'Nuther really windy day in the Valley!

73º here in La Feria, TX at 9:40 am Tuesday as I start this.  Very heavy winds, 25 mph with gusts to 30+.  Click on photos to enlarge.

Phyllis put on the Memorial Service yesterday afternoon here at the park for the 11 residents who have passed since December of 2017.  Here is a 51 minute video showing setup before, the program, and some of the 170 people who attended, after the service.  Click HERE for video of memorial service

Bill Winslow

Arnold and Kathleen Waxmen

Diane Creasey

Dave Keiper

Lee Miles

Doris Pitt

Shirley Pozzebon

Ralph Snyder

Kaye Stanger

Ron Warren

Our 6-people choir sang, a short reading was done for each of the deceased, Rev. Baker gave a sermon, I sang Peace in the Valley and the over 170 people visited and had cookies and coffee.  Many who had previously lived in our park and now either live in other parks, or are in sticks-and-bricks homes in the area came.  Below are some photos that you might see someone you know.

Men Are Just Happier People!

What do you expect from such simple creatures? Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves.  Chocolate is just another snack.  You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.

Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Wrinkles add character.  Wedding dress - $5,000. Tux rental - $100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks.

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Two pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes - one color for all seasons.   You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.   You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache... You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier!

NICKNAMES -  If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.

   If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba and Wildman.

EATING OUT - When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50.  None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the girls get their bill, outcome the pocket calculators.

MONEY -- A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

   A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS --A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.

   The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337 A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS -- A woman has the last word in any argument.

   Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE -- A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

   A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

MARRIAGE-- A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

   A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP -- A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

   A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL -    Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

   Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING - Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

   A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - A married man should forget his mistakes.  There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

Did our first Men of A-Chord concert last night in Mission, TX.  Tell you about it next time.
Lynn

Pleasant Sunday in the Valley

Bright & sunny 63º with calm winds here in La Feria, TX at 4:00 pm Sunday.  It was 39º when we got up this morning, though.  The strong winds yesterday caused our group dinner tour on a Catamaran on the Bay side of South Padre Island yesterday afternoon.

This is where we were to get on the boat yesterday,
on South Padre Island.

After singing with the choir at the church services here in the park this morning we went with 8 others over to Bamboo Garden - a Chinese buffet - in Weslaco, TX.  I went to the Rec Hall at 3 pm and practiced a solo for tomorrow afternoon at the Celebration of Life program for the 11 people of the park who have passed on since year ago December.

Picture we got of our great-granddaughter
yesterday, wearing her grandpa's hat.

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Last night we went to neighbor Darlene Winslow's  (from Michigan) place and played Concentration card game with her and neighbors Marion and Ardel Finken, from Indiana.

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Have entertainment tonight at 7 pm after the ice cream and announcements at 6:15 pm so will be helping Phyllis with that.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  

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As the storm raged, the captain realized his ship was sinking fast. He called out, "Anyone here know how to pray?" One man stepped forward. "Aye, Captain, I know how to pray." "Good," said the captain, "You pray while the rest of us put on our life jackets. We're one short."

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Furious diner: Waiter! I found a cockroach in my meal! Call the manager in here! 

                        Waiter: That's no use, sir. He's scared of them, too! 

======================

Later, Lynn

Very Windy Saturday

65º with very gusty north winds (24 to 27 mph) here in La Feria, TX at 11:30 am Saturday as I start this.  Click on photos to enlarge.

Helped serve breakfast this morning - "miniature omelets" with
French toast. - around 50 people were served. 

We drove about 10 miles west to Big Valley RV in Donna to listen to the South Texas Whiskey Band.  Phyllis had them sign a contract to perform here in Kenwood on February 17th.  She was acquainted with most of the members.  The fiddle player on the left and his wife spend time at the jam here in Kenwood and she visited with her.  Also, the guitar player in the center is Dale Eichor who used to be on 540 AM at Fort Dodge as DJ (and still does some commercials for them) wife is from Clarinda and Phyllis visited with her also.

Dance floor was full most of the evening.

Went to McAllen to Men of A Chord barbershop chorus Friday.  We went through our whole 16 song program on the risers.  Our first full show comes up next Monday night.

Thursday we went to Mission, TX to a "Show Case" where the entertainers have 10 minutes to
perform.The Men of A Chord performed at 1:30 pm with three songs.  We were not on risers,
had to line up according to height and that left some of the sections scattered around.
That, plus the low ceiling made it not ideal for singing.  Click HERE for video of performance

The Punches family

KAI

The Sun Drops - From Canada - Phyllis booked them
for sometime in 2021

These pictures are of some of the performers in the "Show Case" Thursday.  Phyllis was able to book several for Kenwood in 2021  and has contacts for others.

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Cody with the Gold Wing Express Wednesday afternoon

Gold Wing Express Wednesday afternoon

Pot Luck Supper Wednesday at 5 pm.

