64° at daybreak under a cloudy sky the temperature topped out at 80°
MORNING COFFEE
LATE this afternoon I was tasked with writing a “presented to” in some of books that will be given to graduates at Cross Tracks Church by our Grandies for Christ group. Only, as I opened the last book, I discovered that it was a used book with a dedication already in the book. We had to drive to a Book and Bible store and purchase an additional book.
SINCE we were out and about and it was approaching suppertime, we stopped at Wendy’s for a couple of combo meals. Ella had chicken nuggets and I had the ghost pepper chicken sandwich.
Once we were home I finished writing in the final gift book
IT was just a short time after completing the books that it was time to go to the Commons Room for karaoke.
I SANG a couple of times. For some reason I felt short of air while singing. Also, the songs that appeared on the screen had slightly different lyrics than I was familiar with.
69°F at 5:59 AM Partly Cloudy DAY 87° Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. NIGHT 67° Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening then mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Some thunderstorms may be severe. Lows in the upper 60s. South winds around 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
MORNING COFFEE
I LOST track of how many were in attendance for morning coffee. The group was in flux today.
ELLA did laundry today so we both have clean duds for the coming week.
THIS morning I removed some pre cooked pork patties from the freezer. I mixed together some homemade breakfast sausage spices and sprinkled it over a couple of patties before browning them for breakfast with today and eggs.
LUNCH seemed to come very closely behind breakfast. I’ve been hankering for some chicken and homemade noodles. So I mixed some eggs, flour, and salt. I rolled it thin and sliced it thin. I had some canned chicken breast that I added to a pot of water seasoned with salt and spices. After it came to a boil I added the noodles and cooked until done. I paired the noodles with mashed potatoes and peas.
THIS afternoon we drove to cedar park in search of a dentist. We pulled up in front of the building and started to get out of the car when I noticed the office hours for today. They closed at one o’clock. Ella called the number on the window and managed to use the automated system to make an appointment for Tuesday afternoon.
WE were a little low on gas so I started to go to had at Walmart. Then I realized that I’d left my phone at home. Without my phone I can’t get the ten cent a gallon discount. I went ahead to the station and purchased enough gas to get us through until Wednesday which is the beginning of the next fiscal month.
AGENDA May 18 7:00 a INR Check and call 10:00 a Over The Hill Gang 3:00 p 12:00 p Cosan Care Alert: 4:00 p 2:00 p “coffee”3:00 p 6:00 p Bingo (Great Room) 7:00 p
DAY 86° Sunny. Highs in the upper 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
NIGHT 67° Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.
MORNING COFFEE GROUP
THERE weren’t many at coffee this morning. Most of the table talk was about the “Tea Party” yesterday. It was overwhelming positive approval of the job that management did putting on the event. There was hope among the participants that it will be repeated.
HISTORY OF LIBERTY HILL
Gary Spivey, local historian and treasure trove of arcane knowledge, continued informing the Over The Hill Gang members with history and little known facts about Liberty Hill Texas. Today we learned of the last two Indian attacks on settlers to the area. Both occurred on the edges of current day Liberty Hill.
OVER THE HILL GANG
BY my count, there were at least thirty-five people for lunch today. There were some new folks today. I had a nice visit with Mark and Alice that assured me that they would be back. Another gentleman that I think is named Stephen, I don’t not get to speak to other than direct him to the restroom.
LUNCH was tacos, pinto beans, peaches, grapes, and an assortment of desserts. Most people stayed after lunch to play games. Ella played bingo while I played 5 Crowns.
► AGENDA May 17 ✓ B-day Beket Williams’s birthday (Turned 15) ✓ 10:00 a Grandies 1:00 p ✓ 6:30 p Prayer Meeting (Chapel) 7:30 p
66° 7AM mostly cloudy very light wind. Going for a high of 83°
DAY 83° Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 80s. North winds around 5 mph becoming northeast around 5 mph this afternoon. NIGHT 64° Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 60s. Southeast winds around 5 mph.
I AWOKE about 6:00 and lay abed reading emails, sending birthday greetings to grandson, Beket. checking messages and Facebook. I check the day’s agenda to make sure there wasn’t a doctor’s appointment or other matter I’d forgotten. I checked the weather forecast. My smartwatch informed me that I’d slept 5 hours 16 minutes from 12:35p to 5:59a. and only indicate waking once during the night.
I BEGAN breakfast preparation: made coffee and mint tea for Ella, cooked bacon, and placed bread into the toaster – but did not start it yet. My bride will not be up for a few hours just yet. The toast and eggs can wait until her feet are on the floor.
I DID some online banking and balanced the checkbook.
SHE did rise and shine and I finished preparing breakfast.
SHORTLY after breakfast we headed toward Grandies in Liberty Hill St Cross Tracks Church.
BEFORE going on to Grandies we made a stop at Hill Country Community Ministries Food Pantry to drop off some large empty boxes. They can always make use of those. Ella also picked up soon donuts at their Community Cupboard.
FOUR for Grandies today; Anne, Ella, Sandra, and I.
