Saturday, December 20, 2014

• Very cool weekend. Currently, breezy, cloudy & 57, with high only 63. But they forecast over 80 by Christmas.
• And I didn't have any pictures for yesterday. Have to get busy today & take some.
• Margaret called last night, but I was asleep & missed it.
• And Dan called yesterday afternoon to talk about our router. Thanks, Dan, for the call.
• Today's a good day to stay in & read books or watch TV. 
• But I did find a spot mid afternoon to do my 2 1/4 miles bike ride.
• Don't think I showed you my new TV & TiVo. As most of you know I run Windows Media Center at my home in Minnetonka which gives me DVR capabilities. To match those features here in Texas I had to get a TiVo. In the process, I also purchased a Samsung Smart TV.

Friday, December 19, 2014

• Gloomy cloudy, cool morning today. Scattered showers early, temp: 63, high: 72.
• Mailed off J&D's envelope of 4 mail items to Kristina. Will go out today. Should be in B.E. by Monday.
• Really slow day. Dreary, cold, damp, clammy. Read a book & watched TV in the morning.
• This afternoon, I worked on flight arrangements to Phoenix to see Margaret & Ron.
• For my daily exercise, I biked down to the Burger King for supper.
• Current TV is forecasting weather over 80 for Christmas day.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

• Nice morning: warm, calm, cloudy, temp: 71, high: 77. Scattered showers forecast.
• at the men's breakfast, several guys ask about Jim & Diane. And on the way home scattered showers started with a light sprinkle.
• Worked on my "To Do" list: decorating Christmas tree, collecting trash & putting it out, taking cardboard boxes to the Hall, setting up Meds, updating blog, daily sudoku, cleaning 3 Surface tablets, bills, etc.
• Had a delicious lunch of leftovers including great guacamole.
• Ordered my first drone, with a camera. It's a SYMA model X5C. A Facebook user said it's the most fun he had in all of 2014. Should be here in the first half of January.

• Gloomy day, cloudy, light breeze, cool, temp: 68. But got my 2 3/4 miles bike ride in.
• A drizzly wet evening held attendance down at the pot luck dinner - about 15 people - food was great, though.
• Today I hit the jackpot. My daughter, Kathy, sent me a Christmas tree (see picture below), a University of Minnesota polo shirt, & sun screen lotion (for our trips to SPI). Thank you, Kath.

• Haven't got the baubles put on the tree yet because I need to go buy some hangers. Kath - here's the picture you asked for.
• And early tomorrow, I'll be sending 4 J&D mail envelopes to Kristina Meyers, 339 Tanglewood Lane, Blue Earth, MN 56013.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

• Had high wind & rain overnight - woke me up. Then another light shower in the morning. Suppose to be another nice day. Current temp: 69, high: 78.
• After breakfast, I printed out the 15 paper copies of my Christmas letter for relatives who didn't send me their e-mail address.
• Then I went to the H-E-B grocery store for a few items I needed, including envelopes for the above. Sure is time consuming to break in a new grocery store. Musta spent an hour and a half in there and I only got 17 items. Ugh.
• Worked on paper Christmas cards that now number 20 what with inaccurate e-mail addresses.
• Lunch at the jam that I attended for the first hour.
• Then my son, Dave, called to give me a report on the funeral of Theresa's brother, Lindsey's wife, Jody. Thanks, Dave, for the update.
• Then came back home to work on cards again, and a delivery man brought me a package. It contained at 24" Christmas tree. Have no idea who sent it to me. Whomever it was, I thank you. It's just what I need to get my room into the Christmas spirit.
• With rather inclement weather: sprinkling, cloudy, windy (but it's warm), I went on a 2 2/3 mile bike ride.
• Christmas cards/e-mails are all out. Yippee.
• This evening I attended the performance of Ralph Kuster, Entertainer. 
• And to show Jim that I went to the Jam without him, here's a picture of the old man & wife singing.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

• Light sprinkle this morning, calm, temp: 69, high: 71.
• Taking Jim & Diane to the airport in Harlingen for a 10 AM flight so they can fly home for the holidays and so Jim can have his shoulder surgery next Monday.
• Their flight SY630 left HRL on schedule at 10:00 AM, but will arrive MSP 14 minutes late, must be headwinds or traffic.
• And Cathy Bailey found me a ticket for tonight's concert by the McAllen Symphonic Band. Thank you Cathy.
• Candy came by to ask me if I could 16 envelopes containing their blood test results to various residents around the park. Did that while I was biking.
• Late afternoon, my son, Dave, called & brought me up to speed on his family news. Thanks, Dave, for the call.
• Supper tonight at the Hall preceding local Bingo night.
• Lastly, the concert was just great. Lots of Christmas music. Just the event to get into the spirit of Christmas.

And just so Jim & Diane don't forget & want to stay in Minnesota (where water is not liquid), this is what a pool looks like. And when the temp gets to 80, it really feels good.

Monday, December 15, 2014

• Another nice morning: clear, calm, temp: 68, high: 80
• Had breakfast with our Canadian friends at El Rancho Grande. Good breakfast
• Moved chairs & hide-a-bed out of living room in preparation for new furniture to be delivered later today.
• Delivery of the new couch will have to wait til after Christmas as the couch at the store had a rip on it.
• New chairs look nice. And now I've got a chair.
• Jim went with a group of guys to a polka jam. Ugh. Meanwhile the ladies went shopping.
• I talked to the Office about space for Dan & Dawn's trailer. They said no problem, don't need reservations. Cost is only $35 per night.
• Such a beautiful day for a bike ride. Two miles, sunny, nice breeze, temp: 80.
• Two other guys and Diane & Candy & me moved a small hide-a-bed from the van to the living room
• In the evening, Diane went to play Bingo, while Jim went to the Hall to play cards.
• Figured y'all'd like to see the new living room chairs. Enjoy. They're very nice looking.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

• Another beautiful morning, high clouds, breezy, warm, temp: 66, high: 81.
• While the women went shopping, Jim & I napped. 
• With perfect weather: mostly sunny, breezy, temp: 80, I went on a 2 1/4 mile bike ride.
• Later, my daughter, Kathy, called to bring me up to date on her family news. Notable their family plans for the Citrus Bowl where they all want to go if they can find reasonable transportation costs. Connor will be going with the University of Minnesota Marching Band. Hope to see  him on TV at halftime. Thanks Kath for calling.
• Had a hotdog supper at the Hall prior to the night's movie.
• Movie was very good: Gimme Shelter. If you haven't seen it, do.
• Since we all went to Bingo last night, I thought a couple of pictures of the Bingo hall might be appreciated.

Bingo hall at Pharr South

Our group of 6