Dinner Out

H's cousins Dick and Jeannine
MaryJane and Kara(first timer)
Rick and Gene
Carolyn and Al
Holly and Rachel
Caleb(first timer)
H and Jan(a cook at Camp Biloxi)
Look at that plate, do you think he ate it all? You can see H and my boomerangs in the foreground.

We went to dinner last night with the rest of the group from TLC in Willard, Ohio. They were staying at Camp Victor in Oceans Springs, we stayed at Camp Biloxi in Biloxi (we needed a campsite for Moose). We are all Boomerangs (persons who have been down more than one time to assist after Katrina), except for Caleb and Kara. Hopefully they will want to come back also. We went to eat at Cafe New Orleans in Ocean Springs, this is a recently opened sister to one in D'Iberville. The inside was all painted in murals by the owner. It was very creative. Large servings and good food.

The group was leaving at 0400 this AM, except for Carolyn, Al, and Kara, they were taking their time returning, either going over to New Orleans first or driving toward Washington D.C. Wish all a safe journey.

H and I went to the beach this afternoon for a while. It is beautiful today.

End of First Week

Today is Friday, end of our week here in Biloxi. We have decided to stay another week, it is too cold to go home to Ohio anyway. H is going to work part of Saturday with the rest of the group from Willard, in a house in D'Iberville. I will probably clean Moose and do the laundry. Tomorrow night we will all go out to dinner.

Next week H already has an assignment on some houses, I will work at the free clinic again, we will have a doctor everyday, so we will be busy. Too bad that the state of Mississippi is so shortsighted that they have decided that doctors from out of state cannot come to assist in the free clinic anymore. Apparently the local Docs think the free clinic is taking away there business. The people that come to the free clinic, come because they cannot afford to pay for a doctor visit, either because they are homeless, work a minimum wage job, or their insurance has such a high deductible they cannot pay it. Nurses can still come from out of state, but they will only allow a nurse to get a temporary permit one time. There are several local retired Docs that volunteer, but not enough to cover all the days. The clinic will be moving out of Bethel Lutheran to another site when they get there grant to assist them. Pray for that to come thru. People here need all the assist they can get. And for anyone who wonders why we are here and not helping in our home area, we do help there, in fact I volunteer at a clinic back home.

Volunteer, there are people who need help, and they certainly appreciate your help.

Enough preaching. I hope at least one person steps up to make a difference in another's life.

Work in Mississippi

Part of the group that H is working with this week at 2 homes in Biloxi.
Daughter of a family from Wisconsin, painting door framing.
H getting some instructions from one of the semi-permanent workers.
Our group worked on this house last November, over Thanksgiving, the family is now in it. I visited with the daughter for a while, they are very happy with how it turned out. Some of their furniture that was stored, got mildewed, so they have to get new bedroom furniture.
Another angle of same house.

The Doc that was to be in the clinic today, was ill. So they were going to do a nurse clinic if people came and wanted that. I left, picked up donuts for H's group and went to see them. Didn't get back until about 2:30PM, so I am cleaning up Moose.

New Orleans

H and I at a restaurant in New Orleans.
Flowers on the square by St. Peter's Cathedral.
St. Peter's.
The cemetery where many films are shot.
Another view of the cemetery.
Again.

On Saturday we went to New Orleans, we have not been there since Katrina. All our trips to Biloxi, we never had the time to drive over there. Much has been rebuilt, but since much to do.

The French Quarter is still the same. People drinking on the street and the streets need cleaning. Driving a big diesel truck down those narrow streets is not fun, we thought we wouldn't be able to find a parking space, but finally did.

Sunday we did a sunrise Easter service by the beach, it was freezing. We wore jeans and sweatshirts, but really glad we had a blanket in the truck.

Today we started work. H went to a development in Forest Heights, where we have been before. He painted, caulked, and cut trim. And cut his thumb. Not bad though, no stitches required. I went to work at the free clinic. We did not have a doctor today, so we did a nurse clinic. We weren't busy because most people want a doctor, only way to get a prescription, a nurse can only do over the counter meds.

This morning before I left, I was fixing breakfast and had the tea kettle plugged in. I smelled something hot and smoke smell. I checked the kettle to make sure I had enough water in it, then looked up in time to see the coils at the back of the microwave looking bright red and some smoke, I did not have the microwave on. I pressed the button to open it and the redness stopped and the smell of smoke gradually dissipated. H had already left and did not have his phone on(of course), so I called Town and Country (RV place) to talk to service They told me to unplug it (plug in behind it and microwave is screwed in to cupboards), so they said to shut off the breaker (which I should have thought of myself). They said I must have touched the convection button, but I had not even touched the microwave at all. I was afraid to leave for work with there being any chance it might catch on fire. So now we have an appointment to have it checked when we get home. Always something, but it would be the same way if we were home.

Tomorrow will be a better day!

Arrival in Biloxi

We are now in Biloxi, we arrived last evening. Our trip here wasn't too bad except the roads thru Louisiana are terrible. The concrete joints have failed and it was constant bumps and jerks and many holes which are hard to miss if other vehicles are right beside you. When we arrived it was about 1730(5:30PM) and started setting up, which if you camp you know that means unhitching. Well at Camp Biloxi, where the campers are is on a slight slope, which means you have to lower the front of the fifth wheel down to get it level, it took us 3 tries to get it right because the front levelers only go down so much then stop, so you must have it right when you put them on the ground. 3 tries means unhitching, see how far down it will go then, hitching back up if it isn't right. After we got that done, H hooked up the water and electric.

