Sunday, May 9
Happy Mother’s Day to Mothers everywhere!
Awakening fairly early this day, we quickly prepared to make the journey back to Mineola and by shortly after 5:00, we were on the road again. We wandered through Big Spring to find Walmart to gas up the Vibe, but were evidently too early to use the 24-hour gas pumps…go figure. So, we made our way back to I-20 and headed east to Sweetwater where we stopped for gas and McBreakfast before continuing our waltz across Texas to Mineola (although not without a few “comfort” stops along the way.)
We got back to Mother’s house in time to unpack the car, put everything away, start a load of laundry, and even get in a short (and much needed) nap.
When I talked to Johnny Banister yesterday he told me that they should arrive in Mineola sometime during the afternoon, so I waited until I thought they should be in town and called the number for his aunt and uncle’s house. No one answered, but Johnny had given me directions to the house, so I drove over to see if his car was there. Sure enough, there was a car with Mississippi tags, but it didn’t appear that anyone was home…at least no one answered the door when I rang the bell.
We figured the family had gone out to dinner, so we waited a while longer to give them time to get back to the house before I called again. This time we were in luck…they had returned to the house and Johnny asked if we could come over there to meet his wife, aunt, and uncle. They were busy packing for an early start toward Artesia tomorrow morning, so we readily agreed.
In just a few minutes we pulled up to the house and were greeted by Johnny. He introduced us to his wife, Barbara, and then we went inside and met his uncle and aunt, Don and Jean, long-time residents of this area.
Max Johnson called tonight to make sure we got home okay; he and I talked for quite a while and Barbara spent the evening fielding Mother’s Day calls.
Monday, May 10
Today was a really different day for us. After doing all the early morning stuff and getting Mother settled in for the day, Barbara and I drove out to Holiday Village for a couple of meetings.
Some time back Josh, the sales manager for Holiday Village, asked if I would be interested in serving on the board of directors for Holiday Village. There was an opening for the year, and he thought that Barbara and I could bring some new and fresh ideas to the board. We told Josh that we would think about it and then he called over the weekend to say that Jack, the majority owner of Holiday Villages of Lake Fork, wanted to talk with us about the position.
We arrived at the sales office around 9:00 and found Josh, who told us that Jack hadn’t arrived, but he would call us at our lot as soon as Jack did get to the park. Around 9:45 we got the call that Jack was at the clubhouse, so we walked across the street to meet him and get some information.
What we found was that there is a three-member board of directors for the park, with Jack and his attorney serving in two of the positions. The third member is a more or less at-large member who represents the interests of the park residents.
After hearing what Jack had to say, I decided to take on the role if I was elected. Since no one else had been proposed for the position, I was the only candidate unless there was a floor nomination. All seemed to be quite in order until the meeting of the property owners was called to order and we got to the part of the agenda where Jack announced that I was the candidate for the board position. All of a sudden you would think that I was the village leper…some of the residents shouted (yes, actually shouted) that they didn’t know me (even though we all sit together and talk during bingo nights and POA dinners), one thought that since we live in a motorhome we aren’t really residents (although we are property owners and that is the only qualification), and others wanted the former board member re-elected, even though he didn’t want the position…it was just like attending school board meetings again! One thing I have learned in life is that it doesn’t matter whether a person deliberately kicks a hornets’ nest or whether he accidentally stumbles over it, the hornets get just as stirred up and angry.
After a short called break in the meeting we again came back to order, Jack called for a vote, and I was elected by a show of hands to serve on the board for the next year…now all I need is an unlisted telephone number and a shroud of invisibility around Our Little Lot!
One really nice thing that happened to us this morning was that we met some new friends, Roger and Pat, a couple who have just traded a lot for a couple of lots in our “neighborhood.” Unfortunately, they have to return to Oregon for a while before moving back down here to build their place, but we are looking forward to getting together with them. In the course of our conversation with Roger, we found that he is originally from Albuquerque and used to make business trips to Artesia…another “small world” note.
We also found out today that our friends Jimmy and Barbara from Cairo, Georgia (we met them at Toccoa at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center) arrived today in Houston for another series of tests for Jimmy at M.D. Anderson. Prayers for this very special couple are much appreciated by the family and their many friends.
Tuesday, May 11
This morning was taken up with the usual household and yard chores. Barbara tackled the laundry, cleaning, trash-gathering, etc. while I took care of the outside duties like mowing and trimming. All in all, we managed to fill the morning with our efforts, but had to call a halt (thankfully) so we could go to lunch at Cousin Angela’s house.
Angela and Ladd are so busy at their jobs (she’s a nurse at Trinity Mother Francis Hospital in Tyler – he’s an engineer for TXDOT with an office in Mineola, but he has to travel to Tyler nearly every day) that we almost never get to see them. However, Angela had a rare day off today and Ladd got back from Tyler in time for lunch, so we joined them and Madelyn, their daughter, for a delicious soup and salad lunch (and gorgeous and delicious strawberry shortcake) at their beautiful home here in Mineola.
