Greetings, All...The writing of this issue of the blog marks the beginning of our eighth year of retirement and the telling, in one form or another, of our retirement journey. It's hard to believe that seven years have passed since we sent those first short emails to a handful friends, an act that lead to a full-blown printed journal and then, at the recommendation of several friends, the blogsite. Thanks to all who have followed us and offered encouragement over the years.
The first few days of July were filled with family activities and lots of fun. On May 30, Cousins Danny and Cindy arrived from Tallahassee, Florida, to spend a few days before taking Aunt Glennis back home. With Danny and Cindy around, there was never a dull moment! There was, however, a lot of food...more than enough to feed family and extended family (our neighbors) at a very special meal.
The only downside we had to all the fun and frivolity of the week was Barbara's late night visit to the ETMC emergency room. She discovered that she had a bad case of cellulitis...we have no idea when or how she contracted it, but it was bad, and turned out to be something we had to be very careful about.
Danny and Cindy left early on the morning of the Fourth of July, but the void was quickly filled when John, Carol, Randi, and Rhett arrived from San Antonio, and Leah and Ryan drove in from Cleburne. There were very few dull moments this week!
On the evening of the Fourth, we made a large freezer of Big Red ice Cream and sat out in the street to watch the fireworks show from the civic center.
On Friday, the fifth, the kids decided they wanted to go to one of their favorite fun spots in Wood County, Lake Hawkins. Because of the cellulitis issue, Barbara couldn't get on the sand or in the water, so we just drove out to the lake, took a bunch of photos, and then returned to the house to rest up a bit for tonight's activities.
Tonight we invited Pastor David Bagwell, Lorri, Ashley, and Amber to the house for dinner and dessert, followed by another rousing round of washers in the North 40.
On Saturday, we took the kids downtown to the East Texas Burger Company for lunch and then treated them to a showing of The Lone Ranger at Mineola's Historic Select Theater, the oldest continually operating movie theater in Texas.
While we were nowhere near being Johnny Depp fans and already had some misgivings about this movie, it wasn't long before we were completely wrapped up in it. I don't know when we have laughed so loudly and long!
When we were going to the restaurant before the movie, we noticed that next door to the Burger Company was a chalkboard out on the sidewalk which advertised Heather Little as the entertainment. We found that worthy of documenting even though it wasn't our Heather Little.
The kids left on Sunday and we settled in for a week of work around the house. Monday and Tuesday we had new carpet laid throughout the house to replace the old, worn out, and non-doggy resistant carpet and flooring that had been down for a l-o-n-g time. Because of all the activity and the aromatic carpet glue, we put Bonita in the Bradshaw Hilton and then we left Tuesday evening to let the house air out.
We spent the rest of the week putting the house back together, doing regular household chores, and catching up on yard work.
Sunday, July 21
This morning found us enjoying the regular worship services at Yantis First Baptist Church.
After church, we met our friends Gene and Michelle Young at the Minnow Bucket Restaurant on Lake Fork for lunch. For our new readers who may not be in the know, Gene and Michelle were administrators in Dodge City when I first started teaching in Liberal. But, we didn't meet them until we bought our lot at Holiday Villages of Lake Fork several years ago. We formed an immediate bond and have enjoyed visiting with each other and sharing our good times and bad times with Gene and Michelle.
Monday, July 15
We had some banking business to take care of in Terrell this morning, so we called Leah to see if she wanted to meet us at one of the restaurants near the outlet mall. She thought that would be great, so as soon as we finished our business, we drove to the mall and had short, but very nice visit and meal together before we got in our respective cars and returned to our homes.
We spent the rest of the week taking care of multiple chores around the house. I spent most of the time working outside, while Barbara spent her time working inside to build a 50th anniversary DVD for our friends Gene and Carolyn Neyer.
Tuesday, July 23
I went to the regular prayer meeting at Yantis First Baptist Church this morning and then over to spend the morning working on Our Little Lot, trying to keep the yard in shape. Meanwhile, Barbara continued her work on the anniversary DVD.
This afternoon we joined a group from YFBC to travel to Arlington for for the game between the Rangers and the Yankees. Of course, the trip had to have a meal included (we ARE Baptists, after all) and we all voted to share fun, food, and fellowship at a Taco Bueno near the ballpark.
The game was great fun, even if the Rangers did end up snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The highlight of the evening, even if it was about the "bad guys," was watching Mariano Rivera come in as a closer for the Yankees and demonstrate why he is the best closing pitcher in all of baseball!
The rest of the week was all about cleaning house and getting the DVD ready. We took delivery on some new living room furniture and you would think there would be photos, but there aren't, at least not at this writing.
Wednesday, July 24
Finally, the anniversary DVD for Gene and Carolyn was ready. Tonight we went to their home at Lake Holbrook to show them the finished product and to enjoy an evening of fellowship, food, and games with them.
Sunday, July 28
We were back in church at YFBC again this morning and were treated to great music by some of the members of the Praise Band.
Monday, July 29
We began the meat and potatoes part of the probate process of settling Mother's will today. When I was an assistant principal and principal at Liberal High School, I spent more than my fair share of time in court testifying about student issues, and I always had at least a small case of the nerves when I stood before the judge. Even though today was a simple case of beginning probate, those nerve issues reappeared this morning as I waited for the judge to make his appearance...there's just something about a guy in judicial robes, carrying a gavel, that sets him apart from the rest of us...
Wednesday, July 31
We'll close out this month with a photo we recently received of granddaughter Jaycie.
"Cherish your human connections: your relationships with friends and family." - Joseph Brodsky
From Mineola, Wood County, Texas
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams
