Sunday

Great sermon today.  We finally got to the end of the Shama - "...to love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength."  In the New Testament, Jesus added "...and all your mind."  Today's sermon was about "mind" and how science and faith are not separate.

After church we went to IHOP for breakfast and then home for a Sunday afternoon nap.  We took bike rides this afternoon and now we're watching Downton Abbey.

More later...

Saturday

It was a good day...and a bad day.  The good parts of the day were the weather AND the fun time at the Chinese Auction AND getting together with good friends! Finally we had a nice weekend day - it was in the upper 60's and the sun was shining!  The Chinese auction was really fun.  We sold lots of stuff (all for 10 cents a chance) and made $250 for the activities fund!  It's a fun way to get rid of "stuff" because one man's junk is another man's treasure!  Plus, all the stuff that no one wanted is already gone to Amvets so Dave doesn't have to do that this week!

As for lunch - it was super.  It's always fun getting together with my high school friends and today was no different.  We went to Pete & Shorty's...good food and good friends.  Plus they had the ISU vs Texas A&M game on TV, which brings me to the bad part of the day.  This is the first time I've seen the Cyclones fall apart in the second half.  Didn't even look like our team.  They only made a few free throws and couldn't hit shots even when they were open.  Oh well, the sun will come out tomorrow!  (Hopefully, anyway...as many gray days as we've had, I wouldn't count on it!)

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Beautiful

It was a beautiful day here today.  A little chilly, but not too bad.  Dave helped "his ladies" today...ladies around the park that need help.  I wish we would have gone to the Legion today.  One of the laddies from here went and said it was really nice there.

Tomorrow's our big Chinese auction.  Everything is all set up - the hall looks like one big garage sale.  We were able to play cards around the mess, though.  Unfortunately I didn't get very good cards again.  Wednesday I had a total of 24 3's and 3's are not good cards.  Tonight I had 27 of the dumb things!  Sandy had made a crown for me, saying "3's Queen"!  I think I retained my crown tonight!

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Soggy!

I'm thinking that we should go look for a boat tomorrow!  We've had 4.7 inches of rain since Tuesday...anyway that's what Bob's rain gauge said around 3:00.  It's rained since then too!  I'm sure we're over 5"!!  Because of the constant rain, we didn't do much of anything today.  I got Dave's new computer set up and I got all of the recipes that I have typed into the Holiday Ranch Cook Book.  That's about it!

Hope tomorrow is nicer.  We're setting up for the park's Chinese Auction and then we're meeting high school friends for a late lunch.  Wonder where we're going?????

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Wednesday

We went to coffee this morning and then we took Bob & Ann to the airport.  They went to Fort Worth to the paint horse show.  Rhonda and Cheyenne are going to meet them there.  Hopefully they got Cody registered, since Freida fell and went lame.

It rained all day here, basically.  So no pictures today.  Instead we went to Walmart and bought Dave a new computer.  It had bugs in it, so we got another one.  I'll let you know if we get II set up tomorrow or not.  Number I just kept showing a screen of adware that we couldn't get rid of.  Who knows.

I won at cards tonight and then we watched Fast & Furious 5.

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Tuesday

I had a great day today.  It was beautiful here today - 73 with just a slight breeze.  Loved it!  I decided to try to bowl today...my knee felt good.  About the end of the 2nd game, my knee got to hurting, so now I'm icing my knee again.  I bowled decently - 142, 135, 128.

I got my permanent bridge today - it looks really nice.

Bingo was more like old times.  I didn't win.  I think my winning streak is over.  :(

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Sunny Sunday

Yes, it's pretty chilly here, but at least the sun is shining.  That's one big difference in being here over being in Iowa.  We might go 2 weeks at a time without sun in the winter...just gray and cold.  I like sunny and chilly much better!

This was a fun day.  Church today was good.  Pastor Jack was in rare form today!  He keeps building us up for next week's sermon.  Last week was about soul.  This week was about strength and next week is about mind.  "Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind."

After church we met Sudi & Howard for breakfast.  That is always fun.  Great company and great food!  Then this afternoon, 7 of us went to see "Calendar Girls" at West Coast Players.  Very good play with many humorous moments and a few sad moments.  When we got back to The Ranch, we went to the clubhouse to watch the Patriots/Broncos game.  Most of the people here were cheering for the Patriots, but we Midwesterners were pulling for Denver!

Now we're getting ready to watch Downton Abbey.

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Saturday

Out came the long pants again!  It was downright cold today.  We didn't get around very early this morning, but we had to go out around noon.  One of the men who had lived here passed away and his memorial was today.  He had Alzheimers for the last 3 years or so and has been in a home.  His wife plays bingo with us every week, so that's why we attended his service.  One of his sons was very late getting there.  His brother said he was always late to everything.  They should have told him it started at 11 instead of 11:30 then he'd have been on time!

When we got home, I made chili and spiced oyster crackers.  Tasted good on a cold day!

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Friday

It was another chilly day in the neighborhood!  We did, however, get out for a bike ride today!  The wind was blowing pretty hard, but at least the rain was gone!

Since it was a little warmer at noon, we went out to the lanai to eat lunch.  That was good - we haven't been able to do that for a while.

I won at cards tonight!

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Thursday

After Dave got home from working at church, we got ready for his call to OneExchange (Dupont's service for setting up your Medicare options).  Yes, Dave is finally ready to join us in Medicare.  We got him all signed up!  It took a while, but not even 1/2 of the time it took 3 years ago when I set up mine.  They've become much more efficient.

When we finally got off the phone, we took off for John's pass for a late lunch.  We ate at Scully's.  It was quite nice out - I thought I might be cold, but it was nice on the water.  No wind to speak of!  We were going to stop a couple of places on the way home, but decided our tummies were full and we didn't want to shop!  We'll do that another day!

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Wednesday

I was cold today!  I wore jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, a scarf, and a poufy vest!  We've had our winter, now I'm ready for warm weather again!

The guys got the rock down in the flower beds - it looks really, really nice.  Hope to get some pix now that they're finished.

We didn't shuffle until 1:00 because it was just too cold.  I won both of my games, but the redbirds didn't gain any.  We're still behind by 6 games.  Tonight at cards, I couldn't draw any good cards...so we got beat.

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Tuesday

I got my temporary bridge put back on this morning, but I had to wait quite a while to have it done.  They were busy this morning!  Nineteen of us went to Village Inn for lunch after bingo.  It was good and the pie must have had some magic in it.  The caller's wife had a piece of pie and she must have bingo'd 7 times tonight.  I didn't bingo at all - in fact, no one at my table did.  We had lots of multiple winners - a few people bingo'd and they each bingo'd more than once!  They didn't share!  Oh well, there's always next week.

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Chilly Monday

It was a bit brisk here today.  It was okay on the south side of our house...in the sun, but if you were in the shade, it was chilly!  Nothing compared to Waterloo, though.  Right now it's 52 here and -1 there...hmmm, where would I rather be?

Dave and Bob worked more around our house today.  They got pretty much done laying down the pavers and even got another hibiscus planted.  Now we've got to get some rock to use as mulch and then it'll be done.  I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.

This evening, while I was eating some roast beef, I accidentally chewed one time on my temporary bridge.  It came out...grrr.  So I popped it back in, but tomorrow I'm going to go to the dentist to get it cemented back.  I've got until the 26th until I get my permanent one.

Right now I'm watching my Cyclones play their hearts out.  It's tied with 42 seconds left.  Come on guys!

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Sunday's happenings

Last night about midnight, the wind started up and in came the rain!  It was so loud I even heard it over my earplugs!  Since the kids were in Sarasota with Roberta, they had to get up when the tornado sirens went off.  Lots of Roberta's neighbors went off site to a safe place, but Roberta didn't remember what they were supposed to do, so they just waited it out.  Jami was going to do some research and find out where the park's safe place is.

We went to church this morning and were wow'd by Pastor Jack's sermon.  He talked about our souls and how your soul is a hole to be filled up with God's love.  It was a great sermon!

This afternoon, even though it was a little chilly outside, Bob, Dave and I worked on our new flower garden.  While Dave planted the new flowers, Bob and I set out the concrete edgings for our design.  Bob scored the dirt and I dug out the trenches for the edgers.  We got them all set and now we've got one more hibiscus to purchase and then we'll put rock in on top of the black landscape paper.  It was really fun working with Dave and Bob!

Now I'm ready to watch Downton Abbey and then it'll be time for bed!

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Super Saturday

This was a wonderful day.  It was 79 when we went to Sarasota today.  We took off after breakfast at the clubhouse.  Jami and the kids were at Roberta's, as were Dave's sister and her husband (Pat & Milt).  It was great at the pool today - except for the lovebugs which are very prolific at this time of the year.  They're very annoying!

We got home about 4:00 and watched the Cyclones win their basketball game.  I've been watching the Indian Hills game tonight on my computer.  We were ahead by 50 points when I shut it off.  Boring!

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Good sleep

Yay - I got a nice night of sleep - I truly needed it!  I slept until 4:30 AM and then I kept waking up every half hour or so to see if it was time to get up.  My knee feels great so I'll tolerate the prednisone.  It rained this morning - about an inch.  It quit by noon, and it turned out to be a beautiful day.  Have you noticed that it stays lighter later now?  I even got to walk to cards in the light tonight!  My partner and I won!

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Darn Prednisone!

I had a really bad night last night...I was up until 6:30 AM.  I finally went to bed and read for about 30 minutes.  I fell asleep around 7:00 AM.  I slept until 9:30 and then I've been up all day.  I'm tired, so hope I can sleep tonight.  My knee feels good, though!

Dave's sister Pat & her husband Milt came here today.  They hadn't seen this place so they did a tour and then we went to the Columbia Restaurant and a short tour of Clearwater Beach.  They took off about 3:00.  Dave took a nap and I worked on the newsletter for next month.  I've got a long ways to go to get it done, but I will!

No word on Linda, yet.  Cindy said she'd call when she heard of her passing.

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My knee

After coffee and our monthly HOA meeting, Dave took me to a doctor.  After waiting for about 45 minutes, I was taken to xray.  I do not have a torn meniscus at this time...just a lot of inflammation and arthritis.  Rest, ice, compression and drugs!  He put me on an anti-inflammatory plus prednisone and thought that would take care of it!  I hope so!

I got a call from Cindy from Ames tonight with sad news.  My other neighbor, Linda Knecht, is in Hospice and hasn't had any food or drink for over a week.  Cindy doubted that she'd make it through the night.  She's been sick for a long, long time with Scleroderma, an auto-immune disease that is destroying her from the inside out for many, many years...probably over 25 years.  At least she's not suffering right now.

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B&B Day

We had 17 bowlers today.  Dave had another good game - this time he had a 193!!  Unfortunately his next game was almost 100 points less, and he didn't even get high game.  Another one of the guys got a 200 game!

Tonight at bingo, I won $63!  I didn't think I was going to win and it took me clear to the next to last game to win!

Now I'm watching my Cyclones!

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Monday

Whooeee...it's cold enough I got out the jeans today...and I'm sure glad I found some new long-sleeved shirts!  I wore one of them, jeans, a jacket, and even a neck scarf tonight to cards.  This morning I had on shorts, but I spent the morning in the dentist's chair so it wasn't so cold in there.  I was prepped foor my 3 tooth bridge today - glad that part's over.  Now I just have to wait 2 weeks and 1 day for the bridge to be made and put on.  Then I'm done with the dentist for a while.  Yay!

We're watching Alabama-Clemson football tonight.  I could care less who wins.  When we got home from playing cards, Bob had invited us over for lemon pie.  That was really good.  Since I can eat soft foods, lemon pie fit the bill!

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Saturday

I got to stay in bed this morning because Dave was working in the lanai.  That was nice.  I did manage to dust and get the floors swept, though.  I also sat outside and talked with Bob and only came in when it started to rain.  Plus, I wanted to watch the Cyclone game.  Hilton Magic disappeared today.  Baylor has some BIG guns!  We're going to have to work really hard the rest of the season.  I was really disappointed in their effort today, but that game's over and it's time to move on.

