It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

What a great time of year! The older I get, the more I appreciate the holiday season. I love seeing the Christmas colors.

The season truly begins for us at Thanksgiving. This year, we got our outside lights put up while the kids were visiting for the annual Thanksgiving orgy of food. Eldest grandson Xander helped his old grandpa hang a few lights.

After the kids left, Donna began putting up the tree and getting out all the inside decorations. We switched our television to the Christmas music channel, and we've been celebrating ever since. Houses around the community have been lighting up. The maintenance crew from RCW (Rio Concho West) will hang lights for residents upon request, so almost everyone seems to get into the act with a few lights.

The kids came this past weekend for an early Christmas. We have to share them with Courtney's in-laws, so next year we'll get them closer to Christmas Day.

To make it even more seasonal, a very cold blue norther roared through late yesterday. One minute, the temp was comfortably in the 70s. Then the wind picked up, leaves began blowing down the street, and the temperature fell rapidly. When I arose this morning, it was 18 degrees outside, and the high today is expected to be 33. Tonight, the low is expected to be 17, rising to a high of 39 tomorrow. Then it will begin warming a bit, but the nightly lows will stay around the freezing mark. That's just too cold for me. But I'm so thankful we are not in the travel trailer for this cold spell.

Donna and I bought a new grill. It is a Weber Spirit 210, a propane grill. I tested it yesterday and believe it will work fine. I'll take more pictures after it warms up, but for now, here is a picture I downloaded.



The kids will leave later today, then Donna and I will stay put for a couple of weeks until we get past New Years. Then we'll look at taking a trip somewhere.

Oh, It's Been Cold Out Here

Well, it's been another good week at Rio Concho West (RCW), my new hometown, out here on the wintry edge of the plains.

Last week ended with rain and this week started with rain. As the weekend came to a close last Sunday, we had received a total of .8 inch rain. The next morning, the rain started again, lasting into the afternoon. When it was all said and done, we had received an additional .5 inch rain. What a great way to start off December. We always welcome moisture out here.

But with the rain came the cold. The high on Monday and Tuesday topped out in the upper 40s. After a brief respite on Wednesday (upper 50s), the cold front pushed in later that night, and temperatures continued to drop well into Thursday morning. Then the wintry mix arrived about mid-morning as temps hovered around the freezing mark. We get weather like this a few times each winter, but it usually doesn't last long.

The good news -- weatherwise, at least -- is that the week ended with sunshine. Yep, Saturday the sun finally emerged to begin warming things again. Unfortunately, the wind decided to join the sun; at least the wind was from the southwest, and that normally brings warmth in the winter.

It's been another medical week for Donna and me. We tend to group all our appointments together in a 1 or 2 week window of time so that our travel is not impeded.

On Monday, I visited my rheumatologist for an update on my arthritis. I've not noticed any real change in my condition except for the middle finger on my left hand. The middle joint has really stiffened, and I have trouble bending it. But after working it a bit, I am able to form a fist. Donna and I then met an hour or so later with our family practitioner. Although Donna had to get a pneumonia shot (the old girl hates needles), everything else was great for her. We had lab work done last week and her results were excellent. Then the doc looked at my results and just shook his head. Well, I am what I am and that's all that I am.

On Tuesday, Donna visited her cardiologist, and everything there was good as well. I visited my dermatologist on Friday to end the week. This visit had been cancelled a couple of weeks earlier due to booking issues in the office. So, we should now be done with all of our medical for another 6 months.

We ate out a bit more than usual because of the visits. On Monday, we ate at CiCi's Pizza. I really like their pizza dough better than just about any other pizza joint I know. And I like their pepperoni better than any other local place as well. Donna enjoys their salad bar. We get in and out for about $15, and that is a pretty good deal these days.

