2021 July 23

***What’s*** for breakfast? Eggs, bacon, and sourdough toast.

2021 July 22

I had a rough night so decided to lay a bed awhile.

Both of us have testing scheduled by our cardiologist.

Here we are waiting in the aptly named waiting room. It wasn’t long before I was taken back for the chemical stress test. That took about thirty five minutes and then I was rushed to the echocardiogram room for that test. Ella was still waiting. She went in for her echo shortly thereafter.

It was after two o’clock when we finished with the last of our tests. Having not eaten since five yesterday afternoon, we were ready for food and Whataburger was the first fast food on our route. Ella had a chicken fajita and I had the chicken Whataburger. It was okay but I’ll go back to ordering the burger next time.

With apologies to Bilbo Baggins we went “There and Back Again” today.

It was nice nice to be home

We even had time for a few games of Fast Track.

2021 July 21

Grandies met in the church for the first time in over 2 years.

There were eleven in attendance. We didn’t stay to play cards afterward because there are no longer any cards at the church. That made me realize just how long it has been since Grandies met at the church. Not since the fellowship hall was destroyed in fire in May 2019. All our Grandies’s games, materials and other things were destroyed in that fire.

After delivering our food donation to the food pantry at Operation Liberty Hill, we stopped at Dollar Tree and purchased 6 double packs of playing cards to donate to the Grandies.

***Seasoned*** Chicken cooked with oranges and also Cajun red beans and rice.

2021 July 20

Dark and hazy at sunrise. I truly expected that “slight chance of showers and thunderstorms“. However, they failed to materialize.

Air fried potatoes (and later bacon) with toast and eggs for breakfast. It is handy to set the time and then walk away

The morning devotion was the very familiar 23rd Psalm. We read it from two translation that used more modern words and sentence structure.
The King James version still seems more poetic. Though, to many, the Olde English of the KJV sounds more stately than the modern versions; it actually used the vernacular of the common people of the day. It was anything but stately and considered by those of noble birth to be crude and perhaps vulger.

Many games of Fast Track were played in the morning.

Ella arranged some flowers this afternoon. Lovely, aren’t they?

2021 July 18

Just one game of Fast Track after breakfast. Then we got on the road.

First stop was UPS to drop a return to Amazon.

Second stop was Wal-Mart so Ella could get her hair cut.

Third stop was Sticker Stop to inspect truck. A necessity before relicensing. Unfortunately, the emergency brake needs work and there is a bulb in the third taillight that needs to be replaced.

Then back to Wal-Mart to get the new and improved(?) Ella. She’s minus those lovely curls. She was done around 10:30.

I dropped Ella at home and then went to QualTech for brake repair. I arrived there at about 11:15.

Shortly after 3 o’clock the wind switch to the north and started blowing nearly gale force. And then the rain came. Not a nice gentle soaking rain. Nope this was a real gully washer. It was the kind for which the “Turn Around Don’t Drown” signs were made. And that’s no joke. When these rains come rushing down the hills and racing across the roads in the valleys, it can become amazingly deep in a short amount of time.
At 3:30 the truck was done. They let me get into it while it was still in the mechanics bay. So I didn’t get soaked until I arrived home. As an added bonus, QualTech reinspected it – and passed it. Which meant, when at home, I was able to go online and renew the truck’s license tag. Unfortunately, it probably will not arrived until after we leave for Iowa.

The lightening was no joke either.

Many games of Fast Track were played this evening.

Ella had lunch/supper ready by 4:00. And I was ready too. Breakfast had been a long time ago. Lasagna and garlic bread is always a welcome meal. And ice cream with chocolate syrup was an added treat.

2021 July 18

It is Sunday. Sundays find us in the chapel (right side) for Sunday school. And in the worship center (left side) for worship. Soon the elevator will be installed and Sunday school (for all adults) will be in the upper level of the worship center. Sunday school for children is and will remain in the Louine Noble Education building (center).

There we are, in our normal seats. We always sit in the front row and usually on the right-hand side. When we visit visit a new church, we find that we are never sitting in somebody’s spot.

Children’s time with pastor Michele. Half of the children are hidden by the blurb in the lower right corner.

