I got up at 7 AM , put on the coffee pot and checked with the neighbor's thermometer and OMG it was 39 F ( about 5 C ) . Just to think that we drove 4 days south of Med Hat just so we could find weather that is colder than the temperature at home. What the heck is wrong with us Seniors. ha ha.
Well, it was too cool to go to MX ( 7 miles from our Park ) as we still need to make that trip to get our teeth clean but we will wait for warmer weather as it will eventually come. So we went to visit friends from Ontario that we originally met down here in 2009. We haven't seen them for about 4 or 5 years but I do keep in touch by email and Skype. We always have lots of stories to swap.
Then it was supper and curling to kill the day. cheers
Saturday, 7 March 2015
Friday, 6 March 2015
Cold and windy 5 March 2015
It was so windy during the night that I awoke about 2:30 AM and I thought for sure that my Satellite would be ripped from the ground so I got up and removed the LNB because, if it breaks I'll will not have any TV and then how will I survive. ha ha
When I got up at 7 AM, the temperature was 41 F ( 5 C ) and all the early morning "walkers" were wearing winter coats, toques and gloves. What a way to spend a winter in TX. The upside is we only got here 2 weeks ago instead of in Dec and we are leaving in 2 weeks.... we hope.
I checked my mail box and I had 4 letters from Time Warmers. One of the letters said I had prepaid my bill so I don't own them any money. Luckily me, they took it out of my VISA before they install it. Man!! they are nice people. The other 3 letters explained ( they were exactly the same letter word for word ) , in 5 paragraphs that I do not have a credit rating with them so I will have to prepay before they can install my internet. This is the same internet they installed 2 weeks ago.
Since the Time Warner office is only 20 miles away, I thought that maybe I'm missing something in the letter so we drove to Harlingen to pay them a visit and the weather is the shits so we can look thru the stores to kill the day. The clerk at Time Warner checked my account and said that I was paid
up until 19 March , which is the day we intent to leave here and to disregard the 3 letters. I wonder how many new customers get these letters that make no sense. No wonder they have to charge us customers these high prices.
We did some shopping since we were already at the Mall and Carroll bought some blouses at "bargain basement prices" of course and I got a sweater just in case it snows. ha ha
Then back home to watch the curling. cheers
When I got up at 7 AM, the temperature was 41 F ( 5 C ) and all the early morning "walkers" were wearing winter coats, toques and gloves. What a way to spend a winter in TX. The upside is we only got here 2 weeks ago instead of in Dec and we are leaving in 2 weeks.... we hope.
I checked my mail box and I had 4 letters from Time Warmers. One of the letters said I had prepaid my bill so I don't own them any money. Luckily me, they took it out of my VISA before they install it. Man!! they are nice people. The other 3 letters explained ( they were exactly the same letter word for word ) , in 5 paragraphs that I do not have a credit rating with them so I will have to prepay before they can install my internet. This is the same internet they installed 2 weeks ago.
Since the Time Warner office is only 20 miles away, I thought that maybe I'm missing something in the letter so we drove to Harlingen to pay them a visit and the weather is the shits so we can look thru the stores to kill the day. The clerk at Time Warner checked my account and said that I was paid
up until 19 March , which is the day we intent to leave here and to disregard the 3 letters. I wonder how many new customers get these letters that make no sense. No wonder they have to charge us customers these high prices.
We did some shopping since we were already at the Mall and Carroll bought some blouses at "bargain basement prices" of course and I got a sweater just in case it snows. ha ha
Then back home to watch the curling. cheers
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Luau and WiFi 4 March 2015
We have ( meaning I pay for ) Time Warner internet which means we have WiFi so we can use both computers. Either late Friday or early Saturday we lost the WiFi but we still had internet when I connected the ether cord but I paid for and I want WiFi so I called Time Warner. After a lengthy Q and A, the Tech said that my Modem was disable so he Enabled it and all was fine. Later on Saturday I lost the WiFi again and the Tech reset it again. On Sunday it happened again and this time the Tech who said that they had to replace the Modem. I said how soon assuming it would be later on Sunday or Monday. She said the soonest I had get a Tech is Wednesday. I just about lost it because I thought maybe I was talking to " Telus ". I debated or maybe I argued as to why you took my money in flash when I ask for a connection but are making me wait 4 days for service. She did not have an answer so I just waited and waited and waited until she spoke. Finally I said I don't want " sorry " I want service. My choice was Wed morning or afternoon; I chose morning. The Tech arrived around 10 AM and did some checks and then replaced the Modem. The Tech was obviously a Mexican American ( meaning born in the USA ) and we ask if he goes back to MX to visit family and he said yes but not in the last 5 years. That's what most Mexicans say when we ask them.
Today is Hawaii Luau Day with about 200 in attendance . First we ( the ladies ) had to dress our table as if we were in Hawaii and it was great but not good enough to win first place. The we all had to dress like we were attending a Hawaii Luau and I must say that some folks went all out. The lady who won for best dressed was at our table, a Canadian from MB. The Luau Happy Hour started at 3 PM which was too early for us as the supper was not served at 5:30 so we did not go until 4 PM. Our neighbor's who are 92 years old ( they don't look like it ) did not want to go until 4 so we gave they a ride over to the Hall. However, they could drink for drink with me. Of course I don't drink much. ha ha. The Luau supper was great and was over by 6:30 so back to the MH to watch Curling and Hockey. We as sure glad we got Satellite. cheers
Today is Hawaii Luau Day with about 200 in attendance . First we ( the ladies ) had to dress our table as if we were in Hawaii and it was great but not good enough to win first place. The we all had to dress like we were attending a Hawaii Luau and I must say that some folks went all out. The lady who won for best dressed was at our table, a Canadian from MB. The Luau Happy Hour started at 3 PM which was too early for us as the supper was not served at 5:30 so we did not go until 4 PM. Our neighbor's who are 92 years old ( they don't look like it ) did not want to go until 4 so we gave they a ride over to the Hall. However, they could drink for drink with me. Of course I don't drink much. ha ha. The Luau supper was great and was over by 6:30 so back to the MH to watch Curling and Hockey. We as sure glad we got Satellite. cheers
Disappointment March 2015
2 March: There is nothing left to say about this weather; So I said it; it's the shitts. Nuff said.
3 March: We had several errands to run, so today was a great day to do just that. On the way to McAllen my gas light came on so that dictates that I go to Costco for gas which is in the same parking lot as Lowe's, which is were I will be returning my Accuterite Thermometer that is definitely inaccurate.
I pulled up to the pumps and knowing Costco does not cash and only take American Express , I used my Access Card but it came up invalid so I ask the Pump Jockey; what is my next move. He volunteered to run over to the Costco store and get me a gift card if I gave him the cash and my Costco Card which I could then use for gas. I accepted his offer.
Then I went to Lowe's to return my Thermometer and this lovely lady said no problem , but where is the box. I actually expected that question so I said, I live in a MH, do you really think I can keep the box for everything I purchase? She said, well I need the bar code and I can't leave my cash so can you go and bring another one so I can give you a refund. Great, I thought but the "Returns" counter is a direct entry to the building so I had to exit the building to get a Themometer but I then realized I could not leave the building to get back into the "Returns" counter without the Buzzer going off, so I had to hand the Thermometer to someone in Returns than walkout and back in to get my refund. Is it just me or does everyone have all these encounters.
OK, now we had to go to Freightliners to pick up my ignition switch which was ordered a week ago. A young guy by the name of Ruben told me to ask for him when I come to pickup the part but this a very busy place with 6 counter people and he was not one of them when it was my turn so I took the next guy. Just when the parts guy was looking for my part , Rubin spotted me so he told the other guy to take his customer and he looked after me. I thought that was kind of neat of him.
We were not having a great day but it seems that someone else can have bad day also. While at Lowe's these 2 guys were loading their pickup with a dozen sheets of plywood, a bunch of 2 by 8's and a about a dozen 2 by 4's. They did not tie their load on and I assume the driver "goosed" it as the cross the intersection and the plywood came flying out right in the middle of the intersection. There was enough room to get around them but it sure was embarrassing.
