Thanksgiving over!

La Feria, Texas 71º

        Click on any photo to enlarge.

Wednesday Dave and his crew worked up the turkeys, cooked them in the morning and then deboned them in the afternoon.  Phyllis and Pam made the dressing Thursday morning and had me and Kevin mix the precooked powdered potatoes with liquid she made up and put in roasters for serving.

 At about 12 Noon the servers lined up behind the two serving tables.  Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy were provided by Kenwood RV Park and all help were volunteers among the residents.

Darlene made announcements and gave prayer.  Note the long tables of side dishes everyone brought, as well as deserts.

I had provided photos a few weeks ago of the kitchen in state of being brought up to snuff.  Note the granite counter tops.

 Back sink and new counter tops.

Note new refrigerator/freezer and gas range on the far wall.  Existing grills were deep cleaned by Jim.

This is one of the server's tables.

Other table for servers to eat.  We served about 90 people in about 20 minutes.  Of course, they were on their own passing by the side-dish tables.

   This was taken before people started to arrive at noon.  Many had come down early in the morning and decorated and set up their areas to eat, making it quite "homey" for many.

On Wednesday I had used up 4 bags of quick-krete that I had originally bought to use on floor of the Texas Room addition--but then had it commercially poured.

This is just starting, with 2 bags down.

Pour completed.  This is at our back door.

Am showing here the pipe connection I made outside the back door that then went under the mobile home and to the front.

     And this is the business end of that 60 foot of 1/2" PVC pipe I put under the mobile home.  This is located just beside the Ford on the driveway and Phyllis can use it for watering flowers in front of the unit.  (If it quits raining every few days, that is)

Guess we are experiencing the beginning of "Fall" with the trees losing some leaves.  Note all the green leaves still on the trees.  This was taken on Thanksgiving day.

Some of the grapefruit I picked.  The smaller ones are from the tree on Paul's place beside us.  He is gone and the lot vacant, but grapefruit and orange tree still near the back fence.  The larger grapefruits are from the "over the fence side" of tree on Ernest Baker's place.  They were available from the street we ride the trikes on, but not reachable from his side of the fence.

These are lemons and limes that Don Ferguson let us pick from his tree.  Some of the lemons were used as juice on the turkey rub before cooking.

This is Don and his banana tree.  I hadn't realized bananas grew here.  And, they aren't very large -- just above the purple bloom in the left-center are three small green bananas.

One of our neighbors, Merve, who is always doing some woodworking.

Merve cut the wooden "tail feathers" for these pumpkins and his wife painted them and the pumpkins.







Rode the trike 6.5 miles Thursday morning while food was being finished.  Yesterday rode 10 miles.  With good weather today will try for another 10 miles.  Am weighing less than I have since the 1960's, but still have another 20 lbs. to go.

Later, Lynn

Thanksgiving week 2014

La Feria, Texas 56º - overcast; to get to 65º today.
Click on photos to enlarge.

Got old license plates put on our trikes

Spent much of yesterday finishing running the 55' 1/2" pipe from near back door under unit to the front by driveway where we now have a hydrant.  Should make it much easier for watering flowers, and doing any cleanup around driveway and the Ford.

Went to Gaddis' Pizza yesterday so Phyllis could line up dates for Kenwood RV to gather for bingo and pizza once each month (and ate lunch while we were there!).  Then on to Lowe's to get final fittings for the waterline under the unit.

Played Hand and Foot with Bill and Darlene Winslow last evening.

 More later, Lynn

Rain thru night and bright 85º sunshine now

La Feria, TX
   Click on photos to enlarge.

 On Thursday we took Darlene Winslow and Denny Arment with us and went to Mexico.  We had appointments for teeth cleaning and Darlene saw same Dentist for work on her dentures.  Denny wanted to start collecting Vanilla for friends up north.
   When we got there, there was a parade going on.  Thought they were welcoming us, but was told it was celebration of Revolution Days.  I asked our pharmacist (was also a med run--found out wasn't supposed to say drug run) when the Revolution was and he didn't know.  Googled

 it later and found out they are referring to 1910 to 1920 era.

International Bridge Flowers
Sign over bridge entrance from Mexico.

Kids ahead of a group of marchers.

Part of parade.

Part of parade

Look at those leggings!

Veggie Man came Friday afternoon.

Bill and Twila - and Phyllis picking out vegetables.

This horse shoe/ garden hose flower used to be on garage at home

Saturday morning breakfast at Rec Hall

Saturday morning breakfast at Rec Hall

Went to Don-Wes on Saturday

Back to Mexico Saturday - this is on Texas side of bridge

Lots of auto traffic backed up, going to America

Mexicans begging for money below bridge.

This morning it was really foggy when we started the 7.5 mile ride through suburban area of La Feria.  Sun was out and 82 degrees by time we returned home.  Bill and Darlene rode with us as we drove back to Don-Wes this afternoon to exchange card shuffler Phyllis had bought yesterday that didn't work.  Nice and sunshiny this afternoon - I dumped one inch of rain from gauge -- it rained all night again.

More later from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
Lynn

Winter Texans

This is from an article by Channel 4 news here in the valley


New generation of Winter Texans on the decline
The number of winter Texans returning to the valley is on the decline and it's costing the local economy millions of dollars in lost revenue.
In the past two years the valley has lost about 30,000 winter Texans and if the region can't attract new retirees to replace them, it could lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lonny and Barbara Schuhmacher escaped the Minnesota winter and headed to the valley for the first time in 2007.
Like most winter Texans, it was the warm weather that brought them here.
"My body don't ache, my back don't hurt. My shoulders don't hurt," Lonny said.
Just two years later they made the Rio Grande valley their permanent home and began to manage Wilder RV Resorts.
"The parks embrace you like a family," Barbara said.
Director of the UTPA Business and Tourism Research Center, Penny Simpson says almost everyone who comes wants to return.
"I think it’s pretty rare you see a group of people who come to an area and 96 percent want to return,” Simpson said. “We should feel good about that.”
The number one reason they may not return is poor health.
And the average age of winter Texans continues to rise every year.
"Winter Texans are getting older and we have fewer first time winter Texans. Which clearly says new people aren't coming,” Simpson said.
In 2010, 144,000 winter Texans spent over $800 million, but in just four years that number fell to 100,000 winter Texans spending almost $100 million less.
Simpson says the numbers correlate to the South Texas Tourism Board’s halt in advertising in 2010.
"We just haven't been out marketing the valley. If you've never heard of us you’re never going to come and that's our biggest obstacle," Simpson said.
To attract new retirees Wilder RV Resorts is advertising in Canada and the upper Midwest but they aren't attracting baby boomers with card games.
"They want to be active, they want to go canoeing, go to the beach, go bicycling, they want to be active,” Barabara said.
Lonny says Space X could really help attract new, younger winter Texans.
"Not everybody has seen a lift off. I think people are going to come down to see that and it think it will help the valley out quite well,” Lonny said.
But it's not just the weather and the fun but the friendly people of the valley that will continue to bring them back.
"I think the term winter Texans says a lot. It says for the time that you're here a Texan,” Simpson said.
The winter Texan surveys for the study were completed well before the recent border crisis became a big national news story so the impact has yet to be seen.
While the Schuhmachers say they've received a lot of phone calls regarding the increase in illegal immigration, it has not prompted tenants in Wilder RV Resorts to cancel their trip this coming winter.
For the complete Winter Texan report click here.

Week before Thanksgiving

La Feria, TX 54º and, of course, windy.  Wind always blows here.

Phyllis in front of interesting tree near Lake Harlingen

As we were going behind Art Center in Harlingen

These cacti are in bloom - quite a sight.

Looking up at trail around Lake Harlingen

Am adding some photos of when we took the trikes and rode some 5 miles around Lake Harlingen and in the housing area near.

Working in serving line for Ice Cream Sunday evening.

People coming through for Ice Cream.

Playing Pegs & Jokers after ice cream. Lois, Bill, Ruth, Pat

Phyllis, Merv and Twila

 Went to Picket Fence Quilt & Fabric Shop on south Business 77 ( Sunshine Strip) where Phyllis got some supplies.

Betty, the owner, told me this used to be a rough beer-hall.  Stage was at one end of one room.  She recounted several stories of woman shooting her husband, and some other brawls.  She and her husband had a business near by and were always getting broken into on Saturday nights by some of the drunks from the bar.

Betty

 When the owner, suffering from a divorce proceeding and alcoholism called one night from a jail and offered to sell the business "on the cheap" to get enough money to get out of jail, they bought it.  She said that was in 2000.  She was a retired school teacher, but had been working in a quilt shop and they decided to convert the bar to this shop.  Her husband passed away in 2004 and she said "now this gives me something to do".

 She pointed out the different areas; stage, where the booths were, etc.  Their counter (at left of Betty in above picture) is the original bar, though she covered it with Formica.

Interesting lady - she obviously enjoyed having someone listen to her.

Plants put near house on one of the colder nights.

Plants stashed inside the unfinished "Texas Room"

We are going out to eat at Denny's in Harlingen at noon for neighbor's 78th (or 79th) birthday with 2 other couples.   Tomorrow we are heading for Progreso, Mexico for dentist teeth cleaning and pick up some meds.  Since I am in the "Doughnut Hole" for meds it will save a few bucks.

More later, Lynn