February 28 - “Texas sunshine”

We knocked out our two miles. Finished a little before ten. And it was an interesting journey. We made our way through intermittent fog, a brief chill or two, and even a peeking through of some Texas sunshine. I’m ready to be done with those first two. 

After working ahead on some desk work stuff and grabbing some lunch, we spent a while getting the house cleaned up for home group. We have been (and will continue) meeting really spasmodically. Mainly because of our travel schedule. And next week we are off because a group of us are going to Burnet, Texas, for burial of Sam’s ashes. We’ll meet the next week, and then it’s off on our Spring Training trip to Florida and the Carolinas. I’m ready. Let’s go! 

Revelation‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ says, Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created.

Father, thanks for our home group family. Bless them in all they do. Amen. 

February 27 - “… one more”

Our first mission was all the way up in Missouri City at 10 A.M.  We tracked down another account Sam had, so we had to go in person to deal with it. As it turned out, we still need one more piece of paperwork. Always with the “one more…”

Since a AAA office was in the same strip center, we walked over there. We decided to go old school for our next two road trips. Paper maps of every state we go through. It took her a while, but the girl helping us was ultimately amazing. In fact she reminded me of someone. Someone who also takes forever to decide on a color for her house. Someone who can see 98 different shades … of white! I couldn’t quite put my finger on who that could be, but it was eerily like talking to a clone of … someone very close to me. 

By the time we finished there it was well past lunch time. Fortunately, there was a Spring Creek BBQ, also in the same strip center. One stop shopping, for sure. I decided to try the Kansas City version of ribs. Bad choice. They were really bland. Not a lot of flavor. The little bread loaves were worth the trip, though. Fresh and very hot out of the oven.

Next we drove around the southern quarter of Houston’s 610 Loop. All the way around to yet another institution that at one time held a. Account of Sam’s. This one was in Clear Lake.

And hey. We were pretty close, so we stopped at JoAnn’s. It is going out of business, and Chris had some money left on a gift card. Gotta go. She bought some quilt batting. Check. 

Speaking of check, we noticed that Target was right next door. And the check? Well, it was more of a gift card than a check. And we entered with another agenda. There was a CVS pharmacy inside. And Chris’ doctor told her to get one of those finger prick, blood testing contraptions. She (the doc) wanted to be convinced that Chris’ near-passing-out spells are not blood sugar related. So what better approach than -when she feels a spell coming on - grabbing the kit, opening it (which the pharmacist needed help doing), loading a test strip into the meter machine, loading a lance into the gun thingie, adjusting the depth level of the spear, washing hands, rubbing the area with alcohol swaps, placing the gun in exactly the right position, pushing the trigger button, wiping the blood onto the swab, check the reading … all the while doing your best not to pass out. Strange and marvelous creation, I’m sure. 

Psalms‬ ‭59‬:‭16‬ says, But I will sing of Your strength and will joyfully proclaim Your faithful love in the morning. For You have been a stronghold for me, a refuge in my day of trouble.

Father, thank you for the sort of successful research day.  Amen. 

February 26 - “Purr, purr, purr”

Well, guess how we started our day? Yep. Nice, brisk walk in the sunshine and the balmy 60 degree weather. Even though it has been a while (thanks to Winter), Chris was beyond determined to get it done. All two miles of it. And make it, we did (thought I’d throw in a little Yoda backwards talk for you there). 

Speaking of Yoda (actually, this has nothing to do with Yoda. I just wanted to say “Yoda” in my head), so, not speaking of Yoda, we watched an episode of Young Sheldon (one of my new favorites). On it, Sheldon’s mom sang him to sleep with a lilting lullaby. Here’s how it went:

Happy kitty, sleepy kitty

Little ball of fur

Happy kitty, sleepy kitty

Purr, purr, purr

It was horrifying. How any little kid could get to sleep after that is beyond my comprehension. 

