A Little Lake...A Little Travel

Sunday, August 24 – Saturday, August 30, 2008

Sunday, August 24

After getting around a little slowly this morning, we finally got ready to head off to the morning service at Rim Rock Cowboy Church. We stopped at a little donut shop north of Lake Hawkins and bought some apple fritters to munch on for breakfast while we continued our drive to the church.

It was good to be back at Rim Rock after our absence last week. It is a very friendly congregation, and we also got to sit with cousins Ladd and Angela and get caught up on the latest news about Madeline (Madeline is a candidate for rodeo queen up in Mount Pleasant and had a part of the competition last night. We won’t know how she did until this Saturday).

As usual, we got two wonderful sermons; the first was the Little Pards lesson, using II Corinthians 3:18 to teach the children how their lives should be like mirrors, reflecting their faith in God to those with whom they came in contact. Then, Pastor Larry gave an excellent sermon from Job 19, emphasizing how Job never lost his faith even when he was beset by troubles and doubting friends.

When church was over, we drove back through Quitman to Mineola to visit first with T.J. and then with Mother, Ernie, and Billee. After outlining our plans for the week, we returned to Big V for lunch, some reading, and a nap.

The rest of the day was just a quiet and unexciting one. During the late evening we took a short walk down to the beach to get out and around a bit. On the way back, I decided to go for a walk around the park while Barbara went back to Big V to fix a light supper.

As I walked along the main road through the campsites, I came upon Site 26, the site that was assigned to us when we came out to Lake Hawkins on August 1. As it turned out, we ended up in a much better site than 26. When I looked at the site tonight, I decided that we were very fortunate we weren’t staying there...a huge pine tree beside the concrete pad had blown down during the storm yesterday afternoon and was lying completely across the pad. What a headache that could have been! Luckily, no one was staying in that site yesterday, so the only damage was the downed tree.

Monday, August 25

Happy First Day on the new job with Halliburton, Ryan!

Since I didn’t have the camera to take a picture of the fallen tree last night, we decided to go across the park and get a couple of shots before the clean-up crew showed up to take care of the mess.

After our morning devotional, I went down to the lake for an early morning swim while Barbara took care of some things at Big V. The beach was pretty much deserted…just a workman clearing out weeds a grass and me swimming. The water was a little cool, but it didn’t take long to get used to it and I had an enjoyable few minutes just floating around and soaking up some rays.

Later, we decided we’d go back down there. Barbara went on and left me to finish up some emails. By the time I got there, Barbara had had enough, so we came on back to Big V, had some lunch, and took a nap.

Later in the afternoon we decided to go into town since Cathey had written that today was the first day of school and said she’d have Jaycie call us. After checking at the post office for mail and driving by Mother’s house for a short visit (all the while not being able to get through to either Randi or Jaycie), we started back to the lake. As we were driving, we did get a call from Jaycie, so I pulled off to the side of the highway so we could talk for a couple of minutes before we lost the signal again. It sounded like Jay Bird had a good first day…mainly she was impressed that as a fifth grader, she now has her own locker!

Back at the park, we fixed some supper and then settled down to a relatively quiet evening. Barbara figured out that for some reason tonight she had a strong cell signal when she was back in the bedroom, so she spent an hour or so making phone calls while I worked at the computer. One of the calls was to Randi, who in true teen-age fashion, declared the entire day, “Boring!”

Barbara: In defense of Randi’s view of the 1st day, I have to say that the first day of school has changed immensely over the years. Once upon a time, we teachers made the day fun and interesting…now, due to rules and regulations, that’s exactly how the first day is spent…from class to class the kids hear the rules, consequences, and on and on. It’s like everything has to be said on the first day…this is strictly an old-fashioned, old-school retired teacher’s view…

Jim: I went to bed early and read (until 1:00 a.m.) while Barbara spent her time catching up on email. Barbara: Hey, this playing “nice” and sharing the net service means somebody has to be last! And, that just happened to be me.

Tuesday, August 26

We took our time getting around this morning (that’s getting to be a theme for us), but gathered up all our dirty laundry and headed to Mother’s house to do the wash. Mother, T.J., Ernie, and Billee went to Tyler this morning to do some clothes shopping, but we decided we’d better stay behind in order to get things caught up before we have to close up Big V for storage this weekend.

While Barbara was doing the laundry, I went to the post office and then to Sonic for our breakfast. Back at the house, I started painting the washer boards that Ryan built for us. We thought that by painting and sealing the paint with clear-coating, we might be able to prolong the life of the boards in this sand and wet country.

When she was at a stopping point with the laundry, Barbara came out and helped finish painting. About that time, the others came home. After looking at their purchases and visiting for a few minutes, we said our goodbyes and drove back to Big V for a snack and a nap (another popular theme around here).

We drove back to Mineola later in the afternoon to pick up the last of the laundry, clear-coat the washer boards, and return a call to Jaycie (she had called earlier, but the call was dropped before we could say anything). When we were finished, we made the drive back to the lake where we just hunkered down and took it easy for the rest of the evening.

There wasn’t much on television, so I popped in a DVD that I purchased the other day…the complete 26-episode series of Victory at Sea, the award-winning NBC series that told the story of the naval operations and battles of World War II, with a magnificent musical score composed by Richard Rodgers and performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra with Robert Russell Bennett conducting. The episodes pack such a punch that one or two at a time is as much as a person can handle…what a tremendous tool for an American History teacher!

Wednesday, August 27

There’s not much to say about some days, and that was certainly the case this morning. We intended to start some serious house-cleaning, but it didn’t happen…we just moved slowly and didn’t get excited about anything.

We went to Mineola for lunch at Mother’s house. The ladies all decided last week that Wednesday would be a family luncheon day. Today was Billee’s turn to fix the meal, and for someone who said she doesn’t do much cooking, she turned out a meal fit for a king…salmon croquettes, fruit and spinach salad, and a macaroni casserole. For dessert, she set out cheesecake that she and Ernie had found at Wal-Mart. Trust us; no one went away from the meal hungry.

After helping get the house squared away, we drove back to the lake to read and rest for a bit.

Later in the afternoon we had a very pleasant surprise. As we were looking out the window, we saw a large vehicle with a boat attached as it pulled up in front of Big V. We were delighted when out stepped Robbie and Barb Clingan. Barb was one of the English teachers at Liberal High School when I was band director and then assistant principal, and Robbie is the president of Clingan Tire Company in Liberal. They moved to Gilmer, Texas, about an hour’s drive northeast of us several years ago.

We had been in contact with Barb via the internet and knew that they had a new boat that they intended to bring down to Lake Hawkins, but until today things had just not worked out for all of us. Their boat (used, but new to them) had spent unplanned time in the boat hospital and they brought it down today to see if everything had been fixed.

We spent over an hour just visiting and getting caught up on the past five years. Then, Barb decided it was time to put the boat in the water, so Barbara and I walked down to the dock while Barb and Robbie drove down and got everything set for the launch. As Barb pulled the car and trailer back up to the parking lot, Robbie took the boat out for a couple of lazy circles. When he got back and we got on board, he told Barb that he had good news and bad news…Barb asked what the good news was, and Robbie told us that the bilge pump worked…no point in asking about the bad news after that statement.
We cruised around the lake for quite a while before we talked Barb into strapping on her slalom and testing her skiing skills. What we found out in short order was that she is a fantastic water skier. Even though it had been some time since she was last on the water, she put on a great exhibition for us.

When Barb had finally had enough, we loaded her and the ski gear back on the boat and made our way back to the dock and the landing. We had the boat back on the trailer and pulled out of the lake in short order. With daylight running out, we said our goodbyes as Barb and Robbie headed back to Gilmore with a promise from us that we would soon climb aboard the motorcycle and pay them a visit at their home.

Barbara: I haven’t had a lot of practice with real action shots; so it was fun to try that today. Being rather proud of the results, we decided to include more Barb pics as well as some of us enjoying the Clingan’s new boat. Since we have driven around the lake many times, it was thoroughly interesting to see the water view! In fact, we were able to recognize many of the areas and know where we would have been if we had been in the Vibe or on the cycle. Jim particularly wanted me to shoot a shot of him enjoying the boat ride to show Chris Perkins and Bill Van Wyhe how the other “half” lives.

Thursday, August 28

Finally, we decided to get serious about cleaning Big V. With plans to hit the road in the Vibe over the weekend, we had to get Big V in shape to go into storage for several days. It seems that every site in the park had been reserved for the Labor Day weekend for several months. As newcomers, we had to give up our site until September 2, the end of the camping season at the lake.

Barbara was busy dusting, sweeping, and mopping while I scrubbed the bathroom area. Then we tackled the job of putting things away so we could move the rig. Whether the move is 1,000 yards or 1,000 miles, the basics are the same…everything has to be put in place and secured so it doesn’t fall and break (or break something else).

Ernie and Billee came out for supper and an evening visit. They had gone to a job fair in Longview this morning and were supposed to stop by for supper around 4:30. As it turned out, they finished much earlier than they had planned, so they drove back to Mineola before they came back to the lake.

We had a great time talking and hearing about their adventures of the morning. After our meal, we took a long walk through the tent-camping section of the park (very primitive area) and then settled in for a couple of hot games of washers.

