WORK….WORK….WORK!!!!

Thursday, February 3 – Marsha is at again. She doesn’t have enough to do with her books, prayer shawls, aerobics, volunteering to help with the sock hop, etc. She now is going to make needle baskets! Yes, you read right…baskets made from pine needles. The gal across the street, Angie, is going to teach her how to make them. Angie collected all the needles when she in Rick visited Oregon, Washington and California. Angie and Marsha did the first step this morning before aerobics. They had to soak the needles for a couple of hours. They then divided up the 1,000’s of needles.

Second step is to take all the tips off each needle while they are soft, hence the reason for soaking the needles.

Before

After

Marsha worked hours to clean all those needles. She had to use a plastic knife to stripe the needles. She and Angie did order a special instrument that will help speed this process up.

She says that this is a ton more work than she expected but can’t wait to start sewing the basket together. Just so she doesn’t ask Paul to help, she can keep all the fun to herself!

Friday, February 4- WOW…look what we woke up to this morning.

Unbelievable! All the on ramps to I-83 were closed here in the Rio Grande Valley. Many areas were without electric late last night and all day today. Marsha had to work to scrap all the ice off the windows before she could head to aerobics.

Kelly called us last night and said they canceled school for today. She couldn’t believe they would do that when yesterday it wasn’t even raining. It paid off though…Houston had ice.

We were to attend a dance at another park, but they had to cancel. The park didn’t have an electric all day and were not sure when it would be turned back on.

Saturday, February 5 - We came to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas to get away from old man winter......... Well, he found us! Dag Blast It....it sure has been cold the last three days. Thank goodness it's starting to warm up and should be back in the mid-70's today. This is all because Pittsburgh and Green Bay came to Dallas for the Super Bowl. Texas wanted to make them feel at home by having snow and ice.....JEESH!

In the morning, we went to Don Wes Flea Market in Donna, TX. The Flea Market is a typical one. We did purchase several things for the MH.

Yes, that is Paul spending some of our hard-earned money.

Just about anything you can want!

Ended up being an AWESOME and BEAUTIFUL day. Paul played some Pickleball and Marsha enjoyed the sun.

Tonight we went to the Activity Center for a country dance with Sipes. The group was fairly good.

We went with a group of friends. Angie and Rick lived across the street from us. We had a wonderful time with all.

We got to try out our Country dancing that we learned the last two weeks at our lessons. We burned up that dance floor!!!!

Monday, February 7 – Back to Mexico!!! We are back in Progreso, MX today for Marsha's dental work. She has some crown work to be started.

Dr. de la Rosa Sanez and Marsha

Marsha was in the dental chair from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. The dentist did the preparation work and installed temporary crowns. She was very happy with the service. She said, “Believe it or not, he didn’t ask me a ton of questions while working in my mouth. He talked to his assistants (all in Spanish) and let me just hold my mouth open.”  She'll return next Tuesday for the permanent crowns and to conclude her dental work.

While at the dentist, Paul wonder around town. He did get a hair cut right next door to Marsha’s dentist office. It was a WHOPPING $5.00….that included a back massage too!!

Marsha was ready to do some shopping after her appointment. So, we headed out searching for the items on our “list”. First stop was lunch at the Red Snapper. They have two for one margaritas and delicious Mexican dishes. They also had entertainment for enjoyment during lunch.

Looking down the street from the balcony of the restaurant.

Then we strolled among the shops looking for a table cloth and a table runner for the counter top. We found both after a little “dealing” with the merchant....you are expected to bicker a little bit on the price. If you ask for too low of a price, the merchant simple will tell you he can't go that low and offer his “best” price.

Bella enjoying our new purchases.

We also purchased some gifts for some special people and continued on searching for cowboy boots. We each found a pair that will be great when we head to the Texas dance and honky tonks.

If you have never been to Mexico, here is a sure sign that you are there.

 

Around 3:30 p.m., we called it a day, paid our 25¢ to cross the boarder, passed easily through the Checkpoint showing our passports and telling the officer what we purchased (no alcohol, meds or tobacco). After a short walk across the Bridge (Rio Grand River), we decided not to get the 50¢ banana splits at the North end of the Bridge. We jumped in our car for the 40 minute ride home.

Tuesday, February 8 – Clean-up Day! Yep, we have a slight mess on our hands, and today we are going to give a shot at cleaning it up. Several days ago, Paul, while doing some routine maintenance, decided to clean some corrosion off the battery terminals. After spraying the area well with a water/baking soda mixture, he hosed off the batteries carefully and then sprayed down the driveway. Well an hour or so later, when the water dried....HORRORS!!!!

Norm's driveway had a rust colored stain where the water had been. Paul first thought it was from Iron in the water, but after talking with Norm, learned it was from the acid washed off the batteries......OH MY GOSH!

Sunday, after church, we tested several cleaning solutions obtained off the internet. After scrubbing for hours on our hands and knees, we found CLR got the best results using a wire brush and scrubbing like mad. We scrubbed for about four hours until our poor surgically repaired backs cried out “UNCLE.” Many people stopped and offered support and ideas. We were told that with the hot sun by the end of summer it will all disappear. Well, we just aren’t going to wait that long.

Today, we moved the motor home to the other side of the drive and are tackling the remaining stain.

We scrubbed and scrubbed on our hands and knees using wire brushes and CLR for another four hours. Some people walked by and thought we were nuts! We kept hearing over and over…just let it be, it will go away. We thought…you better just go away!

This is the second, and third times in some areas, we went over the stained area. Any more scrubbing and we'll need back surgery again. I guess, it's as good as it's going to get.....at least until the bleaching of the summer sun. Hopefully by this time next year, it will be good as new.

We moved the MH back to its spot and set up again. We put boards and old rugs under the battery compartment area hoping we don't have any additional staining. Whew.....that was a BIG job!!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!