Sunday, July 6
Since we enjoyed the country church in Ruidoso, we decided to join Ladd, Angela, and Madeline at their cowboy church outside of Quitman (about 20 miles away) for today’s service. We didn’t really know what to expect, but were very pleased with what we received...friendly people, a unique setting, and a tremendous service. Until Edith decides on a church and needs us to take her, Jim and I agree that this is where we will worship the Lord.
This is definitely a cowboy church…boots and western wear were the attire…okay, so we were recognized right away as visitors! The baptismal is a horse trough and after church today they were all going riding (on horses, not vehicles!) But, the preacher delivered a message that could be found in any Baptist church around the country! Awesome!
We had told Edith yesterday that if it was okay with her, we were taking the day off from moving chores…she grinningly agreed that maybe we deserved some down time. So, after church, we went by for a short visit with her and Ernie and Billee before heading to Big V for lunch and a nap!
Not much else that we remember about this day…Just resting and relaxing in our own home.
Monday, July 7
Once again, we made a half way early arrival at Edith’s to tackle the moving in chores. Somehow I feel relatively certain that no one is interested in the activities we pursued this morning. We did get to take a break when Ernie, Edith, and TJ returned around noon when they offered to take us out to a bar-b-cue place in town.
By the time we get back to Big V in the evenings, it’s all I can do to find us some kind of snack to nibble on (forget the cooking…too tired for that!) before we fall in bed…
Tuesday, July 8
It’s with great anticipation that we begin and end this day since we feel that the end of the unpacking is around the corner now. Jim and Ernie have moved bookcases for what they hope is the last time. Unpacking and shelving books have been on hold until the cases are in their final resting places. Jim thinks shelving is a hard enough job to do once, and doesn’t see any reason to have to do it over again.
Wednesday, July 9
I stayed out in the garage with the guys most of the day today just checking that we’ve gone through every box and everything is out that needs to be out. And, by the time we called it quits for the day the garage was cleaned up and everything inside and outside has a place to call its own, even if it’s not where it’s going to stay!
We now feel that we can take some time to take care of finding out more about our own housing situation for the next several months. So…with good-byes to everyone, we head to Big V to plan our agenda for tonight and tomorrow.
Finally, around 7:30, we decided to head towards Longview and work our way back tomorrow checking on RV resorts and campgrounds around. It was nice to ride and talk…making plans for our own lives…not that we haven’t enjoyed helping get Edith settled…we just need to feel settled ourselves. Does that make sense?
After a stop at Sonic in White Oak (which, by the way, had a working pump jack sitting on the edge of their drive thru…isn’t that wild?), it took us no time at all to find a motel and call this night done!
Thursday, July 10
We actually slept in and didn’t feel a bit guilty about it! After breakfast, the search began for a new home for us until September when we go to Richmond to see Mike and Kelly and await their wedding. We tackled this chore with all the enthusiasm and optimism in the world which was a good thing since the grass just didn’t appear greener anywhere!
Shallow Creek was really classy…had everything we liked/wanted/needed…but it was a little more than an hour away from Mineola. And, after discussing the distance/gas prices/etc., we decided that it just wasn’t practical for our needs since we enjoy going over and checking on Edith 2 or 3 times a day most days.
Lake Hawkins RV campground would definitely work as far as mileage (14 miles) but…no internet or phone service…does have trees and a great white sand beach area; but every 14 days you have to move to a different site…now that would be an adventure. However, to go without phone and internet service that long just doesn’t seem logical to us.
Somewhere RV right outside of Mineola…no, thanks! Enough said.
Okay, we’re back in Mineola, so it’s over to Edith’s before we head north and east to check some more sites.
Won’t even go into our findings except to say the one in Quitman that Jim’s aunt called quaint looked downright seedy to us. :) Are we snobs or what? Lake Fork - see above statement. Ditto the next 3!
Now, I have a wonderful idea! Edith and TJ could buy a nice big lot, build a really cool RV campground…Ernie could run it, Billee could display and sell her art work in the camp store, and Jim and I could be park hosts when we’re here… How come only I think it’s a cool idea?
By the time this day is over, Jim and I reached the consensus that the civic center is the place for us! There’s a lot of truth to the adage the grass may look greener on the other side, but it isn’t! At least, we’ve done our homework and know that this (Mineola Civic Center) is home for now.
Friday, July 11
Happy Anniversary to Andy and Heather Dondis in Richardson, Texas!!!
Now that everything is unpacked, it’s time to decorate and put things in their real places. Since Billee did the decorating in the living room and on the dining room hutch, I worked on what I call the antique hallway. What a wonderful, fun chore this was!