As they were leaving to go back to Mineola, I went up to the office to buy a bag of ice. While I was there, Ronnie, our next door neighbor, rode up on his motorcycle. The manager was trying to take a picture of him, so I looked to see what that was all about. Ronnie had fastened a sling under the manager’s dachshund, buttoned him into his shirt, and was giving him motorcycle rides around the campground! I immediately asked Ronnie if he would ride down to our site so we could take a picture. He was happy to oblige and soon he and the dachshund were parked in front of Big V for a photo-op.

Friday, August 29

We got an early start, but all the details of closing Big V for a few days took longer than we thought, so it was shortly after 10:00 a.m. when we finally had the Vibe packed and Big V and the motorcycle parked in the storage facility at the park.

We drove to Mineola and spent a couple of hours visiting Mother, T.J., Billee, and Ernie before we got back in the Vibe and pointed it north on U.S. 69 for the 550 mile trip to Lenexa, Kansas, to see Whitney, Jim, and Little Jimmy.

Knowing that we weren’t going to make the trip in one long stretch, we just took our time as we drove through Greenville and Denison, Texas, and Durant, Oklahoma, on our way to hook up with the Indian Nation Turnpike at McAlester.

Barbara: What a ride today!

We finally left Mineola a little after noon in the Vibe. We stopped for a Sonic lunch in Emory and then preceded to travel a new route to Lenexa since we have never been in Mineola when going there.

However, I had studied the route on the computer and even started reading the real map once we got in OK. Thought I had the route down pat since I'm usually a good navigator; so I threw the map into the backseat. WRONG thing to do!!! When we got to the Indian Nation Turnpike, I told Jim that we were to turn right. To make a long story short, I was dead WRONG.

We didn't think it would be too big of an issue since we would be able to turn around at the toll booth or at least shortly thereafter. WRONG! We had to pay a buck fifty and then drive over 25 miles before we could turn around!

But, the story doesn't stop there...the scenery was absolutely breathe-taking so we were playing positive Polly’s. However, all the beauty disappeared when we turned around to head back in the right direction. We ran smack dab into a whale of a storm! The rain was so hard and heavy that it sounded like gun shots hitting the car. Finally, we had to pull over to the side of the road and wait it out for about 20 minutes. Some crazies sped past us like they could actually see and then promptly pulled to the side once they passed us. Guess we weren't as crazy as they thought.

Eventually, we get back to our original starting position where we got the honor of paying another buck fifty to head in the right direction...everything's cool...right...WRONG! Jim decides we're going to stop for supper in McAlester; so we get off and drive and drive and drive some more before we see the McDonald's. But....we're in the WRONG lane...go more and more and more...finally a turn around...but...we can't figure out how to get to the McD's. We decide baloney to it.

There's a Braum's we'll stop there...my idea. Poor, Jim, it was definitely the WRONG thing to do. Braum's was slammed and short-handed to boot. We probably waited at least 30 minutes for our simple order...by then we decided just to eat on the road; so we could get to Henryetta where we are staying at the Super 8.

Once we got to Henryetta, we got on the WRONG road and had to finally stop at a convenience store and ask for directions. Sure enough, we had to turn around and take a right for a change! Finally found the motel and at least I didn't make a WRONG choice when I made the reservations online. :)

Jim: Without further ado, we made it safely to Henryetta, Oklahoma, where we found our home for the night at the Super 8 Motel. We spent the evening catching up on email and reading. I caught the webcast of the first Artesia High School football game of the season. The Bulldogs made it clear that they planned to defend their 2007 state football championship title as they defeated long-time rival Lovington by a score of 57 – 7 before a huge opening night crowd at Bulldog Bowl.

Saturday, August 30

There’s not much to be said about a basic travel day. We left Henryetta shortly after 8:00 a.m. and drove, and drove, and drove until we finally reached Lenexa around 1:30 p.m. We got checked in at the Super 8 close to Jim and Whitney’s house and then just took it easy for the rest of the afternoon.

We left a message with the kids to let them know we were in town. Whitney called a little after 6:00 to say they were back at home and were just going to kick back and relax for the evening and invited us to come on over.

Naturally, we jumped all over that invitation. We loaded up a couple of small gifts for Jimmy and went on over to their house where we spent a couple of hours visiting and playing with Little Jimmy.

After watching Jimmy finish his supper, we adjourned to their beautiful deck and backyard to chat and take pictures (and more pictures, and…well, you know).
Little Jimmy’s energy button shut down a little after 9:00, signaling the time for all to call it a day and get some rest before a busy day tomorrow. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the motel, leaving Whitney, Jim, and Little Jimmy to their nighttime routine.

“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” – Church Signs

On the road in Lenexa, Kansas,

Jim & Barbara

A Little Rain Must Fall

Sunday, August 17 – Saturday, August 23, 2008

Sunday, August 17

On a morning when we needed to be getting up early, we managed to sleep in, almost too late. We had volunteered to cook and take a celebration lunch for Mother since she had found a church in Mineola to call home, but almost didn’t get it started on time. We were cooking crock pot roast with all the trimmings, but didn’t get it started until 8:30, giving us just enough time to get it heated up good before we took it into town and plugged it in again at Mother’s house.

Since Mother was transferring her church membership this morning to Harvest Acres Baptist Church, Barbara and I attended church with her and T.J. (Billee and Ernie were in Fort Worth with their girls since it was Candace’s birthday.)

When the church service was over we all went back to the house and feasted on roast, potatoes, onions, carrots, and green beans, topping the meal off with a pecan pie that T.J. had brought.

And, when the meal was over, it was all any of us could do to stay awake long enough to get to our respective homes for our traditional Sunday naps.

We ventured down to the beach later in the afternoon, the first time in a little over a week that we’d gone swimming. The recent rains and lots of boaters stirring up the lake water seemed to have lowered the water temperature noticeably, but it didn’t take long to get used to it and we enjoyed a short swim before heading back up to Big V for a light supper and an evening of doing almost nothing.

Monday, August 18

We woke up to cloudy skies and hints of rain. With nothing crucial on the agenda for the day, we just took our time getting around. Shortly after 11:00, we got on the motorcycle for our first real ride since we were in Ruidoso in June. With a light sprinkle starting to fall we road around the lake to FM Road 14 and then north for several miles before turning back west to Quitman.

While in Quitman we stopped at the county driver’s license office to change our address and apply for new licenses. Since we already held valid Texas licenses, the process was not very long or painful. In fact, the clerk at the office made this probably the most fun trip either of us has ever made to get a license. When we finished with the licenses we asked about registering to vote in Wood County and found that we could get that done in the same office. By the time we left, we were officially Wood County and Mineola residents, registered, licensed, and insured.

It was raining when we came out of the office, but that didn’t stop us from hopping back on the Voyager and riding the ten miles down to Mineola to check on Mother and give her a voter registration card to fill out. The rain stopped just a couple of miles south of Quitman, so it turned into a nice ride.

When we left Mother’s house we rode over to Wal-Mart to pick up some prescriptions, then to the post office to check the mail and drop off Mother’s voter registration card, and then back to the RV park and Big V.

While Barbara took a nap, I went outside to the canopy to do some reading and relaxing. Later in the evening we drove up to Hawkins to check out the inventory at Brookshire’s Supermarket. One of the items we found was Karo pancake syrup, something we’d been looking for in supermarkets and Wal-Mart grocery departments everywhere we’d traveled in the last few months. Needless to say, we stocked up on this vital ingredient of great pecan pies.

Tuesday, August 19

Jim: My job for the day was to go to Mineola, pick up Mother and T.J., and drive them to Tyler for doctor appointments. I had planned to ride the cycle to town, leave it at Mother’s house, and drive T.J.’s car to Tyler, but because of the rain (it came down all night long and was still pouring down this morning), the cycle idea went by the wayside and I took the Vibe, leaving Barbara here at the park to spend the day.

Barbara: After sending Jim off on his journey with fresh made apple cinnamon muffins, I decided to tackle the bills on the computer before doing anything else.

Eventually I cooked up ground meat to put in freezer baggies for quick use at a later time. This meant that I finally had enough dishes to wash. Are you yawning yet? The rest of my morning and afternoon were spent doing activities just as exciting; so I won’t go into detail. However, I will say that the rain was hitting the roof of Big V with such force that I did put on some “Jesus” music and sang along! Sure glad we don’t have any neighbors close by; they might have been disturbed by the joyful noise!

Finally, around 2:00 the rain slowed down to drizzle of sorts and by 2:30 I was out with my trusty camera to document changes in the lake. The first change was definitely the smoothness of the beach area…today there were little “rivers” everywhere…. Then I noticed that the water level was much higher than normal. How could I tell this? Easy…I couldn’t see as much of the legs of the docks across the lake as I could on other days. Other evidence on how much rain we had received were quite easy to spot since the sand volleyball court looked like a mini pond, the drainage ditches were flowing rapidly towards the lake, empty pads were filled with large puddles of water, and everything around Big V looked clean and soggy!
This was just a great day to stay around the house and do a little of this and that.

Jim: I finally got back to Big V around 4:30. After working on the journal for a little while, we decided to take a short walk down to the beach so I could see the water level of the lake.

Barbara got busy and whipped up a batch of cornbread to go with the homemade vegetable soup that Billee had sent back with me this afternoon.

Billee is always saying that she can’t cook; Barbara and I decided tonight that this veggie soup disproves that statement! It was delicious!
The rest of the evening was just that…an evening!

Wednesday, August 20

It was another cloudy and rainy day…perfect for doing absolutely nothing, and that’s pretty much what we did all day. We couldn’t even use the screen house because of all the water on and around the concrete pad, so we stayed inside and read and/or worked at the computers. And, of course, Barbara had ample opportunities to take some pictures.

However, the rain certainly didn’t seem to bother our one hummingbird visitor who appeared to be quite thirsty even with all the rain falling. Barbara took this shot from the front window, but with all the rain coming down, it came out rather blurry…Still one can see that our hummingbird was not bothered by a little thing like rain.

The skies started clearing in the late afternoon, so we ventured out for a short walk down to the beach. Barbara came on back to Big V while I walked around the park for a little much-needed exercise.

Later, we drove in to Hawkins to drop off a letter at the post office and stop at Sonic for an ice cream treat. Then, it was back to Big V for a quiet evening.

Thursday, August 21

More and more our days seem to have slow starts. Barbara was already up and reading a book when I got up at 6:00. She went back to bed to read while I brewed a small pot of coffee, checked my email, and sent off a couple of letters. By the time I was finished at the computer, she was fast asleep again, so I grabbed a book and headed out to the screen house to read and enjoy the peace and quiet of early morning at the lake.

We eventually got moving around…took time for our morning devotional and then got dressed and rode in to Mineola to visit a few minutes with Mother, Billee, and Ernie. T.J. was also at Mother’s house, giving us a chance to all visit together.

When everyone had said about all they knew, or at least thought they knew, we left and drove down to Southern RV between Lindale and Tyler to see about a new lightweight indoor/outdoor carpet to put down between Big V and the screen porch. The last carpet we got was wonderful out in the semi-arid country, but now it is waterlogged and difficult to keep clean. We did find what we thought we wanted and took it back to the park to spread it out and see how it will work.

During the evening we took the motorcycle out on the highway and rode it over to Big Sandy, then to Hawkins to pick up a couple of items for supper from the grocery store, and then back around the lake to the park and Big V.

After a supper of soft tacos, we just kicked back and relaxed; Barbara worked at the computer while I watched the San Francisco Forty-Niners and the Chicago Bears in a NFL pre-season foot ball game.

Barbara: While Jim was busy being a football couch potato, I was digging through files trying to find a picture of our bamboo plant. I knew that we had taken one back when we first bought it, but as you can imagine, I have a “few” photos in a “few” files; so it took me a while. Here’s why I was trying to find an old (May…2008) picture…

Jim: When we were in Liberal in April, we paid a visit to Mr. & Mrs. George and Livesy. Mrs. George had a lovely plant on her coffee table and explained that it was a bamboo plant. We decided something like that would be perfect for Big V…not too large, and relatively easy to care for; so, when we got back to Artesia, we went to Wal-Mart and bought one. As you can see from the picture on the left, the little plant fit perfectly on the countertop under an overhanging cabinet.
The other photo shows that the plant has grown considerably and no longer fits under the cabinet. Instead, it has a prominent place toward the front of the counter.

We are so grateful to the Georges for giving us this idea, as other live plants are so difficult to care for. This one serves a twofold purpose…it is a constant reminder of the way our friendship with the Georges grew, and on the base it holds a memory bracelet for Jameson. Leah and Ryan gave each of us a bracelet, but because of my activities, I can’t wear mine, so we display it with the bamboo plant.

Friday, August 22

Last night was a rough one for us. At 3:00 a.m. a tremendous thunderstorm hit the area with high winds, driving rain, and lots of close lightning and thunder. Since we were sleeping with the windows open and the rooftop vents open, I got up and closed the place up and did a quick mop job of the kitchen floor before returning to bed.

Unfortunately, by then I was wide awake, so I got up and went in to the living room to read while Barbara went back to sleep. Around 5:30 she woke up and came to the front while I finished my book. I went back to bed around 6:30 and slept until 9:30. Barbara came back to bed around 7:30 and slept until 8:30. We just can’t seem to get our sleep patterns synchronized lately.

Just after I woke up, we heard some loud mechanical noises in front. Without looking, I guessed that someone was working with a chain saw. They had been trimming trees all around the park this week, so that wasn’t a big surprise. Then, we heard a large engine running. When we looked out the front window, we saw one man cutting away at a large dead tree with a chain saw, while another was maneuvering a backhoe into place to help push the tree over. Barbara quickly grabbed the camera and stepped outside to get a sequence of action shots as the tree came down.
We spent the next few hours just taking care of various chores around Big V and then went to Mineola at 3:00 to go to the post office and pick up some dry cleaning.

T.J. had offered to host dinner tonight if I would grill outside, so we went to her house and I got everything ready to barbecue some chicken. Later, Ernie, Billee, and Mother came over. While Mother and T.J. waited in the cool air-conditioning inside, the rest of us stayed outside to play a couple of rounds of washers while I oversaw the grill (Barbara showed great disgust when I landed my first washer on the board, but she changed her mind when I reminded her that we were on the same team this time). Barbara: In my defense, I’m used to rooting against him…not for him!

Jim: Afterwards, we all sat down to a wonderful family meal of barbecued chicken, pasta salad, and a Mexican squash dish that T.J. had concocted from a recipe she found in the Sunday paper. Ladd joined us a bit later and we had a great time getting caught up on everyone’s recent activities. Unfortunately, Angela had to work this evening, but there were enough leftovers that Ladd was able to take a large plate to the house for her.

The party broke up around 7:30. We made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for a couple of items (cases of Coke products on sale for $5.00 as compared to $8.33 at Brookshire’s) and then headed back to the lake and Big V to spend the evening watching TV and surfing the net.

Saturday, August 23

Happy Anniversary to Jerry and Nancy Terpening in Artesia!!!

We decided last night that we need to look at ourselves as being on vacation, rather than having any particular lifestyle, since we’ve been having some strong withdrawal pains lately when we remember our “home on the range” days in Artesia.

We got a real boost in that outlook this morning as we slept in a little (not too late, but not up at 5:30 either). After checking our email (the broadband card has been worth every penny so far), we went out to the screen house to have our morning devotional and sit around and enjoy the warm sunshine. After a week of clouds and rain, a clear blue sky and a bright sun were welcome sights.

We later grabbed a folding chair and our floats and walked down to the beach area to get in a morning swim and some additional sun time. There wasn’t a crowd at the beach this morning, just two or three families, so we had a large section of sand and water all to ourselves.

When we returned to Big V, we decided we were hungry and voted on having breakfast instead of lunch, so I whipped up some bacon, eggs, and French toast to get us underway for the day.

For some reason, I turned on the TV, probably just to see if anything interesting was on, and found that ABC was televising the semi-final games of the Little League World Series. Those who have followed our journal and blog know that we watched many of the games last year because of the Lubbock team that was in the series; but, we hadn’t watched or followed any of the teams so far this year.

After watching the Mexico and Japan game for several innings, we decided it was time for a nap, and retired to the bedroom, waking up a couple of hours later to find that Mexico won their game and that the U.S of the bracket was beginning, with Hawai’i facing off against Louisiana.

As we got to the end of the game, the sky suddenly turned black, the winds started blowing like crazy (hadn’t had wind gusts like this since we left Artesia), and the rain started falling in sheets. Our immediate concern was for both the awning and the screen house. We were able to roll the awning in before it got too bad, but all we could do about the screen house was watch it twist in the wind (photo left) and hope it didn’t blow away. Notice that the little hummingbird also hung on, not letting a little wind and rain get in the way of a free meal.

As bad as the picture looks, the screen held up well and, once the rain quit falling (photo top right), it wasn’t too much trouble to set it in place and secure it with the stakes and guy lines.

When I had squared away the outside, I came back in to get supper started and Barbara went outside to pick up tree limbs that had fallen in our driveway and the road in front of our site. About the time she got back in Big V, the power went out in the park. After about thirty minutes, we fired up the generator so we could finish cooking our meal, and then shut it down, opened up the place, and sat back and relaxed for the rest f the evening…just another quiet Wood County night. Barbara: We’ve used the term “quiet evening” many times in our journals, but tonight it took on a different connation as the whole park had no electricity for over 5 ½ hours! With the clouds covering the moon, outside was totally dark with no one outside running around. Those of us who chose to sit outdoors even found ourselves talking softly as though we didn’t want to disturb the peace that engulfed us.

“Trials keep you strong
Sorrows keep you human
Failures keep you humble
But, only God keeps you going.” Sign inside a business in Tyler, TX

From our (soggy) lake home, Jim & Barbara

A Little Time at the Lake

Sunday, August 10 – Saturday, August 16, 2008

Sunday, August 10

We were up pretty early for a Sunday morning…took time to sit outside, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and watch the hummingbirds and squirrels as they started their new day.

As we were watching, Barbara spotted a squirrel on a branch about forty feet up in one of the pine trees. We could tell he was gnawing on something, because chunks and flecks of that something kept dropping to the ground. After watching closely, we could see that he had a pine cone that he was balancing on the branch, and he was leaning over and eating away at it, just as we would eat corn on the cob. As he finished with the pine cone (with nothing left but the core), he dropped it on the ground, grabbed another one, and started all over again.

