Saturday, December 31

Things on my mind

I spent two hours straight making this bracelet. It has been a long time since I was so focused and immersed in a project. I did not bring the beads it took to make this bracelet so I have been working with Peggy's beads. Thus Peggy's bracelet!
Other things get put aside when I am having this kind of fun so gaps in the blog are now accounted for.

I have had two instances where people have not turned on their computer for a year. They either were not big computer users to begin with or have switched to their phones for all. The problem with doing that is that they do not function correctly until updates and maintenance have been completed. Turning it on for a few minutes for a specific reason can end up taking hours or not work at all. I remember when I worked on a friends computer she found in the back of a closet while moving. It took a week to get it updated and that was leaving it on all the time and shutting it down and restarting it frequently. If you have a computer that you do not use the old adage 'use it or lose it' comes to mind. You would benefit from selling it or donating it if years will pass before turning it on again. 

I recently read a good article about backing up your computer to an external or internal hard drive and being able to easily choose what is backed up and how often. Let me know if you would like to see the article and I will email it to you.

The propane guy stopped by to see if we needed any propane. It was still on half full but I had him top it off. He said business has been really slow due to the warm weather. He also wished me Happy New Year and said please do not drink and drive. You must leave that to the professionals! Gladly!!

Just finished our walk. Butch, Peggy and I have a reputation in the park as the walkers. You can set your watch by us. 10:00 and 4:00. Our route is 1.2 miles and we times it by two. It is not good for weight loss but is perfect to keep all systems working. Staying healthy in the warmth of deep south Texas!


Monday, December 26

Miss Elise

She has a flare. Elise with her friend Maddox.


And here she is with her new doll, Belle.

Sunday, December 25

Santa Jason

Santa Jason looks cheerful! His lovely wife Laura said she didn't think this picture was suitable for social media because he was in his underwear but who would know! Looks like Santa is nearly ready for the beach!

Thursday, December 22

Merry Christmas

As we get older, time runs faster, so we must do things sooner. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

Wednesday, December 21

Moseyed to Mexico

Marlene and Bernard came over and we ganged up with Bill and Kay Stilson along with Peggy and made our way south. Bill and Kay always drive in because they go to the south part of Progreso to our favorite pharmacist, Hector. So the Kelley's and the Stilson's drove in while Butch, Peggy and I parked on the US side as we usually do and walked down to Hectors. I swear it is over a mile, maybe closer to two! It was well worth the trip. Prices were less than the last time I went down. Marlene said a bottle of eyedrops she buys in the US for $180 were $29. And the prescription I buy that are $150 with insurance are $63 this trip. They were $71 last time. Peso and inflation...
So we all went back to Elsa's for Panchos and Margarita's. We always look forward to that stop. Just as we were getting ready to leave Kay realizes she has forgotten their passports! So after a bunch of angst it all turned out okay. Their drivers licenses sufficed this time. They did a bit more checking but it all turned out well.
You all should come with us. We have a really good time.

Sunday, December 18

Issues and Hunkered...again

We winter in an old park so things are old. And every so often an issue arises that can be directly related to old age and sewer problems is one of them. It is usually a short-lived issue and we get on with it. However this time it has risen to be a bigger problem, one that might include a backhoe and several feet of pipe replacement. They have found quite a large section where the pipe has collapsed.
Dottie, the manager, knocked on our door this morning and asked if we needed to dump our black tank and yes we do, so she has suggested we move the RV to another site and so we will. It should be short term but one never knows. This a reasonable request but naturally is more than we want to deal with on a cold and windy day. Butch thinks perhaps we could move the MoHo, dump our black tank and then return to our spot since we can go about 5 days between dumps. Surely it will be repaired in 5 days time, I say hopefully. So we are thinking we can do this tomorrow. Another complication will be that until we are back in our usual spot we will not have an internet connection. I can take the Chromebook up to the library but for me, that will be a last resort.
Smileycons!
 And now on to the weather report... I know it is lots colder up north so my sniveling may fall on deaf ears but Damn! it is cold outside. The front came through at 3:50 am. How do I know that you might ask? It was 70 degrees outside when we went to bed at 10:00p m so we had the window open and the fan on and when the front came through at about 20-30 MPH it was noticeable. Over the next hour, it dropped to 43 degrees outside and 63 inside. So I asked Butch to turn off the AC and put it on heat. I could do it but I am too short and cannot see the controls without getting a stool. Easier to ask Butch. So this cold spell, the second of the season, is supposed to ease up by Wednesday and I certainly hope so!! Hunkered down once again so we are watching The Crown on Netflix learning a great deal about English history. Next summer at Trivia night we hope to be a force to be reckoned with. Except they will ask us a question about the Simpsons that none of us know one thing about.

Smileycons!

Saturday, December 17

A Visit with Marlene and Bernard


Marlene and Bernard are in South Texas. It always feels like family is closer with them in Harlingen, a 20 mile ride from Donna. Bernard was telling us that when his sister Jeanette was in Germany with her husband, he made a cribbage board out of a piece of wood and Bernard decided it would be the best choice to use in Texas this winter. Marlene and I liked it.



 And this is a tree their son Dwight planted when he spent some time in South Texas a couple of years ago. It sure has grown! I swear you can stick a dead stick in the ground and it will thrive.

Thursday, December 15

Parade 2016

Peggy and I led the Christmas parade. It has become a tradition for us to lead the parade. She dresses as Santa and rings a cowbell while I wear moose antlers while pretending I am a reindeer. I kept my head gear on while we enjoyed our Subway sandwiches in Allen Hall. Over time I noticed my jaw was hurting-both sides. I kept massaging my jaw as it continued to hurt. Peggy said hers did as well and we thought perhaps it was from smiling while we walked the 1.2 mile parade route. My jaws continued to hurt and it was concerning me as jaw pain is one symptom of a heart attack. So after the event, I removed my head gear and had INSTANT RELIEF!! I cannot believe I sat there the entire time and did not take off my head gear sooner. One of the dumber things I did today!!😖

OMG Dancers

My friend Colleen sent me a smile!
It will fill you with joy and love and laughing and crying and wanting to dance again, dance your life away.

Tuesday, December 13

Busy and productive week

The house is clean. Meal planning is done through Thursday. Been getting the two walks in easily (tip: the secret is to set a time and stay accountable.)

Tomorrow night's supper:



Ingredients
2 1/2 to 3 pounds beef round steak
2 green peppers, sliced thin
2 onions, sliced thin
3 cups beef stock
2 teaspoons garlic salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 envelope dry Italian dressing mix
1 to 2 large loaves French bread, sliced into sandwich lengths or 6 to 8 hoagie buns
Provolone cheese slices
Directions :
Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray or use a slow cooker liner. Cut meat into thin strips, place in slow cooker. Add green pepper, onion, stock, garlic salt, pepper and dressing mix. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.
Spoon meat mixture onto toasted buns, top with cheese. You can then put the sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake an additional few minutes to melt the cheese and toast the sandwich. You can also serve with sliced sauteed mushrooms on top

Butch is golfing on Tuesdays. Been shooting in the 30's and he is happy with that...for now.Smileycons!


Sunday, December 11

Great Photo

My cousin Howard Ed Zimmerle took this photo of his brother-in-law Jerry Moss. The photo grabbed my attention. Any time that is true you know it is a good photo. Right away you wonder what he might be thinking...
For my family members who do not remember Jerry, he is Phyllis Zimmerle Moss' husband. Aunt Ruby's and uncle Phil's son-in-law. Uncle Phil was my mother's brother. Cleared it right up, Right?

Saturday, December 10

smartrvproducts.com

On our way south we stopped in Carthage MO for a week and while there, parked at Coachlight RV Park where we visited with Alan, a friend we met at Coachlight way back in 2002. We always talk all stuff RV with Alan every time we meet up and this time was no exception. So we talked refrigerators. RV refrigerators are notoriously inefficient. They are fine for camping trips and other ventures but they are far from the same as a residential fridge. But over the years we have learned to get by. It is a given that things do not stay as cold and thus do not last as long. Ice cream may not be liquid but is close to it and you can dish it up straight from the freezer with an ordinary spoon. Milk must be used promptly as it will sour quicker. Over time you do get used to it. We purchased a small battery operated fan that takes two big ol' D batteries and lasts about a month. It was a moderately useful step. It circulated the air and increased the efficiency a tiny bit. We are on our second fridge in the RV because our first stopped working. We had made up our mind that if it happened again we were going to replace it with a residential one and that is still the plan.
But now we get to the good part. Alan told us about a fan he installed in his RV fridge that totally changed things. He said he turned the fridge down from 5 to 3 and everything kept colder longer. He didn't have to defrost it nearly as often and on and on about how good it was. We were impressed and decided if  all was true it would be worth doing. So we ordered one and we installed it last Wednesday. It is a bit of a deal to install and takes time, patience and a bit of study. But if a person is handy at all and Butch certainly is, it is a piece of cake. We had been running ours on 5 and we are down to 3 and may need to go lower if possible. Our temp is staying steady at 32 degrees but not freezing. Last night we had to use an ice cream scoop instead of a spoon to dish out ice cream. Whoo Hoo we are impressed!
smartrvproducts.com  is where we ordered it. They are based in Oklahoma. Very helpful if you call.


Before installation
After installation

Ours is a Norcold. Any questions, just ask.

Friday, December 9

Still hunkered

This morning at 6:00 am it was 43 degrees. It is a wet cold so quite penetrating. Besides, we have been here long enough to get acclimated to warm temps. Not sure I will ever get acclimated to humid
Today was computer class. Only two students ventured out but they were very motivated so it was a fun morning. I often say I learn as much as the students and that remains true. What happens is they will ask a question that requires a bit of research on my part and then I am off on a learning excursion and that is what I enjoy.
Tonight Butch will head to the pool hall as usual and I will find something to do. Last night we watched a feature on Netflix.


Babies is a documentary about babies. It is not about how babies are made. It's not about how babies learn or develop. It's just film of babies doing what babies do. There is no narration or point or anything. It's just about some babies from around the world. Babies are adorable and by extension this documentary is adorable. If you like watching babies being babies give this one a look. Oh, and if you have a girlfriend with baby fever do everything in your power to keep her from watching this movie.

It was very interesting and surprising in places.

Netflix is our savior and never more so than when we are in south Texas. We are on old-fashioned antenna. Yes, the pokey thing on the roof. We get the main 3 stations, several Mexican stations, and public television. In Iowa our main station, that we watch the most is public television or IPT and it is a full-bodied experience offering 3 different viewing options. The main one that has national offerings, then Create and it is like the name suggests offering creative things, and then World, offering stories and features from all over the World. In south Texas it is much different. There are two. One is called Cozi and is made up of old TV show reruns and movies. And the other is somewhat of the main one in Iowa except they also cover local city and county council meetings.  No create. No World. Smileycons!
So we turn to Netflix. Yes, I must rely on a good, fast Internet service but I rather insist on that anyway. So it works for us.

Thursday, December 8

Taste of Winter!

We are hunkered down in our warmest of clothing, with all our shades closed tight, electric blanket on the bed. The TV keeps beeping and the warning tape runs across the bottom of the screen telling people to take care of their pets and to wear warm clothing because hypothermia sets in very quickly. Keep in mind the AC was running yesterday. They are saying temps could dip into the 30's. Add rain and strong winds and it is very unpleasant. Sunday is supposed to be back in the 80's.
 Smileycons!


Sunday, December 4

Saturday, December 3

Friday and Saturday

This week was mostly taken up with garage sale. No matter what is taking place the time flies!! Friday we were preparing for the monthly garage sale. I was one of those participating. Butch and I gather our unwanted and unneeded items throughout the year. I have a large tub in one of the bins of the motorhome and when I run across an item that qualifies I put it in the tub in the bin. Then each December we participate in the monthly garage sale taking place in the park and pare down our belongings. This is the most trouble-free way to ever have a garage sale. All of the items are together in one place and it takes little or no time to get them displayed and priced.
On Friday after we were all set up and ready for the sale, so Butch and I went to a movie. Fascinating Beasts and where to find them. It was worth seeing and I would like to because it had so many interesting tidbits.
Today was the sale and we did well. It is always good to get this sale behind us.

I have jumped headlong into beading again. And Keri will be glad to know I am working diligently on ISU bracelets and they are coming along nicely. So now back to beading!!

Monday, November 28

Roadtrip

Butch and I went to McAllen this morning with stops at Chase Bank and Costco.
We needed some cash, gas at Costco ($1.79) and a few food items.
I have been doing some steady beading the past couple of days and have finished off a couple and started a new one. It is once again enjoyable.
We later found out there was a record high temperature in McAllen today of 99 degrees. We are ready for a cool down!

Sunday, November 27

Sunday breakfast

We do not go every Sunday but now and again we go to the El Dorado for  a sausage and egg breakfast taco. They are the very best here. And then we like to do our grocery shopping on Sunday morning. We are small town folk who like roomy grocery aisles and Sunday morning is the best time to find them.

Rhubarb???