THINGS THAT ARE NOT IN THE BIBLE

1 Timothy 6:2b-12 Sermon
“Money Is the Root of All Evil”
Pastor Michele

Lunch was at Jardin Corona. This is Ella’s favorite place to eat. Personally, I was looking for something like beef roast, mashed potatoes, and brown gravy. My vote was overridden. So, I had
Carnitas (roast pork served with green tomatillo sauce, rice, beans, and avocado slices. There was also pico de gallo, which I could not eat because it contained onions. Ella had Enchiladas Blancas (Monterey Jack cheese enchiladas rolled in flour tortillas, covered with sour cream sauce.) Sorry, I don’t know now this became an episode of “Name Dropping Food”.

Nap time. Nap times hardly ever result in naps. They are most likely form into endless puzzles for Ella and binge watching old JAG & NCIS shows for me.

2021 July 17

This morning we took the supplies to the Over The Hill Gang building. We had let people use the building for a surprise 50th anniversary party. And I had to go and unlock the building and then go back this evening to make sure it was cleaned and locked.
This morning on leaving the building we stopped at Wal-Mart so Ella could get a hair cut. Only she couldn’t get in today. She set an appointment for Monday morning.

We had Marie Callender’s chicken pot pies for lunch. I have to admit that they are as good a my homemade, and a whole lot easier to prepare.

Ella won three out of four games this evening. Or as I prefer to say, I won one and came on second on three. Whereas Ella came in second on three games and next to last on one game.

Part of the landscaping at the apartments.

Our own little flower garden.

2021 July 16

Hmm. What do you think? Is this partly cloudy?

We had lunch at a Mediterranean buffet today. Ella liked it enough that she would go back. Though there were some dishes, such as the lamb and the desserts, that were good, I found nothing that said, “wow that was really good”.

No face or foot washing at this sink. I know, I’m easily amused.

This afternoon the sky was still “partly” cloudy.

We started by driving to Over The Hill Gang in Liberty Hill. I needed the Sam’s Club card. Then we drove to Sam’s Club in Austin and purchased supplies for the OTHG. From there we drove to the buffet. Afterward we went to a church parking lot what a flyer said we could get free produce. However, the information I was following was out dated. No produce. So we went back home.

This was how we spent what was left of the afternoon. Relaxing, reading, writing, watching, and playing.

And of course we had to work in four or five Fast Track games before bed time.

After we went to bed, an ambulance pulled into the drive. I don’t know and most likely will ever know why or who was involved.

2021 July 15

Partly cloudy and hazy start to the day

Attendance was down today. Only 29 present and 2 were new.

We had a “meet the new manager” today. Because of the echoing acoustics and rude people talking while the speaker was talking, I know nothing more than before I went to the meeting.

Well there was one question answered that I heard. The question was, “When can I get a copy of my lease?” The answer was, “5 minutes.” Apparently we were not the only ones without a copy. We moved in on February 12th and have requested a copy of the lease 3 different times. After the meeting I went to the office and they printed it off for me. Plus there is now an app where I can get a digital copy. Plus we can turn in work orders and make payments through the app. Amazing what a change of manager can do.

2021 July 14

Grandies had a very small crowd today. Only 9 in attendance.
Ella and I stopped for donuts to take to Grandie’s this morning.
When we arrived at Grandie’s, we were stopped by one of the directors of the Our Village. She said that one of the clients had Covid and they weren’t sure what they were going to do. Her boss’s boss called her back and said since everyone had been vaccinated that they could go ahead and gather together.
And Grandie’s decided, since we all had our vaccinations, to meet also.
The scarier thing was that the young man who had contacted the Covid had his shot also. He had the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Also the young man with the covid-19, was described as being a fragile person who takes a lot of medication.
The folks at Our Village are people with limited mental abilities. Many of them also have physical disabilities. They share the same building with Grandie‘s and with the Over-The-Hill Gang. They have their own room and their own restroom. The only place that is shared between us is the kitchen sink where they go to fill their water bottles.

Tomorrow the Over-The-Hill Gang meets in that same room where Grandies meet. And as our president, I will let the individuals know about the covid-19. And then they can decide whether they want to stay or go.

Leftovers for lunch was the most exciting thing about this afternoon. It was a good day to binge watch NCIS.

Even the lightening and thunder weren’t very exciting.