While unpacking the other day, I found books wrapped in plastic and sealed in baggies that hadn’t been displayed since Edith left El Paso. These books were a treasure trove since they were textbooks and hymnals dating back to the 1800’s! I kid you not. This assignment took me much longer than it should have since I kept going in to Edith and getting her to tell me about them. Did you know that 5th graders studied Shakespeare and the writing on the pages was twice as small as it is today? There were primers, spellers, arithmetic books, and composition books as well as the readers. Oh, my! She even has a set of books that the boys (Jim, Jerry, and Ernie) read as youngsters…Roy Rogers, The Hardy Boys, etc., etc. etc. Those weren’t the 1800 published books, but they certainly are antiques in their own right! (The books, not Jim and brothers!)
This was definitely the best and most fun chore I’ve had!
Jim finished shelving Edith’s books. Some of her collection just didn’t fit the available space, so he had to pull about a box and a half of Readers Digest condensed Books (volumes dating back to 1950) and move quite a few volumes around. There are four or five boxes of books that will remain in the garage until we figure out where they should go (and how we can ever possibly get them there). While Edith didn’t exactly oversee the book shelving, she was close enough that she made sure her favorites got displayed where she wanted them. No doubt, there will be quite a bit of shuffling of titles and authors before it is all done!
When Jim and I got home tonight, we decided that we were going to play Washers even though it was still hot outside. It was great! I was ahead 4-2 until Michael called…then he gave his Dad super power strength or something since while he was holding the phone in one hand, talking to Mike, he threw the washers…1 on the board (score now 4-3), 2nd…in the grass (yeah!), 3rd…in the hole! (3 points…now I’m behind 6-4! No more talking to Mike while we’re playing washers! I tried to catch up but it was too late…Jim matched my last points and eventually won 7-6! How rotten is that?
Saturday, July 12
We got a late start today since I found myself in the cooking mode…made up a pot of beans and some cheeseburger pie to take over to Edith and TJ.
Just as we got to Edith’s, Billee and Ernie were packing up the car to take care of some business of their own and to go visit their daughters.
Since Edith’s sister from Florida and her daughter-in-law Cindy will be here sometime today, Edith wanted to get her pictures hung…so that’s how we spent the day. Besides having quite a book collection, Edith has an astounding art collection as well!
Jim: By 7:30 we were at the Fireman’s Rodeo to watch Ladd and Madeline perform with their equestrian drill team. Ladd is one of the sponsors and Madeline is the team captain.
We were pleased to note that the name of the team, Calvary Stampede, was very indicative of the strong Christian spirit that is at the center of their group.
More about the drill team later, but we will add here that this collage shows Madeline carrying the American Flag while she rides Spot, and Ladd carrying the banner of the drill team. They led the grand entry of participants to begin the evening’s activities.
Let us also add that rodeo is truly an American original activity. Created out of competitions among cowboys during and after the old cattle drives, rodeo is now a big-time sport, with a huge amount of money at stake in the various events.
The Mineola VFD Rodeo is an East Texas fixture in the sport, and cowboys and cowgirls from throughout the southwest pit their skills against each other in events that display their riding and roping prowess.
Let us also note that rodeo has very definite Christian and patriotic overtones. We were pleased to note that many of the participants wore crosses branded on their chaps or emblazoned on their vests or shirts. Once the drill team was in place at the beginning, there was an invocation and the singing of the National Anthem. American Flags were in evidence all around the arena.
We had excellent seats on the second row at about the center of the stands, so we were able to see a lot of the action (when others weren’t crossing in front of us on their way to and from the crowded concession stand). We were wise and took advantage of the fine dining opportunities that I always seem to take her to the best places to eat (I’m pretty sure that was an excellent example of sarcasm).
Ladd had told us that the drill team exhibition would follow the fourth rodeo event, so we sat through bare-back bronc riding, steer-wrestling, ribbon roping, and saddle bronc riding, all of which had their shares of disappointing and outstanding performances. We never knew that there were so many rules in rodeo; for example, I always thought the main rule of the riding events was to hang on until the buzzer sounded, but the rider has to hang on in certain ways. The free hand can’t touch the animal, and the cowboy’s feet have to stay in a certain position.
I have a feeling that many of these guys must have played a few too many football games without their helmets, because I don’t understand why they would even attempt these things otherwise.
We needed to leave early and thought we were going to miss the drill team’s performance, but the announcer finally got the “order of service” right and announced a special presentation by the young people of Calvary Stampede.
We were really impressed at how well all the kids and their horses did, but couldn’t help but notice (without any real bias) that Madeline is clearly the leader of the group. She and Spot are the perfect example of a proud and well-disciplined horse and rider combination. We watched in awe as Madeline led the team through their paces, in some cases simulating some of the old band drills that I used to chart.
Once the drill team had finished, we got away from the arena and drove over to T.J.’s house for a quick visit with Aunt Glennis and Cousin Cindy who had driven in this evening from Marianna, Florida. They are going to be here for a week, but we didn’t want to have to wait until tomorrow to welcome them.
After a few minutes of talking, we took our leave so they could settle down for the night. Mother was already in bed at her house, so we drove back to the civic center and Big V where we called it a night and a week.
“Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction.” – Cowboy Saying
From another new home, Mineola, Texas,
Jim & Barbara