We take our rhubarb for granted in the north. Rhubarb is a cold weather crop and cannot be grown in deep south Texas. Many have tried and all have failed. The conditions here are just not favorable for our redheaded friend. So imagine my surprise when I went to my favorite grocery store, H.E.B. and spotted rhubarb in the produce department. It surprised me so much that I had to take a picture!
And you might think I was mistaken about what it is but I am not.


And here is a close up of the price tag and in fine print, you can see that it states it to be RHUBARB!


Saturday, November 26

Black Friday?

For Rv'ers, black Friday or even Thursday can mean it is time to empty the black tank.Smileycons!
Our life isn't really much different when we are south as it is when we are north. Perhaps a bit busier at times but for the most part, we are creatures of habit.
I have been beading lately. It helps to keep my hands busy. I go on a picture taking jaunt now and then.
This is my view from my computer corner.

Thursday, November 24

Happy Thanksgiving

"Practicing gratitude is a very powerful tool to shift your attention on the things you don't have to the things you do have and this alone will make you feel better." Noelia Aanulds, Happiness: Learn How To Be Happy And Boost Your Life

Sunday, November 20

Keri's walk

Keri went for a walk on the bike trail and sent me this picture of the pampas grass. Always changing, always beautiful!

Saturday, November 19

Went to Mexico

We went to Mexico yesterday. Prices are up and we were told it was due to inflation. They expect it will get worse.
Also, the begging was much, much worse as is the hawking. (Definition of HAWKING: This term means to sell goods on the street and to attract the attention of people by calling out.)
It was hot and we walked all over that town looking at prices mainly. Susan and Amanda will be happy to learn that we purchased vanilla for them. 
We ate lunch at Elsa's. We had Pancho's with white cheese. Not as good as I remembered them to be. Butch did not share my opinion so perhaps it was just me and the head cold I am suffering that made it seems so.
I was very tired when we came home and took a nap. Went to bed early too. We had a rip-snorter of a storm last night with wind, heavy rain, thunder, and lightening.  I was slightly aware of it.
I conducted a computer class yesterday. It was a trial and a battle of minds with one person who shall remain anonymous. She lost in more ways than she will ever know. Am I worried about her somehow seeing this post. Not even a little bit.
Till next time...






Wednesday, November 16

Myrla on my mind

Myrla called tonight. I have been thinking of her so it was nice to hear from her. Myrla is my half-sister, although I have never thought of her as anything less than full, sister or otherwise. She has a big personality despite her 4 ft 10 inch height.
Myrla recently lost her partner of 33 years. She says Scott comes to her now and then. Most often when "The Price is Right" is on. That's my girl!
Here are a couple of pictures of her. Oh and yes, she is young enough to be my daughter.
Myrla with Hewy and Peaches

Here she is with Peaches and Tippy.


Monday, November 14

Back to beading

I haven't done much beading for the past two years. I have been saying for far too long that I was going to take it up again. Well, by golly, I did! Yesterday and here is proof!
The current project is the orange and copper one. I have a good start.

Missouri Great Grands


Leo and Elise



Friday, November 11

Hard day's work

Butch and I managed to get quite a bit done today. Butch cleaned up the tires and got the tire covers on. I recently read how important those tire covers are to the life of tires so that was a good deed done. I went through the mail that had arrived since we departed Jefferson. Fortunately, it was a short stack and easily dispensed with. Butch worked on getting the windshield cleaned and the cover on it. I helped with ladder holding. We are quickly getting down to usual daily life. Peggy and I did 2 walks today. Butch joined us on one of them. Late in the day I was able to enjoy a long conversation with our friend Kay Stilson and we caught up on the happenings of our summer.
Now to find something to post on the Magnolia Blog and at this moment I have writer's block.

Thursday, November 10

In far South Texas

We have arrived at Magnolia Villages/Park for another season of warmth. At least we hope so. They tell us they recently had really hot weather last week in the 90's. But now a cold front has gone through and now these hot house flowers are all so cold. Not feeling their pain just yet as it feels very fine to us.
We came down 77 this year. We had not done that for a very long time. I will have to check past blog entries to see how long it has been. Time can slip away and two years can quickly become five. It is magic. I have seen it happen. As near as I can tell we last came down this way in 2006. And as it happens it was the last time we were on the Indian Nations Turnpike and we tangled with a toll booth. So far that route has not been one our best choices. Perhaps it is because we do not do it often enough to become familiar with all it's oddities.

