Elderly lady in church

An elderly lady in church wrote her husband the following note, "I just let a silent fart. What should I do?" Her husband replied, "Change your hearing aids!" This seems a great way to start our Sunday. Now if I could only get such a note in church today.......All kidding aside I am looking forward to John's sermon. So often he seems to know exactly what the congregation needs to hear and his message hits home especially with us. I will keep you posted. Happy travels.

Maybe I will take up muttering

I was talking with my friend Vern today and he told me about a friend of his who mutters. Apparently he started it when he was about 50 and now twenty years later has perfected the art of muttering. No one understands him and it is quite unclear whether he is sliding into dementia since he simply mutters and gets away with it. This could be the answer I have been seeking. Here I do Sudoku puzzles daily to keep my brain functioning and maybe I only have to start muttering. My friend Roy does not mutter but he does talk quickly and when the Oklahoma accent kicks in, it begins to sound like muttering. I have to listen quite carefully to be sure what exactly Roy is telling me. I have to really give muttering some serious consideration. Happy travels.

San Antonio, boots, food

We decided to go to Boerne which is a small town about half way between here and San Antonio to first visit Anceria RV and check out updating our television satellite system. They explained why they could not do it, and then we visited the parts department and discovered that we could get some little needed parts for our motor home. So we were partly successful in our errand. We also visited a western store there, and I tried on some boots, but they were too big. Foxy thought that we should continue on to San Antonio since we had come half the distance, and so we drove on to the center part of that city to visit an area called the Quarry, which has lots of upscale shops, a golf course and apartments. We tried a new place for lunch The Brick Oven Grille and talked with several men also in line waiting to buy lunch. These men are in the army in the medical corps and will soon re-deploy to the Middle East again. They were delightful and made us feel that this country is in good hands with our military.

Lunch consisted of a Calzone for me and tortilla soup for Foxy. We also visited a western store at the Quarry, but the boot I was looking for was not in stock. On the way home we stopped at another shopping center, The Rim, at a final western store but had no better luck there. Finally we arrived home about 3 pm to discover that Max had eaten Foxy's phone charger. He got yelled at and imprisoned in his crate and only let out for food and bathroom breaks. He knew he was in trouble.

If you read Foxy's blog you can learn all about dinner at Ron and Julie's RV with friend Byron. I have been calling us the Fabulous Five or Fearless Friendly Five or some such combination since we have all become such fast friends. Ron and Byron are both retired farmers from the Dakotas and Minnesota respectively. So they have much in common, as they also both drive or ride motorcycles. Conversation flowed, and the dinner was superb. What a treat to get to know these friends. Happy travels. PS - Max is partly out of the doghouse today but has quite a ways to go to get back into Foxy's good graces. I was able to repair her phone charger.

Snow

It is snowing here in Kerrville as I write this entry. We had been promised snow in the area but not for sure this far South. Not only is it snowing, but it is sticking on the ground. I think we will get only about an inch of the white stuff, but that is quite exciting in an area where it seldom snows at all. Now do Texas drivers know how to drive in snow? I am not sure that I want to find out the answer to my question. You folks that live in the North and experience snow throughout the winter season would laugh to see our excitement. I am ready for spring to arrive as it seems like this winter has been way too long, wet, and cold. Happy travels.

Byron gets the car selling bug too

Our friend Byron has a cute Mercedes Coup which can also be a convertible. He has decided to try to sell it and has put a For Sale sign in his back window. Yesterday after we had our successful sale of our old Buick, Byron also decided to take his car and put it beside the road to see if that might work. About an hour later he had an interested buyer who took it for a test ride and decided to go home to think about it overnight. We were dumbfounded to have such quick reactions to our offers for sale. Today he may hear whether his car has also sold. He has a Jeep in Durango, Colorado, in storage, so he will not be without a car for very long if it does sell. I can hardly wait to see if Byron is successful, too.

I have seldom tried to sell a car on my own, rather preferring to trade it in on another vehicle. This could become a way of life around here. Happy travels.

