Sometimes

Sometimes I forget about you. You being, the friends and family who still look in on what we are doing from time to time. Today is a busy day. I have invited Liz and Dave for a bean soup supper. Liz bought the turkey/ham offer that HEB does each holiday season, offering a ham if you buy a turkey. I would do that too if I had freezer space, but I don't. So the ham was a bone-in ham which is the very best option for making bean soup. So the soup, she is a simmering.

Also, Monday and Tuesday afternoons are women's pool days. I went yesterday, had a good time and won 4 games out of 6. Felt good about that and would like to go again today but not sure I can work it in. Liz would like to give me a haircut sometime today and I need to go to the grocery store. Are you starting to see the picture?

Life is good.

We have been enjoying streaming on Netflix, Amazon, and IPBS passport. Jason told us about a strange but fascinating documentary on Netflix. My Octopus Teacher. It was very good and thought-provoking. We enjoyed it very much. We watched Hillbilly Elegy and our friend Liz, who was raised in that part of the country found it to be unfortunately accurate. And we have been watching My Next Guest Is with David Letterman. He interviews a wide variety of people and it is always done well. On Iowa PBS Passport we have been watching The Durrells of Corfu. I had watched it before but Butch had not so we are watching it together. I am enjoying it as much the second time around. Good Internet is worth it to me many times over! The next 5 months will be whizzing by!

Stymied?

 Yes, we are stymied a bit. We got used to the restrictive lifestyle from March through October due to the infamous covid-19 and the remnants of it still remain. We think we should drop in on "fill in the blank" and then remember that may not be a good idea so we settle back in for the usual routine we have established. Butch is feeling the bite of it a bit more than I am. Our usual Sunday routine was to go to the El Dorado for breakfast tacos and then to the grocery store to stock up for the week. Part of the reason for that in the past was because Butch was very busy with pool or golfing events and did not want to give those things up through the week. We also would often follow up with a visit to a friend in another park. That doesn't work for a few reasons; such as not as many people here as in the past and if they are we do not know their health status, past, and present, quarantine requirements, or general thoughts on being careful or diligent. So we very much feel as though we are in the same holding pattern we have been in since March. It is better in many ways, of course, Butch is back to his new normal so we can go on walks, play pool and take road trips. We do play cards now and then with friends who share our bubble. It seems to be working for us so far.

Time marches on or at least we hope it does. We do hope things will be very different from this pandemic year in the year to come. One thing is for certain, 2020 will remain a year that will stick in our minds forever.

The times, they never are a’changin’

 As most of you know my friend Colleen is a writer and I am a fan of her work. And here is another piece of her work that touched my heart.

The times, they never are a’changin’

November 25, 2020

a column by Colleen O’Brien

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way….”

Is this a tale of now? It sounds so familiar.

But no, these are the opening words of the 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. Writers have been using this paragraph ever since, as the introduction to their columns and essays, their poems and short stories. The most often quoted lines are – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

The book is the tale of the French Revolution (1789-1799) and covers hardship, hunger, protests in the streets because of bad government, warfare to right that government, a man released from prison after 18 years….

Hard times. Now, in 2020; then, 121 years ago. And hard times across much of the globe every year in between.

It’s the way of the world. Some – many – people hungry, sick, imprisoned, persecuted, warring, separated from family, alone.

Similar tales live in every culture, over millennia, all of them sharing with us how awful we are.

And then there are the tales that refute our inhumanity, stories that give us hope about ourselves. We tell them to survive, to hang in there, to avoid cynicism, to be grateful and give thanks for what we have.

So, I am grateful that I’m alive, that I’m still riding my bike, that my family is well, and so far, my friends. I have a place to live, food and a story to tell that is one of those heartwarming ones to pass around the Thanksgiving table each year.

This year I write it for publication because there will be no one at my table to share it with. This is not a whine, just a fact; many of us will dine alone, maybe on Zoom? Perhaps Facetime or regular phone call? Or reading a book as we gnaw on the turkey leg. It’s not the end of the world, and it’s not sad unless I make it so.

This family tale that was the lore of my husband’s family for decades came out of the hard times of the Great Depression — hard times, indeed.

My husband’s grandfather, Jim Sayre, who lived in Churdan with his wife Lil and, by then, their four or five children, was a house painter. Winter was a dead time for that sort of work, and Grampa Sayre picked up odd jobs to buy what was needed to supplement the home-canned vegetables and root cellar produce that Gramma Sayre put by during the summer and fall.

On one of those Thanksgiving mornings of the bad years of the 1930s, Gramma told Grampa that for Thanksgiving dinner she’d be fixing cooked carrots, mashed potatoes, pickled beets, and homemade biscuits and white gravy. There was no meat, but she’d be making an apple pie.

When Grampa would tell the story, he’d shake his head, “I just had to go outside. I felt lousy.” He said he was wondering how he could be such a poor provider, knowing he couldn’t do much about it.

He roamed the yard, straightening a couple of fence posts, raking leaves into a pile for a bonfire later, wishing he had a dime to his name.

When up drove his wealthy neighbor in his new automobile. “Jim!” he shouted from the car. “I got a deal for you!”

Grampa Sayre walked over to the driver’s window where the friend had his hand out, palm up. “I got three shells here, Jim. You’re the best shot in the county, and I need a turkey for dinner this afternoon. If you can, get me one. Any shells left over, they’re yours.” He dumped the three shells into Jim Sayre’s palm and drove off.

Grampa closed his other hand over the rifle shells for a moment, then slipped them in the pocket of his overalls. He headed for the cellar door, leaped down the steps, and grabbed his shotgun off the sidewall. He wiped it down with his handkerchief, opened it, checked it, placed a shell in a chamber, and sprang up the steps, trotted across the yard and into the field.

Within the hour, Grampa Sayre was at the back door of his rich neighbor, bird in hand. “Here ya go, a fat one,” he said. “Enjoy your dinner.”

He headed off, the neighbor yelling after him, “What about you?”

Grampa bent over by the yard gate and picked up something, turned around, and grinned at his friend, a bird in each hand.

Full and Satisfied

 There were 7 of us for Thanksgiving dinner and all of those present had been in the park for the full 14 days. One of the invitees found out a mother-in-law had tested positive for Covid-19 and they had seen her just before they came down so they immediately got tested but had not received their test results yet. As it turned out they found out later in the day the results were negative. But anyway...the food and company were great and we had a wonderful and very complete Thanksgiving meal.

Sally, Liz, and Madonna and none of them were as grumpy as they look in this photo.

 

The Spread!

Paul, Butch and Dave

Yippie, Skippie!

 I have high-speed Internet at an affordable price. I tried using my hotspot on the phone and it worked okay but being the high volume users we are I quickly hit the place where they slow down the speed and then I have to pay more to get it back to normal. So we once again have Coba Systems available to us so we went with them again. Our hook up was yesterday. The speed is close to what we enjoy in Jefferson and it is less money here, about $20 less. I never choose the cheapest one because the quality of my Internet is important to me. So I chose the middle one. We like to stream movies on Netflix and Amazon and it is even more important here because the TV  is less here. And by less I mean only one PBS and we have already seen most of what they have. PBS in Iowa is way above the rest. They have the main PBS and then the kid channel followed by world and then create. We watch all of those at times except the kid one. The pandemic also adds to the importance of having good high-speed Internet. So I am happy! All is right with my world.

My house is clean

My laundry is done

My fridge is full

My health is good and so is Butch's

We have high-speed internet

The weather is warm

I could go on and on and I am eternally grateful!!

Happy to be here

 On a normal year our park can hold 700 people. This is not a normal year so I will be surprised if we even come close. Right now we are at about 230 I am guessing. We have no current cases of Covid-19 within the park and if you know how rumor mills work we would know if there were! 

So now we have been here over two weeks and that in itself is difficult to believe. The weather is wonderful; warm enough to wear summer clothing and cool enough to open the windows instead of turning on the air.

Thanksgiving week is upon us and we have much to be thankful for. I am a firm believer in gratitude and it has been my experience that the more I am grateful for the more great things come my way and even though it has been a year of trials it still remains true that I am and will continue to be very grateful.

On the street where we live...

Different State, different squirrel, different feeder, same problem!

Butch has been playing golf and pool. Last night we played cribbage with our friends Liz and Dave. I am playing pool on occasion and plan to play more as the season moves along.

Routine

 We have established somewhat of a routine. Our routines are always flexible but right now this is how it goes; I get up early-about 6:00 and get on the computer. Butch usually gets up somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30. After his breakfast, he will get on his computer. About 10:00 we will go for a walk, taking the garbage with us to get that chore done and sometimes checking our mail on our way back home. Our walk will be at least one mile in length, sometimes more, rarely less. I understand we seniors, in general, have lower levels of vitamin D than we should have made worse by the pandemic. That isn't a problem for us. Southern Sunshine! 

As many of you know we watch Jeopardy! at 3:00 and it is on at the same time here as in Iowa. At 4:00 we have been going to the pool hall to play a couple of games. We wear our masks while in there. There is a sign-in/out sheet and can be no more than 10 players staying 6 ft apart. So far we have been in there alone.

That pretty much does it for now. After we have all been safely around each other for a sufficient amount of time we can add some cribbage and other games.

The virus percentage levels have dropped to less than 6 % here. Keeping vigilant.

Iowa Neighbors

Butch and I are friendly with our neighbor across the street in Jefferson, Bill, and his sister, Brenda. We are waving neighbors if you can get an idea of what we mean. We see each other and wave and we help each other out when we can. Bill keeps an eye on our house for us and when I empty the fridge of excess items before we leave in the fall Bill and Brenda will take it off my hands.

Brenda wrote us a letter and sent it to Texas and in it, she asked a few questions so I thought I would answer her questions in the blog, print out this section and send it by snail mail to her. Brenda asked how long it takes us to get here. It takes us 4 days when we go direct and are in a toot as we like to say. We take it easy and only go from 300 to 400 miles per day. The pandemic has made it necessary to be in a toot so last Spring and this Fall that has been how long it took. We like to take longer than that to cover the 1400 miles to Alamo Texas by stopping in Harrisonville Mo for a few days staying at our Grandaughter Amanda's place and visiting with our Missouri family, Amanda and Brad, their children, Elise and Leo, and our son Gary and his wife Susan. Then many times we have stopped in the Canyon Lake, Texas area to stay with friends Terry and Lisa Linder, sometimes for as long as a week. Both of these places have RV hookups for our motorhome making our stays quite comfortable for us as we feel just as at home in our RV as we do in our tiny house in Jefferson. Many times in the past we have taken 2 to 3 weeks to get down to our winter spot.

Does it ever get cool down here? Yes, it sure does. Last year was quite cool and it started in November which is very rare. I was looking at the blog I keep and last year, 2019 the 13th of November it was 39! That is extremely rare. Right now normal temps are in the 80's daytime and the '60s at night. We had a cool morning today with a low of 52. It felt good as it was in the 90's last week. Our wintertime temperatures here are much like our Springtime and Summer temps in Iowa.

Do we ever get to see animals down here and if so what do we see? The Rio Grande Valley where we stay has many animals we can see. The last park we were in had parrots that were wild and flew over twice a day. When the trees were in bloom they would stop for a snack. I have quite a few parrot pictures from our time in that park. There are wildlife areas where we can see ocelots, javelinas, alligators, and many, many kinds of birds such as green jays, chachalacas, and of course the noisy pesty grackles. Ocelots are a rare member of the cat family, Javelinas are wild pigs and Chachalacas are like a pheasant and make a noise like their name. Grackles look similar to a blackbird but are more slender and very noisy. We also have squirrels. The Rio Grande Valley is known worldwide for the many birds we have and people come here from all over the world to see them. Maybe not this year but they will again when we can say the Covid-19 is not as big a threat.

And here are a few photos I have taken in the past couple of days.

Butch visits Thelma

This is a cane field being burned off. First, they post on all four corners, signs in English and Spanish of their intent to set it on fire. Before they set it ablaze on all four corners, they make a few trips around the field with a loudspeaker proclaiming in English and Spanish their plan to set it afire. There have been incidents of people losing their lives in the past.