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Friday

Today was a mobile washing day around here.  The first year we were here, Bob & Dave washed both of our homes, but the next year they hired it done.  Today was our day.  Not only did they do ours, they did Bob's and then they did Gary's.  Now tomorrow Dave is going to paint the ceiling in the lanai - it's got some spots where it's got "scars".  It'll look a lot better when it gets painted.

This afternoon I went to Bealls to get me a long sleeved shirt or two.  I found a couple and I found an orange sleeveless tank, too.  I've looked for one of those for a long time...now I've got one to wear to Allison's games this summer!

We had 10 again tonight for cards.  We won!

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Thursday

Sure was a gray day here.  Glad the sun came out later and warmed things up a bit.  Dave and I went out looking for me a long-sleeved shirt.  I only have 2 - one is my Galena shirt that I've worn so much it's pretty much falling apart and the other is my Cyclone shirt and I don't want to wear it all the time or it'll be threadbare too.  We went to Ross, but nothing there.  Maybe I can go to Beall's tomorrow while the guy is here washing our mobile.

Dave cut out and dug out the 3 Hawthorn bushes out in front of our home.  They were ugly and had aphids, plus we want some color out there.  Shopping for plants is another day's project!  While we were out today, we went to Moe's for lunch.  I love those burritos!  I even rode my bike around the block today.  My knee felt pretty good...we'll see how the bike ride affected it tomorrow.

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Yay!

We went to coffee this morning, but my knee hurt too bad to shuffle.  I may have to go to the doctor and get an MRI to see what's going on with it.  It feels pretty decent if I am able to ice it a bunch and take 3 Advil every 4 hours!  I finally got Quicken 2016 onto my laptop and was able to get one of our bank accounts reconciled.  I think they need to do some patches because there's definitely a few things that need fixed!  

I played cards tonight - not so well, though!  Our team got beat after leading the first 3 hands...bummer.  But, my Cyclones won and that's much more important!  It was a frustrating game, but came out well in the end.  Dave went to bed at halftime, so I'm the only pumpkin in this household.  Oh well, I'll sleep in tomorrow!

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B&B

Man, it was cold outside this morning!  I still wore shorts, but I took along a sweatshirt to bowling.  I only had to put it on because I sit under an a/c vent at the bowling alley and when I'm not bowling, I get cold.  We had 15 bowlers this morning.  Dave had his best game ever - he bowled a 185!  He also had a turkey in that game.  Unfortunately Roger had a 189 or Dave would have been the high male bowler.

I won again at bingo!  Tonight I won $41.25 and $12.00.  I was waiting on several other games, too!  This is much more fun than always losing!

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Monday

I didn't write last night because I was too busy watching Downton Abbey!  Man was it a good episode.  I hate to think that 2016 is the last season.  It's such a good show!  If you haven't watched it, you should.  I started watching it because I have a Prime membership through Amazon and the first 4 seasons were free.  I had to pay for the 5th season, but it was worth it.  After the show was over, we were pumpkins, so we went to bed.

Speaking of going to bed, last night I slept 11 hours...one more hour and I would have slept the clock around!  I must have been tired.  Dave woke me up around 8:00 and I told him I wanted to go back to sleep...then he woke me again around 9:30 and again I went back to sleep...then about 10:45 I had to go to the bathroom so I was wide awake then.  It felt good to get that much sleep.  I've told Dave that someday I'm going to sleep until I don't want to sleep any more...must have been last night!

Lost at cards again tonight.  My knee is still hurting, but I'm not limping as badly.

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Saturday

I didn't use my crutches at all today...I just limped around without them.  My knee feels better, but a long way from "normal".  I'm glad to know, though, that I won't have to use crutches every day.

Another good thing happened today.  Bob and Ann got back.  It's so nice to look out my window and see Bob sitting in his chair!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

We had a party up at the rec hall last night.  There weren't many people there, but those of us who went had a good time.  Unfortunately, I was doing some dancing and messed up my knee again.  This morning, walking was almost impossible.  So Dave borrowed some crutches for me.  I haven't been anywhere without them today.  I haven't done much except ice my knee this afternoon.  This morning we had our annual New Year's Day brunch put on by the Red Hatters.  It was delicious once I got up there!

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