We’d never thought about squirrels eating pine cones, but this one devoured everything about it that was edible before discarding what he didn’t want. The picture shows the pine cones “before and after” the squirrel’s feeding frenzy.

We returned to the Rim Rock Cowboy Church this morning and heard a couple of very good sermons, both of which touched us in a special way. We say a couple of sermons, because the Little Pards sermon is every bit as meaningful as what the pastor has prepared, and both messages were what we needed today.

After church we joined Ladd, Angela, and Madeline for lunch at The Dinner Bell, a restaurant just south of Quitman. Angela said it was under new management and they wanted to try it out. We enjoyed sitting around and visiting, mainly talking to Madeline about going off to college tomorrow.

When lunch was over, we drove back to Mineola to check in on T.J. and Mother. I’m pretty sure we woke T.J. up from her nap, but she was gracious about it and we talked for quite a while. From there, we drove over to Mother’s house. I don’t believe that a B-52 flying 50 feet overhead would have waked her from her nap, but we did enjoy a short visit with Ernie and Billee while we were there.

Before returning to Lake Hawkins and Big V for the afternoon, we stopped in at Legal Grounds to see if we could get internet access. I guess last week there was just a glitch in the system, because today we had great service as we sat outside at one of their tables to check our mail and send off a couple of messages.

Back at Big V we decided it was time to lie down and read (which almost always leads to taking a nap). Sure enough, both of us dropped off for a few minutes, but we were soon up and moving around.

We wrote last week about how we managed to get the wonderful site where Big V has been parked. Well, we were going to have to move to another one by noon Tuesday, so we decided we’d just go ahead and make the move today. We started by loading all the loose stuff outside (tables, chairs, grills, etc.) into the Vibe to carry up to the new site (which has lots of shade, but no view of the lake). When we got up there, we found that someone was using the new site for their picnic, but they had all evidently gone down to the lake.

We went back to the office to let them know what was going on, and the manager just told us to take Site 36, which ended up being much better than where we were going to be. Now we have full hookups (at no extra cost) and a view of the trees and the lake as we step outside. It’s a little farther down to the lake, but still an easy 4-minute walk.

After getting Big V into the new site and getting everything hooked up, put out, and/or straightened up, we decided we make one more run into Mineola to check email and look at weather predictions for different cities for the next couple of weeks.

From Legal Grounds we drove around the corner to Dairy Queen to get our supper, a pecan cluster Blizzard for Barbara and a chocolate malt for me, and then drove back to the lake to settle in for the night.

Monday, August 11

As we started the day, I already had the opening line for this entry in my head, “I believe we’re beginning to get the hang of this retirement thing.” We both woke up early and by 6:45 were sitting in our lounge chairs outside Big V, enjoying the beautiful view from our new site. I was working on my first cup of coffee and Barbara was drinking a Diet Coke and reading a book…both of us living the life of leisure.

One of the first things we did after moving yesterday was to set up our hummingbird feeder where we would have a good view of it whenever we were outside. We watched carefully this morning, but there were no hummingbirds in sight. Since we’re pretty far from where we were for the last week, we weren’t sure the little critters would work their way up here, but we working from hope.

I went inside to fix some breakfast, something that I haven’t been doing too much lately, probably because we just don’t want to generate more heat inside than necessary. But, this morning I felt the urge to whip up a big breakfast, so I fried up some thick-sliced peppered bacon, scrambled eggs, and French toast. Then, we settled back in our lounge chairs to eat and continue the watching and waiting for the birds and squirrels.

I came back in to clean up my cooking mess and get the kitchen put back together. When Barbara came back in, I settled down in the chair outside, armed with our trusty camera, just in case. Sure enough, pretty soon a lone hummingbird made a tentative foray around the feeder post, left, and then returned to sample the nectar we had put out. Luckily, I was able to snap a couple of shots of him/her (I wasn’t THAT close) at the feeding trough. However, with patience, we finally got some close up shots. We were really excited to know that the birds had found us, because we enjoy sitting out and watching them feeding and playing.

Around 10:30 we finally got dressed and ventured into Mineola to go to the post office and swing by Legal Grounds to check our email. Legal Grounds is closed on Mondays, but Barbara was able to get a good wireless signal while she was sitting outside at one of the tables.

From there we swung by Sonic for a drink and then over to Mother’s house to visit everyone. Mother had been out with T.J. this morning taking care of some business and the two of them decided to have their lunch at Pizza Hut. We say it nearly every week, but it is wonderful to see Mother getting out and around after so many months of being cooped up in her house in Artesia. It wears her out, but at least she’s tired for a good reason.

We left the house, went by Wal-Mart for a few necessaries (including a new bird feeder…now we want to put out some bird seed and see how many other local characters we can attract). Then, it was time to head back to Big V for lunch and our afternoon rest.

Barbara was working at her computer and I was reading a book when we first heard the slap of raindrops on the roof. Soon, the slaps became a heavy and regular drumming, accompanied by house-shaking thunder and brilliant flashes of lightning. We don’t know where the storm came from, but it hit hard and fast, and stayed around for well over an hour, giving the park a much-needed drenching and soaking.

Tonight Barbara worked on a dessert for tomorrow evening’s planned meal with T.J. and Marge. She used Kelly’s recipe for chocolate éclair cake…it’s made with chocolate, a stick of butter, a cup of sugar, pudding, Cool Whip, graham crackers, and assorted other goodies. It’s probably not something that would be served to a bunch of cardiologists, but it is wonderful for the rest of us.

Tuesday, August 12

We spent most of the day in Tyler. We went over mainly because we thought the motorcycle would be ready and we wanted to be there to pick it up. But, around 10:00 we talked to David and he said he wanted to run some more diagnostics on it to make sure the battery wasn’t draining somewhere. So, that part of the day was the old-fashioned good news/bad news scenario…the good news was that he’s 99.9 per cent certain the charging system is working the way it’s supposed to. The bad news is that I will have to wait at least another couple of days to get the cycle.

While we were there, we decided to go to the Sprint and Verizon stores with our laptops and ask what they could do for us in terms of broadband cards for internet service. This came after I received an email from our good friend Max in Santa Fe who stated that he had read all my whining about not having internet access at the lake and asking why I didn’t do what he had done – purchase a broadband card and have access virtually anywhere we travel. I wrote back that he needed to understand three things about me…1) I like to whine, 2) I’m cheap, and 3) 1 & 2 are interchangeable. Besides, I’ve always said that they’ll have to drag me kicking and screaming into the 21st Century! But, after talking it all over, we decided to quit relying on ads and word-of-mouth…we’d go straight to the source.

Our first stop was at Sprint, where we got some good information…especially the part about a 30-day trial. If, at the end of 30 days we are not satisfied with the product and service, we can return the equipment and get our money back.

After visiting with Jennifer at Sprint, we started looking for the Verizon store, but it wasn’t where the phone book said it was and we had no idea where else to look, so we went back to Sprint and told Jennifer we’d try their card and piggyback it on our Sprint cellular service.

After filling out the paperwork, we sat down and loaded the software on the laptops and then gave the card a test run on each computer. With Jennifer’s help, we finally got the system figured out, at least enough that we felt comfortable about taking it back to Big V to give it the ultimate test in an area with a very low signal.

We decided we’d better stop at the new Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Tyler on the way home to get gas for the car and a few groceries for ourselves. Then, it was back to Lake Hawkins and Big V to put everything away and try out our new gadget.

We immediately came upon another good news/bad news situation. The good news is that the card worked beautifully, even with a limited signal. The bad news is that we have only one card, so we’ll have to learn to play nicely with each other and share. But, we’re pretty sure we can work that out. I couldn’t resist the impulse to write to Max and let him know that he was receiving the first email from our new system.

This evening…sit outside and watch the birds, play a couple of games of washers, watch some TV, and work at the computers…just relaxing at the lake.
Wednesday, August 13

It was a bit of a slow morning. While I had my morning coffee, we sat outside and did our morning devotional. Then we just sat around a while longer enjoying the beautiful view from our site.

During the morning we did some cleaning and straightening around Big V to get ready for our company tonight and then went into Mineola to buy a few things we needed for dinner tonight. While we were in town, we stopped by Mother’s house for a short visit. Mother was taking her afternoon nap, but we had a good time talking to Ernie and Billee and checking the progress of the construction people who are remodeling Mother’s back porch and doing some other home improvements.

Back at Big V we started getting everything ready for T.J. and Marge’s visit. In addition to the dessert that Barbara made last night, I baked a loaf of bread, cooked up my green bean recipe, and grilled some beef filets. Meanwhile, Barbara made some tea and got all the dishes and silverware set out.

T.J. and Marge arrived around 5:00, bringing a salad and a dish of “slick potatoes,” and we all had an enjoyable evening with plenty of conversation and delicious food. By the way Kelly…your éclair cake recipe was a resounding success!