The livin' is Easy

 We are pleasantly ensconced in our wintertime location. There are not many people here yet although two of our neighbors arrived yesterday. We are not acquainted with them yet but hope to be when we can visit with them. 

Neighbors from our other spot arrived on Saturday and we visited with Alex and Reenie briefly last evening. Our friend Liz gave us both much-needed haircuts yesterday. Her partner, Dave was to arrive by plane from New Hampshire last night and we assume he has. All of us must keep our distance for 10 or more days so as people trickle in the days of extra carefulness stretches out. We are on day 9 and not much will change on day 10. Masks and distancing are still enforced. No more than 10 people can be gathered and then they must distance and mask too. The park can be fined $1000 if they allow people to do as they please and the local police drive through the park now and then.

We will be joining friends for Thanksgiving. There will be 9 of us and we will be outdoors on a deck seated at two different tables and everyone invited will have been in the park for at least 10 days and symptom-free

Some new arrivals are perturbed at the rules but what works, works and they acquiesce rather quickly. Perhaps only in public but we will take that.

Till next time...

From the RV Newsletter

 Trivia

Ever driven down the part of Route 66 that plays “America the Beautiful?” On a section of the old highway between Albuquerque and Tijeras, the New Mexico DOT installed grooves on the road. If you drive over them at exactly 45 mph, your car will vibrate to the tune of “America the Beautiful.” Check it out in this video here.

What we did

 Thursday we went for a walk. May not sound like much but last Spring Butch could not do that so it is a milestone of sorts. It is one mile from the front fence to the back fence if memory serves me correctly and we walked it from end to end. As I think about it it may be a half-mile but regardless it is a far piece as the old folks say. And we both did it without any impairment. 

We are still keeping our distance and wearing a mask. Butch had an appointment with his surgeon. I made the appointment for him and they said we could get in the same day! That was a big surprise. So this too was a completely different experience. Last Spring hardly anyone wore masks even at the doctor's office. It was a sore point and with our masks on, we would frequently get "the look" and the eye roll. What a turn around. Everyone is wearing a mask and I mean EVERYONE. So yes, it can be done and it is working. It was all good news at the doctor's office. His x-rays show lots of new bone growth and he has returned to 99% of his former ability and if you consider his age he probably exceeds what he is expected to be able to do by a longshot. Russ may not realize it but I think he played a big part in Butch's summertime 'therapy'. It is a blessing!

After the doctor's visit, we went on a fact-finding mission. You know, looking for products in a new area. We had trouble finding Butch's favorite salad dressing at HEB but we found it at Walmart. And I wanted to find ham hocks so we looked at Juniors, the local store for all things to please the majority population if you get my drift. And they had pork hocks. Not quite the same but close.  They might work. The meat department at Junior's deserves a look. If you take your old-time butcher shop and increase the size more than triple that is Juniors. Our friends Dale Cooklin and Bill Stilson, both gone now, used to make weekly trips to Juniors for all the bargains on meat and bring large amounts back to their wives who reprimanded them every time to no avail. Memories...

Here are photos of our new location. We are liking it even though we miss our old neighbors.

Covid Comparison

 We are in Hidalgo County Texas with an area of 1,583 Square miles. Our current covid rate is 7.8% Population in 2019 868,707

We came from Greene County Iowa with a square mile area of 571 and a Covid rate of 23.3 %

Population in 2018 8,981

Looks like your chances of getting Covid in Greene County Iowa are pretty good!

We can see clearly and daily what the difference is as masks and social distancing are required here.

Finally recovering from trip

 This year is different as if that is news! The only thing familiar was the route down. In a normal year, we would have taken two or three weeks to get here, stopping to see family and friends along the way and we certainly hope we can return to that by next fall. We missed the leisurely meander of seasons past. 

There is that and then the rush to get packed up before we left. We forgot a lot of things! We hope to return to living in our MoHo for at least a week before take-off.