We go to an auction

Last night we attended an auction here to raise money for, K-Star, a home for children who have no home, or have been abandoned or abused. This park has been actively supporting this home all winter with drives for food and needed toys and clothing for the kids. For the auction Foxy contributed two knit scarves, and I contributed a stained glass window. We went to see if we could bid on a pie or other items which we had seen. They began the auction early, so by the time we got there, the pies were sold, but we did manage to bid on two other items. It was a rollicking time, and Hank, the auctioneer (who is from Omaha) was terrific and quite funny in the bargain. He kept things moving, and in about an hour and a half all items were sold. I think we raised over $1000 for the kids home. It was nice to see the pavilion full of winter Texans doing something good for others. Happy travels.

The Buick is sold

We are trying to tie up loose ends here at Guadalupe RV as we come to our last month to work. We have thoroughly enjoyed the work even when it seems so busy, as the time just flies. Yesterday we cleaned out the Buick and gave her a bath and then took her down the road about a half mile and parked her with some For Sale signs, thinking that it would take some time to sell. Within an hour we had an interested buyer, Larry, who was not looking for himself but for a friend of his mom's, Ruth. Ruth came by later and bought the Buick. That was a fast sale. She did not even dicker on the price.

Ruth will come by today with a check, we will complete the paperwork, and our good old Buick will find a new home. We had put on new tires, new battery, and had the brakes redone, so the car is in good shape. We loved having it to travel in December to see our extended family. But it is difficult to take two cars when we return to our travels. The money from the sale will go toward getting new tires for the motor home, which are quite expensive. I plan to order them today after Ruth completes the Buick sale. Things are falling into place. Happy travels.

Busy Days here

We have been very busy here. Foxy has been working hard in the office with almost not enough time to even go to the bathroom. The same has been going on outside. We have been working hard to finish our project of making tables and chairs for the enlarged outdoor saloon area. The tables are completed, as well as 40 percent of the chairs, so there is a bit more to do there. Several of us were involved in the extension of the patio area, and that was hard work for sure.

In addition, we are getting new washers and dryers for two of our three laundry areas. The old ones had to be removed, the rooms cleaned and then painted. Yesterday we finished one of the rooms and got the other taped to be painted today since the new machines arrive tomorrow. In the meantime grass had to be mowed, a sink hole filled, new visitors parked, and endless other tasks that interrupted us on any other project. We have arrived home at five pm very tired but pleased with our progress on our tasks. Last night after work we visited the saloon and thoroughly enjoyed a cozy fire outside and a chance to laugh and kid each other for work well done. Happy travels.

Susie and Al visit

Susie (Foxy's sister) and Al visit toda along with their friends Jan and Steve. They have been traveling together, fishing in various lakes in south Texas. Today they arrive for a visit in Kerrville, and we are so looking forward to seeing them. They have never been here to the park and should enjoy the many fun things to do in this area. While we work Thursday through Saturday, we will give them ideas of places to visit and things to do and then visit each evening. We do not exactly know how long they will be here but will enjoy a visit of any length. Sometimes we have gone for several years without seeing them as they have been wintering in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. However through email we do keep in touch. Happy travels.

Warmer weather is on the way

This had been an unusually cold winter here for Texas. Now I am not really complaining since so much of the country has been inundated by snow and very cold weather. In addition, we have had lots of rain which we desperately need, as this area has been in a severe drought mode for two years. The other day on the television weather report of the local evening news, the reporter pointed out the return of springs feeding local creeks and rivers. This means that the water table has risen to near record levels, and our drought is gone.

So we are really thankful for the rain. It is also predicted that we will have a record crop of Texas Blue Bonnets. Their millions of blooms along the hill country many winding roads are simply spectacular. As we drive and see this beautiful country side, we often thank Lady Bird Johnson, who was the force behind beautifying the roadside with local wild flowers.

So we are having many benefits of our rain and cold. Hopefully this year's peach crop will not be wiped out as it was last year by a late frost. For the last two mornings we have awakened to temperatures in the low twenties and maybe an upward trend will now occur. Happy travels.

A wood working we go

Don wanted to extend the outdoor patio at the saloon in time for spring and summer visitors. That part is now done, but then we needed more tables and chairs so that people have lots of places in which to sit. It was decided that we need to make five more tables and eight chairs per table. For the last few days we have been making all of the pieces for the tables and chairs. This translates into making about 1000 various pieces, routing edges, and sanding the results. As you might infer, we have been working on this project for several days now.

Today we finished making pieces and started in by putting together the tables. By lunch time we had three of the tables together and not much more time is needed to finish the remaining two. Then we start in on making 40 chairs. We do not expect to complete this part of the project today but to make significant inroads. Tuesday is not one of my work days, but I volunteered to come in and help so that we could get this part underway. It has been fun particularly since this is rough work not finished wood work. I am much better at the rough wood working projects. It has been fun and a nice change of pace to do this project. Happy travels.

Who's the ugly kid on the left?

Maurice recently received a picture of boy cousins from our cousin Ruth-E. She found two copies of the picture in question and gave them to him. Being a generous soul, he sent one of the copies to me to e njoy on my birthday. Written on a sticky attached to the picture was, "Aren't we all cute?" When we talked this morning, he mentioned that Ruth-E. laughed and laughed as she handed the picture to him.

This picture was taken in 1942, probably at Uncle Harry's (Ruth-E.'s dad) house. The boy cousins in order from right to left are: Maurice, Bill, Bob, Bruce, Dick, and the ugly kid (me). The first four boys listed were in a line, and several were even smiling. Three of the boys were in shorts. Maurice had on a nice looking jacket, and then there was the ugly kid.

The ugly kid had long, curly hair, and he really needed a haircut. There is a strange looking knitted cap on top of the head of the kid. The kid has on overalls which in themselves are OK, but the jacket over this outfit has a rolled up cuff on the left hand and is completely turned inside out on the other hand. Maybe the whole thing would be acceptable, but the facial expression says it all. The ugly kid does not want to be in the picture, and the look in his eyes suggests that someone should be done in for forcing him to be in the picture.

My only excuse is that I was three years old in 1942. I am told that whenever someone took pictures of me in my childhood, I cried. I guess I did not like to have my picture taken. Foxy could not believe that I was the ugly kid. It is me. All I can say is that as I grew up there was only room for improvement.

I have known for years that we were not rich. Indeed we were poor enough to only be able to rent and not own our home. I was a mid-teen when we finally owned our first home. This picture brings back for me my intense dislike of hand-me-downs. No parent in their right mind could have bought the clothes for the ugly kid. They had to be hand-me-downs. Happy travels.

Milestones

Well, I made it to 71 years of age. That is my personal milestone for today. We went to a Valentine's party and dance last night here at the park. It involved dinner and a live band with great dancing music. Foxy and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. They even sang happy birthday to me later on during the evening. It was great fun to celebrate in such a way. To continue this celebration we are going out with friends for breakfast in about an hour. I am not getting on any scale for a few days for sure. After today it is back to the diet and losing a few gained pounds. Can you have a birthday resolution? I think this one is mine. Now, can I make it to 72?

Maurice and I had a quiet conversation about reaching 71 years of age. He did this a couple of years ago, and I cheered him on. This year he cheered me on. Both our father and grandfather only made it to 70. You can see why we thought 71 was a milestone for each of us. Probably if either of these men were living in these times, they would have lived to be much older, as medical progress helps more of us to live longer. I must admit that I read obituaries each morning, not to learn much about the person, but to see how old they were. Lots of people make it into their 80's or 90's and beyond. Mom has set us a great example since she is currently 97. I think that she will easily make it to 100 or more, and we all encourage her.

Thanks for listening to a Real Old Fart who made it to 71. Happy travels.

Kindle e-book birthday present

Yesterday a birthday present arrived in the mail for me. Foxy had ordered me an e-book from Amazon.com called a Kindle. It is really quite something. Once I went through the setup rituals, I was able to order several electronic books from Amazon, and within minutes they were stored on the e-book. It is very readable, weighs little, quite slim, and about the size of a paperback book. It is quite easy to use and will take the place of most, if not all, future book buying. This means not so many books lying about in our limited space in the motor home. It is amazing to me to be able to order a book from Amazon and have it on the reader and ready to be read in about a minute. E-books are also much cheaper than buying either a hardback or paperback version of the book.