Ray of Hope

Posting this for everyone I can think of that needs a ray of hope.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/11/10/1595290/-Garrison-Keillor-Trump-voters-will-see-his-disasters-fall-on-them-more-than-anyone-else?detail=email&link_id=3&can_id=b0e31273dd41301ee4bcec3aad2eec75&source=email-trumps-pyrrhic-victory-provides-a-big-silver-lining-for-democrats&email_referrer=trumps-pyrrhic-victory-provides-a-big-silver-lining-for-democrats&email_subject=trumps-pyrrhic-victory-provides-a-big-silver-lining-for-democrats

Wednesday, November 9

Wednesday-Fall trip2016

We started early and it was a trouble-free travel day. I have forgotten that I am not at all crazy about the road conditions on Hwy 19, 79, and 77. It becomes okay about at Halletsville but that is a stinking long way down the road! The worst part for me is when there are two lanes on each side but the outside lane has no shoulder. There is a great deal of northern hwy 77 that is exactly that way.
We are parked in Ancient Oaks RV park in Rockport TX. Probably for the last time. When I called for a reservation they wanted my credit card number. Reluctantly I gave it to them but thought it would not be used until we arrived. We were talking it over last night about going more directly south so I called to cancel and was told that we could get a credit for another time but not get our money back. Not a good answer for me. So we stuck with the original plan because it is very hard to tell when and if we will ever be this way again.
They do have good WiFi. They did not tell me right off. I had to ask and make a special trip to the office for the code. Each site has its own code. So far it is indeed working well.
We unhooked the car and went downtown for a restaurant meal at the Bakery Cafe. It was a good meal. It is the first restaurant meal we have had since leaving Carthage. Being able to eat at home is one of the best things about traveling in a motorhome.
My travel basket.

A possible craft project?

Tuesday, November 8

Monday and Tuesday-Fall of 2016 trip

Monday, Nov 7th
We are parked at Antlers RV Park in Antlers OK. They say they have WiFi but with only one bar I say they do not. So I am writing this for a future post.
The travel portion of the trip was fine. We encountered a few light rain showers but nothing to give us any problem. We left Carthage at 7:15 AM thanks to the time change. I was concerned about morning commute traffic to Joplin but it was not an issue.
We are parked in our spot for the night. The manager told us that if we hear a train to head for the bunker.  Because there are no train tracks anywhere near here! I think it is great that they are tornado ready.
The Bunker- I have wondered what would happen if they had a tornado and an earthquake at the same time.


They had a small earthquake here yesterday and it broke a waterline. Butch is out talking to the repair guy. You know how that goes...
Yesterday Butch was cleaning bugs off the windshield and he told me to stand up front and point at the bug spots because they are hard to see from the outside. They were numerous so I marked them so I didn't have to stand there and wait for him to notice. When he finally looked at my handiwork he got quite a chuckle out of it.


Tuesday, Nov 8th
This morning I had butterflies. The past trip days I had been fine. But this morning my phone had no data function. This meant I was unable to program the gps. I thought maybe it was my phone but Butch's was giving the same indications. That made me very nervous. Our first session of travel was on the Indian Nation Turnpike. I kept checking and there kept being NO SIGNAL. The road was also terrible. We crossed into Texas and it was like magic, smooth road and phone service. We were elated...temporarily. I verbally gave the gps our next destination. It did not want to take the whole address so finally I shortened it to Franklin Texas and it seemed to work...for awhile. What happened as we found out after the fact was that the phone heard me say Frankston instead of Franklin and yes there are two towns of those names and they are less than 100 miles apart. So all of a sudden the directions were not making sense. It took way too long just to discover that much and we ended up on some very questionable roads in the process. Finally, after a couple of wrong turns that was trying to get us to Frankston we made the correction but still had to get back on track. In so doing we turned onto a road that was one lane and had had zero maintenance for at least 30 years. It was a very long 8+ miles!
Our top speed was 5 or 6 mph. It was rough, bumpy, and the edges were missing in many places. It did eventually connect us to a county road that then got us back to hwy 19 but what a harrowing journey.

We had a few sprinkles and light rain showers for the early part of the day but the farther south we traveled the harder the rain became and as we landed at the park in Franklin it was raining steadily. I asked the gal running the place if they had much rain and she said yes that it had been raining all day. This is not a park we may have chosen had we seen it before but they are friendly, they saved a pull- through spot for us and they have EXCELLENT free WiFi. She also knocked $3 off the fee as a consolation that they were neither Good Sam or Passport America.

So for the night we are warm,dry,settled and soon to have supper.

