Coming Up On Christmas

We are well on the way to having a great holiday. With Christmas around the corner and the New Year fast approaching, we have been busy trying to get things going here and in the Center. Tom is driving folks to medical appointments, and I have been VERY busy in the kitchen. We now feed between 65 and 75 people every noon. Whether we have a cook or not. Right now we have no cook for Sunday. I have been doing the big dinner on Sunday for a couple of weeks now. Of course I have helpers, but they must think I know what I'm doing. How much food is 1200 hundred calories anyway? Oh well, no one seems to complain. On Friday I made my vegetable beef soup. It went over very well. Lots of compliments. Sunday was roast beef. That day didn't go quite so easily, but everyone of the residents was happy. We ran a little short on beef, but the volunteers all were very kind, and took only a little, and made up for it with potatoes and gravy. The menu called for brusse sprouts, but I also made a green bean casserole (my favorite), which went over better than the sprouts. We had just enough salad, and the dessert was also gone. I guess they will have to order a bigger roast next time!! I had 2 guys helping me. They were great. All in all, I think it all went well. I'm on the schedule for this coming Sunday, but I have a more experienced person helping me. Maybe I won't be as tired this time. 10 hours in the kitchen on Friday was enough for anyone.
Tom and I have started to geo cache. (geocache.com). We log onto the sight and find some clues, then go out to find it. It's kinda like a treasure hunt. When you find it you sign the log, put it back the same as you found it, and be on your way. We have found 2 so far. One hear at CARE, and one in the RV park. We have tomorrow off, and after the laundry and shopping, we would like to go into town where they have a few more. With only one day off we don't get to do much fun stuff.
Monday evening, Hazel and I went into Lufkin. We wanted to go to the Hobby Lobby. (craft store) It was the first time I have seen a Mall since I arrived in Livingston on October 28. If you want to go someplace besides Wal-Mart you have to drive about an hour. I was tickled pink. I got to use a JC Penny gift card I had, and we both had a great time.
On Saturday, Ed and Hazel took us to see the Liberty Opry. We had so much fun. It was country legends night. They were all so talented! This little girl of about 14 came out and she belted out Dolly Parton songs like you wouldn't believe. What a voice. I suspect we will be hearing about Kayla Woodson in the near future. You can check her out at Kaylawoodson.com for a sample of how good she is. All of the musician were terrific. We would go again in minute. Every Saturday night for $10.00, you can't get better entertainment.
We also went to a little sea food-steak place called Ann's. We got a great meal, and music we didn't expect to hear. Some folks were there from a near-by church. Some of the youth sang Christmas songs, as did the minister and his wife, while his brother and sister-in-law played guitar and keyboard. They food was good ole Texas cookin' at a reasonable price, and the children where just so adorable. We enjoyed ourselves so much.
As you can probably tell, we have fallen in love with these folks in east Texas. Everyone is so friendly and polite. You sit down in a doctor office waiting for one of our folks from the center, and someone you never saw before just starts talking, and before you know it you know there whole life story. They know how to take their time here. Everything is slow and easy going. Just the kind of place we have been looking for. No one is in a hurry. Unless they are driving. The speed limit here is 70 on roads that would be 50-55 at home. We just move over. They go around. Makes things interesting.
Out little tree is up, and we have lights outside. We brought some little things to decorate with from home. We look a little festive. Sometimes we only get a couple of hours to ourselves here in the motor home. At night when we come back, Tom goes on the computer, and I just sit and relax. Then we are off to bed. Tom sometimes gets up pretty early to get folks into Houston for appointments at the medical center there. So needless to say, we are pretty bushed by the time we come home at about 7:00. It's a good tired, though. We know we are doing something good, It makes us feel good and the residents feel good. That's what we are here for.
I can't believe that Hazel and Ed are leaving on Sunday. We'll certainly miss them. We have become such good friends. I feel like I've know her for ever. We have such a good time together. We work so well together, probably because we think so much of the folks here. They are headed off to spend the holidays with family, and then off to Arizona. We may catch up with them there. When they go 2 other couples leave, too. We will be short handed again, so that means more hours to put in for us that are left. I know we can make it till Jan. 4th. Then we can be tourists.
I can't believe it's been 6 months since we left home. Tom said it yesterday, and I was stunned. A whole half year! Time sure does fly when you're having fun!!!!!

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

First let us wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we should all take a moment to think about what we are thankful for. My thoughts are a little bit different since we have been here. We are both very thankful for the opportunity to be able to do what we are doing. I think we have really taken CARE to heart. Some of the folks you can't help but love. I hope to have some pictures soon to introduce some of them to all of you.
Some of us lady volunteers have been very busy getting ready to give everyone a nice day. Jan and Lorna have made a bunch of pies, and roasted turkeys and hams. Today I peeled about 35 pounds of potatoes. That's only about half of what we will need. We have about 20 pies now. Some of the residents have furnished some. I'll make candies sweet potatoes, we'll also have plain for our diabetics. Lots of folks are bringing a dish to share. On holidays it's nice to have a favorite. Makes it almost feel like home. Someone is bringing rutabaga. Tom will be happy. You should see all the stuffing that was made today! All that was going on while I peeled those potatoes. Took me a while! It looks like we will have somewhere around 90 people to feed. The biggest they have ever had here. That includes family guests and board members. I'm really happy to be part of this. I miss cooking for family.
I almost forgot. Today I also cooked 77 hamburgers. That was dinner. Our main meal is at noon. With trying to get tomorrows dinner ready, and getting the regular meals together, we all chipped in to help. The week-day cook, Miss Terry, (every lady is Miss here), was helping all over the kitchen. I kind of just got stuck in front of the grill, with a big bowl of hamburger, and started to make them. The next thing I know, Miss Terry says to me, "Count them as you go. We have to have 75." Well, the big bowl made 77. Very proud of myself I am. I cooked 77 hamburgers.
As you can see, I have had a very busy day. Tomorrow looks to be even busier. I know at home the ladies of the church were having a pumpkin roll sale. I had shown them how to make them before we left in June. They have told me they had lots of orders. I hope all went well. Ladies....I have been busy, too. Just not making pumpkin roll.
Well, I hope you all get to have a good meal tomorrow, and to all of our friends and family we will be thinking of you all.

Volunteering With Pleasure

This takes some explaining. When we first came to C.A.R.E., we were a bit overwhelmed with all of the rules, regs, and jobs we were to do. Let alone the hours we were to put in. Now I am reporting that all has changed. We couldn't be happier to be here. We have become good friends with other volunteers and many of the residents. Oops, they are participants. Everyone connected with this wonderful place is special. They all have their own stories. We have driven so many folks to appointments. Tom has been to Houston, Humble (pronounced Umble), and Cleveland, and more. We have visited Audio, orthopedic, podiatrists, hospitals, and you name it. Everyone is so grateful for anything we do for them. They are all wonderful.
Tom and I were talking today, we just don't know how we are going to leave here. Saying good-bye to these people is going to be really hard. We will be here till Jan. 3rd. It's hard to believe 1/4 of our stay is over already.
This morning when we were just finishing up our duties for the breakfast, the electricity went out. We had just turned over the phones about an hour earlier to Ed and Hazel. We had been on call for 24 hours. The phone started to ring. Some of the participants wanted us to know they had no electric. A couple of the regulars were outside, and heard a transformer go. Then we found out what really happened. A squirrel is now history. We all waited for about 45 minutes, and all was fixed. Tom and I came back to Emily, and settled in for the afternoon. We'll go back for super, and wipe the tables and chairs and vacuum the day room.
The reason we didn't eat Sunday dinner at the center, is because we had left-overs from Manny's. That would be Shrimp Boat Manny's. Tom ordered chicken and sausage gumbo. He also ordered a steak po' boy. I got fettuccine with craw fish. We also each had an order of steamed shrimp. He had hot, I had medium. All of this, after an order of mozzarella sticks with spicy dipping sauce.....as opposed to that marinara everyone else serves with them. I guess our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. Tom didn't even touch his sandwich, which came with fries. I also had food left. It wasn't as good today as it would have been then, but it was still good. I would recommend Manny's to anyone looking for food with the Cajun touch. If we have time while we are here, we will go again. Good service, good food, full tummies. Who could ask for more.
We had our first rain since we have been here. Thunder during the night wasn't to bad, and we really needed the rain. All is well now. Blue sky is coming back, and warmth has returned. How could it get any better? We have found a place that has good food, the most wonderful people, and we are learning from all the wisdom of the smart talented lovely folks we are here to help. We are truly blessed to be able to do what we are doing. I wish more could experience this. I think we have fallen in love with east Texas. Time will tell.

