Chill-axing...

… or as my son-in-law would say, Just living the dream.  One might say we are living in an ideal fettle. 

This is the longest we've been anchored in one place since we moved out of our stationary home at the end of July 2019.  We have been here two months and plan to stay through the end of February.  The climate here is nearly perfect and we're loathe to move on to colder temps.  Consort has shaken off his worker drone mentality and is embracing retirement.  Me, I'm still making my to-do lists, but find I check it less frequently than I did in my previous life, and I seldom fret over things that don't get done.  Our days are filled with reading, music, and the pursuit of hobbies.  There are organized activities within the park; we ride bikes; we take the dogs to the park, work on obedience and walk them multiple times during the course of the day.  We go on excursions, make trips to the beach, and  we are surrounded by interesting new friends who are doing exactly the same thing.  While we're looking forward to traveling across America, it will be difficult saying good-bye to all these wonderful Winter Texans.

We are as busy, or as lazy, as we want to be each day.  We were treated to an amazing Bluegrass band who played for a dance early in the month.  We've been to hear the United States Air Force Military Band of the West perform the best jazz music I've heard in years.  There have been horse races and cookouts, trips to Mexico, happy hours.

Last week, here at 4 Seasons RV Park, was proclaimed Fun Week.  Each day we were presented with a variety of activities in which we could participate.  There were sign-up sheets, teams formed, and tournaments held.  Pentanque and shuffleboard, darts and horseshoes, billliards, pickleball, and a wide variety of card games.  I started playing Ponytail, a variation of Canasta, a few weeks ago with my favorite Canadian and a dozen or so others.  Because it is so similar to Canasta, I happily signed up for the Ponytail tournament.  My team came in third.

Consort signed up for a few different activities, including the shuffleboard tournament.  Most of the participants don't take the tournaments too seriously, they're just out to have a good time; but there are others who have a somber disposition when Fun Week rolls around.  My mother has been the champion shuffleboard player many times in the past years and has a no-nonsense attitude during tournaments.  I was a bit concerned for consort when he admitted he wasn't sure which end of the shuffleboard cue he was to hold and which end was made for shooting discs.  I was even more disturbed when I realized the partner he had been teamed with was also a first-rate shuffleboard player.  In the end, consort and his partner defeated my mother and her partner for third place in the overall standings.  Saturday night a banquet was held in honor of all the participants and awards were given to first, second, and third place winners.  The entire week, culminating in Saturday's dinner and dance, was quite entertaining.

One of my favorite Americans at 4 Seasons  invited me to her home yesterday for an impromptu party.  She asked I bring some of my embroidery work, and my sketch pad, to show a group of interested ladies.  As I mentioned in another blog, I don't physically possess much of my finished work.  I asked Mom if she had anything I'd made and hit the mother lode.  She had pillowcases, dish towels, bags, and even a framed picture I drew.  The ladies were attentive while I described the beginning-to-end process I go through when I embroider a picture and seemed genuinely awestruck by the end result.  Their reaction surprised me.  I've always felt embroidery was a lot like coloring with thread on fabric:  completely mindless and requiring very little skill.  And as for my "art," it's nothing more than Zentangle doodles, for the most part.  I enjoy it, it relaxes me, and I can get lost in it for hours.  But, again, it doesn't take much talent to draw loops and lines.  Regardless, the afternoon was done in wonderfully good faith.  Thanks for inviting me into your life.

On the stereo: Joe Bonamassa, Dust Bowl

In the oven: Bacon and cheese dog biscuits

Currently reading:  Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen