Friday, January 1 – Saturday, January 9, 2010
Friday, January 1
Happy New Year!!!
“Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep. Walk tall, and smile more. You'll look ten years younger. Don't be afraid to say, 'I love you'. Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world.” – Ann Landers
We actually saw the new year roll in for the first time since 2007. It wasn’t our idea, since we had gone to sleep much earlier, but the firecrackers and barking dogs woke us up around 11:30, so we got up and watched, if not celebrated, as the clock rolled around and 2010 was born in East Texas.
By 1:00, we were back in bed and sound asleep, only to wake up around 6:30 to get our day started in earnest. T.J. had offered to pay for a New Year’s Day meal if we would cook it, which suited us just fine, as we would much rather cook than pay…that’s just the way we are. We had planned out the menu with T.J., Mother, and Ernie; we wanted ham and cheese grits, Mother wanted black-eyed peas, T.J. didn’t care what we fixed, but would bake a pan of cornbread, and Ernie agreed that he and Billee could provide a meat of their choosing since they don’t eat pork products.
Ernie did call us yesterday to say that he and Billee wouldn’t be joining the family for the meal, but T.J. also called and said that Rob, Michelle, and the kids would be coming in for the day, so the menu (and amounts) would still work out.
With the menu and portions in mind, we started the preparations here in Big V. Soon, the place was alive with the smell of the ham baking and the sounds of activity as we put together all the ingredients for the cheese grits (Mother’s recipe) and a new recipe that Mother had found in the paper-black-eyed pea soup.
After washing the dishes and “kind of” straightening up our kitchen, we packed all the food (and our dirty laundry) in the Vibe and drove to Mineola to spend the day. While Barbara started the first of several loads of laundry, I carried all the food into Mother’s kitchen and we were soon busy making all the final preparations for the meal.
T.J., Rob, Michelle, and the kids arrived around 11:45 and shortly after noon we all sat down to a table laden with fresh-cooked food. We even broke out a set of Mother’s china for the occasion, so not only did everything smell wonderful, the table looked beautiful.
We had a great family time together; eating, laughing, eating, talking, eating, eating some more and finally topping off the eating with a new recipe that Barbara found, “To Die for Chocolate Pudding Cake.” Incidentally, while the dessert was okay, Barbara and I voted that it didn’t live up to its name, so we put the recipe in the “round file” (trash) instead of the recipe box.
After the meal, everyone pitched in and got the dishes washed and the kitchen and dining room straightened as we continued a multitude of conversations. Mother even gave up her afternoon nap to keep up with the rest of us.
Rob and his family had to leave to drive back to their home, but T.J. stuck around a bit longer to talk while we finished our laundry.
We eventually got away to head back to the lake, making a stop to visit cousins Angela and Ladd for a few minutes. As we left their house, we realized that we needed to go back to Mother’s house (just a couple of minutes away) to check on something and found that Ernie and Billee had returned, so we got to visit with Ernie for a couple of minutes before returning to Big V and crashing after a long, but very fun day…a great way to begin 2010.
Saturday, January 2
After beginning the year in a great way yesterday, we moved to a not-so-great day today.
Leah called us a couple of days ago to tell us that one of our acquaintances from Liberal had passed away and the funeral would be today in Granbury, a three-hour drive from Holiday Village.
Barbara didn’t know Bryce Neaville well, but because he was the Dean of Administrative Services at Seward County Community College in Liberal, I had a connection with him. Bryce’s wife, Jane, was the bookkeeper at West Middle School when Barbara started teaching there and they became very close. Also, Troy Neaville, Bryce and Jane’s son, began his teaching career at WMS and then moved to LHS, where he taught and coached while I was band director and then assistant principal and principal, so I had a close connection with him.
Since we are not so far away from Granbury, we decided that we should drive over today for the memorial service. We haven’t seen any of the family since we retired and, although this would not be the kind of visit any of us would have wanted, we thought we should be there.
It was a beautiful (if somewhat chilly) day and we enjoyed the drive to Granbury, a town we haven’t visited before. The memorial service was very meaningful, with the music and the message capturing the essence of Bryce.
We joined the receiving line as we left the chapel and when Jane saw us, she began crying and told us what a surprise it was to see us; then, she invited us to join the family and friends at her house for food and visitation.
We followed the crowd to the house (it is absolutely gorgeous) and stayed for about an hour, visiting with Jane and Troy and even seeing another of our former LHS teacher/coaches, Heath Frazier, and his family, who drove up from Austin.
With a long drive back home ahead of us, we said our goodbyes and promised Jane that we would come back to visit, now that we know where she is, and began the trip back home. Rather than driving straight to the lake, we went to the post office in Mineola to check for mail, and then made a quick stop at Mother’s house to check on her. Since our original plan was to maybe spend the night in Richardson with Heather, Andy, and the kids (that plan changed when Heather called while we were on the road this morning to tell us that they had just returned from Kansas City last night and she and Abby were both sick) Mother was quite surprised to see us.
We stayed at the house long enough to put her through her evening stretching exercises and to visit with Ernie for a couple of minutes before driving to the lake and settling in for the night.
Sunday, January 3
It was with very light hearts that we headed off to Yantis First Baptist Church this morning. We had enjoyed our previous visits so much that we felt deeply that this should be our new church home and made our decision on the 5-mile drive to Yantis that we would come forward during the invitation this morning and move our membership letters from First Baptist of Artesia.
Everything about the morning confirmed our decision, from the warm and friendly greetings we received as we came through the doors, to the selection of music and the message that was delivered by Kent Pate, the director of missions for the district, the interim pastor until the church calls the man they want.
From his opening statements, we felt as if the preacher had been following us and listening to every word we’ve said for the past four months…it was almost as if the sermon was tailor-made for us. The bottom line was that we needed to quit feeling sorry for ourselves, move ahead with our lives, and quit “sitting, soaking, and souring,” especially in our church lives. When the announcement was made about a new women’s study group on Tuesday nights (for Barbara) and the need for choir members (me), we were convinced that this was the church for us…we almost wanted to shout, “Sign us up now!”
And then…came one of the strangest things I’ve ever witnessed in a Baptist church; for whatever reason, a public invitation for personal decisions was not given. Instead, we moved directly from the sermon to Communion and then a dismissal.
We went to the preacher and I told him that he owed me a new pair of shoes because he had ruined mine by stepping all over my toes. Barbara told him that anytime he delivers that particular sermon, he needed to offer an invitation. We then explained what we had planned to do and said that we’d be back tonight to join the church.
We then came back to Big V, had lunch, and took a short nap. After fielding a couple of phone calls from our friends Rod and Ruth in Virginia, I went outside and did some more work on the property, trying to clear the end of the gully beside the road. This, I found, was going to take much longer than I had thought.
We returned to the church at 5:00 so I could go to choir practice while Barbara checked out the new Dollar General store in Yantis before returning for the evening service.
As an aside, and another reminder of how small the world can be, the choir director at the church was a student of Dr. Chris White, head of the music department at Texas A&M University-Commerce, and works with Chris’s wife, Dona, in Sulphur Springs. Chris and I taught together for three years at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs before I left to go to Liberal and he went to Boulder to work on his doctorate.
Anyway, I had a good time at choir practice. It was the first time in many years that I have sung with the choir, and I found that I felt very much at home there.
As soon as the evening service began, the preacher started stepping on our toes again, delivering the first in a series of messages about relationships-personal, family, and church. It was déjà vu all over again.
We were again prepared to step forward at the beginning of the invitation hymn, but once again the preacher went directly from the sermon to the benediction…go figure! Sometimes the best-laid plans are nothing more than well-laid plans.
As we left the pew, one of the deacons, Mike Smith, who knew of our intentions, rushed up to us, got the preacher’s attention, and pointed to us. The preacher got one of those “oops” looks on his face, raised his hands, and said, “I forgot.” He later assured us that if we were there next Sunday, he would definitely remember to extend an invitation to join the church.
We returned home, had our supper, made our Sunday evening phone calls to Mother and Jean, watched the DVD of Flags of Our Fathers (not as good as the book, but movies rarely are. Still, it showed the horrors of war (not glorified at all) and how the military, rightly or wrongly, was used as a pawn for politicians and bureaucrats.
We talked a little about the movie and its merits and then turned in for a good night’s sleep after an informative and uplifting day.
Monday, January 4
It was a kind of slow morning around our place…too cold to go out and do anything, so we stayed inside and did some much-needed straightening and cleaning.
Barbara put together another batch of chicken salad and we took it to Mineola for the Monday noon meal with the family. When we were just a few blocks from Mother’s house, we met Ernie and Billee going the opposite direction. We went on to Mother’s place and got everything ready for lunch.
Ernie and Billee didn’t come back, so we had Mother all to ourselves for about an hour…enjoyed the meals and the time together.
T.J. came over at 11:30, had a bite to eat with us, and then we took her to Mt. Pleasant, about an hour northeast of Mineola, to attend a funeral service.
We’ve written about my second cousin, Madeline, who is the daughter of Ladd and Angela. Madeline is going to college at Mt. Pleasant and was dating a young man she had met up there. Ashley was 23 years old, a former Marine, and a recent graduate of the police academy. On New Year’s Eve, Ashley invited Madeline to attend a concert at a club in that area. Since Madeline was packing for a ski trip with Ashley and his family, she begged off and stayed home to wash clothes and pack for the adventure. Ashley went on to the club to hear the band. While he was there, he noticed another patron who was really causing grief for one of the young ladies who was present. Ashley stepped in to defend the young lady, a fight broke out, and both men were ushered out of the club.
As Ashley was leaving, the other man started the fight again, pulled a knife, and stabbed him twice before swinging the knife a cutting Ashley’s throat. Ashley died there in the parking lot and the other man left, leading police on a high-speed chase.
We decided that even though we did not know Ashley or his family, we needed to go to the funeral to support Madeline, Angela, and Ladd. And, though we did not get to see them because of the huge crowd in the church (every seat was full and the walls were lined with people who were standing throughout the service), we did hear a service that was very appropriate for the occasion.
The pastor took this opportunity to talk to the many young people present about their responsibilities and the consequences of their choices and actions. He also made the statement that any man, no matter what his age, who mistreats a women or who allows someone else to mistreat a woman, is no man at all. As soon as he said that, there was a thunderous round of applause that began with a group of young people in the balcony and spread throughout the church.
When the service was over, we got out of the crowded parking lot as quickly as possible and headed back to Mineola and Mother’s house.
T.J. went on home and we stayed for about an hour to straighten Mother’s room so Maria will be able to come in and clean on Wednesday. Then, it was back to Big V for the evening.
We tried to stay up and watch the Fiesta Bowl game, but since we didn’t really have a dog in the fight (although I was hoping that TCU would win}, we gave it up before halftime and went to bed to read for a while before dropping off to sleep.
Tuesday, January 5
Our sleep patterns last night were all out of whack for some reason. Barbara was up from 11:00 until 2:00, and I woke up at 4:00…don’t know if our body-clocks think that we should be splitting guard duties or what, but it is very annoying to not get a full night’s sleep.
When we finally did get going, it was at less than half-speed. It was bitterly cold (23 degrees) and the outside hydrant was frozen. We were prepared for that to happen and had a full load of water in our tank, so all we had to do when we wanted water was to hit the pump switch.
I took the time this morning to fix a full breakfast, something I haven’t done for some time. We had fried ham, scrambled eggs, and French toast while we watched another episode of Golden Girls on DVD (our latest video diversion).
Barbara started in on the dishes while I went to the bedroom and straightened up in there and then we spent the rest of the morning just piddling around the place and enjoying doing not much of anything for a while.
We went to Mineola around 1:00 and did some straightening in Mother’s room, getting ready for Maria to come in on Thursday and do some cleaning of Mother’s bedroom and bathroom. Our (and Leah and Ryan’s) Christmas gift to Mother was to arrange to have Maria, T.J.’s housekeeper, come in every two weeks for a couple of months to clean Mother’s room, quite a task when one considers all the books, videos, and knick-knacks that are set out on shelves and furniture in there. Our job today was to just semi-organize things into stacks (or baskets in the bathroom) so Maria won’t have to move so many individual items to dust and polish.
When the cleaning was done, we sat down with Ernie to discuss the menu for the rest of the week so we could know what and how much to buy, especially since we would be cooking tomorrow’s family meal. He said that he and Billee wouldn’t be joining us because he owed her a birthday dinner, so they would go to Lindale for their lunch tomorrow.
With that information in hand, we took off for a shopping spree at Walmart, bought enough food for at least ten family meals over the next couple of weeks (Mother gave us her credit card), and then returned to put the groceries away before heading back to the lake and Big V.
While Barbara put groceries away, I went outside for an hour or so to continue pulling weeds and other unwanted growth out of the gully. I figured it might be the last opportunity to work outside this week because of the severe cold snap that has been forecast.
I took Barbara up to the church at Yantis tonight so she could participate in a new ladies group, The Bridge Club. It isn’t about playing bridge, but about using scriptures and life experiences to help bridge the generation gap among the ladies of the church. That’s all I know about it, so Barbara will need to give further explanations.
Barbara: Three young women set up the “Bridge Club” in December as a way for women of all ages to come together and grow in strength as each deals with daily life. Having attended hospice after Henry’s death, I found that in many ways it was similar to that. The biggest difference is that each shared a verse in the Bible that meant something special to them and that they felt they needed more guidance in. That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty of laughter and bird walking, too. All in all, it was all I hoped it would be.
Jim: I went to “tour” the new Dollar General store for a while and then returned to the church foyer to read a book while I waited for the ladies to finish. I had told Barbara earlier that the meeting was bound to be over by 8:00, since no one would want to be out late on a cold night like this one. Boy was I wrong again, as the ladies didn’t finish until 8:30.
We returned to Big V a little before 9:00, had a light supper, watched TV and played computer games, and then retired for the night.
Wednesday, January 6
Our lunch menu for Mother and T.J. today was Puerto Rican Chicken, black beans, rice, and jalapeno bread. With that many dishes to prepare, we spent a good part of the morning getting everything ready. I prepared everything but the rice, which, to make sure it was hot and fresh, Barbara cooked at Mother’s house.
With everything set on the table around 1:00, we sat down and dug in, savoring every morsel as we told Mother and T.J. the stories of how we first met Margarita, Maria, and Francisco in Liberal and how we ended up traveling to Puerto Rico to visit them a year or so after we retired.
We polished off the meal with some carrot cake that T.J. had brought over for dessert. Barbara and T.J. cleaned the kitchen while I visited with Mother, and then we left to run some errands before returning to Holiday Village and Big V.
Since the weatherman was calling for temperatures as low as 17 degrees for the next two nights (and nothing above freezing until Friday), we stopped at a hardware store to buy some foam pipe insulation and then at Walmart for a 10-foot water hose (just the right length for the distance from the hydrant to Big V’s water inlet) before coming home.
Once back at Big V, Barbara put away the cooking pots we had taken to town and I went outside to hook up the new hose and install the insulation…maybe now we won’t have too much trouble with a frozen water line.
Tonight we just took it easy, fielding a few phone calls and continually checking the weather forecast to see what was headed for us.
Thursday, January 7
Because Mother, Ernie, and I had some family business to take care of today, we bumped up our “cooking day” from tomorrow and went to Mother’s house around 9:30 so Barbara could start laundry and lunch while the three of us went to visit a lawyer in Quitman.
The bitter cold that had been predicted for this morning was slow in getting here, so it wasn’t too terribly bad outside (but, we also didn’t spend much time outside).
When we returned to Mineola and got Mother back in her warm house, I helped Barbara with the final stages of the preparation of today’s meal, Johnny Mosetti, a hamburger-based casserole. Once it was in the oven, we took a short ride, went to the post office, and then returned to get everything ready for the meal. Barbara set the table while I took clothes out of the dryer and started folding and hanging them. Soon, the chores were completed, T.J. arrived, and Mother, T.J., Ernie, and I sat down to eat, talk, and then eat some more.
While Barbara and T.J. cleaned the kitchen, I visited some more with Mother and then Barbara and I loaded our clothes in the Vibe, and went over to T.J.’s house to chat some more before driving back to Holiday Village and settling in for the rest of the day.
The night, of course, included watching the BCS championship football game between Texas and Alabama. I’ve had a bad feeling about this since the pairings were set and, sure enough, my Longhorns just weren’t up to the task…again. Oh well, it was a great second half and the final score didn’t reflect how close a game it really was.
