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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Today, Mark picked up the

new refrigerator.

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

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

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!

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,

the furniture was in place and looking good.

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

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

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?

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

brought it home.  It works!

I also found a cute new

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

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.

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

already begin to gather.

Soon

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

fellowship was priceless.

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

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,

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

 

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

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.

Work and Play

Even though it has been fun kind of work, we have had a project almost everyday since we arrived here at Retama.  So, with the painting finished and most of the furniture shopping done, we decided to take a day off.

Yesterday, Mark and I returned a couple of items back to Lowes and then headed back to Retema in time for me to meet up with Sarah.  She and I had planned a girl’s day out.  Mark and Richard hung out here at the park.

Sarah called when she returned from her dental appointment and I picked her up at her house. Since it was already noontime, we decided lunch was first on our agenda.  We chose Sahadi Cafe, a great Mediterranean restaurant in McAllen.  It was my first trip, but it certainly won’t be my last.  The food was outstanding.

Sarah and I shared fresh hummus and pita bread as an appetizer.  I then chose a Greek salad and blackened chicken for my entree.  Sarah had a Gyro Wrap.  We shared a small piece of Baklava for dessert.  After lunch we took a quick stroll through the specialty market which also belongs to the restaurant.  That too merits a return trip.

After a great lunch, we decided to treat ourselves to pedicures and then a trip to Target and Office Depot.  We made our way home in time for Richard and Mark to help us unload our purchases of the day.  It was a treat to take the day off!

Sometime during the night the winds decided to pick up a little bringing in a little cooler temps for today.  However, that didn’t stop Mark and I from getting out and about and back on track with our projects.  Today we were heading to Best Buy for

 

a new TV.  We tried it on the table I had already purchased, but it just wasn’t working out like we thought.  So, we made another trip into town.  We were able to find a great little TV stand.  However, it came in

this little box with a zillion parts, nuts, bolts, and screws.  Thank goodness the instruction book was easy to follow and soon Mark had

it all together and looking great.

And…

Tonight as I write this blog, we are enjoying TV in the coach house.  We have a digital antenna, which picks up most of the local channels.  Hopefully tomorrow the Direct TV Serviceman will be here to get the satellite set up.

We have accomplished a lot in the last ten days and most everything is working out as we planned.  We still have several projects to complete before we head back to Fort Worth for the holidays.  I am ready for the big projects to be finished, as I am anxious to start working on a few decorations.  But, most of all we are ready for the work to be behind us, so we can get busy working on the the fun activities…

Men’s breakfast and Ladies Luncheons…Community Cookout’s and Saturday morning pancakes…Chick Flick’s on Monday nights and a card game or two.  And, to counteract all those eating activities, there is walking and water aerobics, and the afternoon swim group.

So, as we continue to enjoy our work and play, we hope you are enjoying this day that the Lord has made!

Back To Work

After we had a great time at Oktoberfest on Saturday and a restful Sunday, it was time to get back to work.

We have a maintenance group that takes wonderful care of the lawns and shrubs, but they only prune twice a year.  With all of the tropical systems that have come through this area over the summer, the shrubs have been on growing overload.  We talked with Sarah about doing a little trimming on our own.  She assured us that we could do our own trimming as necessary…in fact,

    

she brought her electric trimmers over and jumped right in to help us.

We thank you for the help and now

this bush doesn’t jump out and grab you when getting in and out of the car.

We enjoyed being outside in the beautiful warm weather.  The

butterflies were a little late arriving this year…I am so glad or we would have

missed them.  They are enjoying all the

beautiful flowers around the park.

Okay…it is time to get back on task.  We spent most of the day on Monday out and about looking for furniture.

We found two chairs and a small chair side table.  We had to order them and will have to wait until next Wednesday for them to be delivered from Houston.  We did find

 

a table, which will double as an entertainment center.  Then I found this great rug.  So, for now, we will continue to use our

lawn chairs.

After a day of shopping, we made it back just in time to head to the pool and hot tub and an afternoon visit with several others.  A great way to end the day.

Today, we woke to a misty rain, which soon gave way to a beautiful day with temperatures reaching the 80’s.  We headed out early to first make a stop at Best Buy to look at TV’s and refrigerators.  We got a couple of ideas.  Then it was on to Lowe’s and Home Depot for a few extra supplies.   By this time, it was time for lunch.  Today, we opted for Luby’s Cafeteria.  It has been a long time since we ate at Luby’s…wow, they have changed a lot.  I had soup and salad while Mark opted for meatloaf, new potatoes, and steamed veggies.  We shared a pineapple salad for dessert.

We made it back to the park and unloaded the car in time for me head right back out.  I was off to see Claudia at Zen Salon for a hair appointment.  She actually remembered me from last season.

While I was gone, Mark decided to get busy painting the bathroom and by the time I returned, he was down to just the cleanup.  Yeah…

all the painting is done!  We decided to just reverse the colors here, painting three of the walls and the ceiling the light green accent color and the back wall blue.

Now, comes the part I have been waiting on…decorating the walls.  Maybe I will find a few things tomorrow as Sarah and I have planned a girl’s day out!