Thursday, August 14

It was moving day again. We had to give up our temporary site and finally make the move to Site 38 for the next two weeks. We were up by 6:30 and, after checking the email (and playing a couple of games of Free Cell), we started loading the “outside stuff” in the Vibe to carry up to the new lot. With that done, we turned our attention to putting things away in Big V, disconnecting the hookups, closing everything up, and moving to the new pad. While we were packing and moving, I noticed the fog rising over the lake and the surrounding area…the sight just called out for me to grab a camera and take some pictures.
Luckily, the move went smoothly, and by 9:00 a.m. we had Big V all set up and ready to live in. It wasn’t much longer before we had all the outside things set up where we wanted them, and were ready to get cleaned up and start the day.
The first thing on the agenda was to gather a hamper full of dirty clothes and drive the three miles into Hawkins to do the laundry. We could have gone to Mother’s house, but the workers were still there, and it would take time to run three separate washer and dryer loads. The laundromat in Hawkins was easily accessible and we were able to get everything washed and dried in about an hour and a half while we sat in air-conditioned comfort and read our books.

We hadn’t heard from our friends Margarita and Maria in Puerto Rico in a long time, so Barbara went out to the parking lot for a few minutes and found a strong enough cell signal to call them. Margarita and Francisco were at school, but we did enjoy a nice talk with Maria, who let us know that it was warm there, but there were also those great views of the rain forest and the Atlantic Ocean, as well as nice cool breezes from time to time…what wonderful memories we have of our visit with them!

We got back to Big V, put all the clean clothes away, and had just settled down for some rest when David, the cycle repairman in Tyler, called to let me know the Voyager was ready to roll. There was nothing mechanically wrong with the cycle, but he did clean up some electrical connections and re-wrapped a couple of the wiring harnesses.

So, we ginned around and drove down to Tyler and picked up the cycle. I rode the cycle back to Lake Hawkins while Barbara followed in the Vibe. It was 98 degrees in Tyler when we left…a little too warm for a comfortable ride, but the ride along Highway 14 back to Hawkins, with rolling hills and nice smooth curves, was really fun.

After putting the cycle away, we drove into Mineola to see the family for a few minutes and to inspect all the work that had been done on Mother’s back porch. We invited Billee and Ernie to come out for dessert and a couple of rounds of washers and they agreed, so we had to leave and go back to the park to get ready for them.

They came out around 6:00 and we had a wonderful couple of hours eating, talking, and playing washers until it was too dark to continue and they had to go back to Mineola.

Friday, August 15

Looking back, this was a relatively relaxing day, but we did get quite a bit accomplished.

We awoke to some pretty heavy rain showers that continued throughout the morning. I finally decided that this would be a great opportunity to put on my swim trunks, and go outside to scrub down the front of Big V, which was covered with bug remains and other assorted road grime. I got everything out and started scrubbing away only to see the rain disappear…there went my rainwater rinse!

So, I broke one of the park rules and quickly hooked up the water hose so I could rinse off everything I had washed… not exactly what I had in mind, but the front of Big V did shine again.

We decided to drive to Mineola to check our mail, visit Mother, Ernie, and Billee, and do some shopping at Wal-Mart. We had seen a screen canopy on sale that we really liked and wanted to set up outside Big V, and finally decided to buy it. When we got there, we also found a new (and larger) charcoal grill that had been greatly reduced in price. Since the one we bought when we first started living in Big V was falling apart, we went ahead and got another one so we could have an easier time grilling food for so many people.

Back at Big V we put away the groceries we had bought, Barbara started installing a new side curtain for her window, and then we tackled the job of putting up the canopy. It appeared at first that it was going to be a daunting task, but it went together much easier when we both started following the directions (imagine that), and soon we had it all assembled and set up right where we wanted it. With the outside furniture set inside of the tent, we had a new large outdoor room, just the thing for sitting around in during the early morning and late evening hours.We sat around in the canopy for a few minutes and then decided to play a couple of games of washers (we split the games 1-1, taking them both to 6-6 scores before the deciding washers were thrown) and then went back inside for the night.

Saturday, August 16

Neither of us slept well last night, so we ended up sleeping in until 8:30 this morning. When we finally did get up and around, we found that there was a heavy overcast…no great surprise, since the weatherman predicted off and on showers for the day.

What was a pleasant surprise was that in spite of the clouds, the humidity wasn’t overpowering, so we decided to open up the place, turn on the fans, and enjoy natural air-conditioning. It was great to have the windows and door open and breathe fresh, clean air all day. This was the first day in at least three months that the air-conditioner didn’t come on, and we took full advantage of it.

We went out to the new canopy where Barbara had her Diet Coke and I had my first cup of coffee. Then, we settled in to working on our prayer list and having a morning devotional.

We had invited Mother and T.J. out for lunch today and with our late start, we found that it was soon time to get things ready for our visitors. I fired up the charcoal grill and when it was ready, threw on some pork chops. Meanwhile, Barbara was getting things ready to cook mixed squash, corn-on-the cob, and some broccoli and cheese.

As soon as Mother and T.J. arrived, Barbara fired up the micro-wave oven and cooked all the veggies. When the pork chops were done about the same time as everything else, so we settled down to a great meal and talking “family talk.”

T.J. helped with the dishes and by 1:30 we had everything put back together the way it should be. She and Mother left to go back to Mineola and Barbara and I decided it was time to make up for some of our lost sleep by taking a nap.

Around 4:30 we drove in to Hawkins to do some shopping at Fred’s…nothing serious, just some odds and ends that we thought we needed.

We then returned to the park, went swimming in the lake for about a half-hour, and then went back to Big V to play washers, have supper, watch TV, work on the journal, and generally close out another week here in Wood County, Texas.

“Give without remembering. Take without forgetting.” – Church Signs

From our lake home,

Jim & Barbara

A Little Routine...Not!

Sunday, August 3 – Saturday, August 9, 2008

Sunday, August 3

Instead of going to Rim Rock Cowboy Church this morning, we agreed to attend Harvest Acres Baptist in Mineola with Edith, Ernie, and Billee. Though the people were super friendly and the service was good, Jim and I found ourselves missing the fire and spirit that we felt at Rim Rock.

After church, T.J. met us at Paredes Buffet for a lively lunch with much discussion and eating going on before we all adjourned to our own homes for a much needed nap!
After resting for a while, Jim and I decided to get out of the blistering heat of the motor home (with 100+ temperatures outside, Big V struggles to keep the inside half way cool even with the use of 3 fans!) so we headed off to find an internet site where we could check email and etc. This task proved beyond our abilities so we returned home for a hot game or two of washers.

Jim: We didn’t realize how much we are tethered to our laptops and the internet until we moved out to the lake. With no service around us, we are limited to the odd hotspot that we might find as we are driving, or going to B & B Legal Grounds, the converted law office, in Mineola.

We’ve gone to Legal Grounds on Sundays in the past and sat at the tables out front to check our mail. Today though, we found that there was no signal and no connection. So, we decided we were just out of luck until tomorrow. That was too bad, since we actually had last week’s edition of the journal ready to post and send.

Because the afternoon temperatures were so stifling, we took off during the evening to try to find a cool spot that might also have a wi-fi hotspot…even drove as far east as Gladewater, but all we found was a Dairy Queen that was closing even as we drove up.

With temperatures in the upper 90’s after 9:00 p.m., we took our time driving back toward the lake. We stopped at Sonic in Hawkins for a bite of supper and tried our previous hotspot at Fred’s, but couldn’t get a useable signal, so we just went back to Big V and called it a night.

Monday, August 4

Happy 1st Anniversary to Barbara and Warren in San Antonio!

Barbara: Since I was still feeling a little under the weather, Jim headed down to the lake alone for a morning swim while I stayed home and prepared a rather big breakfast for us.

When we finally ventured out to Mineola today, we found that the Legal Grounds, our favorite internet café, is closed on Monday’s (along with almost every other business in town!) Therefore, we did some other chores before heading over to Edith’s for a visit.

After checking in with TJ, Jim and I headed to Tyler to find a Denny’s with internet service. Well, we found Denny’s easily enough but were disappointed to find that they were one of the few we’ve found that did not offer the internet. However, we lucked out to find that right next door, the DQ was an internet site; so that’s where we partook of a late lunch (early dinner?) as we caught up with family and friends through the computer.

Eventually, it was back to the home site to put up the hummingbird feeder that Edith has given us from her yard. Then it was sit back, watch, and wait, hoping for customers! And, it wasn’t long before we were rewarded with the arrival of hummingbirds. Though the photo isn’t the greatest, it’s with pride that we show off our first visitor!

Another round of washers before going in to watch Facing the Giants, a DVD Edith loaned us. What an inspirational movie! One interesting side note to our viewing this…David’s father (the man in the wheelchair) reminded us immensely of our friend Steve in California (minus the wheelchair!) And, ironically, the actor’s name was Steve. Honest…we checked.

Tuesday, August 5

Okay, we think we’re finally getting the hang of this life out at the lake and are setting up a routine…

Spend the early morning hours sitting outside enjoying the view, reading a book, or whatever suits our fancy. Then after breakfast, we make a trek to the lake to swim and exercise in the warm water. Next, it’s time to really start the day by cleaning up and heading into Mineola to check snail mail, internet mail, and a visit with Edith, Ernie and Billee, and sometimes T.J. And, eventually, heading home to sit outside or play washers. Rough schedule, don’t you think?