ELLA attended a Tea Party hosted by the apartment managers today. What you can’t see in the photo that they took of her is the band of red tulle on her white bonnet. It made it quite festive.
SHE got all dolled in her long tree gown and accessories. She said it was well attended and we’ll received. She was upset with some of the women who attended. Some of them kept the “cute little spoons” used at the party.
2023 May 16 Tuesday Leander TX 68° 30% Chance of storms high 76°
MORNING COFFEE Joe, Dan, Ann, Saudi, Andrea, Dora, Ella, and 1. More may have arrived after we left at 10:15. The topics of the day included barking dogs, smoking on the property. vacation trips, donuts (lock thereof)
I HAVE been trying to trim photos from my WordPress gallery. My daily posts have nearly always used a lot of photos and images. I didn’t realize until recently that every time I REUSE a photo / image it saves ANOTHER copy to the file. the file is now at 99.9% full and will not let me save any new images untill delete to make space,
WE had a more or less busy day. By busy I mean a lot of waiting in lines. We waited in line for a half hour or so at our first appointment for free food: bread, eggs, and assorted fresh veggies. We brought them home and put them away except for the onions which we passed on to someone else.
WE then waited around forty-five minutes before driving to the next appointment. Once there were pulled our car into line and waited the better part of an hour for more free food: instant oat meal, eggs, more fresh veggies, pasta, peanut butter, dry beans, biscuit mix, frozen meat, and a couple of canned goods. We brought all of those home and put them away except the peanut butter, avocados, pasta, dry beans, etcetera which we put in the in-house food pantry at the apartments.
WE now had about an hour to rest before going to Adam and Leigha’s new home for supper. While there both of them attempted to help me with an application with Health and Human Services. In the end they also were as frustrated as I’ve been with trying to get clarification of what is needed.
ON the positive side, we got a tour of their new home. We got to visit with them and saw the grandkids for minutes at a time. Also Truck the dog was really excited to see me.
BEFORE we left to go to the kids, I gathered the trash and set it out in the hallway for the concierge trash pickup. We returned home about quarter to nine and the trash was still there. It was around ten when Ella check and discovered the trash was gone. She brought the trash receptacle back into the apartment and declared that it was time for bed.
DAY 80° Patchy fog this morning. Partly cloudy with a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms this morning then mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. NIGHT 65° Mostly cloudy. A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening. Lows in the mid 60s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.
MORNING COFFEE
I TRIED to get hold of Texas Health and Human Services Commission today about a letter and form I received on Friday. I called 211 Friday and got the automatic “Help Desk” which advised me to call during normal work days and hours. I called this morning and eventually spoke to someone who gave me another phone number to call. I sat on hold for two hours listening to them say my call is very important to them. I finally hung up.
THE stomach bug that Ella had on Sunday got to me today. I never strayed far from the bathroom until late in the afternoon. We both went to game night in the community room. We found two others to play Fast Track with. Playing partners they beat us three out of three games.
Agenda: All Day Mother’s Day X 8:00 a Coffee Bar 9:00 a ✓ 9:00 a Sunday school 10:00 a ✓ 11:00 a Worship 12:00 p
ELLA was unwell this morning and opted to stay home. I thought about staying to support Ella. I reasoned that, if she needed assistance there are friends in nearby apartments. If things became that serious she could push the button on her lifeline pendant. Though it kinda felt as if I were advancing her, I knew she’d be okay without me.
IT was moderately foggy driving to Cross Tracks Church in Liberty Hill this morning. It didn’t rain in Liberty Hill but there was plenty of rain in Leander to drive through on the way home. After the rain subsided the sun came out of hiding and brightened the afternoon.
DAY 76°Mostly cloudy. A 60% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning then showers and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 80s. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. NIGHT 65° Cloudy with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low in the upper 60s. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
WHEN I on the way home I stopped at Dairy Queen and bought a strawberry cheesecake Blizzard For Ella. She was glad to have it. But threw it up shortly afterwards.
MY co-leader for the F.R.O.G. Sunday school class had sent an email saying that he wasn’t going to be there either. As leader, I had to go, even though we were finished with our last studio and not yet ready to begin the next (Gary specifically asked us to not start it without him)
I slept from 12:30 AM to 06:16 AM Total sleep time 05 H 46 M REM 0 M Deep 02 H 11 M Light 03 H 35 M Awake 00 H 00 M
I WAS very tired and went to sleep shortly after arriving home. These short nights are having a negative effect on me. I don’t like it.
AGENDA SAT May 13 ✓ Kara Devilbiss’s birthday (Turned 66) ✓ 9:00 a COFFEE WITH FRIENDS ✓ 10:20 a Adam coming to help with paperwork for Texas Benefits
THE storm hit us very shortly after midnight. It began with lightning – lots of lightening within one mile of us. Then the rain came and it came hard and fast. After about an hour of hard rain it slowed down to a more our less normal rainfall. After that, I went to sleep. I woke around 3:00AM to empty my bladder and it was still raining and lightening – though the lightening was further away. It has continued to rain off and on all day and evening.
