Nearing end of March

85º here in La Feria, TX as I start this at 5:00 pm Sunday.  Bright sunshine and a bit muggy out.

Many of us went out to eat after church at the Rec Hall at noon.  In fact, most of the people who were at church went out - the crowd has dwindled with people heading north.

 We ate at Stefanos Brooklyn Pizza (Click for Website) which is a full Italian restaurant with lots of good food.  Phyllis & I shared a Philly Steak Stromboli and each had a salad.  Superb food.

It was also the last service by the Minister Jim Paydon and his wife Linda (she is seated at the end of the table and he is to the left)  They winter in a park in Harlingen and are leaving for Minnesota this Wednesday.

Couple of photos of what work I have completed on the interior walls with my miniature logs.

And, even got the switched light up over the entry doors!

 Yesterday (Saturday) we and neighbors Harold and LaRhoda Neher went over to McAllen to listen to the Magic Valley Men of A-Chord chorus for their last concert of the season.  It was the entertainment for the "End of the Season" meal for the Dream Valley RV Park.

They start practice next November and start performing next January.  I hope to be performing with them by that time.  Must memorize all the music -- which is somewhat daunting to me.  Have CD's and sheet music to work on over the summer as well.

Yesterday spent much of the morning cleaning out gutter on my carport where it is under the tree.  I had put up screening several weeks ago over the guttering area and now, after the silicone had set up I pulled the screws on the edge and lifted it, drilling bigger holes to get into the gutter area and cleaned out several years of leaves, dirt, etc.  Now with the screening over it hope won't have that situation again.

 Friday afternoon we went to a Croquet game and pot-luck lunch at the west end of the park on the south side.  Quite a few gathered and I played my first game ever of Croquet and we got to visit with a lot of people.

 Thursday was our last of the season Bean Bag Baseball night.  Had small turn out with only 5 on one team and 6 on another, but was a good evening.

Pat Sumner, from Kansas, finished with the grease packing of the trailer wheels and got them back on. 

So we are ready to pack the trailer.

More next time - Lynn

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

St. Patrick's Day 2017

73º with high humidity (82%) - forecast of 83º -- here in La Feria, Texas at 9:00 am Friday as I start this.  Wind has not come up yet, but, like nearly all days, will be in the 20 mph most of the day from the South-South-East.   Went to the 8:00 am stretch exercises and ate breakfast afterwards.  Phyllis is off to work and sometime today we will go in to Harlingen to deliver some things for the office and then do some personal errands there and also go to the west at Mercedes where we will get several cases of liquid Aloe to last us through the summer until returning this fall.

Click on photos to enlarge.

This is all that is left of the lettuce tray -- was disappointing with only a couple salads through the winter.

The last lettuce - and one tomato harvested!

Squint and you can see a couple tomatoes (in addition to the one in the bowl above) coming on.  Since we will be leaving in a couple weeks I am guessing most of the 50-some tomatoes setting on now will wrapped in newspaper and taken with us when we head north.

This is what the whole tomato "thingy) looks like.  The old refrigerator shelves are protecting the growth above the netting from birds.  I will be dismantling this whole thing in about 2 weeks.

 Wednesday evening was our last pot-luck supper of this season at the Rec Hall.  Had some 50 people attend -- pretty good considering nearly half of the people in RV's have already headed north.
Afterwards we went next door to the Neher's and played Pegs & Jokers with them and the Raabs.

Thursday morning, as every Thursday morning since October (except the week we were on the Cruise) I hauled the fabric from the storage building to the Rec Hall at 8:30 am and then returned it (including the finished quilts they made that day) to the storage building again at 2:30 pm.

Went to Meet 'N Greet at 4:00 pm yesterday and at 6:30 pm went back to the Rec Hall for what we thought might be last Bean Bag Baseball.

Am continuing to put up my "mini-log" interior walls in the Texas Room.  This last section is above the front doors.

This is photo taken from Facebook.  My oldest brother, Roger - in Lincoln, Nebraska - turned 80 last Sunday.  Made several calls to his home but was unable to connect with him.  Wish him happy 80th!  Will try to see them on our way back to Clarinda, IA the first week of April (Their 58th Wedding Anniversary will be on April 5th).


Though this is St. Patricks Day there was no one here in the park willing to cook a corned beef and cabbage supper so we will maybe go out to eat this evening.




More later, Lynn

Harold Neher's 90th Celebration.

69º with heavy cloud cover at 6:00 am Sunday as I start this, here in La Feria, TX

Our next-door neighbor Harold Neher turned 90 last Tuesday and yesterday, Saturday, many of his family were here to help him celebrate.  In photo - left to right LaRhoda's sister Joyce and husband, Daughter Tammy and husband, Harold, LaRhoda, son Terry and wife.  Son Tim was not able to come.

Son Terry related experiences growing up with the family

Harold and LaRhoda in center of photo at the table

Quite a large crowd attended

Gentleman front, right may have wondered what all the
hoopla was about---he turned 100 in January

Their son lives in Topeka, KS and daughter lives near Hiawatha, KS.  The four of them drove straight through, arriving 11:30 Friday night and will be starting back later today.  They went to South Padre Island right after the gathering ended at 4:00 pm so the kids could see the beach on the Gulf of Mexico.
In the meantime we had neighbors Bob & Bobi Raab as well as former neighbors Doris & Lyle Winter come to our place for some Pegs & Joker games and a light sandwich lunch after the celebration at the Rec Hall.

Neighbors Jim and Lavin Boozer had not been to the park this year due to health issues.  They arrived only a few hours before Harold's gathering.  They are selling their place only about 3 doors down from us, though plan to possibly return next year in a rental.  Jim said they would be here a couple weeks before returning to Illinois with some of the stuff from their home.






My oldest brother, Roger - in Lincoln, Nebraska, turns 80 years old today.  Will miss his celebration, but will give him a call later.
More later, Lynn

3 more weeks left in Kenwood

75º and very muggy -- rained off and on much of yesterday and is predicted for that again today.  10:00 am as I start this on Saturday morning.

I took frozen precooked sausage patties and warmed in the oven.

Ruth and Pat working at the big sink

This morning we helped with the last, of the season, Saturday morning breakfast for the park people. 

Pat and Merve working with the pancake griddles - Lois in the background

Lynn Styvers being served 

We had pancakes, scrambled eggs that had been put in baking dishes with cheese melted over them, sausage patties, and tater tots.  Phyllis took in money - something around 65 people served by 8:45 am.

Our next-door neighbor here in the park, Harold Neher, turned 90 this last Tuesday.  His wife LaRohda's sister and husband came yesterday---and as a surprise one of his sons and his daughter showed up this morning completely as a surprise.  They had driven in from Hiawatha and Topeka, Kansas, arriving late last night.  Harold was really surprised and pleased.  There is a planned party for him at the Rec Hall at 2:00 pm this afternoon.

Last night we went out with the Neher's and Joyce and Lou to eat at the buffet at City Market on the south edge of La Feria.

Couple more photos from the breakfast this morning.

Tables all down and chairs set up for party this afternoon.

More later, Lynn