280 -- Eclipse of Blue/Red/Sup[er Moon

This morning I got up at 6:15 in order to be out to the Belton Lake Dam to watch the amazing rare moon that we were getting today--a blue moon because 2nd in the month, a red moon, an eclipse, and a super moon being as close to earth as it gets.  While getting dressed, I looked out the bathroom window and could see that we had cloud cover, but a couple of times a partial glimpse of the moon peeked out and it really was bright, but only for a moment and then it was hidden again.  I took off to the lake and found others there before me also looking toward the west to see this natural phenomenon, and just like me, all they could see was clouds.  So I sat there in great hopes that the clouds would part, but they didn't.  The only eclipse that happened in Belton this morning was a total eclipse of the moon by the clouds overhead.  But I count it as a first that I got up and got out there to try to see it!  I did take a few pictures of a pink sky over the lake, but no moon in sight.  Just try to imagine it behind that pink horizon!

Day 279 -- Asian Comfort Food

A huge amount of growth in restaurants and apartments have gone in across from Scott & White in the last couple of years, and we are beginning to see unfamiliar franchises coming our way.  One of those has just opened and is called Mama Fu's Asian Grill--Asian Comfort Food,  and it has a variety of types of Asian food from Chinese, to Vietnamese, to Japanese and maybe some I don't recognize by country.  Anyway, Bill had eaten there once and talked about it being good, so I suggested we eat there for lunch today.  Because I hadn't been there before and the menu is up on the wall before you get to the place to order, I just ordered kind of the first thing I saw that sounded ok and that was a Sesame Chicken salad with ginger  dressing.  After we ordered and were waiting for our food, I got one of their menus from the front counter and read through it and it looked like they had a number of things I might like.  They have some very hot and spicy dishes as well which of course I skimmed past.  Bill ordered Mongolian rice bowl with beef.  My salad was absolutely delicious!  The sesame chicken was great and lots of it, the salad was very fresh with fried wonton strips, almonds, spring mix, carrots, cucumbers and the ginger dressing was to die for!  I ate every single bite it was so yummy.  If you have one of these in your area and haven't eaten at it, you should treat yourself.  It is freshly cooked, not a buffet, and moderately priced.  

Day 278--Walking straight into a wall

Today I had a doctor's appointment at Scott and White so I valet parked my car since the cold wind was blowing.  When finished, I was walking out to get them to bring my car and all their doors slide open automatically--and I thought all the doors were double doors--but unfortunately I learned the hard way that they aren't!  I walked toward a door and just kept walking (at a clip) right into a full length piece of glass because it was a single door!  I rammed it hard with my forehead, nose, and mouth--I'm sure a lot of people laughed but I didn't look!  It hurt!  Got my car and immediately looked in the mirror, and sure enough I had a busted lip!  And my forehead was killing me!  So I went home, took 3 Advil, put ice on my lip and kept telling myself how stupid that was!  Hopefully this is a first and last for me.

Day 277 -- Inventorying Guns

Bill wanted to clean some pistols we had shot during Christmas and once he got those out, decided we should just take an inventory of all the guns he has so that if stolen or whatever, we would have a record.  I gave some of the men in the family a book for doing that in Christmas 2016 and his has been empty until now.  I was the scribe and we got most all the information we could on 62 guns--who knew he had so many?!  I did learn some things as we did it, with him explaining things about some of them.  I realized just how important it was for this to be done after we had finished, and I realized how much money is tied up in those guns.  He has quite an investment in them, and he pointed out the most valuable ones and by having all this recorded and pictures of the weapons as well, it will be easier to figure out what to do with them should I be left with them one day.  Many of the guns were gifts from police officers his dad worked with who went on to be Texas Rangers or DAs or such.  He did say he has another gun safe with a few guns in it, but he can't get in it so is going to have to call a locksmith to open it up for him some time.  Anyway, first time to do something like this and it wasn't as dull as I thought it was going to be because of the stories that he told about many of the guns and the people he got them from.