Actually, the only rough part is being without instant cell and internet service…we’re still adjusting to the feeling of isolation…

Wednesday, August 6

So much for schedules! We were thrilled yesterday to find that Ernie and Billee were bringing Edith out today to visit and play washers with us. No, Edith didn’t play, but she did sit outside in a lawn chair and watch us for about 5 minutes before taking a little nap out in the fresh air!
Before we could finish our second game of washers, rain began falling which sent Edith, Billee, and I inside Big V while the guys stayed outside under the awning. The rain was short-lived, but we never returned to our game. However, Billee and I did wander outside where we discovered a bridge that led us to a trail around the RV park. What adventurers and explorers we are!

Since I had a chicken cooking in the crock pot, the crew decided to join us in a tasty lunch.

After lunch, we were delighted when Edith asked if she could walk to the beach from our house. Unfortunately, this would require going down some steep steps, but we told her we’d drive her down there once the kitchen was cleaned. And, we did. But, more importantly, once we got there she walked out to the edge of the beach where she could view the water, sand, and trees for herself! What an improvement she has made in the last 6 weeks or so!

Around 1:00 or so, Edith declared that it was time for her to go home and have her real nap…the one where she lays in her own bed with the puppies next to her!

After a short trip into Mineola to pick up mail and check our email, Jim and I spend the evening doing the usual routine of washers and watching another movie we borrowed from Edith…The Pacifier…this was definitely a “fluff” movie and very contrived, but we did watch it to the bitter end!

Thursday, August 7

Jim: One of the things we’ve learned in the last week is that our routines hardly ever become routine. We had decided yesterday that we’d take our time getting around and then go out relatively early for a morning swim before settling in for the other activities of the day. But, this morning we decided that we needed to ditch that idea and get into town relatively early and do our laundry, since Mother would be off on an adventure with T.J. and Madeline. We could wash clothes and have a nice visit with Ernie and Billee.

Well, we didn’t get around so quickly, probably because I was up from midnight until 3:30, and Barbara was up from 3:30 until nearly 7:00…we just can’t get into a routine with our sleep patterns.

After a couple of rounds of washers, we came back inside and had a great breakfast and then started getting ready to go to town. We finally got away around 11:00 (not as early as we had planned), stopped to check the mail at the post office (nothing there), Took a few minutes to visit the local used book store, and then went to Mother’s house where we got the clothes going and spent a couple of hours visiting with Ernie and Billee.

Mother and T.J. came back from their adventure around 2:00. They had taken Madeline up to Mount Pleasant so she could show off her house that she’ll live in when she goes off to college next week. On the way back, they drove through Pittsburg to look at houses that some of their aunts and cousins lived in many years ago. Mother and T.J.’s family goes back many years in this part of the state, and I’m sure we have cousins hidden all over the place that we may not even know about.

Anyway, it was another great day and new adventure for Mother, who is looking great and getting around very well since her move down here. She’s been out and about much more in the last six weeks than she has been in the last year.

Barbara and I went on down to Legal Grounds to check email and surf the net for the latest news (not much in the way of radio signals around the park and, although we get the three major TV networks and an area Fox affiliate, there’s really not much worth watching.

After a quick run to T.J.’s house to visit a while, we headed on back to Lake Hawkins to spend the evening…great meal of leftovers from yesterday’s lunch, a couple of games of washers, and a walk around our “neighborhood” before calling it a day.

Friday, August 8

Jim: Wouldn’t you know it…today was the day that we all worked out for Heather and Andy to bring Alexander and Abby over for a visit. We had planned all week for a big day of swimming in the lake and enjoying the beach. Instead, we woke up this morning to clouds and sprinkles.

Now, don’t get us wrong – we desperately needed the rain for the moisture and to break the heat wave we’ve been having, but it sure got in the way of our plans. Oh well, I used to tell the faculty at LHS that sometimes the best-laid plans are only well-laid plans.

We started our day by getting a big pot of pinto beans going for dinner tonight and then gathering everything around the site and loading it in the car for a move to another site. When we set up our original reservation, we were supposed to be in a site up the hill and quite a way from the beach; but, when we got here last Friday, the man who checked us in said that he’d just gotten a cancellation for a much better site, and we could have it if we wanted it. The only condition was that we would have to vacate to another site by noon today, since the people who were supposed to be here last weekend also had the site reserved for this weekend.

We didn’t like the idea of moving, but this site was perfect for us, so we decided we’d stay for the week and then move if necessary. So, this morning, still hoping for a reprieve, but anticipating the reality of the situation, we put all the “outside stuff” in the car to transport it to the new site. I also started disconnecting the water and sewer lines in the event the weather got worse before we made the move.

Around 10:15 we went to the office to see if we were going to have to move, and they told us we probably would, since they hadn’t received a cancellation. We decided we’d better call the kids to let them know what the weather was like, so we rode around the park until we finally found a cell signal strong enough to make a call. It turned out the kids were already on their way from Richardson; we told them what the weather was like and voted that if it was too bad when they got here, we’d visit for a while and then drive back to Mineola to spend the afternoon with Mother before going to T.J.’s house for the big dinner we planned.

After calling the kids, we called T.J. to let her know what was going on out here and to let her know the kids were still coming over for their visit today, albeit with the strong possibility of plans for alternate activities. As we were talking to her, I noticed the park manager standing just outside the office. As soon as I hung up and started to leave, he waved us over and told us he had just received a cancellation call for the site we were in…we could stay in the site until noon Tuesday…talk about a huge “Thank You God!”

We quickly called T.J. back to let her know that we weren’t going to have to move after all and then hurried back to Big V to do some cleaning and straightening to prepare for the kids’ arrival. With no wind blowing, we were able to open some windows, something we haven’t done in the six weeks we’ve been in East Texas, and take down the insulated reflectors that have been in nearly all the windows for a month; Big V really felt like home again!

Heather, Andy, Alexander, and Abby arrived shortly before 11:00 and the party began. It was still raining, so we all came inside to visit, get caught up on what everyone has been doing since the last time we saw each other, and have some lunch. We were a little short on staple goods, but managed to put together a pretty good mix of grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, and salami and cheese slices.

Around 12:30 the rain slacked off to intermittent light sprinkles, so we decided to don our swim gear and head down to the lake. Our site is less than a three-minute walk to the beach – maybe a little more today because Alexander and Abby did some exploring along the way, but it didn’t take any time at all until we were entering the water and having a great time.

Barbara’s new swim suit has a short skirt sewn onto it, something Alexander had evidently never seen before. When she stood up once, Alexander asked, “Why are you wearing a dress in the water?” She answered, “It’s not a dress, it’s an old ladies swimsuit.” To which Alexander immediately asked, “What – did you borrow it from her?” That kid is just too quick for Grams and Gramps!

Alexander and Abby love the water and do really well in it. They both loved the floats we bought last month and enjoyed riding them out away from the shoreline. It goes without saying (so why are we saying it) that Grams and Gramps had an absolute ball playing with the little ones. Heather and Andy took their turns with them also, and Alexander got a great kick out of having Andy and I toss him around in the water.
Abby got a little concerned when a school of fish came close and nibbled at us a few times, so after a while she talked Grams into taking her back to the “truck” (motor home). The rest of us stayed in the water quite a while (a quick check in the mirror would suggest that we stayed way to long) before we decided it was time to carry everything back to Big V, get cleaned up, and make the drive back to Mineola for tonight’s festivities.

We all drove to Wal-Mart to gas up the vehicles and then the kids went off somewhere else for a few minutes while Barbara and I went into the store to get a loaf of French bread (I was supposed to bake a loaf of bread today, but forgot all about it in the rush of our activities). Then, we were off to Mother’s house to bake some potatoes and warm the bread.

The kids came by Mother’s house and visited for a few minutes and then we all loaded up and made the trek over to T.J.’s house for our evening meal. And what a meal it was – T.J. fixed a brisket and tried out a new cheese and grits casserole on us. We brought the bread, pinto beans, and baked potatoes, and for dessert we had ice cream cups and pound cake. No one said anything about going away hungry, but if they did, it was their own fault!

After supper we all sat around and visited. Alexander and Abby wanted to get in the wagon and have me pull them down the road a few lots so they could see the cows, something they remembered doing several years ago. It was some good exercise for me, and gave Barbara and me some great photo opportunities.
On the way back, Alexander wanted me to pull them fast. I was pretending to run fast, but he thought that wasn’t good enough for him. Finally he said, “I know you’re old, but you’ll just have to try harder!” Out of the mouths of babes…when I finished laughing, I picked up the pace enough to satisfy him and got them back to T.J.’s house, where we found Ernie changing a tire on her car…seems she had picked up a nail somewhere and needed a spare until she could get the tire fixed.

When he was finished, we all went inside to talk a little more and get together for our group picture before saying our goodbyes for the evening, sending the kids back home to Richardson and the rest of us to our respective homes and our own beds after a very busy day.
We resumed the “vacation mode” that we seemed to be in before we were interrupted to get ready for the move out to Lake Hawkins.
The rest of the evening was spent just kicking back and relaxing, watching TV, and working at the computers, trying to get this edition of the journal ready to send out.

Saturday, August 9

This was definitely a “slow” day…had to have time to recuperate from all the activities of yesterday. Plans for the day included going to Wal-Mart in Lindale to find a place to get haircuts (either that or going to the vet in Mineola to get our shots and a set of dog tags). Then, off to DQ for lunch and some internet time…we didn’t make it to the internet café yesterday, so there was quite a bit of mail, real and junk, to catch up on and/or delete.