Monday and Tuesday-Fall of 2016 trip

Monday, Nov 7th
We are parked at Antlers RV Park in Antlers OK. They say they have WiFi but with only one bar I say they do not. So I am writing this for a future post.
The travel portion of the trip was fine. We encountered a few light rain showers but nothing to give us any problem. We left Carthage at 7:15 AM thanks to the time change. I was concerned about morning commute traffic to Joplin but it was not an issue.
We are parked in our spot for the night. The manager told us that if we hear a train to head for the bunker.are no train tracks anywhere near here! I think it is great that they are tornado ready.
 Because there
They had a small earthquake here yesterday and it broke a waterline. Butch is out talking to the repair guy. You know how that goes...
Yesterday Butch was cleaning bugs off the windshield and he told me to stand up front and point at the bug spots because they are hard to see from the outside. They were numerous so I marked them so I didn't have to stand there and wait for him to notice. When he finally looked at my handiwork he got quite a chuckle out of it.


Tuesday, Nov 8th
This morning I had butterflies. The past trip days I had been fine. But this morning my phone had no data function. This meant I was unable to program the gps. I thought maybe it was my phone but Butch's was giving the same indications. That made me very nervous. Our first session of travel was on the Indian Nation Turnpike. I kept checking and there kept being NO SIGNAL. The road was also terrible. We crossed into Texas and it was like magic, smooth road and phone service. We were elated...temporarily. I verbally gave the gps our next destination. It did not want to take the whole address so finally I shortened it to Franklin Texas and it seemed to work...for awhile. What happened as we found out after the fact was that the phone heard me say Frankston instead of Franklin and yes there are two towns of those names and they are less than 100 miles apart. So all of a sudden the directions were not making sense. It took way to long just to discover that much and we ended up on some very questionable roads in the process. Finally, after a couple of wrong turns that was trying to get us to Frankston we made the correction but still had to get back on track. In so doing we turned onto a road that was one lane and had had zero maintenance for at least 30 years. It was a very long 8+ miles!
Our top speed was 5 or 6 mph. It was rough, bumpy, and the edges were missing in many places. It did eventually connect us to a county road that then got us back to hwy 19 but what a harrowing journey.

We had a few sprinkles and light rain showers for the early part of the day but the farther south we traveled the harder the rain became and as we landed at the park in Franklin it was raining steadily. I asked the gal running the place if they had much rain and she said yes that it had been raining all day. This is not a park we may have chosen had we seen it before but they are friendly, they saved a pull through spot for us and they have EXCELLENT free WiFi. She also knocked $3 off the fee as a consolation that they were neither Good Sam or Passport America.

So for the night we are warm,dry
,settled and soon to have supper.

Sunday, November 6

Off we go!

Headed south tomorrow morning. The forecast is for rain.It will be the first time in a very long time that we will be traveling in less than perfect weather. Butch says he does not mind driving in the rain as long as it isn't heavy. So we hope for the best. We are headed for Antlers OK located off the Indian turnpike. It is 251 miles from our current location at Carthage MO. I asked the manager at Antlers RV Park how far off the turnpike they were located and she said about 2 blocks. That sounds doable.
I am not sure of an Internet connection from here on out so it may be a few days before you hear from us. Thursday is our planned arrival date for Magnolia Village. With new owners, we stopped being a park and became a village. Not sure how long it will take to get me used to that change.

Received word that they missed us at HyVee's Trivia night last Thursday. They  came in 3rd. Dick (Dugan) McQuillen is the anchor on that team. He has a fantastic memory and that is a very admirable trait when you are in the later decades of your life. I know because my memory used to be something that never failed me. I cannot pinpoint when it happened but I have enough of it left to know that it fails me with much greater frequency than in the past.Smileycons!

Saturday, November 5

Latest Pics

Taken from my computer window at 6:00 AM this morning.

The office is UP the hill, behind the trees. We have been making 4 trips per day minimum Up the hill.

This is taken from about halfway down the hill. Our MOHO is marked by the arrow.

Friday, November 4

Been walking

We have tried to get some walking in every day. Butch went to play golf again so that will be his walk so I decided to walk in the park. Many parks are flat as a pancake but Coachlight is not one of them. We parked at the lowest elevation and everything is uphill from here.


I forgot to take my phone on my first trip so the MapMyWalk app tracking below is on my second session so a total of 1.22miles. Oddly enough that is close to what it is for one round in Magnolia. There is another big difference and that is hills. I thought the first trip last Monday was going to kill me but it has become easier. Today was a much better comfort level.