Ah, March is here - our last month in the Rio Grande Valley for this winter

 

91º here in La Feria, TX at 1:20 pm on Wednesday.

Going to put on second coat of flooring paint on these two pieces of plywood to cover damaged area on neighbor Kenny Thomas' ramp.  This first coat dried for 48 hours and is not super dry yet.  Was told that it needed to dry/cure 7 days before walking on it.

Put them on their side so can soak in plenty of paint on the edges.

Sunday evening we went to Park Place RV Park to listen to the Gospel Group that several in our choir in Harlingen sing in.  It is lead by one of the basses in our First Methodist Church choir.

Monday at 11 am we went to Mr. Gatti's Pizza in Weslaco with group from the park.  Played Bingo for about 45 minutes and then enjoyed the salad bar, potato bar, soup, spaghetti & noodles, and pizza bar for lunch.

The Aloe Vera plant I put by the back door some 12 years ago is blooming!

Construction crew is working daily on the 10 or so buildings across the fence from us.

Photo at right taken from my spot on the risers while at Barbershop practice yesterday.  A ladies quartet performs separately in the middle of our Lida Rose Medley.

Here are several photos of the flowers on the bushes in our back yard.

We perform our 5th Men & Women of A-Chord Barbershop show this evening in Mission, TX, some 30 miles west of us.

More later, Lynn

Nearing end of February for 2026 in the Rio Grande Valley

 81º now at 10:45 am Thursday in La Feria, TX with predicted high of 94º today.

Sunday we performed with the Men & Women of A-Chord barbershop chorus here at our RV Park.  Had a decent sized crowd, though not many from our own park attended.  Click HERE for first half of the program.  My video camera, left to it's own devices on a tripod behind the audience, decided to not run for the whole program.  So, don't have our Octet, which we were both in, at the half.  Was the third time we did it and it went better than had in the past.

Checked the water in the 6-volt batteries in the borrowed golf cart and found they were a bit low.  Added more than a gallon of distilled water!

The construction across the back fence continues.  Probably won't be completed before we leave in a little over a month.

A few photos from last Sunday's church service in Harlingen.

Every Thursday morning we set up the tables for the ladies to work on quilts.

Tonight we will attend another concert in McAllen at the Performing Arts Center.  Friend Lois, who rides with us to barbershop chorus practice, will be going with us and we will eat at a Chineese Restaurant near the center before the concert.

Later, Lynn

Real leadership

 “The White House staff burst into tears when President Eisenhower thanked them by name. He said, ‘We see you.’ In a world obsessed with power, he understood dignity. 

On an ordinary July afternoon in 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie transformed the White House East Room into something rare: a space of true recognition. In an unprecedented move, they gathered every domestic staff member—butlers, cooks, maids, gardeners—and personally thanked each one by name. For people accustomed to being treated as invisible machinery, the gesture was seismic. Several wept openly. This was not ceremonial pomp; it was an act of deliberate humanity, rooted in the simple belief that no one who contributes to a home should go unseen.

The Eisenhowers’ sincerity was woven into their daily lives. Mamie sent flowers during illnesses, Ike asked about children and grandchildren, and they learned names within their first week. Famously, Mamie once invited a housekeeper’s daughter to her own birthday party because “every child deserves to feel special.” This culture was born from Ike’s own upbringing—his mother, Ida, cleaned houses to support the family and taught her sons that dignity belongs to every honest job. For the Eisenhowers, respect was not an obligation of office, but a moral reflex.

The impact was profound. Staff turnover plummeted; morale transformed the atmosphere from one of stiff formality to genuine camaraderie. People didn't just work at the White House—they felt they belonged to it. In an era often remembered for grand strategy and Cold War tensions, the Eisenhower White House quietly modeled a different kind of power: one built on steady kindness, consistency, and the conviction that true leadership happens in the hallways, not just the headlines.

Years later, a retired cook captured it perfectly: “President Eisenhower commanded armies…but he never walked past me without saying good morning, and he meant it.” That daily, deliberate acknowledgment was his quiet revolution—a reminder that the greatest leaders don’t just make history; they see the people who help them make it.

“Real leadership isn’t measured by how many salute you, but by how many you truly see—and the dignity you reflect back to them.”

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