Sunday, May 16
Jim: Today started out as a typical Sunday morning. We all got up and ginned around to get ready for church and once we had Mother ready, Barbara and I took off for Yantis. I got called a couple of days ago to teach the Sunday school lesson for our class, so we thought that maybe we should be on time.
The class went well and then I had to leave to get to choir practice while Barbara visited with a few people and took our lesson materials out to the car.
When the choir entered the choir loft, I immediately sought out Barbara so I would know where to go when we went out for the preaching part of the service. But, when the time came for us to leave and I walked around the sanctuary to where I thought Barbara was, I found another couple sitting there instead. I made my to one side of the church and slid into the pew where Barbara was sitting (same pew…different place) and noticed that the couple sitting next to Barbara was our friends Gene and Carolyn from Mineola. They had just decided to come out and hear David preach again and we ended up sitting together for the duration of the service.
We thought we might all get together for lunch, but Jean and Carolyn needed to get back to Mineola right away, so Barbara and I went back to Holiday Village, ordered a take-out meal from the clubhouse, and retired to Big V to eat and take a little nap.
As tired as I was, I only dozed for about a half hour and then I got up, put on some working clothes, and went outside to do some yard work. My goal for the afternoon was, if at all possible, to finish cleaning dead vines out of the tree at the front of the gully…the tree that is immediately visible to all who pass by “Our Little Lot.”
After a couple of hours of balancing on top of the ladder and stretching a far as I could to pull on the vines, I finally got all but one or two stray vines that will eventually blow down in a good wind…mission accomplished!!!
While Barbara had the camera in hand, she walked over to our neighbors, Gary and Linda, and got some shots of them. Time and circumstances just haven’t allowed us to get current pictures of our neighbors at Holiday Village, but this was a great day to get started again.
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It was while I was taking a shower and getting ready to return to church for choir practice and the evening service that our well-planned day took a different turn and we became a housed divided.
Barbara got a phone call from her sister Carol that she would be passing through Lindale this evening with her son Gary and his family. We had already discussed the possibility that this might happen sometime during the day, so we quickly shut down Big V, threw our stuff in the Vibe, and drove back to Mineola where I made a quick change of vehicles, hopped on the motorcycle, and rode as fast as I could back to Yantis for choir practice and the evening service.
Unfortunately, I forgot to get my cell phone out of the car before I left (I thought it was in my pocket, but I didn’t really check) and when I got to Yantis, Pastor David asked me if I had forgotten something. I didn’t know what he was talking about until he told me that Barbara had called and asked him to call her back if I didn’t show up at church tonight.
Barbara: What Mr. Little failed to say in the above paragraph is that I asked him before he zoomed away on the cycle if he had his phone and he said, “Yes.” Normally I don’t worry too much when he’s off in the car, but…the cycle is different; so it was a relief to be able to call David so someone at church would be expecting him.
Once Jim took off, I pointed the Vibe south and got to Lindale just a few minutes before Carol and Gary’s family pulled up.
No one who knows us will be shocked to find that the first item of business after getting hugs was taking photos.
However, though the time wasn't very long, it still was a blessing to see my sister and know that she had had quality time with Gary and his family in Louisiana.
Monday, May 17
Jim: Today was just another “taking care of business day” as we worked on the journal/blog, made the usual post office run, checked online billing, etc.
I did see a hummingbird flitting around the feeder in the front porch flowerbed. I’m pretty sure it was the same one I’ve seen at the other feeder, so maybe she will tell others about this great “watering hole.”
This afternoon we needed to take some mail to the post office. As we went through the driveway to drop the envelopes in the outside box, we spied our friend Carolyn Neyer walking into the building. We yelled at her, but she didn’t hear us, so we drove around to the parking lot, found her car, and when I noticed that the space on the driver side of her car was vacant, I decided (in a moment of juvenile pranksterism) to pull in to the parking place and park as close as I could to Carolyn’s car so she couldn’t get in the driver side.
