23 Jan to 25 Jan; SMT

On Sunday we had breakfast with the Nahachesky's and the Turcotte's at a local restaurant and we bitched and complained because the coffee was weak and the toast was like a brick and crumbled when we went cut it . So the local "haunt" is off our list. As i have said before , I have been there twice "first and last ".

Then Carroll and I headed for the local Flea market even thought we did not need much. We mainly went to get a price on making a Banner for our Ball Team. The market covers about 5 arces , with about 1/3 under covers. It sells everything from clothes, jewery , the latest "miricale" gadgets , boat tours, fruit and vegetables and enough Junk to last a life time. I had to ask where to find the Banner Maker. After asking several people I finally found " Ernie " the Banner maker. He already had 3 customers ahead of us so i ask the lady ahead of me how long he takes for each customer. she said; apparently forever, so i took his phone number and left. I never was good at lining up for anything which may have something to do with my 30 yrs in the Military.

Sunday was a slow day but i did keep an eye on the football games. You really can tell who is winning by the "shouts and hollering " of the neighbours as these folks really get into it, much like the Roughrider fans in Sask. There are lots of Packer and Steeler Flags throughout the park.

In the afternoon we had the Meakins over for a beer/wine and to firm up our schedule for the coming week.

Monday: Temp was 7 C at 7 AM but jumped to 27 C by noon. Before I forget, gas is between 2.86 and 3.06 and diesel is 3.29 to a high of 3.39.

Monday , Wed and Fri always start with a trip to the Chiropractor for Carroll by 9:30. Since it is a 1/2 hour trip , that pretty well gets rid of the morning. We got home in time for the Mon lunch served in the Rec Centre. Hamburger, hotdogs, desert at a cost of 1.00 each. Hey! we senior, we always look for a bargin.

The afternoon was a little boring until Carroll remembered that she needed to get something at the local "Outlet" mall. We spent about 2 hours there until Carroll's knee got sore. I picked up a $50.00 golf shirt for 15.00 so the store are discounting their prices a bit.

Tuesday: Game Day: Temp 10 C at 7 AM and it is overcast and foggy. I thought, for sure we would not play ball but we did and we had to play a double headed to make up for the rainouts. For the first 3 inning it was cool, dam cool, so cool i had to wear my jacket. Then in the 4 th inning the Sun came out and it was a great day to play ball with the temp in the low 70's. Not only that, but we won our first game of the year. However, that does not belittle the fact that some of our "player" and I use the word loosely, did not know what to do when there was call by the umpire;" infield fly, the batter is out". The ball dropped without a catch but our guy on 2 nd stay on 2nd; the guy on 1 st was 20 ft off the base and stood there until he was tagged and then argue the ball was dead. I was coaching on 3rd and I can't recall exactly what i said but it was not complimentary. I did notice that when someone makes a mistake they try to avoid me in the dugout. Surely, they must want my help. ha
We played a 2 nd game and it was " Bad News Bears " all over again. OH well, i do get some exercise.
After supper we took in the David Church show at a local high school additorium that seats about 1600. Can you imagine that all the high school have these large adatorium. The David Church show lasted 3 hours was a tribute to Hank williams for the 1 st hour and other songs after that. I had never heard of him before tonight, but apparently he has a show in Branson and he does a weekly TV show in the south. He is worth the price of the admission.
That's it for now but Wed will have a little more excitment. It is something that can only happen to us. cheers. t and c

Saturday 21 Jan

Temp was 4 C at 7 AM. Your dam right the furnance was on, but by 9 AM it was 17 C and by 10 AM it was Tee shirt weather.

Today I had to return to MX to the Dentist to get my Permanent Crown installed. We invited Al and Elanie Dempsey to accompany us and to enjoy the " Sights and Sound " of the small MX town/city of Progresso where we winter Texas visit ocassionally, like every 2 weeks.

My appointment was for approxi 12:30 but we were early so i dropped into the office and he took me right away. Twenty min later I was on my way.
The cost of the Crown was 130.00 but I had to pay 1/2 on Friday and the other 1/2 today. I had to snicker about paying 1/2 on Friday... like I'm going to leave town with a temporary filing. Anyhow I got my reciept for my insurance company as they will be " Tickled Pink" to pay their half of 130.00 rather than 1/2 of a 1000.00 of which it would have cost in Canada.

While I was in the Dental chair Carroll took Elanie to Angie's to have their nails done. Elanie had a Pedicure and a Manicure at a cost of 16.00 plus a 2.00 tip of course. Al spent the time walking the streets, taking in all the Vendors trying to "Passively " sell you there wares. The streets were pretty much crowded with Winter Texas possibly because the weather was nice and that it was a saturday.

After the girls were finished with their nails we did a little shopping where Al picked up a bottle of Bailey's for 18.95 which he could have gotten for 18.00 at the Duty Free. Then we headed for Gracia's resturaunt which is located in the " Canada " store for Lunch. The Canada store is basically a Dept that store that sells mostly what i call " Mexican Junk " . It also has an overpriced liquour section, a Pharmacy ( spelt Farmacy ) and clean washrooms which they call
" Bano's " . We went to the 2nd floor resturant and this place could easier seat 200 people but today there was about 50 Winter Texans having lunch. The waiters are on you like a "fly on honey" as soon as you enter so he ask where I would like to sit. I said a window by the ocean would be nice. I'm not sure if he thought I was being funny or crazy since the Gulf of MX was 1 1/2 hour away. We are ordered drink which was 2 beers, a Pina Coloa and a Margaretia. We all ordered Shrimp stuffed with Crab meat and it comes with Rice, Mash potaoes . It also came with soup or salad. The bill was 48.00 which was reasonable for lunch and a drink for 4 people.

We ( actually the girls ) decided that we would leave Progresso and head for the Outlet Mall near our Park as Elanie was interested in shopping for her G/kids and Carroll just happens to know where those stores were located, as if we have never been there before.

However, you can not leave progresso without going thru the Duty Free store just in case there are some bargins. I picked up a bottle a liqueur called Disaronna which one of friends recommened. Crown Royal was still 2 L for 36.00 so I will pick that up another day. I only take 2 bottles at a time because i don't like being ask questions by Customs. Al picked up a bottle of a Liqueur make from a wild fruit tree in Africa. The Customs people were in a good mood today as they did not ask any questions and in fact they chaistize us ( in a joking manner ) for not stepping up to the counter quick enough. Our officer , Joking said he was going home if we did not move faster.

Then we headed for the Outlet Mall to hunt for bargins for the Dempseys. Carroll is not in the buying mood " YET", so i did not have anythings to carry. We finished shopping around 4 PM and we dropped Al Dempseys off at their Hotel and invited them for supper at 6 PM . After supper we polished off 1/2 of Al's Liqueur drink made from the African wild fruit. I think it packs a wallop but I must buy a bottle of it to " retest " its' punch. The Dempseys are leaving on Monday and heading for Plam Springs. We had a great visit and hope we can get together again , as they do go thru Med Hat to visit a daughter and family in Winnipeg. Cheers. T and C

21 Jan 2011

Today was another active day in Southern TX. The temp finally got to 70 F but the day was too cool to sit outside as there was a cool wind blowing. Yes, it was blue Jeans and a sweater.
Our day started with a 9:30 Chiropractor appt for Carroll which usually chews up 2 hours out of our day. The trip is about a 1/2 hour drive to McAllen ( pronounced Mac Allen by the locals ) but mostly on the freeway which they call the Expressway.
Actually it is a 40 Mile long "Race Track" without the curves that connects about 20 small towns and cities with a larger city at each end. I actual get a snicker at the speed and the weaving in an out of the drivers.
If I have not already mentioned it, this area of TX is mainly of Hipanic background albeit born in USA. It seems that Hispanics , ( both men and women ) while driving, have to be in front of you and they will often pass at a high speed and then cut in front of you to make the exit that they just about missed. The Expressway is 3 lanes wide with very long decelorator lanes and very long runup lanes which I find an excellent idea as you can either enter or exit at a high speed so you can melt into the traffic safely. However, it doesn't pay to be too cautious when you exit to the collector lanes ( they too are 3 lanes wide ) as they will practically run up your rear end because they do not slow down coming off the Expressway. But , as crazy as it seems, there are not many accidents and I have never seen any Road Rage.
Today we had a Happy Hour as Al and Elanie Dempsey from Chillwack , BC dropped in for a visit. They are touring around the USA so they are staying in our area for a few days, as they have other friends in the area. Al was my boss in Shilo, MT from 77 to 81. Our boys knew each other and played hockey together. I also coached his son in hockey. Like 99.9 % of the kids I coached, he did not make the NHL either.
We also invited Larry and Holly Nahachesky and Les and Alma Turcotte to join us for happy Hour. Nahachewsky's were teachers who lived on the base at Shilo and whose boys played hockey and went to school with the Dempseys' . Les Turcotte worked in the Const Engr section at Shilo and was our Concrete Man. Alam was also a teacher at Shilo. Dempseys had not seen the Nahas or the Turcottes since 81 so it was a great "Gab Session " just to relate story and to find our where some mutual friends live now.
Well that took care of Friday. Tomorrow it is off to MX to the Dentist to get my Crown. cheers. T and C