After lunch we went to Mother’s for a quick visit and then back to Big V for naptime and general downtime in the evening…no excitement, and that’s a good thing.

The Mike and Kelly Story

Exciting news for the week included receiving our formal invitation to Mike and Kelly’s wedding, along with directions for keeping up with developments through their web page. For those who know Mike and/or Kelly, or feel that you almost know them because of what we’ve written, we encourage you to go to the following site and read their stories about how they met and their journeys to where they are now. We think you’ll like it.

www.theknot.com/ourwedding/kellyJividen&MikeLittle

“Life is a journey. Let faith be your guide.” – Church Signs

Enjoying even more family time in East Texas,

Jim & Barbara

Feeling a Little Heat

Sunday, July 27 – Saturday, August 2, 2008

Sunday, July 27

We were up and around fairly early (considering the tiring couple of days we had on Friday and Saturday)…had plenty of time to take care of the morning mail and e-news and to get ourselves ready to go to church.

Our first stop was at Mother’s house to get a load of wash started. We ran into T.J. and Mother there as they were preparing to visit at a small Southern Baptist church just down the street from T.J.’s house. We said our good morning’s and goodbyes, started a load of laundry, and then took off for Quitman and the Rim Rock Cowboy Church, where we sat with Ladd, Angela, and Madeline and enjoyed another fine service. Angela invited us to stay for the monthly potluck lunch, but we declined this time so we could get back to Mother’s house to start another load of clothes.

We stopped first at Sonic for some popcorn chicken and tater tots, munching them as we drove from Quitman to Mineola. We assumed that Mother and T.J. were going out to lunch right after their service, so we were surprised to find Mother back at the house and dressed for her afternoon relaxation. We gave her the remainder of our lunch, got a load of laundry going in the dryer, and started another in the washer before leaving to get back to Big V and our afternoon naps.

Later in the afternoon I went back over to the house to check on the laundry and visit Mother for a bit before going over to T.J.’s house for a short visit. The rest of the afternoon consisted of a trip to Wal-Mart for a few necessities, another short trip to Mother’s with Barbara, and a long, quiet evening at home in Big V. That is, until we got ready to go to bed and heard the ice maker making funny noises…it was telling us that it was defrosting time, so we emptied the freezer contents into an insulated bag and spent an hour or so watching ice melt…boy, are we big on excitement or what!?

Monday, July 28

It was another relatively slow day with a bunch of running around…if that makes any sense.

While I was getting ready to start my day, Barbara went over to Mother’s house to get a load of laundry out of the dryer and put a set of sheets in. When she came back, I left to go get Mother to take her downtown to take care of some business. When we were through, I took her over to T.J.’s, since Mother said she’d take us all out to lunch at Dairy Queen. I was supposed to take Mother and T.J. was going to pick Barbara up, but since we finished our running around early, I said I’d go back to get Barbara and we’d meet them at DQ.

After a leisurely lunch, Barbara and I drove to Tyler, stopping along the way to find out where we could find someone to work on the motorcycle (we found a great shop, except that they don’t do electrical work…all other cycle shops are closed on Mondays, so we learned nothing). We did find a large shopping mall in Tyler…useful information for later, and a Barnes and Noble bookstore where we bought a couple of books and a new appointment calendar.

On the way back we stopped at a large RV dealership near Lindale and drooled over a new 39-foot diesel rig before we bought the newest issue of Trailer Life and another book that serves as a great guide for traveling the interstate highway system. Steve Whitfield, one of the art teachers at LHS, gave us a copy of “The Next Exit” as a retirement gift, and it has been invaluable on our travels.

We gassed up the Vibe and grabbed a couple of Sonic drinks at Lindale and then returned to Mineola, stopping at Mother’s house to let her know that we were back in town and were heading back to Big V for the day.

Back in place, we worked at the computers, read, Barbara took a short nap, and then we fixed supper while we planned our travel route and lodging options for the trip to Virginia in September and October.

Tuesday, July 29

Happy Birthday to Warren Yehl in San Antonio!!!

Wow…this week is almost like a real vacation – one in which there are no responsibilities, nothing to do, and nowhere to go.

We lazed around this morning until I made up my mind to ride the cycle down to Lindale to have it inspected. We were hoping that the shop there could also take care of the electrical problem were having (the battery won’t charge), but it is a relatively new shop and they haven’t invested in electrical testing equipment yet.

After putting the cycle back in the garage at Mother’s house, I came back to Big V, where Barbara had prepared our lunch. We ate, read, and napped the afternoon away.

Around 5:00 I went back to Mother’s house to check on her and the puppies and to do the backyard “poop patrol.” It was much easier in Artesia when Ernie or I could just shovel stuff over the fence into the vacant lot across the alley. Here, over the fence is a neighbor’s yard, so that’s no longer an option.

I made a quick trip to T.J.’s house to check in with her and return some old family photos that I had copied, and then it was back to Big V where we just whiled away the evening…no excitement, and we’re happy of it.

We did decide to go outside for a bit to lag some washers. Barbara showed great improvement in form and tossing, winning one out of three very close games. I told her that if she kept playing like that, we’d have to take away the handicap and have her toss from behind the board like I do.

Barbara: After the last month of staying busy every second, I find nothing wrong in having a really, really boring journal entry week! Jim thought maybe I could jazz this up some, but who cares if I cleaned the pantry and cabinets today? I think this isn’t the way he meant for me to make it more exciting; so I’ll work harder at making this interesting by giving you the hush-hush info he didn’t mention about these last 3 days…

First, just for kicks, we bought 5 TX lottery tickets and each one of them was a winner…total winnings: $1,000,000.

Then, with all this extra cash floating around, we flew to Paris, but kept it a secret since we didn’t want anyone to be jealous of our new lifestyle.

Once home, we bought that 39’ Winnebago we saw in Tyler for a song…I sang and they just said, “Here, take it!” This time we didn’t want Big V to be jealous so we have it stored in a secret location.

Okay, that’s the real scoop from around here…believe it, if you want!

Jim: See what happens when a person has too much time on her hands!

Wednesday, July 30

It was another slow morning around here. Actually, we both woke up at 5:00 a.m., but after walking from the back to the front of Big V, I decided it was just too early to think about thinking, so I went back to the back and fell asleep again…finally got up and started the day at 8:00.

We took our time moving around…checked email and made a kind of a list of things that needed to be done today.

Barbara: Jim just glosses over the fact that we went to the post office; but…it’s the most exciting part of the day! Let me explain.

As we got to the stop sign to get on highway 80, Jim starts hunting around in the car for something. When I ask what he’s looking for, I find that he has no idea where the key to the mailbox is. Finally, we give up and I say I’ll use mine that’s on my key ring…wouldn’t you think he could do the same with his???? Well, he doesn’t…it’s just a single key.

We get to the post office; I get out and go in to check the mail. It takes a moment for it to register with me that the mailbox with a key sticking out of it, is 841…our box! Yes, folks, I found that missing mail key for Jim! I have had a great time rubbing it in, too! Of course, I’ve done my share of goofy things, too; so I guess that means we’re a great pair of forgetters!

Jim: Shortly after 10:00 we went to the post office to check on the mail and then over to Mother’s house. Barbara was slated to go with her, T.J., and a couple of T.J.’s friends for a “ladies’ day out” luncheon. I’ll let Barbara write about that.

When they had left, I watered the plants and flowers in front of Mother’s house, went to the State Farm agent to see about getting our coverage moved down here, and then went back to Big V for lunch and to begin writing all the checks to pay for our health insurance coverage through the school district in Liberal.

Barbara: What do you want to hear about 5 women chatting over a leisurely lunch? Nothing, right? Okay, suffice it to say that we had a great time!

Jim: Barbara called a little after 1:00 to tell me they were headed back to Mother’s house, so I went over and picked her up and we returned to Big V where she took a nap and I did some work at the computer.

Later, we got a call from a repair shop a few miles south of Tyler, letting us know we could bring the cycle in to have it checked out. David told me it might take a couple of weeks, but that is the norm anywhere, so we decided to go ahead and get it down there.

So, I gassed up the cycle and, with Barbara following along in the Vibe, we rode about 40 miles in the 102 degree afternoon heat…not too bad on the cycle as long as I kept moving, but very oppressive when I had to stop for stop signs or red lights. (Barbara: I was nice and cool in the Vibe! That’s safer for our marital bliss!)

Finally, we got the cycle into the shop, visited with David for a few minutes (he’s quite a talker…now I think I know why it takes two weeks to get vehicles out of the shop; especially if he spends as much time talking to other customers as he did with us).

The trip back to Mineola was uneventful. We stopped at the RV place to pick up a microwave pressure cooker that Barbara saw the other day and then made another stop at Sonic for a cold, refreshing drink to tide us over until we got home.

Back in Mineola we checked on Mother, went to the pharmacy to drop off a prescription for her, and then went to T.J.’s to pick up an old television set she wanted us to set out with Mother’s trash for tomorrow morning.

Back at Mother’s house, we found that Ernie and Billee had just returned from their trip to Harrison, Arkansas, so we visited a bit before hopping back in the Vibe and returning to Big V for a quiet and uneventful evening.

Thursday, August 31

Another early day…we didn’t plan it that way, it just happened. We both woke up at 5:00 a.m. and after a cursory reading of email and playing a couple of games of Free Cell, we turned our attention to getting Big V cleaned up in anticipation of our next adventure.

