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.