2020 July 24 Battling the Sun

Friday

Be safe – Be Considerate – Wear A Mask

Welcome, family and friends to our daily journal. Share it with your friends. It is a way of remembrance for us and a point of connection for you.

The sun appeared big and bright this morning. My camera reacted to the brightness by darkening the sky. Usually I remember to apply a filter that corrects for the auto adjustment. However, I forgot today.This extra layer of insulation that Ella and I put up this morning, made a noticeable difference in our inside temperature today.

TODAY’S Video

This evening, or late afternoon, we walked up to check our mailbox, which was empty. On our way back we stopped to visit with one of our neighbors, who has a tiny house that she’s been working on for several years. She invited us in to see what new things have been done in it. I did not have my mask with me and was uncomfortable getting to close. Ella had her mask in her pocket but didn’t think to wear it. Ella went on in and did a full tour. I went in only far enough to see the restroom. then I went back outside.When we arrive home, Ella said she wanted to purchase some elastic to replace the hair ties that were on the masks that our granddaughter sent us. So, we loaded into Rudolf the Red-nosed pick up and went to Dollar General, looking for elastic. We did find the elastic. We also found a loaf of bread, candy bar, an ice tea, and a soft drink.Every since the summer solstice on June 20th, the sun has been working its way Southward in the sky. I notice it more in the Western sky than in the Eastern sky. Perhaps it is because the western sun is now setting in a more or less open horizon, rather than behind the live oak trees.

  • God bless and g‘day.
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My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

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  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

2020 July 07 Killing Ants

Tuesday

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here’s something I didn’t tell you folks yesterday. When we got home and we were putting the groceries away, I noticed small black ants on our countertop. From past experience I know that it’s very hard to get rid of those little black ants. So my plan for today is to go to Winkley’s Hardware and purchase a couple of bug bombs. I’ll set one off on the bathroom level and one off in the kitchen area and then leave for a few hours. I also have ant spray that I will go around the outside and spray all of the places that I can find, where anything on the trailer that touches the ground. Hopefully that will cut off any trail they have down to the ground and back.Killing ants videoell we traveled around for quite a while today. We drove down one road that had a sign that said “private property turn around now this is your last chance.” All other roads were much friendlierAs we drove, the breeze coming through the windows kept us fairly nice. At one point we started heading east towards Georgetown and a real nice cool breeze came through, and I said, “If I’d know it was going to be this cool in Georgetown I would have come here first.”Other than a stop at Taco Bell for lunch we kept moving. It was close to 4:30 when we return home which means we had been gone for 3 and 1/2 hours. We opened windows, doors, and a roof vents then turned the fans toward them.Then we came outside to sit under the awning where it is nice and cool with a wonderful Breeze.Ella was saying, “It was 74 or 75 degrees out here on our patio. I don’t complain about that temperature any day of the year.” I’m not sure what glue she has been sniffing, but it is 81°. It hasn’t been 74° Since last midnight.Did I say that it rained? It did, not hard and not long, but it did rain. That short rain did drag some of the heat out of the air.See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.

  • God bless and g‘day.
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My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

2020 July 06 Docs, Meds, Foods

Monday

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hough the golden Sunrise was beautiful to behold, it was but a harbinger of the heat that was going to come forth later in the day. As you can see in the screenshot below, the temperature was already in the 80s before sunrise, with the “feels like” temperature of 85°.

esterday I had posted about having pain in my eye since Friday morning when I woke. This morning, I set an appointment for two this afternoon. I will see the nurse practitioner at Liberty Hill Physicians. I’m also hoping that to get word from the pharmacy that my prescription has been okayed and filled.Ella has prescriptions ready for pick up already. After my two o’clock appointment I also may have an additional prescription issued from the Physicians here in Liberty Hill. So, hopefully, I can get all of those taken care of this afternoon.hen we returned to Texas from Iowa on October 1st, it was with a clear plan to go back to Iowa around the 1st of May 2020. This has been our yearly cycle for over a half-dozen years. We spend the best part of the year in Texas and the warm part in Iowa. We have family in both places and long to see both of them.This year the coronavirus changed those plans. We have now been in Texas for two months longer than we normally would be. We are fearful of the drive north, stopping to eat, or even drive through. Public restrooms, no matter how well maintained, cannot be considered a germ-free. I have always been skeptical of the cleanliness of motel rooms and, during this time even more so. Therefore our travel plans have been put on hold until we have better assurance that we won’t catch this disease, which could be deadly to the two of us.In regard for these facts, I have decided to stop posting how many days we have been in Texas. This year it may be a year or longer. Similarly I’m also no longer posting how many days we have been isolated because of the covid-19 virus. Partially this is due to the fact that we are no longer isolated in the truest sense of the word.We venture forth to pick up groceries or prescriptions, with were ordered online. We also have begun going out to eat, although those are at drive-thru restaurants not eat-in restaurants. Although we still do not gather in large groups, we have gone to family functions several times as well as worship and Sunday School.We are still hand sanitizing and wearing masks whenever we go out in public, but we are going out in public more than during the beginning of isolating.

e arrived a little early at the Doctor’s this afternoon. The entry door and exterior wall was broken. I didn’t ask and wasn’t told, but I am guessing that someone hit it with a car.Haley, the nurse practitioner examined my eye and declared it to be a bacterial infection. As suspected, a prescription was called in. That brought the total meds waiting for us to four. Three for me with one for Ella.ince we were now going to Wal-Mart, I placed the order for groceries to be picked up. The list was already in my online shopping cart. All I had to do was schedule the pickup times. The next available time was between 6 and 7. I took it. Since it was just barely 3 o’clock, I was going to go home. However, Ella said, “I guess we can find something to do for 3 hours.”he first thing we found to do was grab lunch at McDonalds. We took our sandwiches across the parking lot and sat in front of Lowes to eat. We sat there for about an hour and a half. Ella dozed for a bit. Then the sun broke through the clouds to shine on her.We went in search of shade and bathroom. The bathroom I found at QuikTrip gas and convenience store. The shade we found sitting in the pharmacy pickup spot at Wal-Mart. We called to let the pharmacy know which spot we were in. A young woman soon arrived but then she noticed she had left one of the meds on the counter. Before long, she returned with everything needed.Watch our videos on YouTube.It wasn’t quite time for the groceries to be ready, so we found another shady spot in which to wait. Did I mention that we don’t have working air conditioner in the truck? Checkout the forecast at the bottom of this post.The notification arrived that the groceries were ready for pickup. Since we were in the parking lot, it took us no time to be loaded and on our way.Once home, we managed to store nearly everything away in the cupboards.The sun was already setting when we pulled into our RV site.I put the eye drops in the say down to finish today’s journal.See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.

  • God bless and g‘day.
  • If you enjoy our journal: comment, like, and follow. Also see our Facebook page and our new Instagram page. Just search for “Tom and Ella Journal.”

My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

2020 July 03

Friday Welcome, family and friends to our daily journal.

Actually the morning was pretty nice because of the low humidity. But that prediction of 97° was a few short of the real 100° high.

If you recall, yesterday Ella and I ordered medication refills. She received notification that her’s are ready for pickup. So far, no word on mine. It may be Monday before mine are ready.

Breakfast was bacon, spam, American fries and cheese in flour tortilla

DAILY ROUTINE VIDEO. videoed yesterday.

The Cross Tracks Church prayer chain

is amazing. As requests come in, they as immediately distributed via email to a vast army of prayer warriors, who will lift those joys and concerns to the Lord in prayer. James 5:16b “For the unremitting prayer of a just person prevails over many things.” How much moreso the prayers out many just people.

Prayer requests can be summited through the church website, Facebook page, over the phone (512) 515-0070, by mail (101 Church street, Liberty Hill, Texas 78642), in person during worship, or at the church office (though at this time of isolation it may bee closed)

JUNE DRIVING HISTORY as emailed from my truck via HUMx.
Distance 516 miles, Idle Time 3h 21m, Trip Time 19h 32m, Avg Speed 26 MPH, Max Speed 78 MPH, Avg MPG 12 MPG

Very cheesy mac and cheese, peas and canned peach slices

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Since I’m stuck at home where adventures are few and far between, I’ve been living vicariously through other people’s adventures on YouTube. Some have tiny homes (some on wheels), some have mansions, some do bushcraft, prepping, or survivalism. But even during this plague time, they are doing things that I wish I was able to do.

  • See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.
  • God bless and g‘day.
  • If you enjoy our journal: comment, like, and follow. Also see our Facebook page and our new Instagram page. Just search for “Tom and Ella Journal.”

My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

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  • 9 months 03 days since we returned to Texas.
  • 3 months and 19 days being self isolated.

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2020 July 02 Honey Be Mine

Thursday

Welcome, family and friends to our daily journal.

Ella posted: We’re out for a drive today. We started at the
Texas Honey Hole, A new business in Liberty Hill. Then we went exploring the country North of town.

Ella failed to mention that we purchased cinnamon-coffee infused honey. The honey farm is very near the campground. We’ve had their flavored honey before. I’d purchased it at Parker’s groceries. It’s really good. Ella also purchased some peanutbutter fudge sands a couple of soft drinks.

The next stop was QT for gasoline before going for a drive to recharge the battery. I was concerned that our recent short drives were taking more power than it was putting back into the battery.

It’s becoming harder and harder to find a road that we haven’t traveled.

When we do dings such a road, we may go for several miles before the road just stops and we must backtrack. That’s one of the things that happen in hill country. However, you find many beautiful landscaped along the way.

Once we were home, I was going to sort my pills for the next several weeks. I’ve already placed a refill order with the VA for my medications. There are others that do not go through the VA and I’m low on those also. I placed that order and told Ella. She said she had some to order also. It looks like we will be making a trip to the pharmacy.

The sun is setting in a burnt orange sky. One look at the thermometer tells took why the sky is burnt.

  • See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.
  • God bless and g‘day.
  • If you enjoy our journal: comment, like, and follow. Also see our Facebook page and our new Instagram page. Just search for “Tom and Ella Journal.”

My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

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  • 9 months since we returned to Texas.
  • 3 months and 17 days being self isolated.

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2020 June 30 Last Day

Tuesday In Austin, Texas

Welcome, family and friends to our daily journal.

I found the part that is cloudy in the “partly cloudy”.

Being that it was our last day caring for guinea pigs and dogs, Ella cleaned the bedding so that the kids would have a clean bed in which to sleep.

We also have a clean bed inn which too sleep. And we will not have a dog sleeping with us. Other than Zeus rolling me off of the bed and Bluebell laying with her head on my feet, the dogs weren’t that bad of bed partners. It was a king size bed after all.

My bride made out possible for us all to sleep on clean Covid-free bedding.

The Resident Rodents got their cage cleaned again this morning. Judging from the amount of pig poop over the least few days, I may be over feeding them.

The dogs have been going bat$hit crazy this morning. Zeus has been jumping higher into the small tree than I thought possible for a fat older dog. Then, they’ve raced around the fence line with their noses in the air. I don’t know if they are chasing birds, squirrels, or invisible intergalactic invaders. Whatever it is that they are at least getting their exercise.

I had all the dishes washed and put away, so for lunch I ordered Domino’s pizza.

Another photo of Bluebell sleeping with her enormous tongue hanging out. I can’t help thinking she looks like roadkill.

Bluebell wasn’t the only one dozing. Ella, at least, kept her tongue in her mouth.

Today is our last day to sit with the animals. I carried all of our stuff (clean clothes, CPAP machines, games, etc) out to the truck before the kids returned home.

Since we couldn’t hug and kiss anyway, we just put the last bag (the one with Ella’s chocolates) into the truck and left.

I scheduled our grocery pickup for early tomorrow morning.

After arriving home, I received a text from the landlord with the site rent and electric bill. I promptly sent payment to her.

That is the end of our excitement for the day.

