First SOWERS project finished

It snows in central Texas..biggest snow in 6 years

Here is Dale teaching our Group Leader Ray how to tape the walls of the new Medical building the fellows built. 

Dale on the roof of the garage being built by the SOWERS

We have finished our first SOWERS project!  It has been a great experience always learning wonderful lessons from the Lord.  Now it will be March on Monday and we are ready for spring!  You can see the HUGE snowfall we had this week.  Of course, it was gone quickly but the folks around here and in the Austin area were so excited about the snow.  One fellow was shown skiing on the Capital building lawn on about one inch of snow and lots of green showing.  Very big deal.

Dale is ill and has been for several days with a very bad cold.  He has spent yesterday in bed and also today.  I hope he gets better soon, but he tends to stay quite ill.  I was very mildly outs of sorts for a couple of days, but I tend not to get sick.  I really think he should eat more chocolate. 

Highland Lakes is rather remote.  Thursday we went out for some cold medicine and had to drive almost 20 miles round trip to the closest store.  We haven't gotten out very much.  Today we were going out to an RV show in Austin but will not be doing that, maybe tomorrow but unless Dale is blessed with a miracle probably not. 

Hello to Christian, Luke, Daniel, Josh and Alena....Gramma and grampa miss you very much!  Have you been sledding?  I look at the news and see that you have had great amounts of snow...I think some mom's are looking forward to Spring!

Oh Boy the Sun doth Shine or Oh Boy the SON doth SHINE!!!!

Josh what are you looking for ?

Ok it's a bit chilly

What a smile Daniel!

She's our girl Alena

Before we left for Texas the 3 little munchkins stayed

with Gramma and Grampa

Luke with a friend

And here we have Christian and puppy

We have just started our second week at Highland Lakes, Texas.  The first week was adjusting to this new life style. I have gone from being "home alone" to living with the SOWERS family.  I'm learning lots of good stuff, for one I can be with people and even enjoy it....and I can get up at 6:45am and survive.  We have devotions each work morning and that is a lovely way to start the day.  I was worried about this aspect and find once again it was a great waste of worry. 

Saturday Dale and I drove into Austin and had a fun afternoon with our nephew Dean and Bonnie.  It was Tye's first birthday (our great niece).  A little cutie.  Dean is Dale's brother's son.  We were able to visit them last year when we were in Texas and were glad to be able to renew our friendship. 

Sunday afternoon was beautiful, sunny and warm.  Dale and I have been eating way too much of the great food served to us here at camp and wanted to walk some of it off.  The Camp is surrounded by Lake Travis (part of the Colorado River) and a County Park.  We picked a trail and walked and walked and walked and walked.  The trails were very poorly marked so we traveled in what seemed to be the right direction.  Of course, neither D nor I have a good sense of direction and we finally found the road several miles from our expected destination which added about 3 more miles to our walk.  About a mile from the camp a cold, windy front came through and eventually we were REALLY glad to get home.  Our SOWER neighbors had put our awning up so no damage was done.  We were SO glad to put our feet up.

My work has been putting craft projects together, very enjoyable for me.  Dale has been working on building a garage. 

And the sun is still shining....

Life in Progress

Dale and I arrived at Highland Lakes Camp and Conference Center in Spicewood, Texas last Friday.  Okay, so it only rained a little....and Saturday a little more and my word the SUN came out and the sky was blue for one entire day before the flood gates opened again and again...something like the snow you are getting we are getting with cold, windy rain.  It's been a blast, sometimes I can even hear Dale when his lips are moving and he is looking in my direction.  Get out that metal barrel in your garage, snuggle up in there and roll out to the yard and wait for a good pelting thunder, rain storm.  Wow...you will have a great time.

Life is full of new interesting experiences.  They (the more experienced SOWERS) say this is the Hilton of SOWER projects.  It just might be.  We are fed three meals a day on weekends.  That weekend might start on Thursday and end Sunday noon.  The food is fantastic.  Yes, I mean it is REALLY good.  We are also given a coffee break after working an excruciating long hour, sometimes even an hour and fifteen minutes. It's just awful! Here I am cutting out butterflies from foam with another SOWER lady and we have to stop talking and take a break, go have drinks and snacks provided by the camp for a half an hour. Then we go back to work for another 1 1/2 hours and go have a yummy hot lunch again provided by the camp then go home and wash last nights dishes. I leave them for something to do. Dale works until 3:30. It's a very hard life. But, I think I should be the one to sacrifice and not have others having to endure this because I refuse too.

Not only the sacrifice of all this hard work, but today after lunch we were requested to pick out several tee shirts for ourselves. I mean all we do is sacrifice. But, I am learning patience.....

Today the sun is shining, although it is very cold, mid 40's. 

Well, We Certainly Missed the Texas Drought!

The drought apparently did not stop the guy who drank these bottles dry

They say we missed the drought!  "They" are certainly correct.  We are very sorry about that.  We also missed the normal temperature high, but I think we are smack into the normal lows, very lows!  Very FUNNY!....But, I am my normal cheery self.....yes, that's right, laugh if you must....but surprising, even to myself, I am cheerful and enjoying the trip anyway.  See, God works in the "elderly" as my grandchildren (even my children) would say.  They don't realize age happens too quickly and "old" age not until you are about 90 or so....I am just a tad over middle age, like most of the rest of you.
Haven't seen alot of Texas yet, since we have been either driving or waiting for the rain to stop.  We were able to get a shortish 4 mile hike in the other day, but that is about it.  I love to walk and enjoy hiking.  Was looking forward to that, but eating is good too.....that is an indoor exercise.
Gave Daisy a bath in the shower this am.  She loved it, didn't even bite me....well maybe she didn't love it, but tolerated it pretty well.  Traveling with Miss Stinky Face in confined spaces can move even Miss Cheery Self to stop eating and bath the dog.