This winter of 2016/2017:
Weather:
The weather as a whole has been great with above average temperatures. We did have a couple nights in January when temperatures dropped to 18 degrees. Fortunately we had no frozen pipes. I did have our hoses wrapped with insulation and we let the water drip inside and out. We put our sensitive plants inside the "she shed" with a heater. (My "man cave" never made it to fruition.)
The "She shed"
It was cold enough, long enough to freeze the leaves on several of our cactus. January 15th we had quite a hail storm. All evening we watched the weather channel radar. I was convinced the storm would slide off just to the north of us. Not unlike our often misleading weathermen, "I" was wrong. You may want to make note of this because, unlike the weathermen, I am seldom wrong. LOL
Several of you have heard me quote Isaac Asimov, "People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." LOL again!!
We had minor damage to our shed roof, rv roof and trees and plants. The truck didn't make out so well with nearly $7,000 in damage. As a result of this storm and neighbors predicting one or two hail storms a year, (right or wrong), we are now proud owners of a 60 foot long, 16 foot wide, and 13 foot tall RVport over our fifth wheel that we live in. It is long enough to park the truck under too. We're feeling much safer now during the south Texas storms. Spring is upon us with the grass greening, trees leaving, and mountain laurel displaying purple flowers. Soon Bluebonnets will dot the fields of hill country.
Friends:
Of course we have our happy hours often with park residents and locals but we have been blessed to have more friends and relatives from out of state come to visit us than anyone else in the resort community. Tom and Teresa from Missouri in December, and our oldest son Kevin, Karen, Jordan, and Justin from McKinney, TX the week before Christmas. January brought Brenda and Paul from Missouri to spend a month with us and Dave and Sally from Arkansas, for an extended stay at Rocky Point. So far in February, Mike and Christa from Wichita, Kansas have spent time with us. We are blessed more than most with friends and family who actually care enough about us to make the trek. Or maybe, like us, they just love hill country. We love you guys and appreciate you venturing the distance involved to give us time from your lives. We are always excited to hear you are coming. Mark, Becky, Kristen, Wes, Karissa, Logan, Kolton, and Jillian may be our next visitors from Missouri during spring break in March. We're looking forward to seeing you guys.
Projects:
This was our big project.
Our finished project
Earlier in the fall my neighbor David and long time friend Larry built a deck next to the RV so we didn't have to come down the steep RV steps. What an improvement. Thank you guys!!
David at work
Winter here seems to be about over. We hear it wasn't too bad back in Missouri where most of our family is. However, it's always nice to experience the renewal that Spring brings to our lives. It seems to energize us to look forward to the coming months and Summer. I hope you are all making plans for summer projects and travels. We have been thinking about summer but have not made specific plans.
We are looking forward to traveling to Missouri in May. Our oldest grandson, Jordan, will graduate from St Louis College of Pharmacy with a Doctor of Pharmacy. The six year program is an endurance test for sure. Congratulations to Jordan and his mom and dad. Most of you know that Kevin also graduated from STLCOP , as well as our nephew Jason Dodge.
Jordan James, Pharm.D.
While in Missouri, we hope to visit all of our kids and grandkids as well as many of our friends. There is never time to see everyone and visit as long as we would like but it helps to rejuvenate us old folks to see our loved ones.
Hopefully, you guys have all survived the winter months well too. Hang in there a few more weeks until Spring officially arrives.
WHEREVER YOU ARE IN YOUR LIFE AND TRAVELS, ENJOY THE JOURNEY.
