Time continues to slip away. Friends continue to leave, some
for just a few short months ‘til we’re reunited here again, and some will not
be back. We count ourselves blessed to have made friends with so many.
Monday afternoon we were invited to happy hour at Dick and
Fran’s site; they were leaving Tuesday morning for their home in Michigan.
(They plan to be back next fall.) Fourteen of us joined them for this special time.
The weather was beautiful with a little breeze, although it did get a bit
chilly as the sun set. Fun times and good friends—doesn’t get much better than
this.
Rather than our regular Stitch and Bitch hour, we elected to
help Lynda with the burlap and lace flowers she’s making for her daughter’s
wedding in June. It’s quite an undertaking, but we are seeing the light at the
end of the tunnel. A couple more days will do it!
We continue to participate in the weekly activities, from
Texas Hold ‘em to Yoga and Pilates, horseshoes, weekly happy hours and dinners.
We added one more activity last week: shuffleboard!
Newcomers to the park earlier this year, Agnes and Gerry, took
it upon themselves to unearth and clean up the shuffleboard courts. Betty Peachey picked up the banner and secured a grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to provide finances to refurbish the Bay View shuffleboard courts. A group of volunteers from the RV park joined the effort with the result being celebrating the Grand Opening of the “new and improved” shuffleboard courts on Tuesday
afternoon. About 25 folks showed up to play, watch, and cheer on those who
played. Was really quite fun! Afterward we enjoyed grilled hamburgers and
sausages, chips and homemade chocolate chip cookies, thanks to Chef Betty and
the kitchen team.
Wednesday morning after Yoga, we again helped Lynda with the
flowers. Whew! They’re beautiful, as you can see, but we’ll all be very glad
when this project is over!
Wednesday’s dinner, preceded by happy hour, was Chef Betty’s
rendition of chicken cacciatore, rice, rolls and butter, and rhubarb pie and
ice cream. YUMMY! We’re so thankful to have her here for another season. No one
went away hungry!
Afterward, Dick returned to the clubhouse to play Texas Hold
’em; he came home with $13 to the good! Yippee!
Weather this week was wonderful, although the temperatures
are slowly climbing, as it the humidity. Thursday was no different. That
afternoon Dick played horseshoes, after
shooing away a mama painted turtle, who was intent on digging a hole in the
horseshoe pit to lay her eggs. After some prodding she realized she needed to
move on to a safer place.
After happy hour on Friday a few of us trekked to Panjo’s
Pizza for what may be the last pizza here in Rockport—at least for this year—for
some of our friends. Bob and Sharon, Bill and Arlene, Marihelen (David was fishing),
and Dick and I enjoyed pizza, all the while talking and laughing. Seems we
never run out of things to talk about…
Saturday brought more sunshine and beautiful temperatures. We
didn’t see this, but friend Steve said there was a “hawk boil” circling above
our area in the park Saturday afternoon. Apparently hundreds of hawks gather together
before their spring migration, circling high overhead. Wish we had seen it!
Our last potluck dinner of the season was scheduled for that
night, in the clubhouse. Over 50 people had signed up, so after happy hour at
4:00 we dug into the food. Good stuff! Everything, from jalapeno boats to
cheese and olive skewers for appetizers, to marinated, spinach and strawberry,
shoe peg corn, pasta and potato salads, to meat loaf, scalloped potatoes,
pulled BBQ chicken, Spanish rice with smoked sausage…I could go on and on. For
dessert there was apple cake, rhubarb crisp, and a special birthday cake (for
friend Karen, who turned 70 on Sunday). I can pretty much guarantee that no one
went away hungry!
Sunday: Resurrection Sunday! We attended the First Baptist
Church of Rockport, where Pastor Scott Jones’ message was from 1 Corinthians
15:3-6, where the Apostle Paul shared these words: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that
he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he
appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than
five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are
still living, though some have fallen asleep (died).” The theme of his
message was God is with us, and Jesus
promised to be with us forever. The
Cross on which he died is the ultimate expression of Jesus being with us. Jesus chose us by dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins
rather than choosing to go to the Father, thus allowing our sins to be forgiven. By
dying the sinner’s death on the cross and rising from the grave 3 days later,
he conquered death and Satan’s hold over us. Thank you, Jesus! Here's a link to his sermon.
We returned to the clubhouse for the park’s Easter Brunch,
provided by Chef Betty and her kitchen team. We noshed on cheesy biscuits with
sausage gravy, baked oatmeal, deviled eggs, oven fried potatoes, an asparagus and Gruyere cheese tart, cinnamon and
caramel pull-aparts, and special dessert cookies. Almost 50 people showed up
for this wonderful meal, and again, no one went away hungry! Mimosas or plain
orange juice was available, as well as plenty of coffee. We were so stuffed it
was easy to think we wouldn’t be able to eat for a week! Chef Betty outdid
herself, once again. She also provided little Easter baskets for each of us,
with chocolates and packages of flower seeds in each basket.
Sunday afternoon there were enough Pegs & Jokers players for 2
tables: Jamie and Annie, Bob and Sharon, and Dick and I played at our table; Bill
and Carole, Alice, Arleen, and John and Sara played at the other one. Guys took
2 of the 3 games at our table, while the gals came out ahead at the other. Such
fun! This was the last game of Pegs & Jokers we play with Jamie and Annie,
and Bob and Sharon for this year, as both couples leave us this week. We’ll be sure to save them seats for next
fall!
Dick’s walk along Fulton Beach Road, and through our park, have
netted some wonderful photos of birds and other miscellaneous stuff. The first 3 collages are from Fulton Beach Road; the next few are from our park. Enjoy!
 | ||
| I love the first photo of the Scissortail Flycatcher! The next is of a Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker, followed by a House Sparrow and a Great Blue Heron. |
These next few photos are taken in downtown Rockport, and show nesting Great Blue Herons and a Great White Egret.
That’s it for this week. Monday we say a sad farewell to Steve and
Karen who are heading home to Wisconsin, and Friday to Bob and Sharon who are
heading to Missouri (after a short trip
to South Dakota to get their licenses, as they’ve become domiciled there like us). We look forward to seeing them again in the fall.
Have a wonderful week, and we’ll catch up next Monday.
Hugs,
RJ and Gail
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