So that's how you spend a day when the weather is against you. cheers
3 March: We had several errands to run, so today was a great day to do just that. On the way to McAllen my gas light came on so that dictates that I go to Costco for gas which is in the same parking lot as Lowe's, which is were I will be returning my Accuterite Thermometer that is definitely inaccurate.
I pulled up to the pumps and knowing Costco does not cash and only take American Express , I used my Access Card but it came up invalid so I ask the Pump Jockey; what is my next move. He volunteered to run over to the Costco store and get me a gift card if I gave him the cash and my Costco Card which I could then use for gas. I accepted his offer.
Then I went to Lowe's to return my Thermometer and this lovely lady said no problem , but where is the box. I actually expected that question so I said, I live in a MH, do you really think I can keep the box for everything I purchase? She said, well I need the bar code and I can't leave my cash so can you go and bring another one so I can give you a refund. Great, I thought but the "Returns" counter is a direct entry to the building so I had to exit the building to get a Themometer but I then realized I could not leave the building to get back into the "Returns" counter without the Buzzer going off, so I had to hand the Thermometer to someone in Returns than walkout and back in to get my refund. Is it just me or does everyone have all these encounters.
OK, now we had to go to Freightliners to pick up my ignition switch which was ordered a week ago. A young guy by the name of Ruben told me to ask for him when I come to pickup the part but this a very busy place with 6 counter people and he was not one of them when it was my turn so I took the next guy. Just when the parts guy was looking for my part , Rubin spotted me so he told the other guy to take his customer and he looked after me. I thought that was kind of neat of him.
We were not having a great day but it seems that someone else can have bad day also. While at Lowe's these 2 guys were loading their pickup with a dozen sheets of plywood, a bunch of 2 by 8's and a about a dozen 2 by 4's. They did not tie their load on and I assume the driver "goosed" it as the cross the intersection and the plywood came flying out right in the middle of the intersection. There was enough room to get around them but it sure was embarrassing.
So that's how you spend a day when the weather is against you. cheers
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
March has Arrived; 2015
1 March ; Another rainy ,cloudy, misty and foggy day. Even our 45.00 Indoor/Outdoor AccuRite Thermometer is confused as it was predicting cloudy weather ( no rain ) and to top it off it also says it is 5 degrees colder in our MH with the furnace on than it is outdoors with the rain and windy. That sucker is going back to Lowe's this week.
We had planned to go to South Padre Island today with our friends, the Meakins and Terry but we have reservation on the weather so we will delay our launch time until noon, hoping ( some folks are praying ) for a clearing skies.
Oh well, watching curling in a cozy MH isn't the worst thing that can happen to us.
Both Carroll and Shirley really wanted to go to South Padre before the Kids on March break Stampeded onto the Island which starts this week. Winter Texans are Persona Non Gratra once the March Breaker's " Take Over " the Island.
Anyhow the girls decided that we will go to the Island so we did as it is only a 1 hour drive. We have not been there for 5 years so we noticed that it has built up considerably since then and there are many more upscale Hotel built and being built since then. It is obviously an attraction to some people but it is not my cup of tea because during the winter months it is dam, and foggy most morning and you seldom see the Sun until at least noon.
They have several restaurant on the Island but our choice is one of several owned by Dirty Al's. Dirty Al also owns the fishing Fleet so he sells fish to all the restaurants he doesn't own. Apparently each of his children run one of his restaurant and of course they have different names such as "Daddy's. Most Winter Texan's go to Dirty Al's as the food is excellent. They always have Happy Hour from 4 to 7 PM and a Jug of beers is 5.00 which is attractive to the "cheap " seniors including yours truly. cheers
We had planned to go to South Padre Island today with our friends, the Meakins and Terry but we have reservation on the weather so we will delay our launch time until noon, hoping ( some folks are praying ) for a clearing skies.
Oh well, watching curling in a cozy MH isn't the worst thing that can happen to us.
Both Carroll and Shirley really wanted to go to South Padre before the Kids on March break Stampeded onto the Island which starts this week. Winter Texans are Persona Non Gratra once the March Breaker's " Take Over " the Island.
Anyhow the girls decided that we will go to the Island so we did as it is only a 1 hour drive. We have not been there for 5 years so we noticed that it has built up considerably since then and there are many more upscale Hotel built and being built since then. It is obviously an attraction to some people but it is not my cup of tea because during the winter months it is dam, and foggy most morning and you seldom see the Sun until at least noon.
They have several restaurant on the Island but our choice is one of several owned by Dirty Al's. Dirty Al also owns the fishing Fleet so he sells fish to all the restaurants he doesn't own. Apparently each of his children run one of his restaurant and of course they have different names such as "Daddy's. Most Winter Texan's go to Dirty Al's as the food is excellent. They always have Happy Hour from 4 to 7 PM and a Jug of beers is 5.00 which is attractive to the "cheap " seniors including yours truly. cheers
Monday, 2 March 2015
Rain and Cloudy Feb 2015
27 Feb : They have a new word for Sun in Tx; it called Rainy and Cloudy. We have never incurred such "shitty " weather. Even the long time Winter Texas are saying it is the worst stretch of bad weather they have ever encountered. Since we paid for a month we have to stay until 19 March but not a minute more. We thought we would tour the Hill country north of here but their weather is worst than ours, so now we have to try to find a warmer climate for about 3 weeks.
If nothing else we are enjoying some of the festivities organized by the park. One such party that is coming up is the Hawaii Laue on Wed so we had a meeting to decide how we will decorate our table of 16 pers to look like we were in Hawaii. I'm not into dressing up and looking stupid but I have agreed to wear a Hawaii shirt and a Lea. Happy Hour is 2 hours before the supper so looking stupid might be a good fit.
We are glad for the Brier because it gives us something to do during this dam weather. We even went to the hot tub tonight even thought the temp was around 60 plus with a breeze. Needless to say it wasn't crowded as we were the only ones there. cheers
28 Feb: Every Saturday is a Pancake and Sausage breakfast so we took this opportunity to join the crowd as the cost is only 3.00 and it comes with coffee and juice.
We, then went to Harlingen , some 2 miles away to visit the Texas visitors Centre to get some maps and tips on some places where we might visit. This is a huge Visitors centre and they have a movie room so I ask for a video on the production and harvesting of sugar cane. This area is a big Sugar Cane producer and it is all harvested by combines much like harvesting corn or hay. However, most the planting is done by hand. The production however is very meticulous. If you are interested I suggest you Google the Sugar Cane production.
We finished the day by watching a combination of Curling and Hockey. Cheers
If nothing else we are enjoying some of the festivities organized by the park. One such party that is coming up is the Hawaii Laue on Wed so we had a meeting to decide how we will decorate our table of 16 pers to look like we were in Hawaii. I'm not into dressing up and looking stupid but I have agreed to wear a Hawaii shirt and a Lea. Happy Hour is 2 hours before the supper so looking stupid might be a good fit.
We are glad for the Brier because it gives us something to do during this dam weather. We even went to the hot tub tonight even thought the temp was around 60 plus with a breeze. Needless to say it wasn't crowded as we were the only ones there. cheers
28 Feb: Every Saturday is a Pancake and Sausage breakfast so we took this opportunity to join the crowd as the cost is only 3.00 and it comes with coffee and juice.
We, then went to Harlingen , some 2 miles away to visit the Texas visitors Centre to get some maps and tips on some places where we might visit. This is a huge Visitors centre and they have a movie room so I ask for a video on the production and harvesting of sugar cane. This area is a big Sugar Cane producer and it is all harvested by combines much like harvesting corn or hay. However, most the planting is done by hand. The production however is very meticulous. If you are interested I suggest you Google the Sugar Cane production.
We finished the day by watching a combination of Curling and Hockey. Cheers
Saturday, 28 February 2015
To Mexico with Friends 26 Feb 2015
Today was a bright and sunny day so maybe we will finally get the weather that we expected when we decide to come to this part of TX.
Our neighbors ( Roy and Bya) who are from Dauphin, MB wanted to go to the border town of Progresso, MX where all us winter Texans go to waste a day. They did not want to go alone because a Border Patrol Officer spoke at the Monday morning meeting and advise people to be very careful about go to some of the Border towns in MX. This always scares the " Bejeuses " out of most Americans and those Canadians who never travel much.
Anyhow the women mainly go for a Pedicure (12.00) and Manicure (8.00) while the men go for a haircut ( 5.00 ), shoeshine (2.00 ) and the beer (1.75 ). While Carroll was having a Pedicure I was looking for a Barber with no waiting ; as you know I have very little patience when it comes "lining up" for anything including for a haircut. Most Salons also have a barber shop but the one Carroll was at seemed busy but of course he doesn't want to lose a customer so when I ask he said just a few minutes. I said, am I next and he says there is only 2 ahead of you... I just walked away. I walked a few hundred feet down the street until I found a barber shop who had an empty seat. After my haircut, I returned to see how long Carroll would be and I had forgotten where I left her so I had to check a few salons before I found her. She was not ready, nor did I expect she would be, so I then left to get a shoeshine.
Since neither of the ladies were done when I returned, I suggested that Roy and I go to the "Red Sapper" and commence sampling the beer and when the ladies join us we would have lunch. The Red Sapper is one of the favorite "Haunts" of the Winter Texans because the food is good, reasonable priced and there is good music if you are inclined to dance. It is a very noisy place but that has a lot to do with the number of Margareta's consumed by the ladies. ha ha. On the way out of MX I picked up a litre of Drambuie for 25.00 USD plus a 3.75 for a TX tax. I'm sure that is a little cheaper than in Canada.
After we got home I had to update our GPS but first I had to get a Microchip as the GPS data was full. The only store that carries a Micro chip was Office Depot. I'm not sure how a GPS can be full since an update usually replaces the old info with the new. Anyhow I managed to get it updated.
After the sun went down , it clouded over and later in the evening the wind came up "again ", it clouded over and we got a short blast of rain. Dam weather in TX. Cheers
Our neighbors ( Roy and Bya) who are from Dauphin, MB wanted to go to the border town of Progresso, MX where all us winter Texans go to waste a day. They did not want to go alone because a Border Patrol Officer spoke at the Monday morning meeting and advise people to be very careful about go to some of the Border towns in MX. This always scares the " Bejeuses " out of most Americans and those Canadians who never travel much.
Anyhow the women mainly go for a Pedicure (12.00) and Manicure (8.00) while the men go for a haircut ( 5.00 ), shoeshine (2.00 ) and the beer (1.75 ). While Carroll was having a Pedicure I was looking for a Barber with no waiting ; as you know I have very little patience when it comes "lining up" for anything including for a haircut. Most Salons also have a barber shop but the one Carroll was at seemed busy but of course he doesn't want to lose a customer so when I ask he said just a few minutes. I said, am I next and he says there is only 2 ahead of you... I just walked away. I walked a few hundred feet down the street until I found a barber shop who had an empty seat. After my haircut, I returned to see how long Carroll would be and I had forgotten where I left her so I had to check a few salons before I found her. She was not ready, nor did I expect she would be, so I then left to get a shoeshine.
Since neither of the ladies were done when I returned, I suggested that Roy and I go to the "Red Sapper" and commence sampling the beer and when the ladies join us we would have lunch. The Red Sapper is one of the favorite "Haunts" of the Winter Texans because the food is good, reasonable priced and there is good music if you are inclined to dance. It is a very noisy place but that has a lot to do with the number of Margareta's consumed by the ladies. ha ha. On the way out of MX I picked up a litre of Drambuie for 25.00 USD plus a 3.75 for a TX tax. I'm sure that is a little cheaper than in Canada.
After we got home I had to update our GPS but first I had to get a Microchip as the GPS data was full. The only store that carries a Micro chip was Office Depot. I'm not sure how a GPS can be full since an update usually replaces the old info with the new. Anyhow I managed to get it updated.
After the sun went down , it clouded over and later in the evening the wind came up "again ", it clouded over and we got a short blast of rain. Dam weather in TX. Cheers
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