Bad Santa

Well, Bad Santa did not bring me the camera I asked for. So, I'll have to continue to punish you folks with bad pictures. Even though that fat rascal doesn't bring me gifts I ask for, he does a great job of drinking my milk and eating my cookies and fudge.

Otherwise, we had a good Christmas. The kids came Christmas Eve morning and stayed about 24 hours or so. We enjoyed one of Donna's great meals (ham, baked beans, potato salad, etc.), and enjoyed the fellowship.

Now it is time for life to return to normal. Next week, schools will resume. I like that. And Donna and I need to start planning some trips. We've been talking about some; we just haven't set any dates or made any definite plans.

We were fortunate to receive a half-inch of rain Saturday morning. That is always a blessing for us. But the rain brought the cold. I was still able to get out yesterday afternoon and take down our outdoor Christmas lights, and Donna cleaned up most items inside. Yep, getting back to normal.

I'll wish all of you a Happy New Year. I wish you all the best for the new year. May each and everyone of you realize your hopes and goals.

I'll leave you now with some bad pictures, compliments of Bad Santa.

Sunset, Christmas Eve.

The turkeys have been out in force now that Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed. These were in my neighbor's yard a day or two ago.

This bunch was across the street at the same time as those above were next door. Enjoy the next 11 months or so, turkeys!

Merry Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas to all of you. Remember this is the season of good will to all. It is a time of giving, a time for being grateful for all the many blessings we enjoy.

I wish joy and happiness for all of you.

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

We're counting down to Christmas here. The kids will come down, but we don't know when or for how long. All we know is that they will come down and they will be hungry. 'Nuff said.

It's been a bit cold this week. a few nights have gotten down to the lower 20s, and that is cold for us. The days have not warmed as much as we like; partially, that is due to cold winds that seem to always blow. Yep, it's been pretty chilly out there. But next week looks good. We should have plenty of sun and daily highs in the 70s. Not exactly typical Christmas weather, but it surely is nice for getting out and doing a bit of walking and yard work.

We got out Wednesday night to view the lights. We have done this every year that I can remember, no matter where we have lived. Since retiring to San Angelo in 2011, we have made it a point each year to follow the Christmas Tour of Lights, which takes a route along the Concho River and through downtown San Angelo. If any of you ever visit San Angelo during the holiday season, I urge you to make a point of seeing the lights. It really is a unique display as the lights are set up along the south bank of the Concho River while the road winds along the north bank. The reflection of the lights in the water is lovely. It's like seeing 2 display of lights, with one upside down from the other. We also add in a few other areas around town we have learned about, especially the Santa Rita residential section.

We had our beloved front bur oak tree trimmed. The lower branches were attacking the crew who mows our yard, and they were trying to poke our eyes out as well whenever we walked around the front yard. The guys really trimmed it back, and it will take a few years for it to fill out, but it has a nice shape to it now. Our acorn crop will be greatly affected for a few years, though.

Today is the official start of winter, which means it is also the shortest day of the year as regards daylight. So, beginning tomorrow, the daylight hours start getting a tad longer each day. For me, the next 2 months are the coldest of the year.

I worked in the yard a bit this week. We have lots of leaves, and I've tried to keep them in check. However, with our winds, leaves from other yards quickly blow in to replace what I rake up. Donna cleaned up the beds in the front and side a bit, so everything looks pretty good right now. The older section of RCW is where the leaves really pile up, and our crew has to work almost daily to keep things looking good down there.

No pictures this week. I'm waiting until Santa brings me that new camera with powerful zoom. I know he won't let me down. So, once it arrives, I'll start snapping pictures again. We hope to take a short trip sometime in January, and that will give me a good opportunity to try out that new camera.

Some Cold, Some Rain, and a Beautiful Moon

It's been another good week here at Rio Concho West, where life is slow and easy for geezers like us.

Beautiful sunrise earlier in the week.

Last Sunday was beautiful, so Donna and I took the opportunity to take a walk at nearby San Angelo State Park. We mainly stayed on paved park roads and just enjoyed a walk free from traffic and city sounds. We always enjoy walking through the campgrounds and seeing the various RVs out there. We miss the RV lifestyle and often think we may have one more full-time venture left in us, but those moments are fewer and fewer for we are so comfortable in our home. But there's always a chance . . .

