Saturday March 30th

Katie said she is on holidays so a day of nothing practically nothing is in order. I agree, she deserves it. So all we did was go grocery shopping to HEB so Katie could get the veggies and fruit for her juice, and a few other odds and ends. We thought it would be extremely busy because it is closed on Easter Sunday, but such was not the case.

We had to take back a purse Katie got at Stein Mart, as she found one she liked just as much in Mexico.

Then we did nothing much for most of the day. Some of our friends in the park, Danna and Remi and June and Bill, keep wanting to give us food as they are leaving and don't want to waste it. Guess we won't have to do any big shopping for awhile, and what we don't use we will take to Mexico for our families.

We decided to wash the golf cart, as it was a nice day. We gave the little beast a good cleaning.

Later on we went for a walk, as it was a very nice evening.

and so ends another great day in the valley...
more later...

and for Easter Sunday

Friday March 29th

We made plans with Bonnie and Al to go golfing to Palmview in McAllen. We had a 10:00 tee time, Al and Bonnie picked us up at 9AM. The day was warm but the wind was up, as seems to be the case more often than not this March. The pace was good, and the course was in pretty good shape overall. We all golfed pretty well, but the two girls Bonnie and Katie both shot 42 on the back 9. Very good score, especially due to the fact the wind was a factor. Katie hit one heck of a drive on #9, a par 4, and she was only about 60 yards from the green. If she had the opportunity to play all the time, she would be so good, and would likely be shooting in the 70's fairly consistently.

We had a good time golfing with Bonnie and Al as usual. After we got home Katie and I were going to go to the pool, but it was fairly crowded with a lot of folks just standing there talking. Doesn't make for a good swimming experience.

Then our friend June dropped by and invited us for a going home gathering at their place. A lot of our friends who are going home tomorrow or Monday, have food left over they want to do something with. So there was all sorts of food available, and drinks. It never fails...good conversation, a ton of laughs, and the feeling of how good it is, to share the outdoors in a warm climate, with people you really like.

It started to cool off around 8PM so goodbyes were said to those leaving. Katie and I came home and relaxed for the rest of the night with some TV.

and so ends another great day in the valley...
more later...

Thursday Mar 28th

Today was Mexico Day. We couldn't go to see the kids as Sister Maureen is still on retreat this week. Katie and I just wanted to walk around and see what kind of small items we might find. Usually we stock up on pure vanilla which is ridiculously cheap compared to back home, but we still have lots from last year.

Katie was in search of a purse, as she found one last year that she really liked. She got another one this year, not quite as good as the one she found last year, but still a good choice regardless, and all for the bargain price of $21.00.

Here is another item we found, that we just had to have...



They also had Jets ponchos, but who would want to wear something like that indoors?

We had a good time just wandering around, and then we happened on a new store that we had not seen before, and turns out it is a pizza place. It looked good inside, so in we went for a little lunch break. They were cooking the pizza's in a wood fired pizza oven...



Here is the menu...we ordered a large pizza...mistake too big couldn't eat it all so the two pieces we couldn't eat we gave to an old woman begging on the street and she was grateful!



and the size of the pizza...



It may not seem like a big deal for those of us who are used to going to Pizza Restaurants wherever we live, it is just unusual in Neuvo Progresso.

Here are some shots Katie took of the murals on the ceiling...beautiful!



The Pizza was very good, our whole meal, two Corona's for me, a diet coke for Katie, and the large pizza came to $11.95. The beer was $1 each, unlike our $4.95 or so back home.,



We continued on our way, browsing the stores and Katie took random shots...



Then it was back home, and some relaxation for the rest of the night...

and so ends another great day in the valley
more later...

Wednesday Mar 28th

Today was a factory outlet day. First we went to Kohl's in McAllen, as Al likes to get his golf shirts there. He has some nice ones. Katie found a pair of pants there, but in general they are expensive.

Then we went to Mercedes Factory Outlets, approx 20 miles away. Katie found some nice golf clothes at Izod, and I found a golf shirt elsewhere and a T shirt. That was about it for clothes and bargains, as the stores in general were very crowded. When we go usually it is not crowded and quite enjoyable.

We found out that it is so busy because it is "Holy Week". Lots of families and kids. I said to Katie "kind of odd that this is Holy week, which involves shopping at the factory outlets, to celebrate it" She agreed. Of course that is not the only thing these families do to celebrate Holy week....

Then it was back home, and just relaxed for the night.

and so ended another great day in the valley...
more later...

Tuesday March 26th

Katie went to get a pedicure this morning, but there was only one person working and the smell of the chemicals was making her feel a bit sick, so she left. She went shopping for clothes for our Mexican girls instead. Durga, Katie's friend and Karelly's sponsor, gave Katie money before we left to buy some clothes for the girls. Here is the result. The girls will love them I'm sure.



My friend Al and I went to get Bonnie a Nexus 7 tablet. We got it, and then I set it up for her while she was golfing.

Katie came back, and later in the afternoon the vegetable guy came to the park...Katie likes to get vegetables from him because they are good quality, locally grown, and the prices are good. We stopped at Bonnie and Al's and taught Bonnie a few things about her new tablet.

Katie and I put the surround cover on the golf cart, as we had washed it at the car wash, and wanted to at least get it on and rolled up, as it is too bulky to store. We will likely never use it, unless it is raining hard, which mostly never happens, but it is good to have anyway.

We're just going to relax tonight. We are going to Mercedes tomorrow to hit the factory outlet stores. We don't intend to buy too much, as we both intend to lose some more weight when we get back home.

We made a tee time for Friday for golf with Bonnie and Al.

and so ends another great day in the Valley...
more later...

Monday March 25th

Not alot to talk about today...

We went a couple of doors down to our friend Ron's who was hosting a happy hour. Again, always lots of fun and good people, and always lots of laughs. Unfortunately the wind was up, and believe it our not, it was actually cold. What a joke, saying it is cold when it was in the 60 degrees, thinking of what it has been like back home.

But people had hoodies on with the hoods up, and people left early because it was cold sitting there. We were pretty much there until the bitter end.



and so ends another great day in the valley...
more later...

Sunday March 25th

We have been here three weeks today...the time has gone by way too fast.

Katie made her "juice" in the morning...

The goats will benefit from the tail ends and the little goats really like the pulp.

Then it was time to do a job I was not looking forward to. In between the outer and Inner windows of the trailer, there is a space, and some type of mactac type of material covering the frame. In the heat and sun, this material starts to let go and curl up, so that it looks terrible between the windows. Last year I redid two of the front window, and painted in between instead. So I had one front window to do and also three windows on the side.

In order to get at the space, you need to remove the inside aluminum frame, and there are about 20 screws or more holding each one on. Also have to take off the Venetian blinds and clean them. Once the frame comes off, a good cleaning is required, both the frame and the windows. Then I have to take a hair dryer and heat up the mactac so the glue lets go and I can gradually peel it off. Then two coats of paint as the pressboard underneath just sucks the paint in. Then put everything back together again X4.



Basically this job took almost all day, extremely time consuming, but it is now done Hallelujah! Oops wait...another day I will have to do another two which are not really in bad shape because they are shielded from the sun due to the carpot.

Time for dinner, we both deserved a restaurant night, so off we went to the Chinese Sea Buffet, and it was very good. We were pretty full when we got back so it was time for a walk. We stopped in at Remi and Danna's and had a nice chat, then Bill and June's, and same thing, fun!

and so ends another great day in the valley...

more later....