Day 276 -- Listening

I finished up reading a book called The Listening Life written by a Presbyterian minister and counselor on how to really listen in all the areas of life.  For me, it was something I need to work on, and I learned a great deal from it.  We do live in such a world of distractions and high speed that we are losing the art of slowing down and listening--to others, to our inner selves, to God, to nature--I highlighted so many things in it, that re-reading the highlights will almost be re-reading the entire book!  But it will be something I need to look at again and again to remind myself to breathe and slow down--and listen to others and really hear.

Day 266 -- Brody's

Tonight we went out to eat at a new restaurant that has gone in where the Oxbow used to be by the Expo in Belton.  It is called Brody's Steakhouse and it was great.  The steaks were delicious, perfectly spiced and cooked--and so tender!  The sides are just the normal kind of stuff, but the thing I think we noticed most was how quiet it was compared to most places we got out to eat.  We couldn't hear other conversations, the kitchen, dishes and pots and pans clanging or noise when tables were  cleaned off. That is worth almost as much as the quality of the food to us anymore.  We will definitely make it a favorite place to eat.  They have everything from sandwiches and burgers to prime steaks custom cut on site.  It is right on the interstate on the South end of Belton if you are driving through and need a place to eat.

Day 265 -- Brief Scare

Tonight when Bill had not come home by 7:15, I suddenly got really scared for a short time.  He always lets me know when he will be late and why, and this time I had heard nothing from him.  All I could think is that he stayed in the office until everyone left and then fell and couldn't get up or had a heart attack and couldn't get help!  He didn't answer his phone so I texted bookkeeper Autumn, and found that they were both at an HOA meeting at the office.  When he got home, I told him he was grounded!  It dawned on me that I have a whole new area of scares at this age of life that I would never have considered earlier in life.  But on a good note, Bill is doing very well with his sleep which has helped his whole outlook on life!

Days 250-264 Wow, am I behind!~

It has just been that kind of two weeks--not a lot unusual happening and lots of other things in the way of me posting it seems.  Here are a few of the firsts that happened during this time--otherwise it was pretty mundane!

Day 250 Jan. 10
Got elected for the 5th year in a row to  chairman of the ESAC (TREC education committee) and beginning to think this is like being a supreme judge--you die in office.

Day 255 Jan 16
FRIGID weather set in--did not leave the house once--began packing boxes to "thin out" some things from the house

Day 257 Jan 18
Began "Boundaries" Bible Study--a very different experience.  It is about the boundaries we should set  between ourselves and others, activities, etc. to lead a more balanced life and stay sane--with Biblical references to back up the boundary information.

Day 258 Jan 19
Met Max to take him to our house for the weekend.  Not a first really but certainly an exciting time for he and Nana!  I got to see him eat sushi for the first time--the boy can put it away!  We also made s'mores in the fireplace which was fun.

Day 259 Jan 20
Max and I went to Philip's house in Elgin--first time I have gotten to see the inside of it.  Granny was there with Danny and Sharon and we had a great visit.  I am so proud for Philip getting this house and he is working very hard to get it just like he wants it.  He and Danny were setting poles for a privacy fence he is building and Sharon and I went shopping in historical Elgin and saw lots of neat things.  Can't wait to go back!

Day 260 Jan 22
On Saturday night we learned that our friend Mike Brock had a horrible accident at his home back on Dec. 28.  He fell backwards and hit his head and had a brain bleed.  He was in ICU for 7 days and then to a rehabilitation place in Round Rock for two weeks and is now back at a rehab place in Temple.  We went by to see him after lunch today and it was shocking to see that he has memory issues, is getting occupational therapy and is a long way from full recovery.  He struggles to bring up words which hopefully will go away as he is now remembering more and more, and he talked about selling his house in the country.  He's a couple of years older than me, and it brought home to me how a small misstep can lead to a changed life in a second.

During the course of these days,  I finished reading a great book called A Column of Fire by Ken Follett which is the 3rd of the Pillars of the Earth series.  It was great but it was a hefty book to read--I have the hardback and it is 909 pages so it was somewhat like doing a workout to hold the book up!

Day 249 -- A most unpleasant first

Today I worked on thinning things out in the garage a little bit and packing up the Christmas dishes to give more room to stow some things inside cabinet doors.  All this stuff I decided I would take to the lake house to get out of the way until such time as I can take it to Comanche where I have been given storage space for things I want out of the way for now.  After working a while in the garage, I had a car load and so headed to the lake to unload.  I got one or two loads taken in, when I found myself with something I was going to stick in the kitchen, and as I walked in there, I discovered that a dead rat was in a trap by the refrigerator!  Gross!!!  It was huge as I think of rats, and it was in need of taking out of the house before it got any stinkier.  So I ratcheted up all my courage, picked up the rat trap, walked with it and the dead rat to the back yard, pulled back the latch, let the rat fall in the yard, then picked the nasty thing up by its tail and hurled it out into the woods--did I say GROSS!!  I have no real problem with doing that when it is a tiny mouse, but this sucker was big.  Anyway, I got it done.  I also made a mental note that I would not be taking anything out there that might be something a rat would chew on--so that determines my packing the rest of the week.  I certainly didn't take the time to take a photo of this first--but I expect most of you can imagine it for yourselves!

Day 248 -- Back to Normal

This is the beginning of the New Year as far as my activities go that I am involved with--workout resuming, choir practice resuming, Bible study resuming--so I guess I can officially say welcome to 2018 and all the things that will go along with it.  There is comfort in getting into a routine again, but not as much comfort as staying in your warm pj's longer in the morning, etc.  

And to start my health and fitness program today, my trainer had me dead lift 85 pounds 10 times and 95 pounds 10 times which I was able to do after laying out for a while.

DAY 247 -- Liberal Giving

Today we went to church and before the service began, there was a big "thank you" screen up at the front of the church.  Our preacher then proceeded to thank everyone for their faithfulness and generosity in supporting TBC.  He told us that our church needs $300K a month to operate and that we always get more than that with the most ever received being at $600K in a month.  Then he announced that in the month of December the monthly offering was over $1 million dollars.  I was simply floored.  We are a large congregation and so I understand the monthly overhead number completely--lots of preachers on staff and office staff as well.  Lots of missionaries on the mission field that we support as well.  And we are in the middle of a building renovation after having built a new building two years ago.  Interestingly, in the 23 years or so we have attended TBC, there has never been an offering plate passed--there are boxes at the exits where offerings can be dropped in as you come in or go out.  There is never a sermon about giving, tithing, etc. as I know some churches do.  But we have so many faithful members who do the right thing and who give support in many other ways besides just the general offering.  While I sometimes wish I was attending a smaller church, I know that our church is growing, has a great outreach, great preachers and that as long as we are doing what is in God's will, we will continue to be blessed in growth and finances.  So I'm feeling blessed to be a part of this community of believers!

Day 246 -- Dutch Babies

This morning before going to the memorial service for Charles McMillian which was the reason for the trip to Ft. Worth, we went to a classic breakfast place in Ft. Worth called the Ol' South Pancake House which happened to be just down the street from our hotel.  Avis and Harry had been there many times and had a favorite on the menu which I had never heard of--Dutch Babies--which they both ordered.  These are kind of like crepes but a little thicker, made with a somewhat sweet batter, swathed in butter, and then served by the waitress who squeezes the juice of one and one-half lemons on the inside before expertly folding them with forks into squares.  Oh, and they are sprinkled with powdered sugar as well.  Bill and I had tastes of them and they were certainly different from anything I had ever eaten before--almost a breakfast dessert.  I don't know where you could find them besides this place, but if you are ever in the TCU yuppy-land area, go to Ol'South and give them a try!

Day 245 -- Nocona and Muenster road trip

Avis and I got up early to drive to Ft. Worth to meet Bill at 10:00 at the hotel we were going to stay at for the night, so that we could then drive an hour and a half to Nocona for Bill to try on some boots.  Last year TAR found itself with some money that needed to be spent or lost, and so decided to spend it on customized boots for all the Hall of Fame TREPAC investors.  TREPAC is the political fundraising arm of Texas Association of REALTORS and you have to invest a lot in it to be in the Hall of Fame.  So before ordering the boots, Avis insisted that Bill needed to go to the bookmaker's and try on a pair in the style that he wanted to make sure he got the right size--and of course Nocona isn't very close to us in Belton so this was his first opportunity to do so.  When we got there, the downtown area of this little town was absolutely darling.  All the store fronts were so cute and updated, etc.  Come to find out, a movie had been shot there recently and so Hollywood or someone did all those store fronts up for the movie and really make the town look "picture perfect".  The boot store was at the end of the main street and he got his boots tried on and we were out of there in about 20 minutes.  Bill seldom wears boots but this will be his 4th pair, but first that are customized.

After Nocona, we travelled another 45 minutes to a town called Muenster which is a German community.  We made a stop at a restaurant to eat and got some really good German-made Reuben sandwiches with homemade sauerkraut that was so yummy.  Then we went to the German grocery store there (which is the real reason we went there) and bought pickles and found cheese curds!!  I have loved cheese curds since a trip to Wisconsin years ago and have never found them in Texas.  So now I know where to go when I must have some again!  

Tonight we went to a great restaurant in Ft. Worth called the Silver Fox which is a wonderful high-end steak and seafood place.  We had such a good meal and all went home ready to fall into bed after stuffing ourselves!

Day 244 -- Pub in Comanche

Today I went to Comanche with Avis to unload more stuff and spend the night before meeting Harry and Bill in Ft. Worth tomorrow.  As we drove that way, we stopped at a number of "antique" but really junk stores looking for some chairs to use at her dining room table.  Found nothing.  At 5:45, we met Sharon (the friend that has the store in Comanche) and one of her friends at the new Pub on the corner of the square that is in a building once owned by Avis and Sharon--that didn't have a roof on it and was in terrible condition.  They sold it to someone who has completely repaired and updated it into a cute pub-like warehouse type building.  It is really big, had no heating except lots of patio heaters and a big roaring fireplace that we sat beside as we had some wine and appetizers and visited for a bit.  We have always laughed about that building because when it was Avis and Sharon's there was an old sign on it that said "Hick's Real Estate" and we thought that was pretty appropriate.  Anyway, got to get a look at what it has been made into--and approved of what they did with it.

Day 243 -- Road to "For Sale"--new game plan for old plan

I have gotten the go ahead from Bill that we will be putting our house in MLS by the end of February--this is de ja vu all over again as I heard this last year and had the house ready by the end of Feb. 2017.  So I have my work lined out to do it all over in this first two months of 2018.  Here I come closets and garage and barn--I hope I can drum up renewed enthusiasm for the task.  So my new year's resolution is to get it done quickly and really be hard on myself in getting rid of things.  Also to treat it like a job--get up early and work until 5:00 and stop for the day.  That is a new way of looking at this that I hope will be more productive.  Won't be having a garage sale, but if there is something you may want, let me know and we will see if it is something I can part with!  Jodi has spoken for the up-side-down back board!

Day 243 -- Reading a children's classic

In December, I read a book by Madelaine L'Engle which was just a memoir type book written years ago before she died.  I loved her writing style and so immediately ordered her most famous book and Newberry Award winner, A Wrinkle in Time because I had never read it.  I have a bad habit of kind of turning my nose up to young adult literature, but today I started reading it and having a hard time putting it down.  It is a beautiful metaphor of life--good and evil--spun as a type of 1960s (written in 1962) sci-fi.  I am planning on reading it aloud to my grandchildren so we can talk about it as we read.  It is coming out as a movie this year, and I want them to hear it before seeing it.  I should be more open this year to unusual books (for me) to read.  I've missed a lot but then as the saying goes--so many books, so little time!

Day 242 -- New Year's Day 2018

My first day of a new year, and I am thankful for this year.  I feel that good things are ahead this year. We had such a sad 2017, but I see this new year as one full of personal growth, new experiences, and better health for Bill.  We had an old person's New Year's Eve in Comanche with everyone in bed before midnight--but woke up to sunshine and frigid 11 degree weather so got out and brought in more firewood to the porch--that was surely bracing!  We watched the Rose Parade and then lots of football.  Bill made a great brunch of eggs Benedict which we enjoyed with our friends next door to Avis, and then her daughter and family and in-laws came from Ft. Worth and we had lunch with them and I got to meet Avis' youngest grandson Lucas for the first time--and he will be one next month!  Bill and I left about 2 and came home under a blue cold sky with clear roads.  We watched the Rose Bowl game and another first--first time that game has ever gone to overtime.  OU came up short but it was a great game.  Happy New Years to all of you and may you all have a blessed 2018.