Monday was warm but overcast. Late in the day, a front blew through, dropping temperatures. Rain began falling after dark and continued until almost dawn Tuesday. We received just over an inch of rain. Our high on Monday was in the mid 70s, but the high on Tuesday was about 30 or 35 degrees lower. Parts of the Concho Valley received a wintry mix, but we only had rain, and we were very grateful for it.

Donna played cards at the clubhouse on Tuesday, then I joined her mid-afternoon for a come-and-go social honoring the staff of Rio Concho West. Our folks work hard for us, and we do appreciate what they do. It's nice to have an opportunity to let them know how much we appreciate their efforts.

A beautiful full moon appeared Wednesday evening. I snapped a few shots. I wish I had a better camera with a more powerful zoom lens. Perhaps Santa will bring me one this year. I rather doubt it, as I'm told I've been something of a trouble-maker this year, so I won't hold my breath.

Moon above the eastern horizon Wednesday evening.

Rising moon as seen through our oak tree.

Moon just over neighbors' houses on the other side of the clubhouse.

Thursday night, we had our monthly birthday dinner at the clubhouse to honor all those who enjoyed another birthday this month. This is always a good time to visit with our neighbors over a good meal and a little entertainment.

We saw two movies this week. The first was A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. This was really a good movie based on a real experience in the life of Fred Rogers. It's nice to be able to go to a movie and not have to put up with the vulgar language that Hollywood seems to think is necessary in movies these days. As usual, Tom Hanks did a great job, but every once in a while, his inner Forest Gump came through.

Our second movie was Jumanji: The Next Level. We enjoyed this movie as well, but were a bit disappointed with the unnecessary use of language, especially the GD term.

Christmas is approaching, and Donna is getting in holiday mode. She made lots of sausage balls this past week. They were mighty good. She took a batch to bingo yesterday, and they were gone by the break. I wonder what she'll make this week.

Medical Week is Done

It's been a long week for the old woman and me. We've spent almost the entire week making our doctors richer. We just finished our last visit, though, so now we can return to playing. We don't have to return to any of these doctors for another year unless something new turns up. Looks like old Donna and I are in pretty good shape. We do have some lab work our primary physician wants us to do, but this is just routine for our age.

I've stated before how pleased I am with our medical facilities and personnel here in San Angelo. There are two main hospitals, and I think both are really good. We use Shannon, which is the larger of the two. We have urgent care clinics only 3 to 5 minutes from our home, and other medical facilities are located in that area as well. The hospital and main clinics are located downtown, which is about 15 or so minutes from our home, depending on time of day.

Our primary care physician that we really liked grew tired of us about 2 years ago and fled to another state. We have that effect on people. His replacement is a young lady, and I think we like her even more. Now, I'm a modest type of guy, so I've had to readjust my mind set a little, but our doctor really takes good care of us. It's hard for old codgers like me to make these adjustments, but the rewards are usually good when we do.

But "Hell Week" is now behind us. Later today, we are going to the movies to celebrate. We are going to catch Knives Out with a great cast led by Daniel Craig, Jaime Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Christopher Plummer, and many more. I'm led to believe by the previews that it is a tongue-in-cheek sort of who-dun-it. We'll see. Afterwards, we'll grab a meal, something cheap and low calorie. One thing we've learned from our visits is that we need to lose a little weight and we need to get some counts down. That means smarter eating and more exercise. We can do that.

Tomorrow is bingo day. I had a good week last Saturday. I won 4 of the 12 games we played. We play mainly for fun, but we do have some small prizes. The prize for most games is a set of 5 US postage stamps, but some games award $5 or $10. Last week I won a total of $15 and 3 sets of stamps. I've been receiving death threats all week; seems that there are some sore losers out here. There are some pretty hostile old geezers that live here.

The weather has been great all week. Our daily highs have been mostly in the 70s, but yesterday reached 84 or 85. The wind has blown most days, though. You can't have everything.

Donna has been busy with her Christmas shopping, and I think she is almost done. She has been wrapping presents the last couple of days. We'll get out next week and start shopping for the goodies we'll be eating during the holidays. I think we've decided on a menu of ham with baked beans and potato salad. Sounds yummy to me!

As I often do, I'll leave you with some pictures I've taken during my walks. Rio Concho West has been around for about 30 or more years now. It has slowly grown over the years. In fact, we have some pads ready where a couple of new houses will soon be built. The older section has the best trees in the community, as they have had time to mature. This section is along a street called Stagecoach Trail. The following pictures were all taken along the older homes in this section.

Stagecoach Trail, looking southwest. Homes along this stretch are smaller, and most residences have low maintenance yards, such as rock. Benches like the one on left are located along all streets in our community, and the older neighborhoods have parking areas such as the one on left.

A bit farther down Stagecoach, a little color appears in the trees. Most of these residences have low maintenance yards.

This tree's color is rusty, and is quickly fading away. It is a nice contrast to the green tree behind it.

Top of this tree is turning quickly, with many leaves already dead. Lower part still has some yellow and green leaves. I'm going to miss the colors of fall. Almost all are gone now.

This close-up shows the colors many of the trees have right now. There are numerous dead leaves mixed in with some green to yellow colors.

Thanksgiving in Our Rear View Mirror

I hope all of you had a good Thanksgiving. We did. To be honest, though, I'm glad to put it behind us. I love the holiday season, but I also love getting back to normal. I've always been a person of routine, and if I get out of my routine for too long, I get a bit restless and uncomfortable. So, I'm back on routine until Christmas.

Lovely fall tree on Pinto Path, near the entrance to our subdivision.

Same tree as above, but from the other side.

So now the kids are all back in school, businesses are open at regular hours again, and all is good for a few weeks. The kids came down Thanksgiving morning in time for a big meal. Later that evening, Courtney and husband Michael braved the crowds and went out for a couple of hours of shopping. They survived and even found some good deals.

Gammaw and her boys. Jensen on the left is naturally photogenic. Camden on the right was a bit upset, as older brother Xander had just disciplined him by taking away one of his toys that was being abused.

We are slowly getting back into our routine, but Donna is doing quite a bit of Christmas shopping. There's not much to do as we don't exchange gifts with anyone other than the kids, so she should be near the bottom of her list by now. At least, I hope she is. Those credit card receipts are piling up!

We had lab work done last week, so for the remainder of this week we will be visiting doctors every day. We have tried to schedule our visits to coincide during one week each year. That makes things a lot easier. Also, should we ever decide to RV it again, then we just have to return to San Angelo one week each year.

We hope to get out to see a movie or two later this week, and I've been wanting to get down to the local bowling alley for a game. But downtown San Angelo this time of year is a fun place to be, and we should probably plan to spend a few hours walking those streets soon.

Thanksgiving Cometh

One of my favorite holidays is almost upon us. I look forward to Thanksgiving each year. I love the colors of the holiday and I love the simple message -- give thanks for what you have.

You'd think turkeys would be a bit more discreet at this time of year. But this group just down the street from our house seems to be inviting trouble.

Courtney and her family will drive down for a day or so. Donna has been busy in the kitchen for the past couple of days now, and she will probably be cooking and baking right up to the moment the hungry invaders arrive. She really doesn't know how to do simple. Each year, I urge her to cut back, but each year, she goes overboard. There are some wonderful aromas emanating from the kitchen, but I'm not sure what they are; I'm not allowed in there. I have eaten for days.

Our little neighborhood has been lively the past few days. Families have been coming in for their visits. It's nice to see young folks wandering about the neighborhood. I went for a walk yesterday and met a teenager on his hoverboard making the loop around the complex. I don't think I could have ever kept my balance on one of those things in my younger days.

The weather has been great the past few days. We even hit the low 80s a couple of days. I got out Sunday afternoon and strung up the outside Christmas lights. Although our maintenance department will put up lights for residents if requested, I prefer to do my own work for as long as I am capable. But for those who can't climb up and down that ladder, this is a great service. And it's nice to see so many lights around the neighborhood. We wouldn't have so many lights if this service wasn't available.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when I snapped this picture. Notice the fingernail moon upper-left. I also like that the photo captured the flag just to the right center, just above the house line. That's a rather large flag, and it is about half a mile away at a nearby business.

On my walk around the neighborhood yesterday, I saw a painting crew making its way from house to house. They are painting the eaves on all the houses. The lawn crew was also busy. I'm not quite sure if they are mowing or if they are gathering up the fallen leaves; regardless, things are busy around here. And that is one of the many things I'm thankful for. It's nice to live in a place like this where the entire neighborhood is maintained. It always looks good out here.

