Christmas week, 2014. Can you believe it? Where has the year
gone…? We hope your holiday week was joyful, as you spent it with family and
friends. I know ours was.
The weather on Monday was beautiful, with temperatures
starting in the low 60s at 7 a.m. It was a gorgeous day here in the Coastal
Bend of Texas! We shared a happy hour with friends Gary and Pam, Steve and
Marty, Mary, and Marge at Bob and Sharon’s that afternoon—so nice to be outdoors.
Dick has had oversight responsibility for the revamped pool and hot tub at the Adult Club House, so he put in quite a few hours this week. Both the
pool and hot tub at the club house were replastered, retiled, and renovated; it
should be open and available for use within the next few days. Yea! During the
summer no kids will be allowed in this pool (there’s a larger one at the Family
Club House for their use). Some of the resort’s motel rooms are also being
renovated, so he’s been busy with that as well as with the usual office stuff.
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| Lookin' good! Top is the revamped pool; below is the revamped hot tub! |
Tuesday morning I attended the weekly ladies’ coffee hour—or
Stitch and B…—along with 6 other ladies. Our numbers seem to be down this week,
most probably due to the Christmas holiday. That day I also got a new phone: an
HTC android. Love it! And, it’s small enough to fit in my little purse! Yea!
Wednesday, Christmas Eve, was spent preparing for that
evening’s festivities and the dinner on Christmas Day. Connie, our activities
director, and her husband Jim, had gone to the West Coast for the holidays so I
was sort of in charge of getting the
club house ready by moving tables and chairs around to accommodate the 90
people we were expecting, changing out the centerpieces, etc.
The festivities began at 4 p.m. with happy hour (including
snacks), followed by a $10 gift exchange, and carol sing. What a hoot! I made 2
batches of egg nog—with most of the ingredients donated by good friends
(definitely not a diet beverage,
with all that went in it including 2 Fifths of Southern Comfort!). Yummy—and it
all went! (People kept coming back for more; if you want the recipe let me
know. I guarantee your friends and family will love it!) Friends Hap, Steve and Larry (who fondly call
themselves “Almost Done”) played guitars and I played my keyboard for the carol
sing; folks really had a good time! Here are just a few shots of the festivities.
The next day, Christmas, was another beautiful sunny day,
although it was a bit cool and breezy. Dick and I took a short walk to the
“new” pool, to make sure it was filled with water and to take more photos.
Then, on to friends’ Robert and Donna’s motorhome to look at their solar
set-up. Quite impressive! As Dick continued on a walk, I returned to our camper
to make coconut cream bread pudding, our contribution to the Christmas dinner. These are shots of some of the birds Dick saw during his walk.
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| Herons, egrets, cormorants, a buzzard and some pelicans |
Christmas Dinner was well attended. We set for 90 people,
and almost that many were there. The Resort furnished ham and au gratin
potatoes (thanks, Chef Betty!), while salads, other sides and desserts were
furnished by campers. I guarantee no one went away hungry!
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| Chef Betty and helper Larry from South Dakota helped prepare the hams for Christmas dinner. The desserts were spread out in splendor! |
That evening we played Pegs & Jokers with friends Gary
and Pam, Ronnie and Pat, Bill and Carole. Appears that the women really need help…we lost
all 3 games to the jokers, er, umm…men…ha!
Dick and I took advantage of the beautiful weather on Friday.
We walked along Fulton Beach Road, saw an egret and blue heron. Families were
out fishing along the beach and we saw a young boy catch a tiny black drum,
which he threw back. His dad said that probably wouldn't be enough for dinner…ha!
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| Pelicans and a Lesser Yellowleg |
Saturday’s weather was terrible, with continuous drizzle or
rain and wind. And COLD! Temperatures dropped from the mid-70s to the mid-50s
in less than 45 minutes that afternoon. It was a good day to stay in! And, Dick
was finally able to take time to fix
the kitchen faucet in our camper. The water flow had been really sluggish, so I
had been getting by with a trickle for the past couple of weeks. Yea!!! I’m a
happy camper now!
Also that day friends Marv and Shirley arrived to Bay View
from Illinois. We’re so happy to have them here again, and know that their trip
down was uneventful.
Sunday we attended the 8:30 a.m. service at First Baptist
Church of Rockport. Pastor Jones is still on vacation, so Youth Pastor Jordan
Mims brought the message again this week, and led us in Communion. Jordan
compared the willingness and faithfulness of Abraham (Genesis 22:1-18) to
sacrifice his son Isaac (knowing that there would be a substitution for Isaac
on the altar), to that of God sacrificing Jesus on the cross as the substitute
for us.
After breakfast at a local restaurant, Alice Faye’s, we
headed to Walmart to pick up a few items, then to Cricket to pick up a new
phone for the park. By the time we got back to the park it almost time for the
ice cream social and Pegs & Jokers.
(Time flies!) We again played with 10 players (Bill and Carole, Marv and
Shirley, Gary and Pam, Bob and Sharon); 3 games…women didn’t do too well. ’Nuff
said.
Rather than prepare dinner, Bob and Sharon and Dick and I
went to Whataburger for dinner: burgers, patty melt, fries and cokes. YUM!
That's it for this week. Again, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. We're looking forward to what 2015 has in store for us!
Love 'n' hugs...and a very happy 2015 to y'all,
RJ and Gail
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