I didn't want to do it...

(This all was from yesterday's activities)

I didn’t want to do it, no, I didn’t want to do it… (isn’t that a song, Sheryl?), but my personal trainer, I mean, Clark, made me do it (and yes, that is similar to the devil in this case – at least it felt like it at the time!)  I went to water aerobics at 10:00 am.

 

I didn’t want to go for several reasons; the first being the most obvious AND already stated – 10:00 AM The second, the disagreeable weather; it was cloudy and drizzling.  Ok – not a fan of exercise to start with.  I don’t have anything against watching it.  I always enjoyed watching The Biggest Loser while eating ice cream right out of the container, but to actually do it myself and at the early morning hour of 10 am – need I say more?  And, lack of sun – seriously – is there really a point to going to the pool when the sun isn’t out?  I mean that’s what indoor pools are for, and don’t even get me started on that!

But, once I shivered my way down to the pool and got in, it felt pretty good.  The water was actually warmer than the air.  Then a few other ladies showed up and we got started.  It was pretty fun and I managed to not drown myself. They had all done the first CD many times before so since they knew what they were doing they mostly talked through it while they did whatever the CD was saying.   I chatted along with them and just kept moving around in the water since I couldn’t hear the instructions on the CD. 

But the second one, you had to go to the edge of the pool so the chatting stopped and the workout really began.  Like any exercise class I have ever been to, I didn’t know what I was doing most of the time. But, you can’t really see what anyone else is doing in the water so they can’t see that you are a moron and can’t follow simple instructions.

By the time I figure out which arm is supposed to be going which way, I have totally missed what my legs are supposed to be doing!

 When class was finally over, I found that the water felt so good I just floated on my back for awhile and was the last one out.  Still no sun though.  In fact, no sun all day and it drizzled off and on all day long.

We went down to the volunteer office and Clark signed up for kitchen duty.  He will wash pots and pans, which he doesn't mind.  Especially when he gets to eat free on the days he volunteers!  He is signed up for a dozen or so times for the rest of the month.  I signed up for two events – serving ice cream.  That seems easy enough but I was smart and just did two.  I don’t want to get stuck doing it if I don’t enjoy it.  Besides, I am waiting to see what community events I can volunteer at through whatever church we end up attending.

We spent the afternoon trying to find the new library in McAllen.  It is an old Walmart they turned into a library and is supposed to be really nice.  It turned out we were on the wrong road and never did find it.  We stopped and ate supper and headed back to the park so I could play Pokeno.  We will look for the library another day, now that we know where it is actually located.

I had never played Pokeno before but I found it was very easy.  It costs 8 cents per hand to play.  In the end, I won 88 cents.  They play again on Saturday.  I will probably go because what the heck else am I gonna do with 500 plus pennies?!  I didn’t enjoy it as much as Dirty Sevens because you have to listen for the calling so you can mark your card, so there is only chatting between rounds.  It isn't as easy to get to know people doing that. 

P.S. This is how Lulu spends her days.

The Park so Far…

I realized I never said the name of our park.  It is Bentsen Grove Resort in Mission, Texas but it is really more in Palmview.  Pretty much runs together.  Monday, we wandered around the park, got our mailbox, gate pass, and list of activities.  We then went out for dinner but couldn’t agree on anything so it turned out to be a very long drive.  We almost made it to the Gulf before we turned around and headed back home.  We saw a Furr’s sign and agreed on that.  It was actually the nicest one I have ever been in.  It had all of the same foods it has always offered AND had it set up buffet style which tripped Clark’s trigger.

Tuesday was a much more entertaining day.  We started with 4 loads of laundry.  It only costs $1.25 for a wash and 50 cents for 15 minutes for the dryer, so about $2.00 for me to dry a load.  I even used the ironing board they provide.  It was in front of a window with a great breeze coming through.  The only thing that could have made this whole thing better would have been if I were getting paid to do it.

When we finished the laundry we decided it was time to play so off to the pool we went.  I floated on my blow up chair for a while just totally relaxed and Clark played in the water too.  

Pretty soon it started getting crowded with one woman after another so I got out of my chair and into the water like everyone else and had a good chat.  We got to know quite a few of them.  One, in particular was a real hoot.  We found out they do water exercise there in the mornings at 10:00.  Well, being a night owl, getting there  awake and on time will be an effort.  I hope I don’t drown myself, that would be embarrassing.  I told Clark he had to come along.  He said no, he thought he would wait to see if I survived first.  We’ll see who wins this one, I’ll let you know tomorrow.  Before we left, we got invited to play cards later that evening.  Of course, people here will learn, Clark does not play cards – period. 

I showed up for cards on time, Pepsi in hand.  The game was Dirty Sevens, which I had never before heard of nor played (obviously, if I had never heard of it).  They said it was like Hand and Foot.  Well, I had heard of that but had never played.  Canasta?  Now that I had played, years ago, so I thought I could figure it out as we went along.  We played 4 hands and my partner, Lola, and I won.  It was lots of fun.  I laughed so much my stomach hurt.  It was a fun group of people.  I then got invited to play Pokeno tomorrow night.  I said sure, never played that before.  Lola told me I had to bring 500 pennies but she had plenty so she’d bring them for me.  I told Clark that sounded alright, entertainment for 50 cents…he said how about 5 bucks!  Oops – always sucked at math J  

Clark went for a bike ride around the park while I was playing cards and then he met me and we came back home, put away his bike and went for a walk.  It is now 10:30 and the temperature is 74 degrees.  

Life is good in TEXAS!

We Made It South

Our trip south to our winter stomping grounds was uneventful, which is a good thing.  We set our departure time for 9:00 am, which is really early for us night owls, and only missed it by 30 minutes.  We left at 9:34 with steps up, door rail tucked closed, antenna down, and LuLu in the back seat.
So far, so good.

We made it safely to our spot on November 1^st which was our plan.  I am too tired to take any pictures or remember any details.  After we got set up we went out and ate at Luby’s cafeteria.  This idea of going through and picking your entrée and two sides was foreign to Clark.  What’s this?  You can’t keep going back for more?  What a silly rule!  Needless to say, between his meal and half of mine he was happily satisfied.  He came back, hooked up the water and then went for a bike ride around the park.  I, on the other hand, did what any normal person would do, I took a long nap!

The office to our park is closed for the weekend so we don’t have a schedule of activities yet.  I am going to take advantage of the pool for sure, but probably not until Monday because I am hoping my antenna will pick up the local channels down here and I can watch some football!

The weather is beautemous!  It was 87 degrees, with low humidity, at 3:30 when we left to go eat.  It is 64 now and the low is 61.  The park is quiet.  We are going to sleep with our windows open.  I love that!  We have been hearing the coyotes howling which does remind us of life on the farm. 

I will say that being home from April to October we never once regretted our decision to full-time.  We so enjoyed our time with family and friends but when the temperatures started dropping we were hearing the call to go south.

Update on my Mom

It has been a very long time since we blogged, and from the previous blog, you know why.  After spending all spring, summer, and fall at home with my family, I lost my mom on October 12^th.  Anyone who has lost someone you love knows that feeling of heartbreak.  You actually feel a pain in your chest as if your heart truly has broken. 

My Mom and Dad on her 77th birthday.  She would be gone less than 3 weeks later.

I have so many things to be grateful for:

* First and foremost I am so grateful to God for sending his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins and for rising from the grave having victory over death and then offering us all the free gift of salvation.  I am thankful my mom had accepted that free gift and could call Jesus her Lord and Savior, just as I have, so I have the peace of knowing I will see her again someday. 

*I am thankful that I was able to spend so much time with Mom and was “home” when she passed. 

*I am grateful for family.  There are five kids in our family and we are all believers in Christ, as is my dad and my husband, Clark. 

Denise, Sandra, Mom (without her wig), Sheryl, Debbie and our "baby brother", John.

My family is close and through this time with our mom we were strong for each other.  We spent more time together than before because we never knew when our get-togethers would be our last.  There were times we would play cards and Mom would join us with enough strength to enjoy a game or two.  Then there were times when we sat around the living room talking while Mom sat in her recliner listening but too tired and weak to say much more than, “I am listening”.

Sandra and Sheryl sneaking Mom a kiss!

*I am grateful for my family to send us on our way to resume our travels with their blessing.  I have had such mixed feelings of leaving but they all tried to make it easier for me. 

*I am grateful to Clark for being so supportive through it all.  He encouraged me to spend as much time with family as possible and took me anywhere I needed to go.  God truly blessed me with Clark for a husband.

I would like to close this blog with something one of my sisters, Debbie, wrote.  She spoke for us all when she wrote her thoughts.

Thank You, God, For The Time You Gave Us With Our Mom

It has been about 16 months since Mom was first diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.

The leukemia had progressed so quickly Mom was admitted to the hospital. While she was there, the doctor told us, “Some people never go home.” We asked You for more time and You answered our prayer. For that, we are thankful.

When they started Mom on chemo, we were told if the chemo didn’t work she would have 3 to 4 weeks to live.  We asked You for more time and You said yes. For that, we are thankful.

“If the chemo works,” the doctor told us, “she will probably have 6 to 8 months.”  Once again, we begged for more time - one more anniversary and birthday, the birth of another great-grandchild, another Thanksgiving. Please, God, one more Christmas.

You gave us all of that and more, more than we could ever ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), and, again, we are so thankful.

You decided now it was time to take Mom home to be with You.

We won’t have to ask for more time ever again because we know that someday, when we go to Heaven and see our Savior and our mom, we will be there with them for eternity. And for that, God, we are extremely thankful.

Thanks to all of you for your prayer support for our family.  Believe me when I say we could feel God’s love through it all as He answered your prayers for us.  God bless you all.

Update by Clark

Sorry we have not blogged anything in quite some time.  Sandra's mother has leukemia and had been doing well with her chemo when we first hit the road.  Shortly after arriving back to the Topeka area, her mother was told the chemo was no longer working.  Since that time, she has been hospitalized at KU Med in Kansas City. We will be staying in the area so Sandra can spend as much time as possible with her mother during her current treatments.  

We will begin blogging again when we resume our travels.  Your prayers for Sandra's mother and family would be greatly appreciated.

Heading Back Toward Kansas

I am sorry I have not updated my blog in quite some time.  I started on some new medicine that has made me feel pretty sick the last two weeks but I am finally, evidently, adjusting to it because I am feeling myself again. 

We left the Escapees Park in Livingston on April 7^th and headed to Nacogdoches – about an hour from there – a really long travel day!  We were originally headed to Topeka for a funeral but I just did not feel well enough to travel that far, so that is as far as we got.

 We stayed at Shady Pines RV Park right off of Highway 59.  Their weekly price was $100.00 with full hookups so we stayed a week.  The spots were extremely close together and not a park you’d want to be in if you planned to spend any time sitting around outdoors because of the closeness of the rigs. Also, being so close to the highway there was a lot of noise. It worked for us though, because for the most part, I slept the majority of the time we were there. No TV stations to speak of using the antenna either, so we read a lot, which is how we spend most of our free time anyway.  Clark is not a big TV watcher and we both love to read.

The park was located right behind CC’s Smokehouse.  In fact, that is where you pay for your spot.  We got there at lunch time so we decided to eat lunch there since we were there anyway to pay.  They serve what they called a Cowboy steak.   It was a 10 oz sirloin which was pretty thin so quite large in diameter.  They served it on wax paper right on a tray and that was your plate with your fries right alongside.  It looked so odd to see people cutting a steak on a plastic serving tray!  But I am telling you, that place was jam-packed with men in work trucks.  We talked to one guy who said whenever he is working in the area he always plans his routes to be around CC’s for lunch.  It was a busy place the whole time we were there.  Clark ate a smothered hamburger steak with mushrooms, onions, and brown gravy.  He thought it was pretty darn tasty, but I am not sure he enjoyed as much as he could have had he not been looking at all of those cowboy steaks!  You know, the grass is always greener.  We did plan to go back there so he could get one but we never made it. 

As I said, we didn't do much since I didn't feel well but we did make it over to their azalea garden one day. The azaleas were in bloom and there were paths all through the garden.  It was very pretty.  I love azaleas.  I even tried growing one a long time ago but it was just too cold in our neck of the woods.   

We saw a lot of beautiful flowers on our trip with all of the wild flowers that can be found in Texas.  The wisteria blooms are very pretty but the plant itself is spindly and not all that to look at. 

And of course there are those Texas blue bonnets growing wild.

 In addition, we were in the Piney Woods of Texas so there were pine trees everywhere.

Overall, a very pretty spring time trip!

I Hate Spiders!

Clark was outside getting the bikes out and airing up the tires and I was inside making the bed.  I saw a cobweb around the frame of the closet.  Now, this place isn't that hard to keep clean and I couldn't believe we already had cobwebs!  I wiped it off and went back to making the bed.  Well, the closet door was not closed completely so as I was sliding it over I saw a fairly large spot on the sleeve of one of my nice blouses I wear to church.  I went to brush it off and then remembered the cobweb.  I pulled my glasses down to take a closer look first and saw a spider like I had never seen before.  It was the size of a baseball with hair all over it and it was licking its lips!  Okay, it was smaller than the tip of my pinky and bald and I couldn't see the mouth, but still it was a spider. 

Of course, I immediately went to the door and hollered for Clark but he didn't come fast enough to suit me; so I went back to see if the spider was still there because I wanted him gone but I didn't want him to just scurry off on his own and then not know where he was.  It was still on my shirt so I decided to be brave and take the whole shirt – hanger and all – out of the closet and calmly give it to Clark to take care of.  I reached up and got the hanger, holding it so I could see the spider at all times, and started for the door. 

Now, this wasn't all that easy for me to do. I was really creeped out by even carrying the shirt with a spider on it but I did what had to be done.  Seriously, what would I do if Clark weren't here?  After all, I couldn't really expect Clark to come running every time I see a bug.  Besides, that isn't a healthy thing for either of us to be doing – running, that is – nor is it a pretty sight.  Just as I reached the door, the man-eating spider started running up the sleeve toward me.  I freaked out! 

I opened the door and threw the whole thing outside on the ground with a shriek.  Unfortunately for Clark, that is when he decided to answer my call of distress so he was met with the blouse, the spider still on it, full on in his face!  As I am screeching about what happened, he is realizing that this could be a bad thing for him.  He quickly grabbed up the blouse from off of the ground to see if the spider was still there.  It was, but not for long.  My hero knocked it off and killed it ever so quickly. 

For some reason, I keep feeling things crawling on me when I go to bed at night…