After resting a bit, Barbara and I went outside to do a little more landscaping in the front yard. When we were working in the backyard a couple of weeks ago we found some sections of wrought iron fencing in one of the flower beds. We decided that the wrought iron would be more decorative somewhere else, but we just hadn’t taken the time to do anything about it. This afternoon we dug up two layers of bricks that lined the flower bed on the north side of the driveway and, with some effort and creative bending, got five sections of wrought iron set in their place. We also decided that we liked the weathered look of the fencing, so we left them as we found them, rather than painting the gloss black like all the other iron work.
Tonight we treated ourselves to a rare evening of television watching. The Biography Channel had specials on Don Knotts and Andy Griffith, both favorites of ours, so we parked ourselves on the couch and watched them until time to go to bed.
Wednesday, May 12
TJ invited Mother to go to lunch with her in Lindale today, so after fixing breakfast and getting our “glad rags” on (Barbara was dressed for Bible Study group and I was dressed for work at the lot), we drove north to Holiday Village. We unloaded the lawn mower, electric weed eater, blower, and tools, and I set about doing the weekly mowing and trimming to keep Our Little Lot looking loved, while Barbara went on to Yantis to meet the other ladies at the church.
Our plan was to stay at Big V and have lunch there, but after Barbara got to Yantis, she got a text signal on her phone but couldn’t read it because her screen went blank. That immediately changed out plans for the day because the nearest Sprint store is in Tyler and we needed to get there as soon as possible after Bible Study.
When Barbara came back to Big V, I had all the equipment and tools stored away so we wouldn’t have to take time to load them in the car, drive to Mother’s house and unload them, and then go to Tyler. Instead, we called Mother to let her know that we had to go to Tyler and wouldn’t be coming to the house until later in the afternoon; then, we set our sights on getting to Tyler and the Sprint store as quickly as possible (but, with a stop at a Sonic along the way for some lunch on the run).
We arrived at Sprint and waited in line for an attendant, associate, sales person, or whatever they are called these days. There were quite a few customers ahead of us, so we cooled our heels and looked at different styles of phones (that we can’t get upgrades on for another six months, but that’s another story for another time).
Finally, one of the associates took a look at the phone and agreed with us that the screen on the phone had died and there was no way to read texts or any other functions on the unit. She checked our account and found that we did have insurance, so they would give Barbara a new replacement phone. The only problem was that they couldn’t get another phone until after 4:00 pm tomorrow…not what we wanted to hear, but we had no choice but to return to Mineola and make the trip back tomorrow.
Thursday, May 13
Barbara said she thought I ought to go out to the lake this morning and work around the lot and she would stay at the house for Mother, take care of some household chores, and prepare a ladies lunch for Mother, TJ, and her.
With a “to-do” list as long as my arm, I took Barbara up on the offer, put on my working clothes, and headed for the lot. When I got there, I decided that Job 1 would be to get all of our “stuff” out of the screen house that we set up in a secluded, wooded corner of the place. It had been a great idea to put the screen house there and it was a wonderful place to store the lawnmower, wheelbarrow, and various and sundry other items. What we didn’t count on was the recent storms causing dead branches (huge branches) to break and fall off a large tree that branched over the screen house. By this morning, the screen house had much more air than fabric around it and there was no way it could be repaired. So, I took everything out, ripped out the stakes and guy wires, folded up all the shock-corded poles, and bagged everything up to be hauled off to a dumpster.
Once I had everything out of the area, I started cutting down about a kazillion new briar vines (thank goodness they are young and not very tall), and spraying Round-Up on the stubs. Then, I raked out the area and hauled all the clippings to a spot on the lot behind us to be burned on another day. By the time that was done, I was inspired to keep on raking and hauling, but the spirit was less willing than the body, so I straightened everything up and returned to Mineola in time to pick Barbara up and make another trip to Tyler.
Barbara: Since Jim opted to eat peanut butter sandwiches out at the lake, Edith, TJ, and I chicken fettuccini, green beans, and salad. Go figure other people’s taste! Anyway, we did have a great hen party and I certainly used the before and after time getting some boring chores handled. Enough said!
Jim: While we still had to wait our turn at the Sprint store, the outcome was much better than it was yesterday and in an hour or so Barbara had a new phone with a screen she could read. The girl who waited on her assured her that all data and files from the other phone were transferred and installed on the new unit, but we soon found that wasn’t true when Barbara searched for a couple of text messages she had missed and they weren’t there. But, she had a phone and was back in touch with the world.
Friday, May 14
We voted this morning that today would be as simple and uncomplicated as possible…no major chores or activities, just some simple home living.
After breakfast, Barbara took care of the household chores (doing laundry, preparing lunch, working on the journal/blog), and some of our daily/weekly/monthly personal business (thank goodness for online transactions that save driving and standing in lines) while I went to the vet to get a new six-month supply of medications for Spike and Bonita. I also took a large load of old newspapers with me, as we found that the “doggy hospital” shreds them and uses the shredded paper to line the kennels.
When I returned to the house, I went outside to do some work in the back yard. There is a flower/shrub bed that runs along the fence line between Mother’s house and the house next door. We’ve been so busy mowing and trimming that we really haven’t paid much attention to the flower bed except to remark about how grass and weed infested it is (except for the time we set a hydrangea plant in one of the sections).
Today I just plopped down and began weeding each section of the bed…very simple and mindless work, which suited me just fine for the day. In an hour or so I had pulled out most of the grasses and weeds, giving us a clear view of the plants that were supposed to be there. While I was at it, I went ahead and put pine bark mulch around each of the large plants, hoping that in time we will be better able to control the things that we really don’t want growing there.
Johnny Banister called this afternoon to say that he and Barbara were back in town for a couple of days after going to Artesia for his Mother’s funeral and sticking around there to help take care of business. We invited him and Barbara to come to the house around 4:30 so he could see Mother and we could all visit for a bit.
When Johnny got here, he was by himself…seems that Barbara and Aunt Jean had gone shopping for some things that they just couldn’t live without. For the next hour and a half we visited and got pretty much caught up on each other’s lives over the past 40 years. TJ came over around 5:00 to visit. She had lived with us in Artesia for the last two years of high school and, since we were next door neighbors with to the Banisters, we had a lot of common ground. TJ, being five years older than the rest of us, was the neighborhood big sister (we thought of her more as a watch dog) and knew all the kids around us.
When Johnny left, amid hugs, handshakes, and vows to do a better job of keeping in touch, we had a light supper and then whiled away the evening doing mostly nothing which, after all, had been our plan for the day. About 8: 30, while I was working on last week’s journal, Barbara came in and said Johnny was back.
After more hugs and goodbyes, Johnny left to go back to his aunt and uncle’s house and we prepared to call it a day and go to bed.
Saturday, May 15
TJ and Mother agreed to come out to the Holiday Village clubhouse for lunch today and that allowed us to plan the biggest part of our day away from the Mineola house. We took care of breakfast and a few chores (including planting the day lily that Johnny brought to Mother last night…once we read that day lilies were good to attract hummingbirds, we just knew that we had to clear out a little patch and set the plant right beside the hummingbird feeders at the end of the driveway). With that done, we hopped in the car, drove to the post office to check for mail, and headed north for the rest of the day.
Our first stop was at David and Lorrie’s house in Yantis to pick up some teacher guides and commentaries for tomorrow’s Sunday school lesson. Fred, our teacher, had called Thursday evening to say that he and his wife would not be there Sunday morning and asked if I would teach the lesson. I said I would if he would leave the necessary materials at David’s house so I could pick them up.
After getting the books and exchanging a few words with David, we went to The Tomato Shack to buy some fresh produce and then on to the sales office at the village to see Josh, our friendly sales manager, and Karen, his secretary, to take care of registering our motorhome for the coming year.
Once we got to the lot, we hit the ground running, finding more than enough weeds and vines to clear and places to rake. I finished clearing what we called our tent area; cutting out more vines, raking up debris, and spraying Round-Up on all the green things that we didn’t want spreading around (like poison ivy, poison oak, etc.).
It took a good part of the morning to clear that part of the lot and haul the clippings, leaves, etc. to the burn pile on the lot behind Big V, and by the time that was done, we were ready for lunch. Mother and TJ arrived in time to get out and see what we have done with the lot (it’s been a long time since they have been out there) and then we went across the street to choose our meal. While we were waiting for our orders, Bob Royar came in to pick up takeout orders for him and Mary. Since the order wasn’t quite ready, we all sat around and talked (and, of course, took a few pictures).
Figuring that I probably don’t have 50-100 years to stick around and wait for nature to take its course, I borrowed a 20-foot aluminum extension ladder from Bob Royar, found a couple of reasonable level (all right—not too unlevel) spots to set the base, and proceeded to climb to a spot as close as possible to as many vines as possible and start pulling them down. Barbara guided me verbally at times when I couldn’t see where I was going and handed me a rake that I could extend to try to snare some of the vines.
The work was tedious and sometimes painful…even good leather gloves aren’t perfect protection against the briar thorns, but working together we did manage to get about half of the job done today and ended the afternoon with two large piles of dead vines on the ground.
Bob and Mary were also there, so the eight of us snagged a table in the back of the commons room and enjoyed our chicken fried steak dinners and lots of conversation.
By 6:00 pm the dinner was over and we all had places to go and things to do to get ready for Sunday morning, so we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
“If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.” – Unknown
From Mineola with love,
Jim/Dad/Gramps & Barbara/Mom/Grams