Some of the inmates will be gathering at the clubhouse on Thursday. Those that do not want to cook a big meal or do not have family coming gather each year at the clubhouse and share a meal and fellowship. That's a nice option to have available.

I truly hope each and everyone of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy time with your family, and remember to think about all the many blessings we enjoy in this country.

Time Flies . . .

It's been another busy week for us. But that's good; we like staying busy and we appreciate having things to do that we enjoy. All of this activity keeps us young at heart even if the rest of our bodies are falling apart.

On Tuesday, we attended an instructional session on using smart phones at the club house. One of the local providers attended in force, and each table ended up with their very own guide. It was truly productive and time well-spent. Later that evening, we returned to the club house for a going-away party for a neighbor just up our street.

Wednesday started early. Donna went to the club house for an 8:00 AM appointment at the hair salon. At noon, the old girl and I went to see Midway, starring Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, and a host of others. It was a good movie, but it could easily have been twice as long. I felt many scenes or episodes were rushed, such as Doolittle's bombing raid. I'd like to go back now and rewatch the original movie starring Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, and that all-star cast. Perhaps I can find it on Netflix. After the movie we enjoyed burgers at Whataburger and then a drive around Lake Nasworthy. It was an overcast day.

Some deer -- mostly bucks -- in front, but look hard and you'll see a line of turkeys below the trees in the left background.

This young buck was standing guard over a doe on the ground. 

We're seeing turkeys everywhere these days. This group of hens was running away from something.

On Thursday, it was my turn to get up early. I was in the barber's chair at 8:30 or so that morning and was home shortly after 9:00. I then went back out and did a bit of shopping and got the car washed. We have a wonderful car wash that sells 5 exterior car washes for $25. Since they throw in a bonus car wash, you actually get 6 washes for $25. The car gets a good pre-wash scrubbing and a thorough wipe down after the wash. That's a good deal! I still like to wash the car myself once or twice each year, just to do a thorough inspection and make sure all of those hard to reach places get cleaned, but the rest of the time I'm happy to let someone else do it these days.

Later that day, Donna and I went to the club house for the monthly birthday dinner. On the menu was turkey and ham along with fruit salad, green beans, mashed potatoes, dressing, giblet gravy, rolls, and pumpkin pie. That's a pretty good meal for $7.50. Entertainment was provided by a local preacher who doubles as a comic. His humor was so corny it truly was funny. Good to have some nice, clean humor for a change. Who needs TV?

The monthly RCW committee meeting scheduled for Friday morning was cancelled, so we just stayed home. That evening, we visited a nearby funeral home for a viewing. One of our neighbors the next street over passed away earlier this week, so we paid our respects. Following that, we went to the Angelo Civic Theater to see A Tuna Christmas. This play by Ed Howard, Joe Sears, and Jaston Williams is set in the "third-smallest town in Texas".  We enjoy all of the Tuna plays. If you've never seen a Tuna production, the cast of characters is usually quite large, usually around 15 or 20 characters in all. And all of those characters are played by 2 men, and that is what causes much of the humor. It's pretty good fun.

We ended the week by playing a bit of bingo on Saturday afternoon at the clubhouse. We always enjoy this time with our neighbors, and we really don't care whether or not we win. The treats are always good and the fellowship warm.

Fall Photos from Rio Concho West

I love the fall; it is without a doubt my favorite time of year. Since returning from our trip, Donna and I have had several nice days where we could work in the yard and then sit on our patio, enjoying the soft breezes and lazy days.

I thought I'd share some photos with you.

As I've noted before in my blog, we are fortunate to have a number of animals in our area. We are blessed with quite a few beautiful deer, and we have numerous turkeys that seem to think they own the place. We have some other critters as well, some welcome and some not, but the turkeys and deer are my favorites.

The turkeys seem to be growing bolder, and they do not seem to be as skittish as they were when we first moved here. A few mornings ago, Donna spotted a large group moving through our back yard. I snapped the following photos through the window. The first picture is framed by the slats of our blinds.

There are 11 turkeys in our yard, and an additional 5 across the street in another yard.

I zoomed in on these 2 hens for a good, clear shot.

To show you just how bold these rascals are becoming, here is a shot Donna took a few days ago.

This is the house across the street from ours. Notice the turkeys roaming the roof. I count 6.

Every year, there are a couple of trees down the street that really show good color. Admittedly, we don't have a lot of fall color in this part of the state, so what little we have, we cherish.

Pretty color in someone's back yard near our neighborhood church.

Tree on the side of someone's house.

When we returned from our recent trip, Donna and I both noticed the good color of the bur oak in our front yard. We just couldn't remember it being as pretty the past 3 years. I snapped several pictures of it over the next few days. I'm glad I did, as the leaves are now all gone due mainly to heavy winds the past couple of days.

Bur oak in our front yard. I snapped this upon our return, before any of the leaves began falling. Note how leaf free the yard is.

Frontal view of our bur oak.

Close up of bur oak that shows the yellow color a bit better.

You can see the leaves on the ground in this picture. The color had pretty well faded, and the leaves were beginning to fall fast. In another day, all of the leaves would be gone.

I love the sunrises and sunsets in the west. There is a narrow window of time to really catch the beautiful color of a great sunrise/sunset, and I usually miss that window. The pictures below were all taken one morning over a short period of time. The color looks different in some photos either because I zoomed in or because of time passing.

Light was just beginning to break on the eastern horizon. Notice the clouds.

This picture was snapped just a few seconds later, but I had zoomed in a bit (note size of trees in left half of picture). As a result, this picture looks to have a bit more orange tint.

Just a short time later, I zoomed in even more and focused on the sky. More orange tint in this picture as a result.

This is the last picture I snapped. I zoomed out to capture everything, including the vapor trail of a plane from upper right slanting diagonally down left.

As with most of Texas, we were hit by a frigid cold front yesterday. When we awoke, the temp was in the mid to high 60s. By noon, we were down to about 45. By dark, the temp had fallen to 35. There has been little moisture, though, so no ice or snow. That north wind really makes the wind chill bitter. Hope you are snug and warm wherever you are.

A Long Trip for This Old Man

Donna and I just got back home yesterday from a long trip to Laughlin, Nevada. This was the first time we have driven to Laughlin since we spent the winter of 2015-16 there in our travel trailer. I also think this will be the last time we drive out there. It is a round-trip of over 2,000 miles, and it really takes a lot out of me to drive that far. Even peppy Donna was tired from the trip. If we go to Laughlin again, it will probably be on a junket from our local airport.

Colorado River in Laughlin at night outside Aquarius Casino.

We decided to break the trip into shorter, more manageable segments. On the way out there, we decided to spend our first night in Ruidoso, New Mexico. We had some free play coming from the Inn of the Mountain Gods casino there, and we wanted to play that through. The approach to Ruidoso was beautiful. Starting at Riverside, which is about 25 miles east of Ruidoso, the road starts winding through the foothills, roughly following the Hondo River. The trees were turning, and the leaves were various hues of yellow and gold. That night, the temp got down to the mid-20s, but it was dry and pleasant. We do like Ruidoso.

The next day, we drove down the western slope and across the White Sands to the Organ Mountains. Then we eased around Las Cruces, picking up Interstate 10 on the south side. We headed west across the Rio Grande. About 35 miles west of the river, things started to turn bad. In the distance, we noticed a black column of smoke appear. Pretty soon, traffic started backing up and we eventually came to a complete standstill. We remained that way for a long, long time. Seems two trucks collided. You can read one report of the incident here.

Our view for more than 2 hours near accident sight on I-10 east of Deming, NM

Eventually, we were able to resume our trip, finally reaching our hotel on the north side of Tucson late in the day. I was pretty beat by this time. The next day, we hoped things would be better. We made our way north, then split west on Interstate 8 to take the Phoenix bypass at Gila Bend. This has always been one of my favorite stretches of the trip, because the saguaros are really pretty in this area.

Saguaros on a hill next to a rest area on Interstate 8 somewhere east of Gila Bend

We decided to take I-10 west and work our way up through Parker, AZ, then up to Needles, CA. We like this country, and we enjoy seeing it. But the low speed limits and two-lane roads make travel slow. When we finally reached Laughlin, we were beat.

Donna with Saguaros near Salome, AZ

We spent several days gaming at the Aquarius and eating at some of our favorite places.  We did not win, but we had a good time. Of course, we love the river there, and we love watching the mountains that line both sides of the river. Sunsets and sunrises can be beautiful.

Morning dawns in Arizona across the Colorado River from Laughlin.

Casino Blvd in Laughlin

Looking north to the Riverside Casino while standing just outside the Aquarius.

We hoped the return trip would be easier. We decided to reach Lordsburg, NM, on our first day, and that is a long drive of just over 500 miles from Laughlin. We ran into one stretch of construction where only one lane was open, but we did not have to wait too long for our turn. One of my favorite drives in that part of the country is Highway 93 from Phoenix to the Kingman area. Along this route -- dubbed the Joshua Tree Parkway -- are miles and miles of not only Joshua trees, but Saguaros as well.

Traffic was not too bad, even in Tucson, and everything looked up once we reached the east side of Tucson. We spent the night at a nice hotel in Lordsburg, had a nice salad that evening, and felt pretty good about things.

We left early the next morning, because we wanted to reach Inn of the Mountain Gods by mid-morning in order to play some more free play through the machines there. From Lordsburg to Las Cruces, traffic was light. We made it through the Las Cruces morning rush-hour traffic easily enough and began climbing San Augustine Pass through the Organ Mountains. At the very top of the pass, traffic was backed up. It seems there was a missile test scheduled for 9:00 AM. There is a large parking area at the top of the pass, and all traffic was routed into that area and parked. We walked around snapping pictures and stretching our legs. As 9:00 rolled around, an announcement was made that the test had been delayed. We waited a while longer, then we were allowed to continue our travels. I guess the test was completely cancelled. So, another delay of 1½ hours.

Traffic being brought to a stop atop San Augustine Pass just east of Las Cruces.

The flats just east of San Augustine Pass. The missile test should have been in this direction somewhere.

Donna atop San Augustine Pass with the Organ Mountains in the background.

We made it to the casino and had a nice break there. We played through our free play and a little more before continuing our trip. We made it to Roswell later that afternoon. We enjoyed a late lunch at Los Cerritos near our hotel. Donna had the taco plate while I enjoyed their wonderful cheese enchiladas. We enjoyed everything about the meal, including the chips and salsa. Good food.

Donna's taco plate at Los Cerritos on North Main in Roswell.

My cheese enchiladas at Los Cerritos.

The last day of the trip, we only had 300 miles to go. We were ready to get home. After breakfast at the hotel, we headed east. Skies were overcast. About an hour east of Roswell, we ran into heavy fog and had to slow down to about 45 mph. Then it began to rain. For the next half hour or 45 minutes, we remained in the fog. About the Texas line, the fog cleared, though it continued to rain off and on until we reached Big Spring.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this entry, this was a long trip, and one we probably won't make again. Traffic along I-10 was very heavy, with lots and lots of trucks. I just don't enjoy driving in heavy traffic, and I avoid large cities like Phoenix and El Paso whenever possible. This causes our route to be a bit longer.

It was really good to get back to our warm, comfortable home; right now, we have no plans for another trip. I think when we go somewhere again, it will be for a shorter time and to someplace much closer to home.

Busy Week for Old People

We've continued to stay busy following little Jensen's visit.

Initially, we simply spent a couple of days returning to normal and recuperating. On Monday, we rose early and went to the gym for our regular workout. On Tuesday, I washed the car, filled it with gasoline, then Donna and I did a bit of grocery shopping at our nearby H.E.B. That evening, we walked over to the clubhouse for out annual resident hamburger supper. The employees of Rio Concho West host us each year with an evening of home made hamburgers and some bingo with some good prizes. Donna won a $40 gift card and a bag full of chocolate candy, which I promptly confiscated. I don't want the old girl to get chubby on me, you know. I do my best to protect her from temptation.

On Wednesday, I got the day started early by visiting my local barber. I have to keep well-groomed for the old woman, or she'll trade me in on a better model. After my return home, we did a bit of shopping at our nearby Walmart, and ran into an old colleague from Ozona in the process. We always enjoy seeing folks from that little town southwest of here where we lived and worked for 8 years. We then had a nice lunch out. That afternoon, we went to the clubhouse to have our picture taken for the RCW directory. The wind blew hard all day long. Old geezers out for their morning walks were being blown all over the streets of our little community. Walkers, canes, and false teeth were scattered all over the place. I think I even saw a few small dogs lodged in tree tops. The horror!

