No exercise or bike riding this morning!  One of Kay’s Christmas presents was a short trip home to attend her “book club” Christmas party.  We left Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort at 9:15 AM, to usher her off to the McAllen Airport for the flight to Little Rock.  Because we spend the winter in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and only spend a couple of days with the kids and grandkids at Christmas in Arkansas and Tennessee, Kay gives up Christmas at home—decorating the house; making cookies, candies, cakes, and pies; attending parties; and hosting parties at the house—and she gives this all up for me as I don’t handle cold weather well, particularly since “surgery” in December 2010, and enjoy the warmth and outdoor activities in the RGV.  Consequently, on our way down to the RGV in November, I ask her what one thing she missed most about Christmas at home.    Her response surprised me as she said it was attending her “book club” Christmas party with a group of ladies, some of whom have been together for 35 years.  I said, “Okay, why don’t you fly home for the party?”  Without much discussion, if any, she calls and finds out that the price of a roundtrip ticket is not exorbitant and makes reservations and buys the ticket!  So, she’s off today and will spend all or part of the next 6 days in central Arkanasas.  I’ll be batching it for a while, but down here in the RGV, we have great friends and neighbors who will keep a close eye on me, and there’s more than enough to do to keep busy!

After dropping her off at the airport, I drove to Costco to pick up a year’s supply of contact lens, though they are not much less expensive than at the clinic at home, and to do some Christmas shopping for Kay (can’t say where, as she’ll read this).  Back at the RV resort, I cleaned the “house”, dumped the tanks, attended the happy hour (though it wasn’t the same without Kay), and recharged the water softener.  I waked to the Activities Room for bridge, but none of the other players showed up, so I learned to play Mexican Train dominoes with the Pilkingtons.  It is a hoot of a game, and I had a good time; can’t wait for Kay to play.  We quit at 9 PM, close enough to bedtime that I didn’t have a desire to watch television.