Usually, we eat lunch at 11 for that gets us in and out before the real lunch rush starts. But on Tuesday, because of appointments, we ended up eating well after 12. Several places we were interested had full parking lots, so we passed them by and headed to Gil's Mexican Restaurant on Knickerbocker. Gil's is not a real popular place, but it has it's loyal following. We've eaten there a number of times over the years, and we like the place in general, but there are other Mexican eateries we prefer. Donna ordered chalupas and I ordered a combo plate with cheese enchiladas (my very favorite Mexican food) and tacos. We really enjoyed the meal. It was perhaps the best meal we've ever had there. The salsa had a good flavor and a good bite, and the chips were good. Our food was good and hot, and really tasted good on the cold wintry day. We cleaned our plates. I'm glad we stopped in.

On Wednesday afternoon, we had a reception at the Rio Concho clubhouse, the Oak Tree. The reception was hosted by the employees in honor of the residents, a way of showing their appreciation for the place. It was a nice, casual affair. We also presented the employees with gifts we had been collecting as a way of showing them how much we appreciate them. We are very fortunate to have the crew that we have. They really care about this place and work extremely hard to keep the community in good working order. It is a real family out here.

To end the week, we held our annual Christmas dinner at the Oak Tree Club. This is the big social event of the year at Rio Concho West, it seems. Everyone dresses up for this night. The maintenance staff at RCW serve as valets and park cars for all the residents as they arrive. The chief administrator at RCW serves as the master of ceremonies. Dressed in his tuxedo, he met us at the door, checked our reservations, then had us escorted to our table. The Sutton County Steak House in Sonora, Texas, catered the event, which consisted of sirloin steak bits, pan stuffed potatoes, roasted vegetables, homemade yeast rolls, and New York style cheesecake. I drank iced tea while the party girl had wine, and lots of it. Our meal was accompanied by the mellow sounds of the Ellen Myer Trio, a local jazz band who gave their own stylings to some traditional Christmas songs. They were quite good. It was a good night, with good food and good company. I look forward to doing it again next year.

Well, that's all the news from Rio Concho West, where the streets have been icy and the old folks keep slip-sliding away.

Here Comes December

Well, it's been another good week at Rio Concho West (RCW), my new hometown, out here on the edge of the plains.

And we've been reminded that we live on the edge of the plains recently. The winds blew in last weekend. The gusts were quite strong, and I started to think this must be spring rather than late Autumn. The wind even blew some of the Christmas lights out of place on the edge of my roof, so I had to get the ladder out and put many of them back in place.

Donna and I started the week by watching a movie at our local theater. We decided on the latest Brad Pitt movie, Allied, and we weren't disappointed. I enjoy movies set amid the backdrop of World War II. This one had lots of intrigue and, for Donna, quite a bit of romance. I did feel the ending was a bit anti-climatic, but that is probably just me.

Following the movie, we went to Zentner's Daughter Steak House for a late lunch. This place has some of the best lunch specials in town. We hit it on the day when they offered a KC sirloin steak. The steak was really good, but we didn't care for the sides all that much. But it's hard to complain when you get a good steak with 2 sides, a salad, and drink, all for $8.95.

I've been cruising around town looking for a new propane grill. I guess this really isn't the best time of year to do that. In so many places, their grill sections have been replaced with holiday decorations. I think I've been just about everywhere in town that sells grills, and we've narrowed our choice down to one location. We'll head back this coming week and probably bring one home.

We have regularly scheduled checkups next week with our family doctor, so we went in for lab work on Friday. After that, we stopped at our local H.E.B. and picked up a few items. After running home to put things in the fridge, we went out for lunch at Subway. I had seen their commercial on TV for a Reuben sandwich and thought I'd give it a try. I was a bit disappointed, to be honest. Now, we both like Subway, and it is one of our go-to places when traveling. We like to eat light while on the road, so I normally get a 6 inch Black Forest ham sandwich while Donna gets a salad. We're almost always satisfied, but I think I'll pass on the Reubens there from now on.

The rain moved in last night, and it is still sprinkling this morning. So far, we've received half an inch or so, and we should get more before the rain moves out late tomorrow. The temp is hovering around 50 degrees. We prepared for this by defrosting some stew meat. Donna has a big pot on the stove right now, and it's just about ready. That great aroma has drifted from the kitchen into the office, and I'm really getting hungry. This is one of my favorite meals, and we'll be eating this for the next few days while it is wet and cold outside.

Well, that's all the news from Rio Concho West, where the streets are wet and the old folks are huddled around their fires.

Post-Thanksgiving Status

Well, it's been another good week at Rio Concho West (RCW), my new hometown, out here on the edge of the plains.

A couple of weeks ago, I was busy getting things checked out. This week, it was Donna's turn. She started the week on Monday by visiting the eye doctor. The next day, she visited her dentist. Donna is very regular in her visits to these folks while I tend to only visit them when I need to. I suppose that's why she seems to be holding up much better than I. People we meet generally tell Donna how well she looks; then they cast a glance at me and simply laugh in a pitying sort of way. Go figure.

In between visits to these places, Donna was busy getting things ready for our Thanksgiving feast. She made 2 pies, a pumpkin and a chess. Donna loves pumpkin pie during the holidays, but I prefer an old-fashioned chess pie. I believe this may have been the finest chess pie she has ever made. Then she started to work on all the other dishes, such as dressing, cranberry sauce, rice-broccoli casserole, sweet potatoes, lime jello mixed with pecans and other sweets, and numerous other little things. I keep trying to get the old woman to cut back on how much she prepares, but I don't think she can.

This year, rather than smoke a whole turkey, we bought 2 turkey breasts. For the past 20 or 25 years, I've smoked turkeys for our Thanksgiving dinners. I usually start late the night before, then get up every few hours or so to add charcoal, wood, and/or water, whichever is needed. To be honest, I've grown tired of doing that. So this year, Donna graciously consented to cook the turkey breasts in the oven. They turned out great, and I hope this is a tradition we continue.

I walked over to the club house on Tuesday morning to get a haircut. I love that my barber is a 3 minute walk from my back door. This is just another great aspect of living at RCW. While there, I turned a couple of books into the library. We have a really nice library at the club, and it operates on the honor system. So, you just mosey in, select a book or 2 or 3, and take it (them) home. Once finished with your reading, simply return and repeat the process.

Although quite good (the books fill an entire side room in the club house), our library still has limits. I have more or less adopted the practice of checking out 2 or 3 books for trips we take in our trailer since there is no time limit. But when I'm home for a while, I prefer to go to the Tom Green County Library and check out books there. In addition to checking out books, I also spend quite a bit of time browsing the magazines there, such as Texas Highways and True West. This week, I checked out some Hercule Poirot mysteries as well as a book on Adobe Walls, an historic site in the Panhandle of Texas.

Since Donna and I were busy Tuesday morning, we decided to eat out. We opted for Joe's Italian on South Bryant, a place we haven't eaten in 2 or 3 years for some reason. I don't know if Joe's Italian is a chain or not, but we find places by this name in several places, including Big Spring and Longview. Our Joe's has some of the most reasonably priced lunch specials in town. The special changes each day, and costs only $6.99 for the entrée and a salad. This is not the greatest Italian food you'll ever eat, but it is quite good and, as I said, reasonably priced. We both ordered spaghetti and meatballs, and we enjoyed our meals.

The kids arrived Wednesday, and that is when I started drinking. Heavily. It didn't help. The little monsters still tormented me.

But Donna and I endured with minimal damage. The main meal was great. Donna is really a good cook, and her skills have not diminished over the years. I especially love her dressing, and there is a corn and cream cheese concoction she makes that I wish she would make more often. We sent quite a bit of food home with the kids, much to my dismay. I'll have to speak to the chef about this alarming breach of protocol.

On Friday, the kids left and Donna and I started returning to normal. I put the whiskey bottle away until the next visit. Life is good again. Late Friday afternoon the clouds rolled in and we got half an inch of rain. Rain is always appreciated out here.

Well, that's all the news from Rio Concho West, where life moves along just a little more slowly than in the real world. And that's exactly how I like it.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is an old holiday celebrated not only in the United States but in Canada. Many other countries also have some form of harvest festival. The first celebration in the United States of giving thanks for a good harvest is often traced back to Plymouth in 1621. Later, various states celebrated the harvest on different dates. It was not until 1863 that President Lincoln issued a proclamation fixing the date in the U.S. so that all states would celebrate the holiday on the same date.

I find this appropriate.

In 1863, our country was in the middle of a bloody war that often pitted brother against brother. We were, indeed, a house divided. One of the reasons for issuing the proclamation was to provide some sense of unity between North and South. However, the South refused to recognize the date established for another decade or so. Today, though, Americans observe Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November.

Today, our country is once again divided, this time along political lines rather than geographical boundaries. Still, the division is deep, so much so that numerous recent  news stories have dealt on families who will be bypassing spending time together this year because of these divisions. Now is the time when we could all use a little more tolerance, a lot more understanding, and a great deal of forgiveness.

Rather than dwell on those things that divide us, I choose to be thankful for all the blessings we have in this country. I am thankful to live in this country. Despite the many challenges we face, this is still the best place on earth to live.

Here's wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and the start to a wonderful holiday season.

The Week at Rio Concho West

Well, it's been a quiet week at Rio Concho West (RCW), my new hometown, out here on the edge of the prairie.

I've been trying to get back into a walking routine after our recent trips. Walking is easier when we travel because we hike and take interesting walks to places we've never or have seldom ever been. But walking at home can be work because you see the same places again and again. But I seem to walk more when I'm home. I've probably walked 15 or so miles this week; hopefully, I'll work up to about 20 this next week or so.

We started the week off by visiting what has been one of our favorite local eateries, Taste of the Himalayas. When the place first opened a couple of years ago, the food was great. But as time has gone by, the food quality has declined. Most of all, it has simply been inconsistent. The establishment has also recently come under new management, and several changes have resulted. When we ate there this past Monday, we were both disappointed. In fact, after we paid and walked out, we stopped on the steps outside, looked at each other, and agreed that we should not go back for a while. We simply did not enjoy it as we once did. So, we'll scratch it off our list of "go to" eateries and replace it with another one. We'll give it about 6 months or so, then try it again to see if it has improved. If it hasn't, then we'll probably mark it off our list for good.

On Wednesday, Donna and I hopped on the RCW bus along with some other inmates and took a ride over to the Rio Concho Manor for lunch. For the low price of $6.50 (no tipping allowed), we can go through the buffet line and pile on as much food as our trays will hold. The catch is you can only go through the line once, but once is more than enough for us. This past week, I loaded my tray with fried chicken breast, BBQ brisket, mashed potatoes, pinto beans, salad, jalapeno corn bread, and finished it all off with some very rich chocolate cake. And to top it all off, I had a great time visiting with my fellow inmates both on the bus and at the lunch table. That's a pretty good deal. Note that these prices are for Rio Concho residents only; non-residents pay a bit more.

On our last camping trip, we were in quite a bit of rain, so when we arrived home, the truck was pretty dirty. So earlier this week, I took the truck down to our local Gentle Touch Auto Wash on Parkview Drive. These folks do a good job. I purchase the 5 washes for $25 card, which entitles me to 5 exterior car washes for $25. Actually, they give you 1 free as a bonus, so you really get 6 washes for $25. The truck gets an excellent exterior scrubbing, and the good folks there wipe it dry at the end. That's a pretty good deal these days. I then brought the truck home and touched up the outside and cleaned the interior. I like driving a clean vehicle.

Friday, the Computer Club at RCW met. We're all trying to learn the ins and outs of Windows 10. It's always fun watching a bunch of old geezers get together to try to figure out new technology.

