We do much the same thing day in and day out, week in and week out, but our life is certainly not boring.   

I play golf several times a week, leaving little time for anything else.  As was written in the last entry, the lesson with pro Mike Socha and his recommendation to change to a Bridgestone E6 golf ball have resulted in significant improvements in my game.  Kay continues to improve as well, playing with the Lady Duffers every Wednesday morning, and started the month off with a golf game.

On Thursday, we drove to Mountain Home and had lunch with Wayne and Loretta, then to Calico Rock for our semi-annual dental cleaning and examination.  A small cavity was found among my teeth, and Dr. Lane filled it while Kay was having her teeth cleaned, saving us another trip to Calico Rock.  

Sunday morning early, I bicycled over 10 miles in a hilly section of the Village, and combined with partially inflated tires (30 psi vs. 65 psi), it proved an exhausting ride.  We did make it to church, but I missed the church picnic Sunday afternoon, playing golf instead, and had good round, shooting in the high 80s at Cortez Golf Club.

On June 8, I did an 18 mile ride, and it wasn’t near as tough as the 10 mile ride, followed by 18 holes of golf.  Kay’s sister, Nan, and her husband, George, flew in from the Richmond, VA, area for a visit and to attend her 50th high school reunion.  George and I played golf, Thursday (I played two 18 hole rounds) and Friday, making for 7 rounds in 6 days.  We so enjoyed their visit, staying up late and catching up on family happenings, and reminiscing about childhood days in Morrilton, Arkansas.  Kay and Sue Sroczynski attended the Morrilton High School reunion brunch on Saturday morning—the brunch is for all classes having celebrated their 50th year reunion, and Nan and George attended her reunion in the evening.

I accompanied fellow photographer and birder, Vic Privlipsky, to a nature reserve adjacent to the Village in hopes of spotting a Diana Fritillary.  Thanks to Vic, we spotted both a female and male, nectaring among the Monardi wildflowers.  In addition, he pointed out a rare wildflower found in only two places in the world, here and at Bauxite, Arkansas.  I am super grateful to Vic for introducing this nature area.  (First photo is female Diana Fritillary, second is male, third and fourth are the wild roses.)

We bade farewell to Nan and George on Tuesday, and got acquainted with new neighbors, Steve and Dora, Tuesday evening.  We closed out the first part of June Wednesday with Kay playing golf and attending a book club meeting, and me playing golf.

I spent the morning of May 16 fishing with Bobby and Martha Altom’s grandson, but unfortunately rain spoiled the fishing outing.  We came in the house and he tied his first fly, and is a natural.  In the evening, Kay and I attended Bluejeans and Libations, a small gathering for PEO members and their husbands.

Again, this week was filled with medical appointments.  I got cleared on new cholesterol medicine and Kay got released from the cataract surgery.  And, book club was this week as well!  Of course, lots of golf was played.

On May 19, we drove to Bella Vista, Arkansas, to join Ed and Linda Richmond and John and Sandy Simank for a bream fishing trip.  Former neighbor Bill Ackerman was kind enough to guide us with the help of his good friend Tom.  We fished Friday and Saturday, and despite a cold front, caught fish.  The fish were definitely the largest bream I’ve ever seen.  We returned home on Sunday in time for golf Sunday afternoon. 

In between rain events, I took opportunities to fish our lake, Lake Estrella, and ventured to Lake Isabella one afternoon—only 10 more to go!  Fishing has been decent, and nothing beats catching fish on a popping bug or foam spider.

We have been blessed with an abundance of rain this spring, and when weather permitted, lots of golf was played, despite being limited to the cart path.  On May 24, Kay and book club girlfriends traveled to Oklahoma for an evening of gambling, and returned the next day in time for us to host Karyn, Matt and the kids here for Memorial Day weekend.  I smoked a couple slabs of ribs, and they were good, but not my best effort—wrong type of ribs and wrong rub!

I played hookie from church on Sunday morning and took a golf lesson focusing on hitting the 6 iron and putting.  Mike Socha is a fantastic instructor, and such a positive person.  He moved the ball forward a couple inches in my stance, had me rotate my shoulders slightly clockwise, and move the right foot closer to the ball. 

We ended the month with several days of rain, keeping us inside.  I worked on #6 and #10 popping bugs, and now have about 5 dozen ready to be tailed.

