rest of Friday. Had more neighbors come over to say hi...nice welcome.
Saturday, Dec. 29
Cleaned house, did laundry, