Author: rvingfulltimewithtomandella

2018 September 20 Thursday in Grimes Iowa

The day began slightly overcast and 61°. By noon it was a full sun 85° that felt like 91° and peeked at 93°.

Sandy, Francis, Ella and I were the only ones who gathered for coffee at the club house today. The young man sitting on the floor is Trevor. He’s not part of our group but was there to use the WiFi as he was working on his two computers. Keith and Jean began their Southward attorney dragging their fifth wheel home behind them.

I worked 11-7 at the fee booth. About 11 o’clock the electricity went out to part of the park. Which meant I started receiving calls to tell me the power was out. Unfortunately the flip-phone/walkie-talkie, that we use to contact maintenance, is in the office and the office isn’t answering their phone, probably because they’ve been getting so many calls from people

Cutty’s is currently experiencing a power outage. The issue is with Mid-American Energy. Areas affected are: Seasonal Sites (West Side), Rental Cabins, A’s, O’s, S’s. The issue will be resolved as soon as possible, but we have no time estimate from Mid-American at this current time.

Around 11:30 Di from the office brought the phone and a few otheitems to me. She said to tell anyone who called that MidAmerican Energy has been called.

Shortly after one MidAmerican Energy showed up. As of 4 p.m. Still no electricity.

the end of the camping season is generally a very quiet time and very relaxing even for the people at the fee booth. But with one section of 43 sites shut down to work on the water system, and another 30 without power.

Seven o’clock arrived and so did Ella. I was glad to be done with this day. I feel bad for those folks who are still trying to get the power back on.

We had a coupon for Quiznos so we had some Black Angus subs for supper. They were really good.

So was the western sky tonight.

G’nite y’all!

Visit my daily devotions blog https://musingsdevotions.wordpres mys.com/

/And my sermons blog http://thomasewilliams.blogspot.com/?m=1l
All content (except quotations) © 2018 Thomas E. Williams

2018 September 19 Wednesday in Grimes, Des Moines, Johnston Iowa

Damp and foggy 64° start

Early morning teeth cleaning and exam for both of us. And we’ll both be back next week for fillings. Yay!

Village Inn seemed like a good place for breakfast … And pie (take home).

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Arriving back at Cutty’s resort, we took a short drive along the lake.

After the fog dissipated and the sun came out, it turned into a beautiful day.

Pie Rush Wednesday (yes the second trip to VI today) with friends at Village Inn. Keith and Jean begin their convoluted journey to Texas, by way of Illinois Kentucky Missouri and who knows what all, tomorrow morning around 8:30.

Train Dominoes with friends (Howard, Audrey, Linda, Linda, Ella, and I) at Cutty’s Adult Center. We plan to get together again next Wednesday for the last time until next spring.

Our friend Lyn called, while we were finishing the last round of dominoes, to ask if we wanted to get together for pie at Village Inn. Of course we did!

Unfortunately, right after Lyn arrived she received a call that her grandson was rushed to the emergency room in West Des Moines. So she had to leave. We hugged her and told her that if she needed us, we could be there quickly. Since I had already ordered a drink, we stayed and Ella ordered a scoop of ice cream with a free slice of pie. I got mine too go.

ELLA WRITES: Our summer in Iowa is swiftly coming to an end. I need to get the packing done and also have a lot of doctors to contact in Texas.
I’ve been falling alot so a trip to the ENT is in order. It’s time for my heart doctors tests and appointment which is in line with my need for shoulder surgery. It’s going to be a busy new year.
Well it is time to pack and say farewell for the winter.

G’nite y’all!

Visit my daily devotions blog https://musingsdevotions.wordpres mys.com/

/And my sermons blog http://thomasewilliams.blogspot.com/?m=1l
All content (except quotations) © 2018 Thomas E. Williams

2018 September 18 Tuesday in Grimes Iowa

72° and mostly cloudy start and then rain until evening. Reached a high of 80°.

Sue and Stoney weren’t home this morning the recover from her surgery yesterday. Sandy and Francis were helping a grandson deliver papers this morning, and Keith was working the gate. That left only Jean, Ella and I to have coffee at the clubhouse.

On the way to the senior center, the Western sky looked dark and rainy. I asked Ella if it was supposed to rain. She said there was no rain in the forecast until Thursday. About a half hour later it poured and the wind blew. And continued into the evening.

Cheeseburger soup was the main course for today’s lunch. It wasn’t as good as you might expect. And I didn’t expect much.

We came home and watched Netflix. We’re on a free trial period. Just had it for a few days now. So far, so good. I watched Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Doctor Strange, Despicable Me 3, Black Panther, Steve Martin and Martin Short, and first episode of the new Lost in Space. Tried watching Broadchurch but couldn’t understand most of the dialogue because of the accents. Ella watched some chick flick but even she can’t remember the name of it.

Another day down. Another day closer to heading home to Texas. I’m tired of Iowa. I’m tired of working the fee booth (3 days left). And I’m disappointed that our Iowa family couldn’t or didn’t spend more time with us. Family is the real reason we return to Iowa. For that matter, it’s the reason we return to Texas also. Family.

G’nite y’all!