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MORNING COFFEE
WE went to morning coffee. I didn’t stay long. I went back to wait for Adam. He was coming to help with sending documents to Texas benefits. However after an hour it became clear that I am going to need to call for assistance on Monday. They’re not available on the weekend.
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DAY 73° Thunderstorms likely. Showers. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall. Highs in the lower 80s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90 percent. NIGHT 64° Mostly cloudy. A 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening then showers and thunderstorms likely after midnight. Some thunderstorms may produce heavy rainfall in the evening. Lows in the upper 60s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
FLOOD WATCH. A slow moving storm system will bring rounds of showers and thunderstorms today. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches with isolated 10 inches is possible for areas east of 1-35 to near the Coastal Plains. Additional rainfall of 2 inches is possible west of this area. Additional rounds of at least locally heavy rains are possible tonight through Monday. The Flood Watch may be extended beyond this evening. http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood
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Total sleep time 04 H 08 M, from 01:15 AM – 05:41 AM, REM 0 M, Deep 01 H 43 M, Light 02 H 25 M, Awake 00 H 18 M, 51% of needed sleep. I took an hour and a half nap this afternoon.
ELLA and I went for a walk out and around the building. We had been very sedentary day and we needed to put our bodies in motion. I managed to walk (came in hand) nearly a half mile today.
TODAY’S AGENDA ✓ 11:30 a FUMC Leander 50+ Luncheon 8:00 p Ella class reunion
TODAY I let Ella sleep in until breakfast was ready. Last night I made pancakes for supper. Intentionally I made more batter than I needed to use for the pancakes. I then added enough flour to the leftover batter to make a sticky dough. I covered that and put it in the refrigerator overnight. This morning I placed the dough on a flowered surface and rolled it out to between a half and a 3/4 in thick I then cut it with a biscuit cutter. I then baked them in the instant pot at 400° for 12 minutes. So we had two biscuits each with our egg. I had sausage and Ella had one strip of bacon.
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MORNING COFFEE
THERE were only four for coffee before I left. My back was bothering me and I needed to lay down and straighten it out.
MORNING coffee drama today. After I left. A new woman came and sat down at the table. Once she was seated, Ann got up and moved to another table. Don showed up and sat with Ann. Evidently they had something against this other woman.
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WE left at 11:00 to make our way to the Leander United Methodist church. Once a month they host a 50-plus dinner with a guest speaker. Today’s meal was steamed chicken, baked potato casserole, and a cold pea salad. Unfortunately, for me everything except the chicken contain onions, to which I’m allergic. I carry two epipens in case of an emergency but I’d rather not need to use them. So I had chicken and some carrot cake.
THE speaker was named Lacie and she was from Care Patrol. She is a certified senior advisor. Care Patrol provides senior care options based on care needs and quality of life. Today she spoke about travel options and tips for senior travelers.
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DAY 78° Mostly cloudy. A 30% chance of showers this morning. Highs around 80. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
Nope no rain.
NIGHT 64° Mostly cloudy. A 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening then showers and thunderstorms likely after midnight. Humid with lows in the mid 60s. Southeast winds around 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph.
ELLA and I spent some time this afternoon crushing aluminum cans. These are one we collected last Sunday. We have quite a ways to go before it’s worth our time to take it to the recycler.
TOTAL SLEEP TIME 7 hours 38 minutes BETWEEN 11:10p and 7:20a DEEP SLEEP 3 hours 11 minutes Light sleep 3 hours 27 minutes REM 0 hours 0 minutes AWAKE 0 hours 32 minutes RECOMMENDED SLEEP 95%
MORNING COFFEE
THERE were nine of us for morning coffee and I don’t remember what was talked about other than we didn’t have loads of negativity. Yay!
DAY 85° Mostly cloudy this morning then becoming partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. NIGHT 70° Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming cloudy. Lows in the lower 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.
► TODAY’S AGENDA ✓ 7:00 a INR Check ✓ 9:00 a Morning Coffee ✓ 1:00 p Healthcare house call 3:00 p ✓3:30 p Afternoon Coffee” 4:00 p ✓ 6:00 p Bingo(Great Room) 7:00 p
BEEF STEW WITH DUMPLING
I MIXED a stew together and started it slow cooking about ten o’clock. I made enough dumpling dough to make two large ones. At eleven thirty I added the dumplings to the stew. At eleven forty-five I flipped the dumplings. At noon lunch was ready.
WE finished eating when the House Call Nurse called to say she was about ten minutes away. That gave us time to get the stew pot and dirty dishes into the dishwasher and started.
THE nurse arrived at one o’clock. She went through all the same things that Mona Flores the nurse practitioner had gone through on April 25th. However, today was more extensive
AFTERNOON COFFEE
AMAZON delivered the peppermint tea that I ordered for Ella. The tea order was recommended by Mona in her exam of Ella.
ADAM called to invite us for lunch at their new home. The invitation is not for the coming Sunday but for the one following. We also heard about the quick trip to Colorado so that Emery could compete in gymnastics. This was her best meet ever. She improved her personal best in four areas and one two medals.
Tom and Ella Journal 