Friday, January 8
Brrrrr!!!!! It was 20 degrees and windy when I woke up at 5:30 this morning and that was the high point of the day. When I went to refill the coffeepot, I found that the waterlines were frozen…even the water pump didn’t work…had to go to Plan B, which we hadn’t even developed.
I made a mad dash to Walmart in Sulphur Springs to buy a clip-on lamp and some light bulbs. We’ve had probably a half dozen of those lamps over the years, but can never find one when we need it. We now know where the new one is…fastened to the water pump compartment wall, where we hope it will get (and keep) the pump thawed enough that we can access the water from our fresh water tank.
With that little bit of business taken care of, we hopped in the car and drove down to the RV park shower house, which was toasty warm and had lots of hot water for showers. It was certainly a better deal than going without a shower today!
The rest of the day was spent entirely unto ourselves; no mail, bank, post office, Walmart (except the aforementioned) runs or visits with anyone. After a busy week of going, going, and going some more (we are feeling like models for the energizer bunny) we were ready for some down time and took full advantage of it.
Saturday, January 9
Today was one of the slowest of the slow mornings we’ve had lately. We finally got the water pump defrosted late last night and left the faucet on to drip so the pipes wouldn’t freeze again. At least, that was our theory, since we knew there was no chance of getting the main water line defrosted until the temperatures came up again.
And, our theory worked, as we had plenty of running water when we woke up…not that we did anything in particular with it, as it was too cold to go outside and we just sat around in our pajamas and robes, read our email, played games, and generally did nothing important.
As we were sitting around doing nothing, a couple walked up beside Big V and asked if we were the Littles. Barbara said we were and they said that Bob and Mary Royar had told them that they needed to come meet us.
It turns out that Gene and Michelle, who Bob and Mary had told us about, are also retired school people from Kansas. In fact, he was the superintendent and she was an elementary principal in Dodge City when I was in my early days as a band director in Liberal. Of course, we also knew many of the same people…Duane Colvin, the assistant superintendent who hired me at Liberal, was the high school principal at Dodge City under Gene. Michelle knew Darin Headrick, the principal who hired Barbara to teach at West Middle School, from her days of graduate study at Fort Hays State University.
Anyway, we talked for an hour or so and it became apparent that we will be able to have some good times together. Gene and Michelle will be here for four months (they have a large acreage up around Inman, Kansas, and will return there during the growing season), so we will have lots of time to visit.
After Gene and Michelle left, we scurried around and got cleaned up to go to Mineola to meet with Gene and Carolyn Neyer, friends we first met when we were living in the RV park at the Mineola Civic Center a couple of summers ago. Carolyn had emailed a couple of days ago to see if we wanted to come to town this afternoon to see Blind Side at the movie theater.
We saw an ABC Special last week about the movie and had already decided that we wanted to see it when it was available, so Carolyn’s note was very timely.
Before leaving, I did manage to get the main water line unfrozen and running again…just hope that we can keep it open for another frigid night.
We did make it to the movie and enjoyed it very much…would recommend it to anyone as a great family movie, even if you don’t care much about football. It’s very inspirational and is based on a true story.
Since tonight was the monthly dinner at the clubhouse, we invited Gene and Carolyn out to see our place (they hadn’t been out here yet) and join us and other property owners for the meal, and they jumped at the offer.
As soon as the movie was over, The Neyers went to Walmart while we went over to pay a short visit to T.J. and then drove to Walmart to hook up with Gene and Carolyn and have them follow us to Holiday Village.
As luck would have it, the six of us, Gene and Michelle, Gene and Carolyn, and Barbara and I were able to sit together, eat our meal, and visit a bunch; in fact, we ended up being the last ones out of the clubhouse tonight.
Gene and Carolyn walked back to the lot with us, we visited some more in the warmth and comfort of Big V, and then they left to return to their home between Mineola and Alba.
It was really a nice day…we met new friends, caught up with old friends, saw a movie (something we rarely ever do), and had a nice meal out…it just doesn’t get much better, and it was a great way to end the first full week of 2010 and our first journal/blog entry for Journal Number 8!
“All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” – Sean O’Casey, Irish playwright
From “Our LITTLE Lot” at Lake Fork,
Jim/Dad/Gramps & Barbara/Mom/Grams