Donna and I have never done much decorating at Christmas, but the boss lady decided this year she wanted some lights outside. The bad news is that we don't have any lights for outside, so we've spent some time this week shopping for lights. There are just too many choices out there, but we finally decided on some blue lights to line the eaves of the house. The good news is that I don't have to hang them. One of the many services provided by the good maintenance people here at RCW is Christmas light hanging. I guess they probably got tired of watching old folks fall off ladders trying to hang lights and decided to take the job over themselves. Regardless, sounds like another good deal to me and just one of the many, many reasons we decided to move here.

On the home front, Donna and I are trying to get ready for the invasion of the body snatchers, who arrive Wednesday and expect to be fed a Thanksgiving feast. Yeah, Courtney and her ruffians are on their way, so I ask you folks to pray for Donna and me. We've been doing lots of shopping and Donna is pulling out all her recipes. I look forward to stuffing myself. I just hope we survive.

We had our first freeze of the season Friday night. We have 3 local TV stations, and they reported temps from 29 to 32 degrees, so I don't know which is the most accurate for our location. Now it really feels like fall. Our nights will continue to be cold now, but our days get up to the 60s or 70s, and that is great weather for me. I did a 4 mile walk yesterday afternoon in short sleeves, so I'm happy.

Well, that's the news from Rio Concho West, where the streets are wide, and some of these old folks drive just too dang fast.

Getting Back to Normal at Home

We returned home earlier in the week from our latest trip. We've been trying to get back to normal ever since.

Whenever we return home, I always have lots of mail to go through and other personal business to catch up on. We usually need to get out and pick up some groceries as well. And Donna always has lots of laundry to do. On short trips (anything less than 2 weeks or so), we normally don't do laundry and just let it build until we return home, so Donna usually just moves into our laundry room and lives there for a few days.

I've also been trying to catch up on some other tasks I've been putting off. I've not seen my dermatologist since we sold our home last December, so I set up and appointment with her for next week. And I haven't had an eye exam since 2014, so I set up an appointment with my optometrist and went in yesterday. My vision seems to change quite a bit in between visits. Since my last visit, I've noticed that my far away vision has improved a bit, but my up close vision has declined some. As a result, I've been using some of those reading glasses you can pick up in any pharmacy the past several months. I do quite a few crossword puzzles and I read a lot, so I've really been relying on those reading glasses lately. I've never had to use them before. Just another sign of approaching old age, I guess.

Last time I got new glasses, I decided not to go with bifocals, and that was a mistake. I started using bifocals about 2000 or 2001, and I had no idea how much I really relied on them. But when I got my new pair in 2014 or so, I opted to just go with full vision glasses and I quickly realized that was a mistake. When driving, for example, I could see fine to drive, but I couldn't clearly read the speedometer, radio, and other items on the dash. And when eating, I couldn't see my food clearly. And since I often do puzzles while watching TV, I was actually having to switch between my regular glasses and my reading glasses. So, with my new pair, I have returned to bifocals, and I can already tell the difference.

Last night, we had our monthly dinner at the Rio Concho West clubhouse. We've missed the past 2 months, so we enjoyed the dinner last night. We've come to enjoy these get togethers,  as we always meet new people, visit with folks we've previously met, and enjoy some good food and usually some good entertainment of some sort.

Tonight, we have tickets to our local theater (Angelo Civic Theater) to see a production of Greater Tuna. We really enjoy the theater. Donna and I started attending plays back in my college days, when the first play we ever saw together was Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. We've seen many good plays over the years.

So, we are gradually getting back into a routine here. When we returned home earlier this week, we discovered 1.2 inches of rain in our gauge. We also had rain Wednesday and Thursday, and I emptied 1.5 inches from the gauge yesterday. We've really been blessed with good rain all year.

We have no more trailer trips planned for 2016, but we may take one or two quick overnight trips. Otherwise, we are looking forward to spending time at home for the upcoming holidays.