Sunday November 29, 2009-Rayford Crossing

Here is Michael Maker playing yesterday. He really puts on a good show, although there are those that don't like his music or how loud he plays. Thanks to Rich for the photo.

I slept in my chair this morning until after 7 o'clock! Wow, that's late for me. Stella fixed us some biscuits and sausage that wasn't very good, but who am I to complain? Neither of these were something she made but its the thought that counts. There are lots of men out there whose wives don't cook.

We intended to go to the church service here at the park today, but there were so many of our friends here that were leaving this morning, the time got away from us and we missed the service.

We stayed home today and watched football of TV. The Texans started out like a house afire but they only smoldered in the second half and lost 35-27. Of course, that makes five times that Indianapolis has come from behind in the fourth quarter to win. Its a loss regardless.

The weather was pretty yucky today. It was cloudy all day and looked as thought it was going to rain but hasn't so far. The temperature is up into the upper 60's but the forecast is for cooler temps for the rest of the week,

Stella fixed some tuna for supper. She made cookies again this afternoon so I had to try one. It was good but she substituted walnuts for the pecans so the cookies weren't as crispy. They were still good and best of all, sugar-free!

We went to Walgreen's to pick up my medicine. We planned to buy some medications in Mexico but for these meds, we can't beat the prices. We came back home and watched TV until bedtime.

So long.

Saturday November 28, 2009-Rayford Crossing

I got up this morning and went down to have coffee with the guys again this morning, in spite of having Frank's breakfast lined up for today. We drank most of our pot of coffee and went in and ate our breakfast of pancakes and sausage. It wasn't bad but I've had better.

We came home to relax before this afternoon's happy hour/band. Michael Maker was playing this afternoon and he always puts on a good show. I got an email from Tommy and Susan saying they were coming up this afternoon. It has been awhile since we have seen them, and I knew they were coming in on the 4th for a week or more stay. It will be good to see our friends again.

I went down to the rally hall a little early and helped Michael and Billy unload Michael's equipment. Billy soon had to leave to go pick up some pizza for the kids in the rally hall, so I ended up working by myself. Michael did help me some but I hauled up most of his equipment. He rewarded me with a cold beer and later recognized me for helping him, dedicating the first song to me for my help. I didn't know I would become a roadie after retiring.

I watched Michael play for over an hour when Tommy and Susan arrived. They came in and watched Michael playing. A large group of the winter Texans had gone into the Lone Star room to get away from the loud playing by Michael. Susan went in and talked to them for awhile but came out and said she was hungry, so we went to eat. Tommy and I are good at obeying our wive's every wish so we were glad to take them to eat. We went to El Palenque again and had a very nice meal.

When they brought us back home, there was two groups sitting out, one at Warren and Judy's and the other at Jerry and Diane's. We went over and sat with Warren and most of our friends. We had a great time listening to Pete tell his stories. He keeps us laughing at the things that has happened to him. We sat out until about 9:30 when it started to rain a little more. Another nice night in the park.

So long.

Friday November 27. 2009-Rayford Crossing

We stayed here in the park all day long today, recovering from the Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. I walked a lot this morning, trying to walk off some of the calories.

Eddie and Kelly reserved one of the new Deluxe sites. The park has recently converted four spaces into Deluxe sites with smaller tables and two nice swivel chairs in them. They will also have firepits and possibly water fountains in each site, but for now, Kelly's site is the only fully equipped site. The others have the tables and chairs and fire pits.

Eddie and Cody went to their deer lease yesterday after dinner, so Kelly fixed supper for us as well as her nephew Michael and his family and her old boss Marty. It was one of those all-in-one meals where you buy the entree and the rest is free. It was supposed to have been a pork roast but turned out to be a pork loin. It was all very good and we had a nice time visiting with everyone. While eating, Kelly's cousin Belinda came up to spend the night with her. I was not feeling well after everything we had yesterday, so I left to go back home soon after we finished eating. Michael laid a fire at his site and Stella decided to stay at the fire with them. It was pretty cold tonight, so they didn't stay out very long.

So long.

Thursday November 26, 2009-Rayford Crossing

Today is Thanksgiving Day and I would like to begin by saying that we have SO much to be thankful for. We absolutely love our lifestyle and wouldn't change a thing about that. We have our health, although there are challenges on the horizon. I know that we are all thankful for the military and for everything they do to keep us free, but I would also like to add a large group of people that also keep us safe and that is public servants. Not only the obvious Police, Fire and EMS but those employees that keep the streets, drainage and parks working and safe for us. Many of them have to work on holidays too, taking them away from friends and family.