Chris had a doctor appointment in the afternoon. I used the opportunity to head over to Walmart for (are you with me, Traci?) … bananas. And grapes and oranges. I guess I was so excited to get them (and to see our favorite Walmart worker and home group denizen, Pedrameh), that I almost forgot to pay. I got clear to the edge of the self check area when I realized I didn’t have a receipt. It still took me a good three count before the reason for its MIA status registered. I hastily backed up. Well, not hastily, exactly. Have you ever tried to back up a Walmart cart from the front? The transaction was still waiting patiently. And Pedrameh didn’t turn me in. Thanks for that. 

Last night we drove to Iowa to watch Cailyn play soccer. Wait. Something is missing there. That should read Iowa Colony. It’s the name of a high school in Alvin, Texas. Still a long way, though. Took us an hour to get there. It was worth the drive though. Good gals won 4-0. 

Oh, and guess what we found sleeping on our front porch chair when we got home. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty … aaarrggghh!

Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ says, Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and He will give a reward to the lender.

Father, thank you for providing Pedrameh to watch over me. Bless her. Amen. 

February 25 - “Jumping hoops”

We had some more financial stuff to take care of yesterday. It was all about trying to switch brokerage accounts over to estate accounts. Lots of hoops to jump through, for sure. 

From there we stopped at the post office to mail our tax stuff to our accountant and pick up a roll of stamps. They sure have gone up, those stamps. 73 cents a piece. Ouch. 

Next was Home Depot. We had to return something and then purchase a new track system for one of our closet doors that is all wonky. We found what we needed online. And it said that the store had them in stock. But could we find it? Nope. It actually got so bad that we had to ask for assistance. Sigh. Asking for directions - Classic male fail. 

Next was Randall’s to pick up a prescription for me. We were gonna get gas for the car, too, but they were fresh out. Yep. No gas. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen that. Remember the oil crisis? 

And finally we went to the bank to check rates for the IRA cd’s we have there. 

After lunch I remembered that there was a fire department peer support training meeting. It was led by one of the firefighters. He did a masterful job. I’m really proud of that whole group. 

Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭says, For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Father, thank you for the commitment of the peer support team. Bless those guys. Amen. 

February 24 - “Posing Day”

We had our photos taken at church by a retired professional photographer who has been attending. And I guess we posed well. The only instructions he gave us were: “Chris get closer to him and pretend that you like him.”  Oh, and it was totally free. He was doing it just as a way to use his gifts to serve the Lord. Oughta be seeing more of that. 

Chris was back at the quilting table. Me, on the other hand? I developed a masterful combination of TV movies, college basketball, and jigsaw puzzling. Nice day. 

John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ says, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.

Father, thank you for nice days. They really do help. Amen. 

February 23 - “1500 piece Spiderman”

Watched some college basketball yesterday. A&M and then U of H. It’s been a while since I just chilled in front of the TV. Of course it wasn’t like going in person to the Baylor game back a few days ago. But that was way better because I got to be with Josh and Caleb and Luke. 

I also worked on the jigsaw puzzle. Chris was focused again on the quilt. I guess we could have stayed in those positions all day. We were supposed to go watch Ezra play football, but the game was canceled due to lightning. 

We did head into Texas, though. Last night was the family celebration of Kel’s birthday. We got him a 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle of Spiderman. Gotta keep him intellectually stimulated going into his personal middle ages. 

Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭14‬ says, Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it.

Father, thanks for Kel. Bless him and his family. Amen. 

February 22 - “Back on the COLD again”

Cold again. Like in the thirties kind of cold. Definitely not outside weather. 

Chris handled it by reverting back to quilting mode. This time she got started on a big one. I think it is supposed to fit a king or queen sized bed. She has already started her list for the quilt shop and JoAnn’s to get the finishing touches when the time comes. 

Oh, me? Well, nothing so elegant as quilting. I spent the better part of the entire day pulling together all of our income tax documents so I can get them mailed off to our accountant. Ever looking for a great way to get a sore back and crossed eyes? That’ll do it. 

Speaking of sore backs, I also saved a little time to work on that jigsaw puzzle. Chris did, too. I can’t hover over it like I used to, though. Those lower back muscles really start barking at me. 

Cailyn had a soccer game on the schedule last night. We opted to miss this one. It was hard enough to stay warm here in the house with the heater going. I for one would have been a shivering mess. Sorry Cailyn. We did pray for you at supper, though. 

Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭says, And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Father, please grease some wheels for us with the tax stuff and compiling Sam’s paperwork (and carrying out all those details). Amen. 

February 21 - “Perilous waters”

We started the day with a visit to our financial advisor. He is helping us navigate the perilous waters of executor-ship. He’s a great guy. Very helpful hour or so. 

From there we went to the post office to change Sam’s address … again. About the only difference this time was they scanned my driver’s license. Well, OK then. 

The rest of the day we stayed inside. Cold and all. Also, I really didn’t feel so good. So … I started one of the jigsaw puzzles Chris got me for Valentine’s Day. All things CocaCola. Should be fun. 

John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ says, I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.

Father, thank you for our financial advisor. Bless him and his family. Amen. 

February 20 - “White stuff”

White stuff. On our car. Yep. Snow. Albeit, tiny flakes. But snow nevertheless. 22 degrees. Wind chill of 1. Inside the car after it “warmed up” - 19 degrees. Truly, it was time to go home. However, a note on our neighborhood Facebook page indicated that a large portion of the area was without power. Not a good sign for our welcome home. 

We made our usual Waco exit stop for breakfast. McDonald’s. Yep. Not kidding. Their breakfast has never been terrible, especially the bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. And Chris gets the sausage and egg biscuit, but passes her sausage to me. Breakfast protein overload. 

We noticed the light flurries off and on for an hour or so of the trip. And the ice on the outside rear view mirror finally melted. We can do without all this freeziness in Galveston. 

We stopped briefly at the LaMarque Vaughan’s house. Noa has been borrowing our camera for a class she is taking, so we gave that to her for her next session today. 

A quick supper of tamales and chili, then a trip to Walmart was next. Yep. Bananas. But not just that ever-so delectable fruit. We needed a little bit of everything. 

It was nice to get back home, though. That cold followed us here. I want to be inside. 

Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭10‬ ‭says, Stop your fighting — and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.

Father, thank you for the tiny taste of snow. But it’s good to be home for a while. Amen. 

February 19 - “Elm Mott”

Chris and I took a little excursion trip in the morning. We were somewhere near Elm Mott, Texas. Great name. Our destination was a quilt shop. 

It was quite the little operation there. The quilt shop seemed bigger than the one she usually frequents in Dickinson. It didn’t have any of the material with cool kid-type decorations like she uses for baby quilts, though. 

Next door was a real small-town general store. We didn’t go in that one. Next to that was a feed store. Nope. Didn’t go in there, either. Where we did head was the building marked “Market.”  

Sure enough, it was like a mini-Walmart, except with mostly healthy, homemade stuff. Honey, jams, some woodworking things, and some baked goods. 

I saw a young girl in the back room measuring out some flour. She saw me, too, and smiled demurely. Little flirting action, huh? Actually, I think she was probably a Mennonite, as were most of the sales people. I thought it would be a nice, simple place to live, except … we didn’t see any Blue Bell. Gotta have some Blue Bell to qualify as a nice place to live, you know. But then … as we were exiting the store, what should our wondering eyes behold, but an entire cold storage cabinet for nothing but Blue Bell. OK. I guess these country folks know how to live after all. 

After lunch the kids’ piano teacher came over for their lesson. It’s been fascinating to listen to each one of them. AnnaGrace is still just starting out, but she interacts with the teacher well. Luke would rather be shooting baskets, but he is doing fine as well. Caleb is the old pro. He is downright amazing. His pieces are quite complex, and he’s good. 

Finally the time came for the event for which we made this journey in the first place: Luke’s basketball game. It was a hard-fought affair. Both ways. But in the end the bad guys won 29-25. But on a positive note, Luke scored 19 of the team’s 25. That’s my boy. 

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬ says, But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

Father, be with those boys as they grow and develop more and more physically. Amen. 

February 18 - “Watching basketball”

Ah. A day of rest-ish in Waco. Josh went to work. The kids went to their respective areas for schoolwork with teacher mom. We went … to Walmart. Can you believe it? 

Our goal there was to grab a highly specific t-shirt. See, we came to Waco for the express purpose of watching basketball. Luke has a big game tonight. But to my surprise, Josh asked me to do him a favor. Seems someone gave him three tickets to the Baylor basketball against Arizona last night. Started at 9 pm. His problem was, he had a very important meeting to go to that was going to last beyond 9 pm. So the favor? Would I mind taking Caleb and Luke to the game? Well, hey. I did come up here to watch basketball, right? And I am a pretty cool, ex-basketball-coach grandparent, right? So how could I refuse? So all of that to say this … I bought me a Baylor t-shirt at Walmart. 

We had an appointment at 4. No docs or anything like that. We just had to make one to be able to see Zak’s new apartment. Yep. On his own. Doing the adulting. Sounds like he’s pretty excited about the opportunity. 

OK. Back to the basketball game story. Caleb, Luke and I left from the potluck and went straight to the parking area Josh told us to go to. Plenty of empty spaces, and we even walked right up and got on the shuttle bus - no waiting. 

Getting into the game was just as easy. Strolled right through the security checkpoint and scanned the tickets on my phone. We had to get help to find our seats, but they were really good ones.

The game itself was up and down. Baylor finally made a frantic rally at the end of the game, but sadly,  fell short. We were surprised at one point. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and who should be crouched by my seat but Josh. After his meeting someone gave him a ticket. And better still, there was an empty seat right next to ours, so he joined us. 

We finally got home around midnight. Tired but happy. It was a great night out with the boys. 

‭‭3 John‬ ‭1‬:‭11 says, Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

Father, thank you for walking with Zak through this new adulting thing. Amen. 

February 17 - “Some rich guy”

OK. Beeville. All my hopes and dreams of a particularly luscious honey town were smashed into oblivion. Beeville was named after some rich guy with the last name of Bee. He had three or four first names that were longer than that Mary Poppins word. Sigh. Oh well. On to Cuero. 

And why Cuero, you may ask? That’s where Chris’ two brothers live. They are currently working on a house they intend to flip. It’s been a few years since we have seen them, so it was fun to catch up. Mark grilled some burgers, and we sat outside in the sun and talked for a long time. Good to see them again. 

Our next long-range goal was Waco. It was only three and a half hours away, so we began that direction. We did stay away from those evil Interstate highways, though. Well, except that one we had to cross under. And personally, I was prepared for any excuse stops along the way. 

Sadly, all the potentials were not open on Sunday afternoon. Here’s a look at the prime adventures we missed:

Pecan Grove Apparition Park. This one was a life sized picture of Jesus in someone’s front yard with the accompanying signage. 

A life sized (as in same size as me) Statue of Liberty in the parking lot of a real estate office. 

Both of these were located just outside of Halletsville, which even had an old helicopter on display just past downtown. 

In Schulenberg there was the model aircraft museum. Could have been a fun one. The Big S-Town does win the award for most American flags lining the main drag. I suppose that was for Presidents’ Day?

Somewhere outside of town we saw a sign for the Swiss Alp. Singular. Just one of them, I guess. Probably too expensive to bring over a pair. 

LaGrange was hosting the best little quilt show in Texas. You know we would have stopped for that one. But alas, it was only on the last Friday and Saturday. Just a tad too early. Or late, depending on your perspective. 

Oh. And don’t travel south from Waco on US Highway 77. Word has it they are still cleaning up and cataloguing an alien aircraft that crashed there. Road is closed and you have to take a seven mile detour around it. 

Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ says, Then He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.”

Father, please be with the ladies working each shift at that hotel yesterday. It had to be tough being the only staffer in the building who had to do everybody’s job. Bless them. Amen.