Snow in Iowa -- but 90 degree weather here in the Rio Grande Valley now

 89º with a feel like of 91º here in La Feria, TX at 5:30 pm Thursday.  Now 86º with a feel like of 90º at 12:00 Noon on Friday.  I didn't get very far when I started this. Went to the Rec Hall for a program by Mountain Highway, a Bluegrass band of a father and two daughters, out of Gatlinburg, Tennessee  Click HERE for their webpage.

They had excellent voices, the girls harmonized well.  Their Dad filled in a lot of history of their area and the "old timers" Bill Monroe, the Carter Family, and Ralph Stanley, and many more, giving background to the songs they were performing, how "Mountain Music" got to be "Country Music" and the combination of "Country Music" and "The Blues" got to be "Bluegrass Music."

Online Dating Profiles Decoded

What's in his profile: a picture of himself with a tiger, What he wants you to think: He is brave.  What it really means: He's been to the Zoo.

What's in his profile: "I love long walks."  What he wants you to think: He's romantic.  What it really means: He doesn't own a car.  

What's in his profile: "Let's go for coffee."  What he wants you to think: He wants to get to know you.  What it really means: He only has three dollars.

This is a "paint by number" of a photograph of Michelle's
Dawson.  She has worked off and on with it for several
years.  We saw it when last visiting her in Ohio.  There are
litteraly hundreds of very fine lines to get the blend of colors.
She just recently completed it.

From first half of performance

Here are some photos captured off the videos I made last Sunday at our concert at Seven Oaks RV in Mission, TX.  I had to set the camera up on a tripod at the back of the room and guess where the chorus members would be -- then let the camera run all the time while I made it back to the line to enter and after we had finished back to see what I had gotten.  The place had a low ceiling, which affected the singing and the framing of the picture of the last half when I had zoomed in a little.

From last half of performance

Click HERE for my YouTube page that has Men & Women of A-Chord videos.  Top three were from last Sunday

Phyllis and myself in a new Octet

Somehow Phyllis and I got wrangled into a new "Octet" - a double Quartet.  Most of us in it have not sung in quartets and it has been intersting.  We did not do well.  Wednesday night we did a little better at our second try when the Chorus performed at Bit O' Heaven RV Park in Donna, TX.

Feel like we are improving and hope for a good performance here at our Park this Sunday afternoon.

We always drive the 10 miles west to Snow to Sun RV Park and pick up Lois Outcelt then the last 20 miles west to Barbershop practice in McAllen.  Tuesday, after practice, we went to a Cheddar's Restaurant, spent a little time in a discount store, then on to the McAllen Performing Arts Center for one of our concerts.  This time it was HERE COME THE JUDDS - A Tribute Starring Victoria Venier & Liz Byler Shea

Click HERE for their website.

They made an interesting show, with history of the Judds, the one without the hat in this picture had been a personal friend with the Judds, relating lots of stories as well as doing the songs they made famous.

Continuing to watch the construction of at least ten units beiing built across the fence from us.

Till next time, Lynn

Another "above average temperature day" in the Rio Grande Valley

 79 degrees here with bright sunshine today at 12:45 pm Monday.  And now it is 82º at 4:15 pm!

Washing the borrowed pickup.  Was pretty
dirty - not being driven much the last several years.

Eating supper at La Feria's American Legion, 
with our neighbors Marcia and Sal and Maria

Apartment build behind us - 2-13-26

From back door this morning

Apartment build, seen from street behind us

.

Seen from top of fence by our Bouganvillia's

Big plants doing fine  Smaller ones nipped by
frost a week or so ago.

Last Thursday we joined with the residents at Cliff & Nancy Weldon's site for visiting and munchinig.

Valentine's day we joined many park residents for supper and a bit of entertainment at the Rec Hall.  

We invited Joe, The Veggie Man, and his
wife.  Since everybody in the park know them,
they had an enjoyable evening.

Part of the entertainment Cliff Weldon had was inviting 3 couples to the stage.  Then a series of questions was asked of the ladies on what their husband would answer to various questions about dating and their marriage situations.  The ladies had to answer what they thought their husbands would answer.

The ladies wrote their answers on a sheet of paper.  Then the guys were asked the same questions.  Some of the men answered the same and several not the same.  Then the guys had to answer a different set of questions of what their wives would answer and write their answers down.  Then the ladies were then questioned.  Very interesting, and amusing in most cases.

Our neighbor, Tommy, even came to this event.
He normally doesn't attend things at the rec hall.
He is at end of table, and his son, visiting from Dallas
is at his left.  At his right is his "caregiver" who was
in town for a week, from Dallas.

Phyllis did a short skit with the Activity
Director Mashelle

Two quilts were auctioned off.  One can be seen
here.  They raised over $600 for the Sew and Share
quiltiing ladies to buy supplies. 

Phyllis had worked up a list of wedding dates for most
of the married people attending this dinner and Mashelle
read them off and had each couple stand for recognition.
We were about four from the oldest married couple.

Blaine, from Canada, lower left, paid $300 for
one quilt and then had it reauctioned.  It brought
another $200 when Neil, from North Dakota,
bought it.

Well, it is 78º here in La Feria, at 10:15 am Tuesday morning now.  

Had pickup in shop Thursday morning through Monday late afternoon.  Took a lot of time, and money, to replace seal between transmission and motor.  

All for now - to be in McAllen by 1 pm for barbershop practice, then to eat out in McAllen, and at 7:30 pm be attend a McAllen Community Concert there before heading back home.  Lois, from Snow To Sun, will be with us.

More later, LCM

Warm and dry in south Texas

 81 degrees with bright sunshine in this dry, dry Rio Grande Valley in Texas at 3 pm on Wednesday.

Last Wednesday we attended the Christmas 2025 gathering
of First Methodist Church choir, Harlingen Christmas party.

Each year they ask all to bring a "white elephant" gift of up to $15.  After the meal, numbers were drawn to get order of going to pick up an unmarked gift.  You could open your gift, or not.  Once some gifts were drawn, then the person could get one from the table, or "steal" one from the gifts already drawn and in front of the people. Some people had their choice taken many times and had to replace, either one from the table, or "steal" one from another person.

Several gifts were definitely ones that they didn't want and were begging theirs to be "stolen".  Was an interesting evening.  Since it was so near Valentines, many of the gifts included Valentine Candy.

I mentioned on last post that inside door handle broke on pickup.  Got a new one from Amazon and after a lot of tussling with removing the bolts, wires from the electric windows/door locks unit, pulling all the "snaps" got the inside panel removed.  Following a few YouTube videos I eventually got the replacement made and panel replaced (about a 2-hour tussle).  And,,,,the handle didn't do anything.  That was Monday, Today I started all over and discovered the "click the cable cover into the opening" to anchor the cable wouldn't stay in place.  I finally rode my Recumbant Trike a couple blocks to a Dollar General Store and got a Cable Tie, drilled some holes in the area of the opening to anchor it.

Getting the cable anchored to the inner panel, in the narrow space between the cable end on the door and the inner panel is quite a trick.  Finally got it anchored and all the anchor pins on the panel in place.

This was after putting the door back together twice and finding the handle wouldn't work account the cable sheath wasn't anchored.  Oh whell, it worked.  Paid $24 for the replacement kit -- one video was from a supplier and their kit was $125.  Imagine Chevy Service would have been a few hundred.  

Went to McAllen yesterday for Barbershop Chorus practice.  We have performances this Sunday, next Wednesday, and next Sunday.

I went to the Rec Hall Sunday evening long enough
to eat.  Didn't watch the Super Bowl or the half-time junk.

Monday morning I drove to Pharr, Texas to be at the Men & Women of A-Chord monthly board meeting/breakfast.

The chorus members are being organized to contact RV Parks in their area to get performance dates for Jan-Feb-March 2027.

Progress is being made on the 10 or more housing units being built behind us.  These will completely cover the 2-block area directly behind us.  This was all an open field until about 6 years ago.

These photos were both taken off our back door steps, looking northeast.

Off to Harlingen tonight for Choir Practice, then Sunday afternoon to a Men & Women of A-Chord performance at Seven Oaks Resort in Mission, Texas.

Later, Lynn