I let Barbara out of the Vibe, since she wouldn’t be able to get out of the car when I parked next to Carolyn’s car, and then edged into position. I hopped out and we hid behind Carolyn’s car until she came out of the building. She had a really puzzled look on her face and decided she’d just wait there until the idiot driver of that blue car came back and moved so she could leave.
We let Carolyn stand there (in the hot sun, no less) for another minute or so and then walked around to her and made some comment about rude drivers. She was dumfounded for a moment and then we all started laughing about it. For Carolyn, it was a much-needed moment of levity as she was preparing to take Gene to Tyler tomorrow to get a pacemaker. For us, it was a chance to have a laugh with a good friend.
Tonight we went over to TJ’s house for a few minutes to meet her brother-in-law who was visiting from Alabama.
Tuesday, May 18
Our best wishes for a successful medical procedure and quick healing go out today to Gene Neyer, who is having a pacemaker implant in Tyler today.
Job one today was to get Jean Terpening’s Birthday and Mother’s Day gift in the mail (finally). We knew along what we wanted to do for Jean for her 80th birthday, but just hadn’t gotten around to it…also had no idea how extensive a plan it was.
Back in March as Jean’s birthday approached, we began our birthday shopping; but daily life and living, interfered; so it wasn’t until our trip to Artesia last week that we became serious again. We began stopping at gas stations and truck stops to buy more of the eighty $1.00 scratch cards, one for each year (we actually started in Richardson several weeks ago when we went to see Alexander play soccer). There is absolutely nothing we could buy Jean that she needs, but we thought the novelty of a variety of scratch cards would occupy her time and (hopefully) give her a little payback. After many stops between Mineola and Artesia and all around Wood County, we finally achieved the goal, got the cards organized by game name and the place purchased (Barbara came up with a chart for all the data so Jean could track her cards), and got them in the mail along with a jar of sweet potato butter that we found during out travels.
When I got back from the post office, I started mowing and trimming the yards while Barbara went to work cleaning floors, doing the laundry, reorganizing the kitchen cabinets, and cooking meals for the day. Everything came together around 12:30, so there was nothing else to do but sit down and eat, and then head to our rooms for what we thought was a well-earned nap. It was way too hot to continue working outside (although there was more than enough left to do), but the cool air-conditioned rooms beckoned to us.
Barbara’s Bridge meeting at the church was cancelled tonight because Lisa wanted to spend time with one of her sons who was in town from Arlington. We usually just stay at home on Tuesday nights when Barbara doesn’t have a meeting, but I had a lot on the agenda for our lot, so I drove on out to Holiday Village and did as much of the weekly mowing as I could.
When I got back from the lot I took a shower to knock off all the dirt and grime and then we watched a little television before heading for bed and a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday, May 19
We got around early this morning, got Mother fed and ready for her day, and then drove back north so I could continue my work at the lot and Barbara could participate in her Wednesday morning Bible study group.
My job this morning was to burn off as much of the grass, leaves, tree trimmings, and other assorted detritus as possible in the short amount of time I had. There is no place where we can dispose of the branches, leaves, etc., so the only thing we can do is build a burn pile and then torch it every now and then.
Luckily, the fire burned quite nicely and I was even able to bring up several more wheelbarrow loads of leaves, twigs, and small branches from the gully to help keep the flames going. When I reached my limit (time and inclination), I started putting away all the tools and straightening things up before soaking the ashes and embers to put them out before Barbara returned to pick me up. I also worked out a little flower bed and planted some seeds, but only time will tell if we can keep it sufficiently watered so something will grow.
We returned to Mineola for lunch and a short nap, but the nap was even shorter than usual; we had just laid down when the phone rang…it was a call from the local appliance store wanting to come out and look at Mother’s oven.
