Another cold front blew in last night; seems these are happening every three weeks.  We arrived in the RGV on the tail end of one on November 13, then experienced another beginning November 26.  Fortunately, these don’t last too long, about 4 or 5 days, and temps rarely get below 40°.  Nevertheless, the cool temps and high winds severely hamper outdoor activities such as birding biking, and butterfly watching.  Van and I did go for a 5-mile walk this morning (Saturday), after which Kay and I pretty much hung out around the motorhome.  Bentsen Palm Village is normally “busy” with people scurrying here and there, but even with all the Canadians and upper mid-western folks wintering here, most seem to stay in when one of these fronts comes through.  We sure hope this “winter” weather bodes well for a warm January and February!

Bill Duke preached another great sermon Sunday, the subject being repentance. He is able to say a lot in a short time, and make it both interesting and relatable.  As more and more Winter Texans arrive in the RGV, attendance at church increases dramatically.  We returned to the motorhome after church, only to find a small pool of water under where the potable water hooks up to the RV.  A further check revealed a slow drip, and a change of hoses, pressure regulators, and connectors did nothing to resolve the drip.  Neighbor Jim Miles and I drove to Walmart to pick up another hose, and the leak was still present when the new hose was installed.  The pressure regulator was removed from adjacent to the motorhome, and reconnected to the outlet of the water softener, and lo and behold, the drip ceased.  We now have several extra potable water hoses.  With milder, near 60° temperatures, the palapa was packed for happy hour, and we all talked and laughed—happy to be outside.  As evening approached, I began sneezing and had a runny nose—hmmm.  Kay and I continued watching Bomb Girls in the evening until bedtime. 

Perhaps because of riding and walking amidst the cold and windy weather late last week, or running around in a tee shirt yesterday fixing the drip, I awoke feeling stuffy, and sneezing and coughing—a cold—urghh.  I advised Van that I would not be riding bicycles today, came back to the motorhome, put on pajamas and a sweatshirt, and generally felt lousy.  Kay began feeding me Zicam every 3 hours, and I took advantage of the down time to write and print our Christmas newsletter, and sort and print mailing labels for Christmas cards; do folks still send out Christmas cards?  A bowl of hot, homemade chicken noodle soup in the evening, in combination with the Zicam, worked well to ease the cold symptoms.  We closed out the night watching more commercial-free episodes of Bomb Girls on Netflix.