Week & Half till move from Texas to Iowa

66º here in La Feria, TX as I start this at 7:48 am Wednesday.
I would guess over 2/3 of the RV's have left the park and headed north.  There are several that have not taken their 5th wheels, they pay a storage rate over the summer and never pull them.  For some reason they don't let us with the big houses just pay a storage rate over the summer!  Probably 1/2 of the people in the permanent places have left or will this next week.  All the activities are over for the year at the Rec Hall -- Phyllis has been planning stuff for next year already at the office.

Last evening we played "65" in the Friendship Room at the Rec Hall.

Yesterday morning (March 21st) we left a little after 7 am for Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico.  On this date every year the town puts on an Appreciation Day and hundreds of Winter Texans flock over for the day.  Lots of give-away's, lots of vendors, etc.

Our first stop was for rolls at Rene's Bakery.

The "Three Amigos" walking the street.  The official opening of the day was 9:00 am and this photo was taken at 8:30 am.  We missed much of the crowds.  By the time we left Progreso about 11:30 am it was jam-packed with people.

 This guy had a lot of paintings on spoons.  Both Phyllis and Deanne wanted one with a dragon fly which he didn't have on display, so he painted two of them while we watched.  He said he had been doing this for about 25 years.  Most of the background is just done with finger painting of the oils and then he finishes by tightly rolling paper towel until it is small and like a quill and then he draws in the fine lines.

The handles are bent to form a frame to stand on.

Close-up of Phyllis' two spoons.

A passing lady took this photo with my camera of the Messers and the Miles - they with their new free straw hats (mine is in the bag)

Mowing the back yard with a borrowed mower

Well, as usual, I got interupted - it is now 12:30 pm the temp is 83º outside.  We went to Harlingen for some errands and then Phyllis went back to the office and I started working the yard with my electric weed-whip and neighbor Jim Boozer came over and offered to loan his push mower, so I mowed the front and back of our place and the Neher's next door.  The Kenwood RV Park fired the lawnmower people and have not hired a replacement crew, so the lawns were looking pretty rough with much of it seeding out.

This salamander was on my soaker hose when I was hooking it
up to water all the bushes along the back fence the other day.

Have the wheels off the trailer and neighbor Pat Sumner cleaned and packed grease in the bearings. 

Wheels all ready to go on.  I picked up new seals yesterday when I
was in McAllen at Barbershop singing practice yesterday.since the
trailer repair place is only about a mile from practice, but 30 miles from here.

 Monday evening we went over to Jim and Lavin Boozer's place for cornbread and navy bean soup with ham.  Jim and Petey Cleveland (who used to live neighbors to Boozers, but now live about 3/4 mile away in a different park) were there also.
Jim Boozer, Jim and Petey Cleveland.  Boozer's have sold their house, but can stay until the end of March.  They hope to return to a rental next year.

 Lavin had borrowed Phyllis cast-iron skillet to bake the cornbread in.

Phyllis, Lavin and Jim Boozer -- fromKell, IL.

Took a couple photos while at the 2-hour practice session at Men of A-Chord  in
McAllen on Tuesday.  This is the entire group with Bob Lemkuil leading us through some
warm-up exercises at the beginning of the session. 

Herb Edwards leads our "Lead" group in a break-out session.
I always sang 2nd Tenor but here they have Lead and First Tenor.

We are waiting to get our "bug man" in the area that will check for termites and spray for the other buts inside and outside of the mobile home, along with many of our neighbor's units.

Starting to gather up and list which tools in the shop to take home or leave here.  When Pat Sumner gets free this afternoon (He is entertaining his wife on her Birthday today) or tomorrow will help him put the wheels back on the trailer and it should be ready to head north in about 10 days.  Have made reservations at KOA Kampground in Fredericksburg, Texas for Saturday and Sunday nights April 1st and 2nd - so will spend some time looking around there on Sunday.  Plan to be on home by about the 5th of April.

More later, Lynn