Visit my daily devotions blog https://musingsdevotions.wordpres mys.com/

/And my sermons blog http://thomasewilliams.blogspot.com/?m=1l
All content (except quotations) © 2018 Thomas E. Williams

2018 September 17 Monday in Grimes Iowa

71° and hazy. A beautiful morning around the Cutty’s lake

And speaking of the lake, I see they’re beginning to work on raising and reinforcing the dam at the end of our lake.

We took muffins with us to share with our friends at the clubhouse. Sue and Stoney weren’t there this morning because Sue was having a lumpectomy to remove cancer from her breast. Ella had a similar surgery twelve years ago. So we have some idea of what they are going through.

Keith and Jean, and Francis and Sandy left our little coffee circle around 9:30. So, we left also.

That put us at the senior center a little early so we helped set up games and things.

Of course we played Fast Track until lunch was served.

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G’nite y’all!

Visit my daily devotions blog https://musingsdevotions.wordpres mys.com/

/And my sermons blog http://thomasewilliams.blogspot.com/?m=1l
All content (except quotations) © 2018 Thomas E. Williams

2018 September 16 Sunday in Grimes and Des Moines Iowa

69° and hazy start that nearly reached 90° (89) in the afternoon

The gang (Sandy and Francis, Keith and Jean, Sue and Stoney, and we {yes we us the correct pronoun to use here even if “us” sounds more coherent}) gathered at the Cafe again this morning.

We left about nine thirty and headed to Union Park UMC. I was liturgist today.

Bonanza was our stop for lunch. Ella had a top sirloin and I had the buffet. There was a nice looking meatloaf that I didn’t eat for fear that it might have onions. Back in August I had some very good meatloaf at Cutty’s Campfire Cafe Thursday 23rd and another slice for my supper at work Friday night. Unfortunately it had a lot of onion in it and I have an allergy to onion. Fruday I woke with a scratchy throat. Saturday morning i woke with a swollen throat, tongue, and lips.

In this photo, I am not sticking my lips out … that is just how they look that morning. I need to file this under “should have known better than have the second slice.” I took some Benadryl and it slowly went away.

Sunday morning I looked like this

and decided to go to the emergency room. In the Methodist West Des Moines emergency room they’ve given me some liquid Benadryl steroid and something else.

I was supposed to preach that morning but it never happened. I tried getting ahold of my friend Tom Stone to find out if he could preach for me. But he and his wife were in an emergency room in Des Moines. We didn’t have worship that morning. As a matter of fact we didn’t get out of the ER until early afternoon. I now carry an EpiPen.

This Sunday was a whole lot less eventful. We got home from lunch and stayed there until early evening when we ventured forth of treats for Monday’s coffee clutch.

G’nite y’all!

Visit my daily devotions blog https://musingsdevotions.wordpres mys.com/

/And my sermons blog http://thomasewilliams.blogspot.com/?m=1l
All content (except quotations) © 2018 Thomas E. Williams

2018 September 15 Saturday in Grimes Iowa

66° and clear

The gang (Sandy and Francis, Keith and Jean, Sue and Stoney, and us) gathered at the Cafe this morning. Saturday and Sunday the cafe opens at nine and us now closed all other mornings of the week.

After we had solved all the world’s problems by combining our vast knowledge of how the world is going to hell in a hand basket. We spent some time lamenting that nothing is the way it used to be in our youth.

Ella and i then had to go to Walmart for some vitamins so Ella could completely fill her daily pill sorters.

Ella has had trouble sending texts lately. So, we stopped at the Verizon store. A nice young man downloaded the latest version of the app she had and it worked fine after that.

Next door to Verizon is a Pizza Hut carry out only store. We went in, ordered, and fifteen minutes later we had pizza and wings for lunch.

I worked two to nine today. For those keeping score, that mean I have there more working days this month

I was busier than a termite in a sawmill today with four parties (anniversary, baby shower, and two birthdays) going on today, there were close to two hundred guests in the park. That means that I had about fifty phone calls with members calling guests in. And just before closing time, a gal came up to the gate and handed me a list of over 100 more people coming in for another party. Interestingly the note said that the party was until 11 o’clock tonight. I love the gate at 9. I hope she has a contingency plan.

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G’nite y’all!

Visit my daily devotions blog https://musingsdevotions.wordpres mys.com/

/And my sermons blog http://thomasewilliams.blogspot.com/?m=1l
All content (except quotations) © 2018 Thomas E. Williams

2018 September 14 Friday in Grimes Iowa

68° and cloudy again at the start of the day.

Once again we meet with friends at the clubhouse for coffee. Sandy and Francis, Keith and Jean, and Ella and I had some peanut butter pretzel bites and cashews with our coffee today.

For lunch at the senior center we had seafood salad. I didn’t discover until after I’d Eaten it that there was finely diced onions in it. I did not have my EpiPen with me. We rushed home and I started taking Benadryl tablets. And I seem to be alright. Thank you, Lord.

I worked from 2-9 today

I was busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest this afternoon at the fee booth. More people than I had expected, came to camp over the weekend. And we had around 100 guests coming through also.

Sunset was nothing tonight. No clouds so it was just a yellow ball in an orange sky.

Now here is a shot of the moon over my left shoulder.

G’nite y’all!

Visit my daily devotions blog https://musingsdevotions.wordpres mys.com/

/And my sermons blog http://thomasewilliams.blogspot.com/?m=1l
All content (except quotations) © 2018 Thomas E. Williams