A couple of weeks ago Barbara used the auto-clean feature of the oven. When we tried to turn the oven on the next morning, neither element would warm up. So, we called on the friendly folks at Hughes Appliance and they said they’d get someone out here as soon as possible, but it would take at least a week.
What we found from the repairman this afternoon was that this particular model of oven (Whirlpool), while it has the auto-cleaning feature, gets too hot during the cleaning process and burns out a very expensive thermostat. Jimmy, the repairman, said that he’s had to replace several thermostats around town and that he didn’t know of anyone who has had the nerve to try the auto-clean feature again. We agreed that we probably wouldn’t either, although it seems ridiculous to have paid for a feature that doesn’t work.
Since we were already awake, Barbara and I decided we’d go to Sonic for the Happy Hour special (diet Coke for her and a cherry limeade for me) and then go for a ride out in the country to see if we could locate someone who could design and build a metal cover for Big V. May is proving to be a very hot and dry month this year and while our time in Big V is limited, we’d like to get a handle on the inside temperature so we can use our home when we’re out there.
Alas, we couldn’t find the places that Barbara had seen advertised, but it was a nice ride and we discovered a couple of back-country roads that we’d like to use for motorcycle rides one of these days.
As if we hadn’t done enough yard work the last couple of days, Barbara was talking to Addie, our next door neighborhood this evening, and she told Barbara that we had some vines growing through a tree in the corner of Mother’s back yard and we needed to think about getting the vines out. So, we went out back with about 30 minutes of light left and began cutting away and removing the vines. Barbara found a blackberry vine that she tried to retrain by setting it in a trellis she found in another flower bed and we even found an abandoned birdhouse that had been hidden from view by tree limbs and vines.
With that little bit of work done and night falling quickly, we finally decided to get inside and call it a day.
Thursday, May 20
Tonight was our church’s turn to host the monthly association meeting and dinner. Our Sunday school class was asked to provide bread and beans, so Barbara put together a new recipe of pork and beans while I baked a loaf of white bread and a loaf of jalapeno bread to take to Yantis later this afternoon.
While Barbara was taking care of our business (bank statements, bills, and other online business tasks), I started to work on the journal/blog, trying to keep us from getting any further behind in our publishing endeavors.
TJ invited us to lunch at her place, so at noon we got Mother in the car and drove to TJ’s house for a delicious dinner of chicken-fried steak and all the trimmings. One of these days we really do need to go on a diet, but it’s hard to think of that with all the good food around!
Jean called to let us know that she had received her birthday and Mother’s Day gifts. She had already scratched 43 of the cards and had $26 in winnings…probably not bad, all things considered. In any case, the present served its purpose of being a fun and unique gift.
This afternoon we received a call from one of Jimmy Clint’s friends telling us that Jimmy had gotten dizzy and fallen and was taken to UMC in Lubbock and kept until he was stabilized.
This evening we took our beans and loaves of bread to Yantis First Baptist Church and stuck around to help with the serving. We had been told that there would be around 120 people for the dinner and the meeting, but there were only around 65 that came through the line and helped themselves to brisket, barbecue sauce, several variations of potato salad, a couple of different recipes of beans, and our bread (not to mention a wide variety of desserts). I don’t know how much gets accomplished during the business meetings, but I know that everyone there is well-fed!
Friday, May 21
This was a day for taking care of quite a few odds and ends around Mother’s place…household chores, mail to be read and answered, finishing up the latest edition of the journal and getting it posted, etc.
TJ came over to the house at noon and joined us for lunch…guess that diet thing for all of us will just have to wait for another day.
Jaycie called us this afternoon to let us know that she had made the seventh grade JV tennis team for her middle school next year; we thought that was quite an accomplishment since she has only recently taken up the game and there were 35 or more girls trying out for 15 0r 16 positions on the varsity and JV teams. Way to go, J-Bird!
