We then called it an early evening.  Who ever said retired life was slow and boring?

Monday, November 8, 2010

Warm Leisure Days

After getting that extra hours sleep on Saturday night, we were awakened yesterday by the sunshine coming in the windows just a tab bit earlier than we were use to.  We were thankful for the warm sunshine and the promise of a beautiful day.

    After breakfast, we headed into town for worship services at First Baptist in McAllen. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to lunch at Furr’s Fresh Market Buffet.  We also made a stop by Ashley Furniture, where they were having a sale on rugs.

I found one that I liked just as well as the one I took back, so we loaded it up and

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brought it home.  It works!

I also found a cute new

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door mat.

We then settled in to watch a little Sunday afternoon football.  Or, maybe, I should say try to watch the football games.  The Direct TV box that we put in the coach house is an old standard box that we have been using for the extra box in the bedroom of the motor home.  We knew that we would have to upgrade it at some point.  Today, we were made aware of that very thought, because…guess what…no NFL package channels worked.  So, we brought in back in to the motor home…still no 700 channels.

Not good…so, I phoned Direct TV, and let me just say this…after 3 phone calls, ordering two new boxes, trying to explain mobile east/west service, and the difference between a billing address and a delivery address, I was exhausted.  However, bottom line…I learned that there is nothing really wrong with the little old box other than it is just old and it takes an HD receiver box to get the 700 channels.

The new boxes are supposed to be delivered tomorrow to us here in Mission and not to the billing address in Fort Worth.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that they have it straight.  If all goes well, by next Sunday afternoon, Mark should be able to watch his afternoon football games in the coach house.

Then, gosh, before I knew it, I looked up and even though it was only 5:30, it was totally dark outside.  Who turned off the sunshine?  Okay, I am already ready for daylight savings time to come back.  I am not a real morning person, so I would rather have that extra hour of light in the afternoon.  Oh, well, it will be back in the Spring, but, for now I will have to start enjoying the mornings a little more.

This morning, once again the warm sunshine was coming trough the windows and we were up to start enjoying it.  There was no real plan for the day, so, after breakfast, I started the laundry. Mark decided to assemble our little

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fire pit.

  We have been carrying it around with us for quite some time now.  We just never got to use it, as there was either no wood…or no fires allowed. So, we are hoping to make good use of it here and enjoy some nice evening fires.

I had also started a Wal Mart list…and first thing I knew, Mark had the keys and we were headed into town.  We also made a dry run by the Rooms To Go warehouse to make sure we know where to go on Wednesday to pick up the chairs.

We were back home in time to enjoy the warm afternoon temperatures…so, along with several others, we make a trip to the pool and hot tub which ended another beautiful day in the RGV.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Yeah…An Extra Hour

For now, and until we get the coach house finished all of our days are about the same…and that is…what project is on the agenda for today.

We purchased an indoor antenna for the TV so we could pick up the local channels.  Good idea, but, it didn’t work quit like we thought it should.  We could pick up all the major channels except for for ABC…of course, that is the one we watch the most.  Go figure.  So, we made a run in to town to Best Buy to discuss the other possibilities.  The young man that helped us said basically it should work, however, we found that we are located just beyond what is the range of the antenna.  Now, we could get a really long range antenna…of course at a much higher cost, or we can go to an outdoor antenna.  After a little discussion, we decided to just return the antenna, pocket the money, and research the outdoor antenna a little more.

We made a few more stops including Sam’s.  I think that was planned because we arrived just in time for lunch.   A polish hot dog is one of Mark’s favorite lunches. So lunch it was before returning to the park for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, Friday…Mark went to breakfast with several of the guys.  I took advantage of his morning out and about and did the laundry and a little house cleaning.

Here is my cleaning tip of the day:  I found Rain X Cleaner (a paste) works great on the shower doors.  And, then I was recently was introduced to a daily shower spray, Method…a Target product.  It is working great as well.

I had just finished with my cleaning and preparing my grocery list when Mark returned.  Gosh, they have been gone so long, I thought they might have been staying on until lunch. LOL

Now, my turn to head out.  I was off to get my nails done and do the grocery shopping.  That was okay with him, as he was waiting for Direct TV to come to install the dish for the coach house.  We decided this would be our best option for the coach house.  We can use the extra box from the motor home.

They were just finishing when I returned.  So, while Mark finished up with them, I put away the groceries and prepared a Carmel Apple Salad for the community cookout.

We soon gathered our chicken for grilling and our dish to share and headed to the clubhouse.

Several had

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already begin to gather.

Soon

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the grill was ready and the side dishes were just waiting.  There were baked potatoes, grilled potatoes, corn casserole, roasted vegetables, apple salad, homemade donut holes and carrot cake.  The food was all yummy and

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fellowship was priceless.

I stopped on the way back to the motor home to admire this

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pretty rose.

Again, this morning, Saturday…Mark was up early and headed to the clubhouse for the first Saturday morning breakfast where he was helping several of the other guys do the cooking.  The menu this morning was brats, eggs, potatoes and biscuits…coffee and juice.  A great breakfast for $4. I opted to stay home...to much food for me.

Mark’s cooking tip for the day…the biscuits were made with BIsquick, Sprite, and sour cream.  He said they were really good.

By mid morning, I had finished the ironing and was ready to start on my projects for the day.  Today’s plan…wall decorations.

First,

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I applied some wall words…I am still looking for something to go under the words.

Next, I moved to the other wall and worked on a

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picture collage.   Now, I just have to go through all my pictures and pick out what I want to go in each frame.

Mark worked on hanging the

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dragon fly and watching football.

Then, I decided that I didn’t really like the rug I had purchased.  The stripes were not sewn straight and it really bothered me.  So, we rolled it up and returned it to Lowe’s.  I didn’t see another one that I liked, so I guess I will be back to rug shopping.  Maybe I will wait until after the chairs come this week.

Tonight, we enjoyed our first meal in the coach house while watching our Texas Aggies win over OU.  Way to go…Gig Em’ Aggies!

Gosh, after all we have done for the last few days, I am glad that we get an extra hour out of this day.  I sure needed it and look forward to that extra hour of sleep tonight.