20 Jan 2011

Thursday was another busy day as if most days are not. Carroll seems to be "building " the "Honey Do" list but I keep telling her this not our home and I'm in the "leave it for tomorrow" Mode. I still have not connected the antenna so she can see the local news but I'm running out of excuses.
The day started with a ball Game at 11 PM and we got slaughtered again . Before the season started we were hunting for players and now we got 15 "Bodies " but a few of them are impersonating a Ball Player. Apparently you can't fire a Volunteer. ha ha. Some of them do not know the rules so I'm the guy that explains the rules and I'm not sure I'm impressing some of them . Yesterday, there was a routine play at third base where the S.S. , third baseman and the Pitcher ran into each other while trying to cover third and then the 3 rd baseman threw the ball away as the runner tripped and fell then got up and was safe. I came into the dugout and in a forceful voice; said; You guys look like the Bad news Bear. Apparently I hit a sore spot as the third baseman says; I suppose it is my fault that the other team scored all 15 runs. I just told him he needed thicher skin. I guess I'm off his christmas card list.
After the game it was off to MX to visit the Dentist as I had chipped a tooth last week. I was expecting a Root Cannel and a Crown. Incidentally I had to wait 20 mins to get in and I did not have an appointment. After the Dentist examined my tooth he said we have 2 choices; I can fill it or I can do a Crown. I said " No root Cannel" he said No need for a root Cannel. I said How Soon and How Much. He said 130.00 (that is right 130.00 ) and i can do it right now. I said ; get at it, because I'm not moving. He said it would take 40 mins to 1 hours so I told him Carroll was in the waiting so tell her to go shopping for an hour. One hour later I walked out with the Temporary tooth and I return on Saturday for the real Crown.
Then we returned home for an hour and we were off to the Rec Hall as this happen to be "Soup Night " with enterainment for 2 hours before supper. The soup was provided by the volunteers at a cost of 2.00 per person ( you can see were all our money goes ) and the entertainment was a donation . One has to sign up for these type of events on the previous week as there is a max of 320 chairs. For the 1 st hour we sat with a couple from Edm but they did not sign up so no Soup for them. When they started to serve the Soup we seen another couple who were alone so we moved to their table and introduced ourselves. They are from Thunder Bay and had just arr a few days ago so we " the travellers " gave them lots of info on what to do and were to go. They had also just retired and this was their first adventure to Southern USA. They ask about MX as they were afraid to go but we put their mind at ease... I think. I also told them of the cost of my Dental visit and they were blown away as they had some done at home at a " slightly " higher cost. They need more Dental work when they get home. They are now going to our Dentist in MX.
Before I forget Gas is somewhere between 2.85 at Wal-mart to 2.99 elsewhere. And we traveled 3750 KM to get here.
Around 4 PM yesterday a cold front move in, probably from Alberta, and the temp dropped to 40 F over night. Hence the furnace was turned on immediately after I got up. This calls for long pants and sweaters today. cheers. t and C

17 to 19 Jan ....Week Three

Carroll has had a stiff neck for over a week and no amount of "Home" doctoring has helped. Then on Saturday we took in the "free " health show in McAllen and she stopped at a booth to discuss her neck problem with a Chriopractor who was there to drum up some business. He performed a quick Thermo Scan on her back and neck area. To no surprise, since we have had this same scan done at a few years ago, he found that her neck area needed some treatments to relieve the muscle strain. So, Carroll made an appointment for Monday at which time they did another Thermo Scan , several xrays which showed ( does any of us uneducated know what is on an xray ) her neck indicated a whiplash type injury and a pinched nerve. All that to say, Carroll is now taking treatments for her condition. However, I have never seen a Chriopractors operation like this one. They have 4 Doctors, all family and 8 young female technians . The Dr. do the adjustments and then direct the Techs do the additional deep heat treatments for 10 min followed by Ultrasonic treatment for another 10 mins. The treatment room has about 10 beds and it is a Zoo caused by moving people from bed to bed for the different treatments. The waiting room has approximately 20 chair but they are mostly full as most of the patients have there spouse there. I got up to go to the bathroom and lost my chair, then later I went for a coffee and lost my chair again so just played the same game and took some one elses when they got up. Tit for Tat. It takes at least 1 hour to get thru the entire treatment process and the girls call everyone , Honey; Sweetee; and Miss Carroll you are next. You difinitely can see the Southern influence. When the clerk was explaining the cost structure she was itemizing each facit such as an xray cost this much , an adjust cost this much and tape cost this much and so On. I ask her if she sold Used cars on her days off as she sure had the sales touch. She said she thought about RealEstate but did not want to work weekends.
Tuesday was a slow day as I played ball in the morning. Some of our player are impersonating a Ball player and think their talent obvious belong somewhere else.
Wedesday was Canada Day. All Canadians in our park where invited to a Potluck Supper and we had 96 attendees which was a large percentage of Canadians in the park. We had first had a History type test to be completed by each table. an example of the questions are; Who was the Prime Minister who gave the finger to the West on one of his trips; and Which city is the Polar Bear Capital in the world. There were 15 tables an we finished third, we had a retired teacher from Killary , MT so we did have some help there. This was a good way to meet other Canadians.
Cheers. I gotta go and play ball, then off to MX for dental work. Tand C

Our 2nd Week in TX 9 to16 Jan

This week began with a Gloom and Doom Weather Report and it did not disappoint. Sunday, and Monday were cool... to us but in TX that is cold. The temp was hovering in the mid 40 F for both days and of course everyone had the furances running along with some Electric heating. Unforetunately , the power infastructure is not sufficent to carry an overload so we got Brown outs and worst still Power Outages.
On Wed it started to rain and did not stop until Monday morning. Needless to say our Tues and Thurs ball games were rained out. There were not many people out walking there dog or doing their causal walk this week.It was too wet and too cold.
On Tuesday the Park hosted a FREE( the most recognizable word to a Senior ) Dinner for the resident Winter Texans. The cutoff was at 320 people and amazing 320 people showed up: as if it would have been a surprise if less than 320 showed up.
On Thursday evening our Ball Team decided to have supper at a local restaurant called Arturos who happens to sponsor our Ball Team, to show our appreciation. The food was great as they serve both American and Mexican style meals. I had stuff peppers at 8.00 and a beer for 3.50. Carroll had a bacon Wrap Shrimp Plate for 15.00.Where can you get two meals and drink for less than 30.00 other than macDonald's. The owner is an American/Mexican whose father is also a restaurantour. Incidentally, there are several restaurantor in the area where the father owns one restaurant and the son owns another nearby. An example is Dirty Dave's is Seafood Speciality and 1 mile his father owns "Dad's" which Seafood and Steak type.
On Friday evening it was all you can eat "Fish Night" at the local Legion for 7.00 with our friends the Naha's and the Turcotte's who we knew from Shilo. The Legions in TX only serve Beer and Pop, however BYOB is allowed and encourage. The catch is you must bye your Ice and Mix, which only seems reasonable to me. These Legions only do a good business when we "Winter Texans" are here. The downside is that smoking is allowed but they do have a non-smoking room.
On Sunday we invited the Meakins over for supper. However, the Power went off 11 AM and by 3 PM was not back on. And we have a propane stove with a electric igniter and without the Power the gas valve will not open, hence we could not cook the meal. So we called the Meakins and said we have no power so " the Caters are coming over with the meal". What else can we do. Besides the curling finals where on and we did not have any power so we stayed for the curling. We did lose the satellite signal several times do to the rain storm and believe me it has to rain hard to lose a signal. The rain is now over; the sun is shinning and life is good. cheers until next time. T and C

1 Jan to 8 Jan 2011--- We have arrived in Weslaco

As mentioned we spent New Years Eve in South Padre Island with our friends from Med Hat, Don and Shirley Meakin and their freinds ( now ours ) Ron and Mel Meyers from Ottawa area. We had a great Sea food supper at a local restauraunt and then returned to the Meakin's time share to await midnight. Since we were all tired we agreed to used the New York time as our New Year. the next morning 1 Jan we all had breakfast in S. Padre and then we travel the hour and 15 min drive to our winter home at Southern Comfort, which, incidental ,we rented sight on seen . However, it was only 10 houses from Al and Doreen's winter home here so we felt comfortable that it would not be a dump.