Pegs & Jokers at the Raabs Wednesday evening

Pegs & Jokers at the Raabs Wednesday evening

Pegs & Jokers at the Raabs Wednesday evening

You can see how the wind was blowing yesterday. 
This 30 feet + tall tree was 4" tall when I
planted it about 6 years ago.  The tall cactus in
 the back of the house was 8" tall when I found it
in a neighbors rain gutter about
7 years ago; it is now 15 feet tall.

These next three pictures were taken this week at the west end of our row of mobile homes at a Canadian family's place.

It is now 2:30 pm (got interrupted by uploading videos and eating lunch) and the wind is really howling outside.  If we were in Nebraska or Iowa am sure there would be a blizzard outside.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.  "However, in government more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.

5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.

6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.

7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.

9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse's performance.

10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.

11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.

12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.  And, of course...

13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position

--------------------

A sixth grade class is doing some spelling drills. The teacher asks Tommy if he can spell 'before.' He stands up and says, "Before, B-E-P-H-O-R."The teacher says, "No, that's wrong. Can anyone else spell before?" Another little boy stands up and says, "Before, B-E-F-O-O-R.  "Again the teacher says, "No, that's wrong." The teacher asks, "Little Johnny, can you spell 'before'?  "Little Johnny stands up and says, "Before, B-E-F-O-R-E."  "Excellent Johnny, now can you use it in a sentence?  "Little Johnny says, "That's easy. Two plus two be fore." 

Till next time, Lynn

Some facts about the Mexican/US border

Maybe this will help some bone-headed liberals out there!

the-ironies-of-illegal-immigration



Real Facts About Shutdown – Reassurance for Most Americans
Posted Thursday, January 10, 2019 | By Robert B. Charles | Let’s do a reality check on the current federal shutdown. Are you ready for a good laugh? Put down your favorite mainstream media outlet. Switch it off, and just follow the numbers. Yes, every rooftop is cluttered with news anchors, bellyaching reporters and stray Democrats shouting “the sky is falling!” or “the federal shutdown is ending life as we know it!” Here is real news. Not so.

First, recall that when President Obama managed a congressional shutdown, he blamed Congress and “weaponized” that shutdown against average Americans – deliberately putting barricades around traditionally open, accessible monuments and parks, including our WWII Memorial on the National Mall.

President Trump has done the reverse, waiving obstacles to volunteers at monuments and parks, clearing the way for federal agencies to stay as open as much as possible. He has specifically assured EVERYONE entitled to a timely tax refund will get it, throughout the shutdown. Most parks can use operating budgets to keep restrooms and garbage pickup going. As he seeks to get Congress to properly secure US borders, he is looking after the American People – in ways his predecessor did not.

Second, remember that the bills held up by Democrats in Congress have more than 300 billion dollars that could be placed against the five million dollar request. It would take ten minutes for Congress to agree. The five could be taken from parts that deliberately EXCEED the President’s original request – such as the 10.6 billion dollar jump up for Housing and Urban Development over the President’s request. This would instantly end the crisis, allowing money to be used for border security or “the wall,” also allowing other programs to remain at requested levels.

Third, look at the real numbers on shutdown impact. No one is doing it – so let’s do it here.

As of this week, 328,000 federal employees are on furlough, according to the most recent agency reporting. If history is any example, they will all be given back pay – part of the eventual compromise – when the shutdown ends.

They represent 38 percent of employees at the several affected agencies – so less than half, even of those agencies – and almost nothing by comparison to total government employees, federal or national employment.

Today, there are 230 public employees for every 10,000 Americans, according to the US Census data. Altogether, America has 16 million public employees employed beyond the federal government, plus more than two million (fulltime) federal employees, excluding postal employees.

Since we have another half million postal employees, we have a total of 2.5 million federal employees, 18.5 million overall public employees (with the federal employees), and a total of 126 million employees nationally – a number that has risen sharply (and in every demographic) since President Trump took office.

So, let’s keep some perspective here. This “partial shutdown” – furloughing 328,000 “non-essential” federal employees who will likely be paid for time off – is a drop in the national bucket. To be precise, these “time off” employees represent 13 percent of our total federal workforce, less than two percent of public employees, and one quarter of one percent of all American employees.

So, while congressional Democrats insist that 10.7 million illegal aliens in the United States amount to nothing to worry about, and we witness roughly one-half a million new illegal entries per year, the commotion is now about the one quarter of one percent of employees who are presently furloughed – pending protection of the border.

The sad irony is that this contrast – genuine public health and safety issues tied to a porous US border versus the political hoopla promoted by Democrats who refuse to pass the bills that would protect the border and pay the quarter of one percent on furlough – is somehow lost in the clatter and clank of what masquerades as modern political debate.

Average Americans are tired of this poking by Congress at a President trying to protect the nation, endless and pointless posturing, ranting and reorganizing of facts to support what Democrats in Congress think will bring more votes.