Thanks again for stopping by.

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  • God bless and g‘day.
  • If you enjoy our journal: comment, like, and follow. Also see our Facebook page and our new Instagram page. Just search for “Tom and Ella Journal.”

My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

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  • 8 months 30 days since we returned to Texas.
  • 3 months and 16 day being self isolated.

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2020 June 24 Ugly Biscuits

Wednesday

Welcome, family and friends to our daily journal,from Liberty Hill, Texas

Pull up a chair, sit a spell.

Another cooler morning. Mostly cloudy translates to completely overcast and a short rain passing through.

It didn’t rain enough to determine if yesterday’s attempt to seal the holes in the awning worked or not.(See yesterday’s post)

The sky looked like soot filled smoke. Thank God that it only cloud and not smoke.

We had no bread for breakfast this morning. No bread equals no toast. So I mixed some biscuits together and dropped them by spoonfuls, as the instruction said. I usually make rolled and cut biscuits. For some reason I couldn’t get the dough to drop where I wanted it. Made ugly biscuits.

Bisquick biscuits seemed too dry. If/when I make then again. I’ll add some butter or oil to the mixture.

Even though I made biscuits, we seen out for breakfast at Sonics. Well, that’s not quite correct. We purchased food at Sonics but took it to the church parking lot to eat it.

While in the parking lot, Ella sent a message to our new pastor. Temporarily, she is staying at a church owned house, just across the street from the church. Pastor Michelle came over to talk. We sat at the picnic table and visited until she received a call from her daughter, so we left.

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Before leaving town, we stopped at Parker’s for essentials: bread, sugar cookies, and ice cream. Okay, you have your essentials and I will have mine.

The remainder of the day was much like every day lately. I’m sure that many off you can relate. Many people have chosen to behave as if Covid-19 no longer exists. We, on the other hand, have chosen to wait for re-run season or Covid2.0. To that end we ordered and received some paper masks. I know what many of you are thinking, “masks don’t work.”

You are partiality right. Unless it is a respirator type mask that has been fitted to your face, they offer very little, if any, protection for the mask wearer. These paper masks are to offer some protection to people around us, to protect them from us. Which is why I’d rather be around people wearing masks, that offers some protection for me. See?

Thanks again for stopping by.

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  • God bless and g‘day.
  • If you enjoy our journal: comment, like, and follow. Also see our Facebook page and our new Instagram page. Just search for “Tom and Ella Journal.”

My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

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  • 8 months 23 days since we returned to Texas.
  • 3 months and 09 day being self isolated.

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2020 June 22 “You Are Not Welcome H ere!”

Monday

Welcome, family and friends to our daily journal,from Liberty Hill, Texas

It was stool 80° at midnight and cooled to 75° by morning. It was cloudy overcast with no trace of a dawn. I didn’t bother with a photo.I slept nearly eight hours late-night with half in deep sleep. Even though I was fully awake at seven thirty, I lay a bed reading and didn’t actually get off the bed unto twelve noon. You could say it was a lazy morning.After breakfast (?) lunch (?), I went out and recovered the west facing living room windows. You may recall that quiet awhile back I had covered them. At that time, I said it was am experiment to see how well some cheap white duct tape worked. Well the end of the experiment was that the west facing bedroom window that had insulation held in place with a thin aluminum/Mylar tape is still in place. The windows with the white tape came lose.This morning I re-covered the other two and used the Mylar tape on them also. I didn’t think to photograph or video my working on this project. You will also notice that previously I had the white side of the insulation facing outward. That was done with an eye toward the Aesthetics. I thought that the white vinyl visually blended better with the outside of the trailer itself. However, for solar protection, I believe the foil-side out makes more sense. Telling that solar radiation, “You are not welcome here!”And, now that I was using the aluminum tape, it blended with the foil of the insulation as well.I am still reading Adam Hamilton’s book “MAKING SENSE OF THE BIBLE” I find his insights to be very clear and well thought out. Chapter 14 delves into the various concepts about the “inspiration” of the biblical writers. I have a friend who says and believes “God said it, I believe it.” I was once at the complete opposite end puff the spectrum. I believed nothing in the bible and dismissed it as fairy tales and morality stories. After I became a Christian, I struggled with the brutal, genocidal, militaristic nature of God in the Hebrew bible. It was hard to see the God of love and forgiveness in the New Testament as the same God from the Old Testament. How could these various writers, all inspired by God, portray Him so differently? Over time and by prayerful study, I came to an understanding that has been helpful for me. Hamilton’s book has been helpful in furthering my understanding. I encourage you to read it also.Thanks again for stopping by. Share this with your friends. See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.