I am a bit challenged by technology and have my troubles with computers but get along with Foxy helping here and there. I like to do banking and add to my blog but care for little else except for playing solitaire. Now that I have an e-book which seems to be very user friendly, I may use the computer even less. The cool thing about the e-book is that you can read more than one book at a time, and it remembers where you left off when you last were reading. So Foxy can read a book as well on it, and we can share the Kindle. It has a function that will allow it to read the book to you. I doubt that I will use that function, but who knows. What a lovely birthday present. Thanks, Foxy! Happy travels.

Haircuts and other necessities

Yesterday both Max and I got a haircut. Max went to a nearby groomer, and he sure needed the attention. He had recently eaten a few peanuts, shell and all, and later during the night threw up the shells, mostly on himself. Needless to say he did not smell great after that event. It was time to get him groomed and a necessary bath. I would have done the bath, but it was so cold here that I hated having him wet and running around outside to get dry. The groomer did a good job and Max returned home in much better shape.



Once Max was home it was my turn to go see Jimmy, who cuts my hair. Jimmy gets a bit distracted and does not always finish everything but generally does a passable job. It was good to get tidied up. Now I am ready for the Valentine dinner and dance which will occur this Saturday. Happy travels.

More Zebras and fireworks

We usually get to bed sometime after 10 pm and then have a nightly ritual of rubbing each others' back. Last night was no different except that Foxy had on her zebra pajamas, and when I began to rub her back soon noticed that I generated lots of static electricity. It must have been very dry here for this to happen. It was like having 40 or 50 lightening bugs just under my hands. It really was quite spectacular. I do know that if you take a glass rod and rub it with fur you can generate static electricity. You can get enough to get a significant discharge. I guess that Foxy's pajamas did their part even though they are not fur, but the fuzzy material works. I hope to get that effect again. Foxy wanted to see the effect and turned over so that I could rub her arm and then she could see all of the small static charges. It was great fun, and we enjoyed our home made mini fireworks display. Those zebra pajamas are the gift that keeps on giving. Thanks, Susie, for the gift to your sister. Happy travels.

See HW2 for my latest blog

I wrote the latest entry very early this morning and inadvertently put it on HW2's blog. There is a link from my blog to hers. Happy reading.

Super Bowl Sunday

We are soon going to church where the young people are raising money through their Souper Bowl Sunday fund raiser. We are to bring cans of soup or give them money. The soup collected will be given to Christian Associated Ministry, a local food bank, and the money goes to Haiti earthquake relief. Both of these are worthwhile goals, and we are proud of their efforts on behalf of others. We also enjoyed the spelling of their fundraiser, a takeoff on today's big game.

We do plan to watch the big game today and will attend a park party to do so. Foxy will go to watch the commercials, and I will go for fellowship and snacks. I do think I will cheer for the Colts as I think Peyton Manning is an exceptional athlete and do not even know the name of the other team's quarterback. However, I hope the game is evenly matched and that we do not have a rout of one team. A good close game would be the best.

We would rather watch college football and do follow Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas teams, watching games when we can. However, once each year we watch a pro game, and it is always the Super Bowl. Go Colts! Happy travels.

Travel plans

We have finally made up our minds about future travel plans. We went into this work camping job with the idea that we would do it for one year, assuming we did not get fired along the way. Our year will be up in March, and we have talked about plans with the boss and alerted him so that he can hire new work campers to replace us in the next six to seven weeks. We plan to work through March and then be back on the road. We plan not to be here in the summer as it is just too hot here. We managed to work in the 100 degree heat, but it was not easy.

Our current plan is to go to Albuquerque for the first two weeks of April and then onward to cooler climates such as Colorado. We hope to spent about six months there and then return to Guadalupe RV in the fall. Don will not keep a work camping position open for us since he could easily hire workers that might want to stay on. However, if he does have an opening, he would rehire us for the next winter.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our work camping experience here and would continue except for the hot summers. Don has been a good boss and quite patient with us novice workers. It has kept us busy and stretched our minds in unexpected ways. It is always good to learn new things and keep Alzheimer's at bay. Happy travels.