With cleaning rags and cleanser, we tackled every room in the place (granted, all the rooms are small, but they still have lots of nooks and crannies), and by 8:30 we had the place sparkling and smelling fresh.

While I took the Vibe down to the Chevrolet place for annual inspection, Barbara started baking several batches of cookies to add to Big V’s homey aroma.

With the car inspection and a visit to the post office out of the way, we turned our attention to the regular activities of the day – checking and answering email, reconciling bank statements, and doing the other mundane chores of daily life.

There was one bit of excitement and a new experience for us…while I was checking my mail I found a message from one of our banks informing us that our online banking was shut down pending verification of our account information. The message came complete with the bank’s official logo, but it was full of grammar and spelling errors. Suspecting that it was probably a scam of some kind, we called the bank and they verified that it was a hoax, just someone on a phishing expedition.

The rest of the day was spent visiting Mother, Ernie, and Billee, reading, playing games, and taking our obligatory afternoon nap.

Around 4:00 we went over to T.J.’s house to fire up the charcoal grill. T.J. said she furnish the meal, steaks, beans, salad, and dessert, if I would grill the steaks…sounded like a heck of a deal for me, since I like to grill, and eating someone else’s food has never posed any moral or ethical problems.

Pretty soon the house was full of family as Mother, Ernie, Billee, and Angela arrived and started visiting. While the steaks were grilling, Ernie and I teamed up against Billee and Barbara for a hot (literally and figuratively) game of washers. Much as I hate to report it, the girls won the game handily after Billee tossed the washers through the hole in the board not once, but twice! She said she hadn’t played before, but I think she was just hustling us. Oh well, I’m sure there will be a rematch in the near future.

Ladd arrived about the time the steaks were ready, so we all sat down to a great meal and a lot of family talk, covering a multitude of topics. It seems that when we get family together, one thread of conversation just naturally leads to another; and, if it doesn’t lead naturally, we someone just takes a leap to another topic and we’re off again.

After Mother, Ernie, and Billee left, Angela and Ladd invited us to ride up to Quitman with them for Gospel Sing Night at the annual Wood County Old Settlers Reunion. Since we like good gospel music, we readily agreed, and soon we were in Ladd’s pickup and heading north for yet another adventure.

We don’t know how long the Old Settlers Reunion has been going on, but Mother told Barbara that she remembers her father (Pa Faulk) taking her to it when she was a little girl. Pa was a prominent member of the Mineola community and had tickets that allowed Mother to go through the midway and ride all the rides she wanted. She said that everyone in the county would attend the event. T.J. told us that in the old, old days, my great-grandparents (Paw-Paw and Big Mama Davenport) used to hitch up their wagon and make the ten-mile ride up to Quitman to attend the Reunion.

When we got to the park and found the music pavilion, we set up our folding chairs and sat down to hear the concert. We were expecting to hear several different groups of singers performing the old gospel songs, but this was a performance by only one group. While they were pretty good (for the most part), we were familiar with only a few of the songs they sang…most were more modern songs done in gospel style…not exactly what we came for.

After a few songs, we got up and walked around the park to see what we could see. Angela and Ladd know almost everyone in Wood County, so they stopped and talked to folks while Barbara and I looked at the different booths and watched people heading into the midway area to test themselves against the various rides.

We did stop long enough for the four of us to play a couple of games of bingo (Ladd came close one time, but the rest of us were lucky to cover 2 numbers!) before returning to the pavilion for the last three songs of the gospel sing. By then, it was time to load up and return to Mineola; Ladd and Angela had jobs to go to tomorrow morning, and Barbara and I had to make the final preparations to get Big V on the road again.

Friday, August 1

It was moving day again today. After spending the entire month of July at the Mineola Civic Center, we decided we’d move 14 miles east to Lake Hawkins RV Park. We’d enjoyed driving over there to swim and liked the looks of the RV park. It also turned out that by taking advantage of the senior citizen discount, the rate was virtually the same as at the civic center.

We spent the morning doing all the last minute things that are necessary for moving Big V. Furniture has to be locked down, pictures have to be taken down (unless we’ve secured them with Velcro, and all loose items have to be stored.

We made a trip over to Mother’s house to see everyone before we left and to get a load of laundry done. By noon I was ready to pull away from the civic center. Barbara took the Vibe to Mother’s house to pick up the clothes while I drove Big V to Wal-Mart to gas up; gas was as low as we’d seen it for a long time, and we thought we’d better top off the tank before the price went up again.

After a stop at Taco Bell for lunch, we hit the road and headed for Lake Hawkins and our new lot for at least the next couple of weeks. We had been out to the RV park last week to secure a site. It wasn’t the best site, but it was the best available at the time. Barbara got to the office well before I did and found that there had been some cancellations for the weekend, so we were able to latch on to a site that was far nicer than the one we thought we were going to have. Now we have trees all around us and an unobstructed view of the lake behind us.

Our hope was that it might be a little cooler here than in Mineola, but that didn’t happen today. For one thing, Big V doesn’t stay very cool while traveling, and by setting up camp during the heat of the day, we lost what cooling we might have had. Add in a high temperature of 102 degrees for the day, and we were struggling to get comfortable.

Because it was so hot and the place wasn’t cooling down very fast, we decided to jump into the nice air-conditioned Vibe and ride into Hawkins (only three miles) to see what there was to see. We wanted to find a wi-fi hot spot if at all possible, but in such a small community, the chances were slim. Still, I cruised slowly down the main drag while Barbara kept an eye on her laptop screen. As we approached one of the stores (Fred’s – an “upscale” dollar store), she said that she had a Linksys signal, so we pulled in to the parking lot of Fred’s and checked it out. Sure enough, we had a strong enough signal that we were able to check our mail and send out a couple of notes to let family know where we were.

We returned to the park and went for a swim…the sun was hot, but the water was cool, so we stayed in the lake for about an hour before returning to Big V for supper and a game of washers. Big V still wasn’t cooling down very much, so around dusk we returned to Fred’s to cool down in the Vibe and check our email…had some new messages, so it was a good thing we did.

Back at Big V we settled in for the night…watched TV and read until the place cooled down enough to go to bed.

Saturday, August 2

We resumed the “vacation mode” that we seemed to be in before we were interrupted to get ready for the move out to Lake Hawkins.
With absolutely no agenda or sense of hurry, we lounged around the place for a couple of hours after we finally woke up…I fixed a pot of coffee and had my first cup inside before wandering out to see what the morning looked like.


The view of the lake from Big V was absolutely gorgeous; we sat in our folding chairs and watched the squirrels play tag with each other and wondered at the beauty and quiet of this place…no sirens or traffic, just campers enjoying the tranquility of nature and respecting each other’s privacy in the midst of so many campsites.

Barbara suggested an early morning round of washers, so we took our places and began our tosses. With practice, we have both improved our games, becoming much more consistent with our range, if not with the subtleties of tossing for placement. Lagging washers takes a good eye and the ability to place the washer on the board so it doesn’t bounce or skitter away, much like making a chip shot to golf green. In our case, it also helps to be very lucky, and that’s what eventually gave the game to me as I got a good bounce that managed to drop into the hole.

As we were sitting around after the game, we got a call from T.J. letting us know that she and her friend, Cherry, would be stopping by Big V on their way to a visit in Big Sandy, just a few miles east of Hawkins. How about that…our first visitors in the new site!
When the visitors had left, Barbara and I sat around and read, fixed some lunch and ate it outside under our awning, and then came back inside to read and take a short nap.

Around 3:00 p.m., the temperature started rising inside Big V. The morning and early afternoon were quite comfortable, but as the temperature reached the upper 0-‘s and crawled up to 102 degrees, the air conditioning just couldn’t keep up. As good as our air conditioner is, it can’t pull in 102 degrees and convert it to the 70’s, especially with the hot mid-day sun burning down on us.

We finally decided to just load the computers in the Vibe and ride into town to check email at Legal Grounds, our favorite internet café. While in Mineola, we could also pick up our snail mail at the post office, make a stop at Wal-Mart for some essentials (including a new fan for the front of Big V), and visit with Mother, Ernie, and Billee.

After gassing up the Vibe at Wal-Mart, we made a quick visit to T.J.’s house to see her for a few minutes. In addition to spending a few minutes with her, we got the added bonus of sitting down to some fresh, cold slices of cantaloupe…just the thing we needed on a hot afternoon.

We left Mineola around 6:00 and drove back to the RV park, stopping first down at the beach to swim for about thirty minutes. The beach area was crowded for the first time since we’ve been coming out here, but there was space available for us to get out and enjoy the cool water.

Back at Big V, we unloaded the car and put everything away. Then, Barbara started on our supper, using the new microwave pressure cooker to cook spaghetti. We weren’t sure how it would turn out, but it had a wonderful texture, and mixed with some leftover meat sauce we had in the freezer, made a delicious meal. And, it had the added bonus of not having to boil water for a long time, thereby heating up Big V’s interior.

The rest of the evening was spent just kicking back and relaxing, watching TV, and working at the computers, trying to get this edition of the journal ready to send out.

“You think it’s hot here?” – Church Signs

From the heart of the East Texas lake country,

Jim & Barbara