So we are somewhat self-isolating by staying home more and masking up and six feet apart when we don't stay home or people come to visit and we stay outdoors. Actually, that is the usual behavior. Visiting with people as they come by on foot or in their golf cart is the norm and inviting them inside is unusual.

Butch has been going to the pool hall. He and his partner Paul, both mask up and are the only ones there so far. They have a limit of ten people in the pool hall at one time and that hasn't happened yet.

Butch decided to wash the motorhome yesterday and that endeavor always starts at the top. So yes, he was on the roof. I think you can tell that he is very much back to full activities including riding his bicycle. He wants to finish the wash job today as he has the north side and rear yet to do. The roof is done, Thank God!

The weather is summer-like, with daytime highs in the high 80's and lows in the high 60's. We are okay with that for now. 

Betsie and Trophy Gardens

 Betsie has been doing a newsletter for the park for a good many years. She inherited the job and works very hard. It takes a good deal of effort to put it all together, I know. Especially when it is to the extent that Betsie does it, adding in Birthdays and Anniversaries and taking snippets of news from those who send them to her of past and present members of the park, and ads for things to buy and sell, etc.

I do not plan to add all of Betsies posts to my blog but thought you might find this one of interest.

Bits & Pieces Tuesday 11-10-2020

We will have Hoss Collar again this week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings at 6:30.  Bring a dollar and wear a face mask and use safe distancing. The shuffle stick and benches will be sanitized and hand sanitizer will be provided as well. Hope to see you all there!  If you have questions, call Bob and Janet Yeley at 317-440-4663. 

Church has started on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am in the hall. Wear a mask and sit where the chairs are set up. There will be sheet music to use to sing. They ask you to sign in when you come and there is a donation basket when you leave. Please leave single file.

From the park meeting today: Lynn reported that there are 207 people, on 119 lots and 43 pets. The numbers are growing.  The protocol has to be followed. It is the Governor, state reps, Judges, and Mayors that set the protocol. Don't come to Lynn or Stephanie with your complaint. They are following what is set.!!   The socks were shown off.  JD has on Peanut Butter (Jif) one sock and Jelly on the other sock.  Jason has toast on one sock and eggs on the other one. A balanced breakfast in socks!! Looked like a beautiful day in Alamo at the meeting.....

Maybe you have a friend that wants to try a park model in Texas!!  Park Model for Rent. Better Than New! Available November thru April. Call Betsy at 309-344-1583 or Merv at 956-246-2876 (First posted on Friday 9-25-2020)

Stay safe and Stay Healthy!!

Betsie Brown

P.S. from Barb: Hoss Collar is a modified shuffleboard game that is easier than the official one. It is very popular in Trophy and Butch and I had never heard of it before coming here.

Older we get, Longer it takes

 This year it continues to be different. We usually arrive and those that have come before us have been doing all the fun stuff and are ready for us to join them. Therefore we had to get our settling in done in bits and pieces. That is still somewhat true but now it is us, getting slower and perhaps lazier. 

This is for Kay Stilson: I was tired last night so Butch went to Churches to get chicken for supper. It was delicious and once again I thought of you. I have hamburger thawing for supper tonight.

As I age it seems to take me far longer to do anything!

Photos taken on the southbound trip: 

Taken at Downstream Casino.

The morning before we started packing.

Settling In

 We are getting settled in and it feels good. Have seen our closest friends briefly, from a distance and masked. We went to the HEB in Alamo for a few choice items I have missed, mainly Topo Chico. I have it cooling now and will add some fresh lime juice and say, Aaaah!.

Butch was afraid of a repeat of the sewer debacle but it flushed without an issue and we breathed a sigh of relief.

We cannot check in till Monday because the office is closed. Not enough people here yet to warrant staying open on the weekends. A bit of a surprise! Our manager Lynn said several of the apartments are available for rent in January (5) and February (3). Call the Business office if interested. 956-787-7717.

Friends and family take note!!

More later. Butch needs an extra hand.

January and February Rentals

 The manager of Trophy Gardens said several of the apartments are available for rent in January (5) and February (3). Call the Business office if interested. 956-787-7717

I will find out the rates and post it. This has not happened before in our experience.-Barb B.