The park is full today and a few "weekend residents" came down to have coffee with us. After finishing up coffee, I returned home and Stella fixed us some breakfast. She had already begun preparing her dishes for lunch, so we stayed in at home until time to go down for the Thanksgiving feast.

There was a very good turnout for Thanksgiving, an estimated 90 people. I know that both of the rally rooms were full but there was still some empty seats. One of the round tables had been set up near us and no one sat at it. We had a great meal and had some nice conversations with Kerry and Patti, Rhonda, and Eddie, Kelly and Cody who sat at the table with us. Everyone had a good time, although there was a report from Frank that some of his family got sick from something they ate. No one else reported this, so I don't know what they ate that was bad for them.

We came home and I watched football on television all afternoon. It was a nice way to end the holiday celebration.

So long.

Wednesday November 25, 2009-Rayford Crossing

We hung out at home after I finished coffee. Stella still had a few things she needed to do for her clients, so she worked on that in the morning. We went to the grocery store to buy for the Thanksgiving feast at the park and to buy groceries, which we haven't done for a few days. We came back home and put our groceries away and watched many other rigs pulling into the park for the holiday weekend. Eddie and Kelly pulled in and we talked to them for awhile before going home to get ready for bingo.

We went down to play in the rally hall at 7 but sadly we didn't win any money tonight. We still had a good time with our friends and congratulated the winners. Our friend Peg won the big pot tonight, and her grand daughter was cute, playing the game. There were several people playing tonight with children which is normal for a holiday time.

We went over to Eddie and Kelly's where they had started a fire. Kelly's nephew Michael and his wife Becky came over with their two children. The kids are very cute but it was cold for them to be out, so the kids didn't stay out too long. It was nice to catch up on Brazoria County news with Eddie since we worked a few cases together. Eddie is an Investigator with the Sheriff's office. Eddie and Cody, their son are going to the deer lease tomorrow after the Thanksgiving dinner, so I invited him to come have coffee with us in the morning.

So long.

Tuesday November 24, 2009-Rayford Crossing

I went down for coffee this morning, as usual. Jim was not feeling well, so luckily I went down a few minutes early and made the coffee. We had another good crowd this morning. Pete always has a lot of stories to tell that keep everyone laughing.

I had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Merritt this afternoon, so we left about 10:30 so Stella would have time to go see Dr. Gulde for a consultation. I stayed in the truck while Stella and the doctor were talking at the hospital. Stella needed to go by Amegy bank to order new checks which took a lot longer than we expected. We just drove around Dickinson after finishing at the bank to kill a little time before my appointment. I got to the doctor's office and was soon brought in. A nurse took my vitals and started running an A1c test for the doctor to review. When Dr. Merritt came in, she scolded me because my test was high. I promised her that I will get better on my eating and will turn these results around. She gave me a prescription for a new medicine, so we'll see how that works out.

We went by the house on our way back to Rayford to pick up a few items. We didn't get away from the house until almost 5 o'clock, which meant it was almost 7 before we got back to the park. After walking Cassie, we stayed inside for the rest of the night.

So long.

Monday November 23, 2009-Rayford Crossing

The only thing we did today was that Stella worked in the trailer on doctor stuff. I tried to stay out of her way and stayed outside as much as I could. About 11, Stella decided to go down and wash clothes. I carried the clothes down for her and returned to the trailer to play on the computer. She called me about 3 to come get the clothes and bring them home.

We went to a Margarita Monday at 4 in the rally room. These are sponsored by the park and we bring snack foods to munch on. These are all about us just getting together and visiting with the winter Texans here in the park and anyone else that's in the park and wants to come. I am disappointed in the number of people in the park that don't come to these activities. They are free except for whatever food is brought, so money shouldn't be a factor. I guess there there are people that are not all that sociable. We enjoy getting together with friends. We sat at a table with Bob Anderson who is giving a seminar on Thanksgiving Day on writing your memoirs. He is an interesting man who ran a newspaper in Missouri before he retired. We enjoyed meeting him and his wife Carol. They are staying here until March, so I hope to see him again in the park before we leave. Its hard to believe that we've been here over six weeks and only have about three weeks left to stay here.

So long.