This evening we drove up to Lake Tawakoni, a large fishing lake about 45 miles northwest of Mineola. Ryan and the men from his family have an annual fishing retreat and the last couple of years it has been at Tawakoni. Ryan wanted me to join them for a couple of days of fishing and camping, but it just wasn’t in the cards for this week. However, we told him we’d drive out to visit for a bit and do some exploring since we hadn’t been to that lake.
We took the Vibe (along with some beanie-weenies and cookies) and had time to visit with Ryan and his dad as well as several uncles and cousins. Before we left, while we were taking pictures, Ryan again invited me to come out for tomorrow and do some fishing. I knew I couldn’t stay all day and take part in the end-of-trip fish fry tomorrow night, but we agreed that if the weather cooperated, I could ride the motorcycle out to the lake and use some of Ryan’s fishing gear. But first, I would have to go to Walmart and get the fishing licenses that I promised I was going to get two years ago.
We learned from Gene that because they were having the house built instead of buying it through a real estate agent, they have to have pictures of various stages of the construction process to submit with their income tax return for 2010…we learn something every day! Because Gene and Michelle have been spending more time in Kansas trying to do something with their property there and haven’t been here to oversee the progress on their new house, we have been their “eyes,” sending regular updates and lots of pictures of both the exterior and interior of the house.
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Saturday, May 22
This was yet another “house divided” day as I got up early, had breakfast, and then hopped aboard the motorcycle for a trip to Lake Tawakoni and my fishing experience.
Ryan and two of his cousins were waiting for me when I arrived. The wind was high and the lake was too choppy for the boats, so the four of us got in cars and drove through East Tawakoni, across Lake Tawakoni, and through West Tawakoni (not a lot of creativity going here) to a crappie fishing shed. It was, literally, a shed that had been set on pontoons in what was supposed to be a “wonderful” crappie fishing location (note the disclaimer, “supposed to be”).
With rods and reels in hand and a large bag of minnows that were willing to sacrifice their lives so that we could enjoy the day, we walked to the shed, choosing to drop our lines from the outside deck rather than the inside room, and commenced to drown minnows at a fairly regular rate. One of the cousins and I caught the first two fish, small white bass that even I knew were undersized. I had no more than re-baited my hook and dropped it back into the lake and turned around to get a drink of water, than my fishing rod started jumping. I was pretty certain I had caught a large wad of wandering moss at the bottom of the cove, but when I reeled in the line, I found that I had a nice-sized white bass, well worth keeping and adding to the catch for the group.
The rest of the time was a total wash for me, but the other cousin eventually had a hit on his line and pulled out a crappie that was about the same size as my bass. Unfortunately, that was the high point of the morning as none of us even had a nibble the rest of the time we were there.
Around 12:30 I told Ryan that I needed to get back to Mineola so I could get things ready for Sunday…I had a scheduled rehearsal with the pianist to work out an arrangement of Battle Hymn of the Republic for piano, trumpet, and snare drum, as well as get my working clothes ready for tomorrow afternoon.
Barbara’s plan for her part of the “divided family day” was to go to Lindale and look through all the clothing shops to find some new outfits. But, as she was taking care of chores around the house and getting ready to go, Mother received a call from the daughter of an old family friend from Artesia. Nancy (formerly Wilcox) and a friend were in Tyler and wanted to stop by to visit Mother for a while.
Barbara at that time decided that she should stay put long enough to document the occasion for Edith with a photo. Since she had an hour before Nancy was to arrive, she did some touch-up dusting and sweeping to the living room and then went to check the mail and visit the used book store.
Once Nancy and her friend Diane arrived and the photos were taken, Barbara headed over to Lindale for some serious shopping (something neither of us do very often.) Her shopping venture ended just about the same time as my fishing excursion so she brought back dinner for the three of us from Long John Silver. I think it’s great that there are some good fish restaurants around, since we obviously wouldn’t eat much if we relied on what I catch.
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“Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.” – God’s Post-It Notes
From Mother’s house on Heritage Drive,
Jim/Dad/Gramps & Barbara/Mom/Grams