Escapees CARE Center

I know this has been a long time coming, but we have been very busy. We came in on Nov.1, and have been on the go ever since. We did have one day off, which we spent running errands and catching up on personal jobs. For those of you who have no idea what CARE is, here is the scoop. This facility has been a God send for RVers, who for one reason or another can no longer travel. CARE gives them the opportunity to still stay in their RV together, and receive the care they need. I guess you could say, it's like an assisted living facility. We provide all meals, a snack in the afternoon, root beer floats one day a week, and birthday cakes for those who get to celebrate another year. We have nurses, CNAs, activities directors, and lots for the folks to do. Poker games and scrabble are big hits. There is also bingo, art, sewing, crafts, and more. Everyday there is something fun to do.
Tom and I have done so many dishes, and sanitized our little hands off. It's like a joke with the sanitizing. We help the cook, do pots, serve the food, do dishes, chop onions, do dishes, make coffee, do pots, wipe tables do dishes.......you get the point.
Sometimes, we are on call. That means we watch the phones all night. All of the residents have a connection to the center. All we do is transfer the office phone out to Emily, and we are all set. Then we get up and open the center in the morning. We had no calls. No problems.
The folks here are just great. There's Pete (who is really Davida) who is an author and PhD. We have Bob and Inez who are sweet as can be, and very knowledgeable about anything. We have Miss Ellie, who loves to give hugs and kisses. She has to get both cheeks. Then she asks if she hurt you. What a sweetheart. We have Kieth and Sophie. Keith just lost his eyesight, and has been taking trips to the eye doctor. So many wonderful people. They are such a joy.
The staff here is remarkable. The nurse who has been here for 4 years, just left yesterday. She is going for her RN. She will be missed. Since we have been here, 2 couples have left. They were such a big help to us. Les and Sharon Askew, and Jim and Bonnie Wert and Scoobie. They have passed the torch to us and Hazel and Ed, who came a few days after us. A few more couples are coming in in the next week or so. Two couples just for maintenance. Every resident couple has a shed, and they need to build 3 more new ones. This will be the most residents ever in the center.
Yesterday Tom took a couple to Houston to the hospital for some tests. It was a long day for him. I guess I didn't tell you we also drive folks to appointments, or where ever they need to go. Some of the couples still have cars, which one can drive. Other than that, volunteers take them. Tom will also take them next week one day for follow-up. The hospital here in Livingston, sent them there for more extensive work.
Speaking of Jim and Bonnie and Scoobie, We just fell in love with Scoobie. He is part Lab and part Chow. I think the only chow park is his tongue. It has black spots. He was wonderful. We even asked if they could get along without him. We wanted to keep him. I always have dog treats with us, and one day we opened the door, and he was sitting there looking in at us. It was hilarious. Wait till you see the pictures. What a great dog!!!
On the days we work, we get our meals. On our day off we fend for ourselves. Today we won't eat even though it's free. It's tamale pie. We don't eat Mexican food. Tonight is ham salad and chicken salad sandwiches. We'll pass on that, too. On Friday morning, we serve a great big breakfast for the whole park. The CARE center is part of Rainbow Park. Headquarters for Escapees. Folks can come and get eggs any way, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy, grits, toast, all the coffee, juice and milk you can drink, all for $3.00. Everyone pays, even residents. All the money goes to the center. What a buy. Boy did I make lots of coffee today.
Tom will post pictures later. He is working at the moment. Pots for him today. More dishes for me tonight. They are all so appreciative of us all. Makes it all worth while.
http://picasaweb.google.com/tnank101/EscaspeeCARECenter
http://picasaweb.google.com/tnank101/Scooby

Follow-up on Rockport and Houston

As we left Rockport, I took some pictures of the entrance of the park. You can see the dolphins and the fountain. Also how much like Florida it looks. I thought it was worth a few clicks of the camera. I also neglected to mention we went to see the big tree. It is this huge live oak out in the country. This tree is over 1000 years old. Can you imagine it was alive the the Civil War, The revolution, and so much more. How many hurricanes it must have seen, and lived through. Of course it was fenced, and you can not touch it. Some of the larger heavier branches have been supported over the years just to keep it from splitting. At some point the splits it suffered were repaired, and it is thriving. It sits in a little grove surrounded by it's offspring, and it's childrens' children. Something magnificent to see and just stand and look at with awe. I did touch the next biggest tree, which must be at least 500 years old. Amazing...something that was alive all that long ago is still living.
While we were on the ferry, we saw an oil rig being towed out to the gulf. It was going so slowly. The ferry had to go around it as it was going right through the path they take to the island. We wish we had gotten better pictures. On our first trip on the ferry we had seen dolphins playing in the bay. We couldn't get any pictures, the trips are to short to get out of the car to get pictures and get back in before it's time to get off. We also got some pics of the pelicans diving for lunch. It was fun to watch them dive bomb for their meal. They go in beak first, and just seem to be floating when the water settles.
The trip to Houston was something. We think we chose the wrong route, because we stopped at every stoplight they have on that road. We missed a turn, and had to find a place large enough to turn around. We finally got to the campground, and the lady in the office could have been a little nicer. Oh well, you'll have this. Guess what...more trains. St. Cloud had 40 trains a day. No kidding. They go through there up to Canada. The first two nights in Iowa..trains. It seems we can't get away from them. I hope in Livingston there are no trains.
We talked to June and Bob just before we got here, and they came to pick us up for dinner. We went to a place called Goodson's. It is said they have the best chicken fried steak in Texas. Let me tell you, they have our vote. I had asked Tom if he wanted the large or small. It's a good thing we got the small. I don't know how big the large is, but we still brought half of it home for the next day. The food was great. Especially the gravy. They even give you some extra gravy to take home with your leftovers. It's a little place on route 249 in Tomball, just northwest of Houston. If your ever in the area try it. Only $7.99 for the chicken fried steak. $8.99 for the large. Worth every penny and more.
On Sunday we go over to June and Bob's house to see them again before we move on to Livingston. It's so good to see them. Bye the way, they say HI to the rest of the family.

Rockport and Port Aransas

We have been here at Rockport, Texas for about a week. It is just beautiful here. Tom and I are in a RV park called Lagoons. The folks here are really friendly. Everyone waves or stops to talk. It is so opposite of Florida were we have stayed. We are seriously thinking of coming back next year. Of course, we have lots of places to go yet, but so far this place ranks #1.
On Sunday and Wednesday we went over to the gulf. To get there you have to drive down to Aransas. It's about 11 miles down the road, and then 5 miles to the ferry. You drive onto the ferry ride for about 5 minutes, then drive off. Next you drive through the streets for a a couple of miles, and right up on the beach. It's so cool. Everyone just parks on the beach. Lot's of people were fishing from the rocks that are lined up out into the water. Some are throwing nets out into the water to catch fishing bait. Some people are just swimming. Some folks take out inflatable boats. The water was warm. Tom and I waded in the water for awhile. We picked up a few shells for Connor, but it's not like Florida were there are lots of shells.
What was really neat, was that some folks had taken their motorhomes onto the beach to camp. You can get a permit to stay 3 days. We were thinking about it, but decided we didn't want to be cleaning sand out of Emily for the next year. You can have a fire if it is contained. Animals are allowed on the beach, but only on a leash.
We really like this place. I guess I already said that. Rockport is a nice little town. When we stopped at the Chamber of Commerce building, the ladies were very helpful. They answered any questions, and went out of their way to make sure we knew where things were and how to get there. They told us were to get fresh off the boat shrimp, and how to tell the difference between fresh and farm raised. Anything we wanted to know or see was all explained.
We have eaten a lot of shrimp. I hope they have shrimp this good in Livingston. Yummy!!!!!
This morning we went for breakfast with Leona and Joe. We met Leona's brother Larry and his wife Carole. We talked for quite awhile, and ate a really nice meal. Leona and Joe work here at Lagoons. When you RV, you get the chance to meet really nice folks like Leona and Joe. We are glad we got to know them. Maybe we'll see them next year.
When we came back, we started to get ready to leave tomorrow. Everything is just about ready. We have to wait to pay our electric bill, then we will be on our way. First we'll go up to visit June and Bob and their family. They live in northwest Houston. We made reservations today for a campground up that way. We'll stay for a few days, and then off to Livingston. It will be nice to see family for the first time since June. It's hard to believe it's almost November. We may be leaving here, but we know we will be back.
http://picasaweb.google.com/tnank101/RockportTx