We woke to pleasant temps on Thursday, but we knew a cold front was blowing our way. As late as 9:00 AM, it was still holding at 69 degrees. However, the skies were already dark, serving as an omen of the norther coming our way. Donna put on a pot of home made potato soup. That's some good eating on a wintry day. By the time the soup was ready for lunch, the temp had already dropped substantially. It really wasn't an ideal day for the root beer float gathering over at the clubhouse, but we braved the cold and rain. By dark, the temp had fallen about 25 degrees.

It warmed some on Friday, but the wind blew hard most of the day. We stayed inside for the most part. However, we did scurry about late in the day and move all our outdoor potted plants into the garage. The local meteorologist said overnight lows could be near freezing, so we didn't want to take any chances. Since we only have one car but a 2-car garage, we put the plants in the empty garage. On pretty days during the winter, we can open that door and let the plants get some light and fresh air.

It only got down to the mid-30s Friday night/Saturday morning. That's not too bad. We played our normal bingo Saturday afternoon. The sessions start at 2:00 sharp and usually run until about 4:00 or so. However, Donna and I like to go early to visit. The same folks seem to come each week, but occasionally we get a new face here or there. Neither Donna nor I won this week, though everyone else at our table won a game. Folks bring snacks for the games, and they were excellent on this day. Good times!

This morning (Monday), I ran some errands, then we picked up a neighbor who is celebrating her birthday and took her to lunch at Zentner's Daughter. Donna and I don't go to Zentner's often, and I don't know why we don't. We always enjoy our meals there, and the specials menu is excellent, arguably the best in town. The Zentner line of restaurants in West Texas is legendary, and this location in particular offers an old charm sadly lacking in restaurants today. Many folks don't care for the garlic seasoning that flavors Zentner steaks, but I enjoy it. I'm going to make it a point to eat there more often from now onward. On this particular visit, our guest happened to be old friends with the Zentners, and we were delighted to meet Betty Zentner Sheffield on this visit. She's a delightful lady.

It's a cold and wintry day today. It is now early afternoon, and the temp is still hovering in the upper 40s. It has misted off and on much of the day, and the skies are grey, making it appear to be colder than it really is. Rain should move through tomorrow, perhaps lingering into Wednesday. I hope so, for this country could use a good drenching.

Pre-Halloween Visit from a Real Spook

The old woman and I have been rather busy of late. Normally Donna has quite a bit of energy and pep, but she is even showing a few signs of slowing down these days. She usually runs circles around me, so it's nice to see that she is human, too.

We started the week by getting our annual flu shots. It's always good to get those behind us. On Wednesday, we hopped on the RCW geezer bus for a trip to our local Outback Steakhouse for lunch. We always enjoy those trips. They are great opportunities to visit with our neighbors here at RCW.

Daughter Courtney and son-in-law Michael were taking an anniversary trip to the Hill Country, and on the way through town, they dropped off youngest son Jensen for a short stay. Since the older boys are in school, they stayed home and were watched over by Michael's family. We tried to keep young Jensen entertained, and that is what really wore us out. While here, we took him to the Sierra Vista United Methodist Church pumpkin patch, where we picked up a couple of pumpkins for decoration and took numerous photos around the patch. That afternoon, we drove out to San Angelo State Park and got a distant glimpse of the bison herd; they were really in too much brush to get a good view, though. We did have a good time at the playground out there.

On Friday, we took Jensen to the San Angelo Nature Center at Lake Nasworthy. The center has small animals, most of which are native to this area. We then drove out to Horseshoe Bend at Spring Creek Park and fished for a while. It was quite windy, though, so the fishing wasn't that good. Court and Michael came back through just before noon on Saturday and took the little spook off our hands, then Donna and I basically collapsed.

Below are some pictures we took while young Jensen was visiting us.

King Jensen atop his mountain of hay bales at the pumpkin patch.

A couple of rubes at the pumpkin patch

Jensen with some of the pumpkins for sale.

Farmer Jensen getting ready to plow his fields.

Jensen enjoying the slide at the state park playground.

A couple of real swingers

Cowgirl Donna on her trusty steed.

Jensen admiring a white squirrel at the Nature Center.

Jensen and his Gammaw at the Nature Center.

Good collection of venomous and non-venomous snakes from the Concho Valley.

That's a mighty big turtle.

There are 2 bobcats at the nature center; this one was quite active roaming about its cage.

The fish at Lake Nasworthy were scared this day.

A boy and his gammaw fishing for their supper. They went hungry this night.