Cooper's Barbeque in Llano, Texas

Yesterday we traveled with good friends Ron, Julie, and Byron to Llano, Texas. Llano is a small town about 60 miles north of Kerrville on the LLano River. It has a wonderful old courthouse on a square with the usual cast of buildings all around. However, this square seems to be showing its age and several of the stores either closed or empty. We did enjoy walking about the square after our big barbecue lunch as Cooper's.

Cooper's is across the Llano River and can be found by making a right turn on a main street. It is typical of many barbecue places in that it is not fancy decor but simply excellent food. The barbecuing is done outside, and as you enter, you pick out the meat you would like to try. Each piece is dipped in sauce and put on your plate, and then you enter the restaurant to pay for your meal and make other food choices. Beans are provided free of charge. We added beer to our lunch and then began the feast. The barbecue was excellent. Perhaps the best I have ever eaten. We tried brisket, ribs, sausage, and prime rib. We had sides of beans, potato salad, and peach cobbler. Did I mention that we could not begin to eat all of this? Ron and Julie have been to Cooper's in the past and realized we might buy more food that we could eat so provided an ice chest to allow any extra food to go home with us. Byron had the same problem and we so appreciated their thoughtfulness.

After lunch we decided to again cross the river and walk around the square to work off some of this wonderful food. Finally back in the car, we returned south by a different road and went by a large outcropping of granite that is a state park called The Enchanted Rock. It made you think you were in Australia in the outback looking at their famous granite mountain. We also had to stop in Fredericksburg on the way home. We all needed to do some more walking. A fun day with good friends. Who could ask more! Happy travels.

Nicknames

Can nicknames have nicknames too? While I really like "Silver Fox" as a nickname, I have been thinking that "Foxy Lady" is even better. Opinions???? I guess you will have to continue to read this blog to see which nickname comes out the winner. Happy travels.

Change of name

I am 1HW in our blogs, and my sweet wife is HW2. We have been using these designations since we started these blogs several years ago. Well, HW2 decided when we took our month vacation in December not to have the hair fairies color her hair and let the colors grow out to learn exactly what her hair color might have become. When we married some years ago, we both had brown hair, and as the years went by, Mother Nature added color of her choosing. I felt that I had earned all of the grey or white hair and let Mom Nature have her way. Apparently, I have the same color genes for hair that my mother has, and so while I do have much white, in back I have retained a great deal of brown hair. So be it.

HW2, on the other hand, decided to mess with Mom Nature and invited various hair fairies over the years to assist herself. Sometimes she went out to the professionals and sometimes, being a frugal sort, did it herself. The hair fairies were intently watching over her shoulders throughout the process. You could almost hear them clucking away when the color went awry and applauding when all went well. Generally, the colors produced were blond with streaks of this and that here and there. The overall effect was good and maintained for many years.

Now this past December and January, HW2 has stuck to her goal of seeing what her real hair color might be, and Monday she went to the beauty college here for a cut. When she returned home, I saw a beautiful lady who looks quite a bit like the actress Shirley Jones, who apparently has also given up on the work of the hair fairies. So I have given HW2 a new screen name. She is now, "The Silver Fox!"

Pastor John is a gem

We got to church yesterday after missing two Sundays in a row due to HW2's nasty cold. She rightfully did not want to infect folks there, so we stayed home and hibernated. At church, John read a passage from Corinthians that is a favorite of mine in which is made the comment that, "the greatest of these is love." In his sermon he talked about "Now and Then,"
making his points in a splendid manner. After church we decided to go to the Adriatic Restaurant for lunch and had lasagne and eggplant parmigiana. It was great. There were other folks there also from church, and they came by talking about "Then and Now" from John's sermon. As we left with dessert in a box, one of the folks asked us if it was sin in the box. I commented that it was not NOW but probably would be THEN when I got around to sampling it. We all laughed, and we headed home. John's point that love now is imperfect and seen dimly, but after we pass on we will experience God's perfect love, then fully and seen clearly. What an inspiring way to begin a Sunday. We are truly blessed to enjoy this pastor's message each week and look forward to our times together as a congregation. Happy travels.