I took Hobbes inside to eat, but because he waited so long, he doesn't eat much when we are driving, he gobbled the food down then went into lay down on our bed, then promptly had projectile vomiting all over the bed and carpet. After I got that cleaned up and did a few things inside, we noticed that the fridge was still on gas rather than electric and the ceiling fan and 2 light in the living area weren't working. We checked fuses, bulbs, turned breakers on and off, trying to figure out what the problem was. After doing everything else, H saw that our GFI on an outlet in the kitchen was tripped. After resetting that, everything worked.

It was so late by that time and we had not eaten, I was beginning to feel nauseated. So cheese and crackers was dinner. Hobbes ate a little more food and kept it down.

This morning everything is great, the sun is out and it is supposed to be 75. We want to drive over to New Orleans today, guess we had better get started.

On Our Way

K, Andrew, D, and Justin, Josh in the back. They helped H put puzzle together.
Oldest church in Texas. It is in Lockhart, about 15 minutes from San Marcos.
Beautiful courthouse in Lockhart, refurbished about 3 years ago.
Confederate. You know we are deep in the south.
This library in Lockhart was built by a doctor in 1899.
Wild flowers along the road as we traveled today.

We left San Marcos this AM, traveled only about 300 miles. We had to go thru Houston, road construction everywhere, it took us forever. Hobbes gets restless if he has to be in the truck too long. Though I must say he has become a much better traveler than early last fall.

Tomorrow we head out early and will take our time, we don't have to be in Biloxi until Saturday and it is only about 200 miles.

Cooler Weather

Another puzzle.

H is always busy on his puzzles, he has been putting them together in the rec room of the campground, so it doesn't tie up our table.

The weather was very warm Friday and Saturday, 92 and 89. Now today is much cooler, in the 70s, and because it is cloudy and windy, it feels even cooler. We decided to go back to the outlet mall to look around. I, of course, found a few things to buy. We then went to Montana Mike's for a late lunch. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, not sure what we will do, unless we just read.

Gruene, Texas

A beautiful tree in Gruene.
Mom in front of a Bed and Breakfast.


Today we went to Gruene, a German settlement. It is quaint, with many old buildings that have been kept up, and some that have been restored. Of course many are now gift shops. Mom walked more today than she has all winter. It is good for her.

Puzzles

The 2 Ks with a puzzle they helped H put together.
More puzzles that the boys(that had been in previous pictures) helped put together.
Mom enjoying the swing.
Mom at the campsite.

A Visit from Connie

My sister, Connie, came up from San Antonio yesterday. She wanted to see Mom again before Mom went back home to Ohio. We had a nice visit mand she took us out to 'On the River Pub and Grill', we sat inside due to the wind, but we had a great view of the river. There were kids jumping in and going over the rapids, that water had to been cold, but kids can tolerate that. They mlooked like mthey were having fun.

It rained again today, we awoke to thunder and lightning, then it rained really hard. This is the tird hard rain we have had since we came to Texas on the 13th of last month. It is supposed to dry off and be sunny tomorrow, I hope.

Reasons Not To Be In Ohio

Daughter's home in Ohio, her husband and son walking in the drive.
Plows on their street.
Griffin having some fun outside.

Austin

Ray, Grandma, and Valerie.

Thursday we went to Austin to see Valerie(Connie's youngest daughter) and her husband Ray. We had a really good visit, they took us to lunch at Carinos(Italian) and Mom, who is never hungry ate a big piece of Lasagna and bread. Thursday was rainy and cold. It was 84 on Wednesday and 40 on Thursday. Spring in Texas is as volatile as Ohio . Now today started out cool and is still windy, but much warmer. H and I are sitting outside reading. Mom thinks the air is still too cool. Of course we don't want her getting sick, so she is inside reading.

San Antonio

My sister, Connie, and Mom.


Wednesday we went to San Antonio to visit with Connie. We had lunch with her, which was excellent, Connie is a very good cook, then H and I went downtown so Mom and Connie could visit. I'm glad Mom is getting to see everyone. Still have not seen Joseph, one of Mom's great children.

H and I went to the Alamo and Riverwalk, though we were careful of the time, didn't want to get caught in the rush hour traffic. Mom has been to those areas several times, but we would like to take her back and maybe do the boat tour on the river.

Visit with Michelle and Family

H and Azul playing Othello.
Carlos and Michelle. Michelle is Connie's(my oldest sister) oldest daughter.
Michelle, Grandma, Carlos, and Azul.
Grandma with the whole family, Aiden in Carlos' arms.

H helping Azul and Aiden build card houses.
Grandma with Azul and Aiden. Aiden showing off her missing teeth.



We went to visit Michelle and her family up in Round Rock, Texas on Tuesday, the weather was great and we had a wonderful day. Her daughters are 4 and 7, very smart and funny. They really took to H, had him playing games and building houses. Grandma had a good visit with them.

Shari and David

Shari, Grandma, and David.
Again.

We left Saturday AM and drove to Arlington, near Dallas, to see Shari and David. Shari is middle child of Connie, my oldest sister. Shari kindly invited us to stay overnight in their beautiful house. They own Baskin Robbins franchises, so they work 7 days a week. We had a really good time. I am so glad Mom came back to Texas with me to see her grandchildren that she seldom gets to see.

On the way back from Arlington we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch then at a Cabelas so Mom could see all the animals that they have on display. We are all ready for a nap.