Day 3 to Marble Falls TX

 We left Winstar still in a bit of a daze about our good luck. We had a trouble-free trip and listened to a Ken Follett book "Jackdaws". We stayed in the Walmart parking lot in Marble Falls Texas. We would prefer to stay in an RV park but there does not seem to be a reasonable alternative in or near town. So no amenities but we didn't care much as we were tired. To our surprise, we both slept for 10 hours!

Day 4 to the RGV.

So we woke up very early and decided to take off at sunrise. Not a good idea. We dealt with a great deal of fog. We have some yellow-lensed glasses designed for fog and I keep them handy in my travel basket. It was a great relief to get the sun high enough to burn off the fog. Butch always dreads driving through San Antonio so he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. It was a very trouble-free trip through the city. We have had two surprising and easy trips through San Antonio, both on a weekend and about 7 months apart, both during the Covid-19 Pandemic. So leaving so early we arrived in the park in early afternoon. It always takes some time to get settled in. We did forget a couple of items mainly because we left in winter and arrived here in summer. Butch forgot his golfing hat and I forgot my visors. So we may have to shop for some replacements.

Not having our Moho at our disposal for so long, we had a bit of a getting reacquainted thing going on. And then we are in a different part of the park from years past so another adjustment. Add to that the cold weather before leaving adding another layer of adjustment. None of that was as smooth as years past but then nothing has been in 2020. I am sure you all agree.

Day two- Destination Winstar Casino in Thackerville OK

 Now, this was quite a day. We left Downstream about 7:30 and all went well for a while. We had made at least two trips on HWY 69 and thought it greatly improved. We used to avoid it because of the rough roads and too many trucks. Both of our most recent trips were northbound and therein lies the difference. Southbound trips have not changed one iota. Heavy traffic, VERY rough roads, huge amounts of construction with many delays were the main distractions of the day. And then we arrive at Winstar and Butch was anxious to get the black tank emptied. We have had a problem in the past with solids settling in the bottom of the black tank while traveling and not wanting to empty properly. This on;y happens during travel, never while staying in one spot. He wanted to avoid that situation. Well, that didn't happen. He said it was the worst it has ever been. It took a long time to get it resolved and if you have had this happen you certainly do not want it to happen again. 

Another subject. Each of us received a voucher from the Winstar Casino at the end of October for $50 to gamble with, a free hotel room and, a meal of $25 value. We had never received this before and that may have been because we leave too early in October. It was only good for the month of November so having it all work out we decided to use it. Not the hotel room but the meal and the gambling. So after the sewer issue was resolved we walked over to the casino. The shuttle service has been suspended due to Covid so we walked the quarter-mile over and back. We decided to take a shortcut and became encrusted with sand burs! Bad idea. So we retreated and took the gravel. It took a while to rid ourselves of the prickly bits! So we checked on the offers and it was true! We each had $50 in credits to play with and a free meal of $25 each. It was all true as advertised. And the cherry on top was that I came home with $102.00 and Butch with $35. We did not spend one dime of our own on this bonanza!

Left Jefferson

 We left town about 8:30 AM with our destination being the Downstream Casino in Qua Paw OK. It is actually Exit 1 in Missouri. The Casino, Hotel, and RV Park are in 3 different states. We have stayed there many times and if you have a player's card you can stay one night free. So we try to do the usual routine which is to go into the gift shop and tell them how long you plan to stay, and they will inform security. Done deal. But then Covid-19 happened and we go in but the gift shop is closed so we asked one of the people posted at the door to take temperatures and check that you have a mask on, what we should do and she said to come back in the morning at 9:00 and we said but we will be gone by nine. She shrugged and said that is all I can tell you. So we decided we would just shrug and go about our business. I walked back to RV parking and Butch stayed in the casino. Masks and distancing were closely monitored. We were impressed that they were making a concerted effort to abide by the suggested rules of safety.

We were tired from the long day and went to bed early. There were buffalo near RV parking and Butch said I should get a picture but I was too tired. He told me they would not be there in the morning and he was right. There were just a few and I did get a few shots but they were at a distance. We rested well.