We are immensely enjoying living in Hot Springs Village, being close to family and old friends, and making new friends.  Though neither of us is big on clubs and organizations, we haven chosen to participate in a limited few.  I attend the Village Mac Users Group and Audubon Society meetings monthly as time permits, and Kay attends PEO, Naomi Circle, AAUW, and Book Club meetings.  We stay so busy that there is little time to take photographs, write blog entries, or watch television!

We have not fallen off the face of the earth as lack of blog and Facebook posts might suggest; rather, we’ve been enjoying grandkids, golf (and all that Hot Springs Village has to offer), and fishing between rain events.  

We have begun a routine of playing bridge with Jim and Jackie Morris on Sunday evenings, and began the month with a lively bridge game.  The next morning after exercise, Kay began baking for the United Methodist Women’s annual bazaar (the largest “garage” sale in the Village), and continued baking throughout the week.

She had several meeting the first week in May, including a PEO meeting and the UMW Naomi Circle at our house.  (Did I mention how much we like Hot Springs Village?)  We ended the week with my driving to Norfork to “assist” best friend Wayne in installing a new compressor for the dash AC in the motorhome—as you might expect, Wayne does it all.  We are so thankful for his and Loretta’s friendship and help.  Kay finishing baking, and with Karyn’s assistance, worked the UMW Bazaar.  By the way, Karyn had a ball and Kay really enjoyed spending time with Karyn to celebrate Mother’s Day.  Ron came by on Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day as well; with both Karyn and Ron visiting over the course of the weekend, Kay was a very happy mom!  Of course, interspersed with all these activities was golf almost every day, at least for me.

On May 11, Kay had cataract removal surgery on her right eye, with follow-up appointments the next few days.  The surgery was quite successful, and she is seeing much better, except close-up.  Also following surgery, she joined Pam in Little Rock for dinner with the “old girls” from Northwood HS.

Birds and butterflies returned this month  A pair of Mississippi Kites regularly hang out in a tree above the dock and with the butterfly bushes in full bloom, butterflies have finally begun visiting our place.

We had Friday night catfish dinner at Mulligan’s (Ponce de Leon) with new friend and golf buddy Donald Atchley.  Karyn and the kids came for the weekend just after we arrived home, and we had a blast.  

We began the month with a visit from Karyn, Ridge, and Aker.  The three of them, along with Kay, visited Garvan Woodland Gardens and Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, and had a great time.  During the week, I played golf, bicycled, and walked, along with lots of piddlin’.

The following weekend, Tim and Roseann Sikora, RV friends from the RGV, visited. Tim and I fished, while Roseann and Kay took in the sights of Hot Springs, including mineral baths and massages.

On Monday, a visit to an ophthalmologist revealed cataracts in both eyes and stigmatism in my left eye—formerly my better eye!  A new and stronger prescription for a solo contact for the left eye resulted.  Both Kay and I played golf during the week, bicycled, and piddled around the house.  We had a quiet weekend, at least for us.

I played golf the following week while Kay focused on book club—casino night on Tuesday, and then Crystal Bridges Wednesday and Thursday.

Karyn, Ridge, and Aker joined us for the weekend, and we had a blast, fishing, canoeing, and attending the Farm to Table Festival here in the Village.  Ridge really liked the kids’ zone, and especially the Bounce House where he jumped and ran for what seemed like an hour.  Ridge learned to cast an open-faced spinning reel, and was rewarded with his very first fish—the look of surprise and “What do I do now?” expression were priceless.  Matt joined us Saturday afternoon late, and we continued the festive weekend. 

The last week of the month, I played golf, bicycled, and fished—what more could one ask for—and the golf was decent and fishing excellent. 

There were many more “memorable” experiences during the month, including our first of the season (FOS) RubyThroated Hummingbird, Green Heron, and Mississippi Kite.  Lots of butterflies are flittering about in the Village, but not many around our house.  However, the butterfly bushes, lantana, marigolds, and other plants will be flowering very soon.  

I could not remember other “memorable” moments!  We kind of like this retirement lifestyle.

TIME:  9:00 AM TO 11:00 AM

WEATHER: High 70s, partly cloudy, wind

WATER CONDITIONS:  Clear

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Hot Springs Village, Lake Estrella

FLIES USED:  #6 Gray Arkansas Slider

ROD USED: FlexTec CDX 66, 10’ 6/7 wt

HATCHES: None

OTHER:  Fishing was much the same as the previous two days, except the fish were biting exceptionally well along the bank, and particularly along the riprap-lined dam.  Each time we were able to get out of the wind, the gray slider produced a fish, bringing back great memories of times many years ago.  Warmwater fishing is obviously one of my many passions.

TIME:  9:00 AM to 11:00 AM, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

WEATHER: High 70s, partly cloudy, breezy

WATER CONDITIONS:  Clear

LOCATIONS FISHED:  Hot Springs Village, Lake Estrella

FLIES USED:  #6 Gray Arkansas Slider

ROD USED: FlexTec CDX 66, 10’ 6/7 wt

HATCHES: None

OTHER:  Tim Sikora fished a 4-inch Zoom Lizard hard, both trolling behind the canoe, and casting toward the bank, catching fish each way for a day’s total of almost 2 dozen.  I threw the gray slider, and was rewarded with several fish, both bluegill and bass.  It proved to be a great day for fishing.

We switched gears—into a faster one—and hosted Ridge and Aker on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  It’s entirely possible we’re getting too old for this pace!  The grandkids were good, though, eating and behaving well.  The cool/cold temperatures didn’t allow outside play much, though Kay did them to a neighbor’s play area on Friday afternoon.  Otherwise, we watched Scooby-Doo, Batman, and Power Rangers to the point that I know all the characters in each!

So what else did we do this week?  Let’s see.  I played golf 3 times and Kay played once.  We attended a great concert by the Swingles; they were a fantastic a cappella group from London, UK.  I attended an HSV Audubon Society bird walk, Kay attended a PEO program planning committee meeting, a Duffers’ (ladies’ golf group) luncheon, and a culinary arts dinner (too much wine, or maybe too much sugar).

And, of course, we walked through the neighborhood a few times.  We also saw several FOY (first of year) butterflies, including a Tiger Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, several species of Sulphurs, a few Skippers, etc.  There are also Pine Siskins at the thistle sock feeder everyday.  No hummingbirds yet!  Otherwise, it was a pretty dull week—yeah, sure!

Time seems to be flying by exponentially; of course, we’re doing lots and staying busy.
Early in this reporting period, we had a great visit with Harper, Jenny, and Brian.  Harper has matured so much in just a couple of months since Christmas 2015.  She is particularly fond of KK and they enjoyed each other’s company.  We all had lunch at Olive Garden (the soup and salad were okay for our diets), and because Harper was getting sleepy, we said goodbyes there.  We went to Costco to cash our “cash back” check for the year, filled up with gasoline, and began the drive home.  After only a couple of miles on I-40, we came to a complete standstill, and it took us over an hour to travel 4 miles; seems like a 5th wheel RV had overturned, essentially blocking two lanes of traffic at a major interstate intersection.  Consequently, it was dark before we arrived home, and we immediately went to bed—even before setting the clocks forward for daylight savings time.

The last twelve days have been filled with golf, medical appointments, club meetings, and social activities, leaving little time for television.  I’ve played golf four times, including this par 3 shown below with the flowering trees lining the green at Desoto Golf Club, and we had a combined lesson; added together, we’ve had five doctor’s visits; there have been Village Mac User’s Group and Audubon Society events, including a bird walk on one of HSV’s trails (shown in the photo below the golf course photo); and casino night, book club, a concert, and Animal Welfare League’s Girls’ Night Out.  Add in landscaping, fitness walks and exercise, and it makes for a full twelve days.

We finished unpacking Thursday morning, Kay cleaned the inside of the motorhome, and we de-winterized the hot tub and filled it with water to heat.  A trip to the Apple Store in Little Rock was in order to have the MacBook Pro repaired; seems like when the new hard drive was installed in November, they did not replace the bad cable. I was able to wait while it was repaired and arrived back home by mid-afternoon, leaving the rest of the day for golf at Coronado Golf Club.  The course was very wet, and many of the balls plugged (sunk in the ground) when they landed, but Kay and I had fun nevertheless.

A much needed haircut was on the calendar for early Friday morning, and it sure felt good to have a trim. Returning to the house, The slides were pulled in on the motorhome, the leveling jacks lifted,  and shore power disconnected; it was then taken to the storage facility for dumping and flushing the tanks, and stored until next use, officially ending our Winter Texan season.  We were invited to dinner at Mulligan’s with Charlie, Linda, Rick and Pat, Estrella Lake neighbors, and the all-you-can-eat catfish was very good.