We first met the landlord who escorted us to our house ( a 1 bdm room park Model ) and he gave us the tour and then we began to unpack the VAN. I'm sure the VAN was saying "Thank You " because that baby was loaded ( maybe overloaded ) for the 3000KM trip. By noon we had the Van unload and most of the clothes etc put away or better still , out of sight. Since Joe and Terry, other friends from Med Hat, were parked a couple of hundred yards away we dropped into say Hello. We had the perverble cup of coffee gave the news updates from home. Then we made a quick trip to Wal-mart to get some groceries and refeshments. Around noon Holly and Larry Nahachewsky ( better known as the Naha's ) dropped by as they knew we would arrive around 1 Jan. The Naha's were teachers at the Military base in Shilo and we became friends in 77 to 81. I taught their 2 boys hockey and they taught our boys... I'm not sure what our boys learned from them but I know our boys went on to Higher learning and their boys did not turn out to be Hockey Player. Actually, their boys are teachers.

During our chit chat with the Nahas' along comes Don and Glenna Carker ( ex-military from kingston ) who are very close friends of the Ludwars. In fact the Ludwars and the Carkers took a trip to New York City in Sept. the Nahas' and the Carkers were nice enought to refuse a coffee, knowing full well we were not organized yet.

after our friends left we again started to organize our winter home and to find out and make a list of our needs from the " dollar store " . You always need something from the Dollar store. Also, the Satellite Dish would need to be install soon as we need the news ( maybe the sports) from home. first I had to meet my neighbours as I might have to encroach on their property to find the Satelite. Also we had an invite for a 5 PM supper with the Meakins who live at another park a few miles away. About 4 PM our neighbour , Wayne and Karen Cote, (Wayne is also the Ball Team coach), came over to welcome us but mainly to advise me that we had a 9:30 ball game on Tuesday. I played with Wayne 2 years ago so we did know each other. They left around 5 PM so we had to rush to our supper invitation at the
Meakins. Althought the drop-in visit curtailed our " organizing" of the house; the up side is that we got some Happy Hour invitation which i'm sure we can fit in to our schedule. The meal at Meakins was excellent as usual as Shirely is an excellent cook, with Don's help of course.
The priority for the next day was the Satellite but with my expertise in this area I had it up and running in a couple of hours. I did have to disconnect the landlord's DISH satellite as I needed his cables that ran thru the house. I did bring a 2nd TV so I had to run a new cable to the bedroom as Carroll and i do not " always" watch the same program. During the next two days we ran back and forth to the Dollar Store and Walmart getting the things we forgot the previous day.
I must also mention that our friends Terry and Joe Egan from Med Hat invited us for supper the 2nd day after our arrival. Keep those free meals coming.
On Wed we decide to got to Sam's Club and spend the required 200.00 on meats an other necessities or as we say to justified the trip; " to buy the Big things we need'. There is no Costco here. On thursday we ( mostly Carroll ) decided that we should skip over to MX which is only 7 mi away. I needed a 3.00 haircut and she needed a 15.00 Pedicure. The beer is only 1.50 a bottle while I waited for Carroll. I also needed to pick up the required two bottles of Duty Free Booze. I got a L of Drambuie and a L of Baileys for less than 40.00.
Unforetunately I chipped a tooth so we will be going back over to MX to the Dentist on Wed or Thursday to have it repaired. I will likely need a Root Cannal and a Crown and i will be shocked if it cost over 500.00 dollars. My Insurance company would love us to get all our denal work done in MX.
My expertise on the satellite was about to be tested. During a noon hour news cast the signal started to fade so I thought i would " Tweak " it a bit. I tweaked it alright ; I lost the signal forever. I did not have the signal bearings nor did I bring a compass. My normal method is to aim the dish south at 60 degree, way it back and forth and the signal is usual there. But No Luck this time. So i notice a Starchoice dish down the street so i venture down to check the bearing. The owner said go ahead and check the bearing, however that guy over there from MT has a meter and he is good at setting up a dish. Since I was losing my touch I venture over to to see this guy. He looked at me and said Hey! I know you... You hired me in 1981 at Shilo, MT and i have been forever greatful. I stayed there for 20 yrs and eventually became the Carpenter Foreman until i retired. I did recognize him , mainly for his Dutch accent but I hired him because he was in charge of a project and did a excellent job. Now I had to set up the Satellite because I can not live without it. I ended up moving the Satellite to a vacant lot about 30 ft away. I did bring lots of cable with me ... just in case. Shortly after i moved the satellite I got the signal again. so now all is right in the World again.
On Saturday we joined the Meakins and went to an outdoor Music Fest which was a celebration for Elvis's birthday. The show was from 1 PM to 8 PM and was mostly singers who thought they were Elvis. I will admit, most of them were good but 7 hours sitting on a hard chair and listen to the renditions of Elvis was a little much for me. You can say that i have been to this annual Music fest twice: First and Last. The next Blog will be about our 2 nd week but should be much shorter. cheers. Tom and Carroll