  • God bless and g‘day.
  • If you enjoy our journal: comment, like, and follow. Also see our Facebook page and our new Instagram page. Just search for “Tom and Ella Journal.”

My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

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  • 8 months 22 days since we returned to Texas.
  • 3 months and 08 day being self isolated.

2020 June 20 Waffling

Saturday

Welcome, family and friends to our daily journal,from Liberty Hill, Texas

  • 68° & light rain. Predicted High 91°. Morning Low was 67°

Cool and wet this morning. It only rained for a couple of minutes, just enough to settle the dust. This area of Texas hill country has had 17″ so far this year and only .03″ in June.By contrast, where our summer home in Iowa is located they have had 11.87″ of precipitation (some as snow) this year and .77″ this month. Miami, Florida has had 6.28″ in June and 29.22″ this year.

Waffles for breakfast!

Nothing much happened again today until we went to check on the mail. Ella wanted to take a short cut, so she could visit with a neighbor. We didn’t have masks so I was uneasy and kept dropping hints that we should get home. Finally I just left her there. I came home, washed hands, arms, face and beard. I then used an alcohol wipe. Once she was home, I told her to go scrub up.

We received 3 boxes from Amazon

Thanks again for stopping by. Share this with your friends. See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.

  • God bless and g‘day.
  • If you enjoy our journal: comment, like, and follow. Also see our Facebook page and our new Instagram page. Just search for “Tom and Ella Journal.”

My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

Share it with your friends.

  • 8 months 20 days since we returned to Texas.
  • 3 months and 06 day being self isolated.

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2020 June 16 Taco Tuesday?

Tuesday

Welcome, family and friends to our daily journal,from Liberty Hill, Texas

It was a nice sky this morning. Too bad I slept through the pre-dawn. I’ll bet it was spectacular reflecting from the cloud cover.It seems that the temperature is in a hurry to reach the high for the day. In about two hours it raise five degrees. At this rate, it is going to be higher than ninety one by day’s end.Poor Rudolf the Red Nosed Pickup, he is covered with bird poo. We are not allowed to use the RV Park’s water for washing our vehicles. That is understandable, since the water comes from the owner’s well. However, I have captured rainwater that I will use to do some cleaning.For breakfast (in honor of Taco Tuesday) I filled two tortillas with cheese, eggs, bacon or sausage, more cheese and then topped with another tortilla. Then it was grilled for a minute our so. Salsa was optional.I had considered having tacos for lunch. However, I used all excerpt two of the tortillas for breakfast.Other than our walk around the park and to check for mail, we stayed inside all day. It got hot early and stayed there.The only DIY project on which I worked was drawing schematics for a truck topper rebuild. As soon as the accompanying video has uploaded, I’ll post it here.Also I worked some more on a sermon idea.The two of us played four, five, maybe six games of Fast Track, I don’t know. All I know is that I won one and Ella came in next to last on the others. 😀Thanks again for stopping by. Share this with your friends. See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.

  • God bless and g‘day.
  • If you enjoy our journal: comment, like, and follow. Also see our Facebook page and our new Instagram page. Just search for “Tom and Ella Journal.”

My NEW sermons blog Armchair Sermons. Sermons posted most Sundays 10 AM central time.

http://armchairsermons.com

  • ©2020 Thomas E. Williams

Share it with your friends.

  • 8 months 16 days since we returned to Texas.
  • 3 months and 03 day being self isolated.

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