The average American is glad that President Trump has assured all social security, Medicaid, Medicare, Military pay, and IRS refunds will go out uninterrupted by the political shenanigans. They are glad essential personnel will remain as usual, and that the “partial federal shutdown” is not being weaponized against the American people. They are glad too that President Trump wants to protect them and secure the borders. What they are not pleased about is the antics that now define the public square

***************************************************************
.THIS IS FROM A WOMAN WHO OWNS PROPERTY ON THE MEXICO / UNITED STATES BORDER. THIS IS IN REAL TIME, HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!Lin Myers Ellis:

"I live on the Border and NO one but us knows what is happening.
"I live 1/2 mile from the border in El Indio, Texas. Last week, we had over 40 people pass through our ranch. One group of about 15 men pulled a gun on my husband and had a 13 yr old Mexican girl that they kidnapped from Guerrerro, MX. She had blood all over her and had urinated on herself.
My husband was able to, with the help of Border Patrol agents in a helicopter who passed over, get the gun from the illegal man (he was Honduran) and they rushed the poor girl to the emergency room for help because she had in fact been kidnapped and gang raped by these men. This is just one of many stories we have.
Two nights ago, 3 men came up to our house. One of them was an elderly man who was almost dead. We gave them water and protein bars, called BP and 911 for the man to go to the emergency room.
We are kind people and believe in helping people in need BUT there have been 3 attacks on my husband on our ranch, 2 of which were directly at my home, in the last 3 months. And that really means something because we are considered an area that does not NEED a lot of help!!!
I got so MAD when I watched and heard what Pelosi and Schumer said concerning Trump's "manufactured" drama with the border.
That is such garbage!!!! They are ignorant liars!!! How many people have to be hurt or attacked?
There has to be someone in our government who stands up and helps our Border Patrol. From Eagle Pass to Laredo, there are only 3-5 guys on call, and it could be 2 guys against a group of 50+.
Its horrible!! We need help!! The wall needs to be built, not at the port of entries but between them.
Pelosi is a moron if she thinks that added more security at the borders will help because, Hello Nancy, they are NOT COMING THROUGH THE BORDERS. THEY ARE COMING THROUGH MESQUITE AND BRUSH.

Great weather in the Valley

76º with bright sunshine and calm wind - here in La Feria, TX at 1:00 pm.  It is 27º in our home-town of Clarinda, IA where they got snow overnight.  Here are photos sent from Clarinda and Villisca this morning; apparently no wind came with the snow as it is certainly piled on the branches.  Facebook also had several postings of snow in Clarinda.  Click on photos to enlarge.

Clarinda, IA

Villisca, IA

Click HERE to see the RV units in Kenwood as of today  Is a 20 minute trike ride up and down all the streets here in the park.  We have had a lot of people come in over the last 10 days - trailers, motor homes and the rental cabins are now full.

Had a good dinner and nice visit with Dick and Deanne Messer (From Minnesota) at the Stefano's Brooklyn Pizza place on Bus. 83 just west of Harlingen, TX last night.

 We got to watch through
windows while the guys made the
pizza crusts.  They have a 30" pizza and that is the large one that is being thrown in the air.

Friday I was in McAllen by 8:30 am (some 33 miles from our place) for barbershop chorus practice. We are short of guys this year -- and found out one of our baritones had suddenly died of a heart attack the night before.   Phyllis went to lunch with the "red hat" ladies at the Golden Corral in Weslaco, TX at noon,

Have been working on finishing the last part of the wall in the Texas Room.

Have entertainers at the Rec Hall tonight, Church tomorrow, Gaddi's on Monday, to McAllen Tuesday for morning at the Convention Hall and afternoon at Men of A Chord practice.  Thursday to Mission for Show Place for Phyllis to book entertainment and I perform with Men of A Chord at 1:30 pm there.  Back to Kenwood for the 4:00 pm Meet & Greet where the Nebraska people will showcase their state.  On Friday I am back to McAllen for barbershop chorus practice.

You might enjoy this Bio of Don Knots - Click HERE

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A new York Divorce Lawyer died and arrived at the pearly gates. Saint Peter asks him "What have you done to merit entrance into Heaven?" The Lawyer thought a moment, then said, "A week ago, I gave a quarter to a homeless person on the street." Saint Peter asked Gabriel to check this out in the record, and after a moment Gabriel affirmed that this was true. Saint Peter said, "Well , that's fine, but it's not really quite enough to get you into Heaven." The Lawyer said, "Wait Wait! There's more! Three years ago I also gave a homeless person a quarter." Saint Peter nodded to Gabriel, who after a moment nodded back, affirming this, too, had been verified. Saint Peter then whispered to Gabriel, "Well, what do you suggest we do with this fellow?" Gabriel gave the Lawyer a sidelong glance, then said to Saint Peter, "Let's give him back his 50 cents and tell him to go to Hell."

Later, Lynn