Well, let me just tell you about yester day. I had a complete blog entry written and when I hit the publish post button the whole thing just dissappeared. The connection to the internet had stopped, and I lost it. I was so tired, that I just decided to wait till today to do it. Now we have more to add. Maybe I'll just do some today and some tomorrow.Let me start with saying that St. Cloud is behind us. We left on Sunday morning early. We got as far as Terribles in Iowa. It is a casino with a RV park. It's about the only place to stop on route 35 going south. We ended up parking right behind our fellow work campers Jim and Barb. We didn't plan it that way, it just happened.We ended up staying 2 nights because of high winds. With it being Tom's birthday he got a free meal, and extra credit on his player's card. They also gave us half of the camping fee. When all was said and done, we left there ahead of the game, with and with more money in our pockets than when we arrived. Not bad considering we only pay penny machines. We aren't much for gambling.The next morning we left earlier than Jim and Barb. We took our time. As it sometimes happens, we ended up traveling the afternoon just ahead of Jim and Barb. They saw we didn't exit where we said we would, and called us, and we stayed at the same place that night also. As most of you know, there was some really bad weather going through the center of the country. Well, we happened to be in the center of it. We stayed put for 2 nights. It rained quite heavily, and we had some impressive thunder and lightning.All went well till we decided to go out when Jim came over and said he and Barb were going out when the rain let up. It seemed fine going down the road. We stopped at a little casino-convienence store-gas station.We spent a few bucks, and decided to go for dinner. We ate at a nice little Italian place.We were right on the border of Kansas and Oklahoma, and went from one to the other as we drove. On the way back home the weather took a bad turn. The sky got really scarry. It was like you could reach up and touch the clouds.They were swirling around and it started to rain really bad. We pulled off the road because Jim just couldn't see.I said we would be ok if it didn't hail. You guessed it...it started to hail. We could see the sky was clearing in the west, and when the hail and rain subsided a little we took off. We just wanted to get passed those awful clouds. By the time we got back to the campground,we were in the clear, and the sun was shining. That was a little closer than I ever want to be to something that could be a tornado.The next day we were off again, and in much nicer weather. Our destination was Waco, Texas. Jim and Barb left ahead of us, and where going to head west. They said good-bye and headed off to Yuma. We were going straight south. We'll see them again in Arizona.We got to Waco with not much excitment. It was a really nice traveling day. The folks at the place we stayed in Waco were really nice. There is a little cafe there that serves breakfast. It's only $5 for what ever you select. I had a bacon and chesse omelet with toast, hash browns, and juice. They had home made jellies for your toast. Tom had pancakes, sausage, hash browns, and all the coffee he could drink.We were full!!. Then it was off to Rockport. We really like it here. It's alot like Florida. Joe and Leona, who worked with us in St. Cloud, come here every winter. We thought we might as well check it out and see if we like it. It's a really nice RV park. The water is only a few minutes away. There are lots birds. The hummingbirds have come and gone. They fly accross the gulf without stopping. I found that amazing.Well, that's enough for now, and I will write more tomorrow. We have plans to go out to the gulf. I'll let you all know how that goes. I hope this entry comes out all right. I am trying something different. I just hope I don't loose it again. Oh yeah, it's nice to sleep with just a sheet and no blankets.