Anxious to see the grandkids, a trip to Central Arkansas was made Saturday morning, and we enjoyed several hours playing with Ridge and Aker and visiting their mother. It’s amazing how much the grands mature in just a couple of months—Ridge’s vocabulary has increased significantly, and he’s so stinkin’ cute, and Aker is taking her first steps! We enjoyed a quiet afternoon resting and relaxing.

Church on Sunday was followed by golf with Jim and Fred at Coronado Golf Club. The course had dried considerably since Thursday, but it was still cart path only golf. I tired after 15 holes and we called it a day.   Kay and I sadly watched the last episode of Downton Abbey Sunday evening as it ended it’s six-year run as the most successful Masterpiece Theatre show in PBS history. It’s hard to believe we started watching it in 2010.

This is what we woke up to Monday morning—beautiful, but a portend of significant rain the next several days.  We’ve pretty much returned to normal back here in Hot Springs Village after our winter in Texas.  Kay is exercising on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and we both started the DASH diet to lose a few extra pounds put on over the past year. Additional deck furniture was ordered as well as a leather chest for the master bed room.  Next will be furnishing the “office”.  We met with a landscaper to get an estimate for installing a couple of additional beds and to freshen and replenish mulch in the existing beds.  The 2004 Ford Expedition, almost 12 years old now, got an oil and filter change, new windshield wipers, and new brakes—a rather costly endeavor but still cheaper than a single monthly car payment!  And, I have been working—more like piddlin’— in the garage shop area, packing things for storage in the crawl space, throwing things away, and generally tidying up the “work” bench.  And, I replaced a flat tube on the Winter Texas bicycle; two flats this year, one on the front and the other on the rear.
Wednesday evening Kay and neighbor Linda attended a lecture by a holocaust survivor.  She had an interesting story, much like that of Anne Franke, as she was hidden, passed from house to house, and “converted” to Catholicism to avoid being taken to the concentration camp.
Rain continued Thursday, negating any outdoor activities; Kay and Pam drove to Benton to shop for furniture and see a movie.  It rained Friday as well, though we spent a marathon day shopping in Hot Springs, buying a desk for the office via telephone based on Kay’s previous day shopping.

Kay and I seriously “simplified” packing for the winter in the Rio Grande Valley, e.g. no satellite antenna (aka Tailgater), no satellite receiver, no water softener, fewer outside chairs, etc.  In turn, that eased our set-up upon arriving in the Valley, and consequently allowed us to be less dependent on THINGS.  Another real positive is that in readying to depart the Valley, we had very little to do in terms of packing away outside items, and Kay quickly got things ready inside, particularly the kitchen and pantry, for traveling.  We were pretty much through packing by mid-morning, allowing time to say goodbyes in the afternoon.  Many of the folks at the resort have been coming for years; we have developed a tight knit community and it always takes a good day or more to bid farewell.  This year proved to be more difficult than most as we said goodbye to Al and Sharon who do not plan to return to South Texas.  We will miss our golf rounds together, our weekly bridge games, and happy hour, but hopefully we will see them again.  Having packed everything away, we dumped the tanks and disconnected the sewer hose, hooked up the Honda “toad”, and fastened the bicycles in their rack on back of the Honda; we were ready to travel.  Happy hour was full of goodbyes, good wishes, and a few tears.  Afterwards, we attended a steel drum concert by the Pan O’ Steel Steel Drum Band of McAllen, Texas, High School, and returned to Circle 3 palapa for more goodbyes, effectively ending one of our (certainly my) happiest winters.

Tuesday morning, we were up early and departed the resort by 7 AM.  Most of our neighbors were still asleep (we told them we were leaving at 8:30 AM), so we didn’t have to go through the emotional torture of saying goodbyes again with teary eyes—we’ll sure miss our Winter Texas friends until next season!  Our day’s travel took us north over 400 miles to Franklin, Texas, east of Killeen and Temple, where we spent a quiet evening and night.

Wednesday morning, we were on the road again just before 7 AM.  The almost 400 mile drive to Hot Springs was uneventful; in fact, the entire return trip to Hot Springs Village was uneventful which is just the way we like it—no motorhome problems, breakdowns, etc.  We squeezed into the driveway, with maybe a foot and a half to spare, hooked up shore power, leveled the coach, opened the slides, and began unpacking.  At the house, the internet had gone down requiring re-powering, and the thermostat had to be turned up for more heat; otherwise, all was well.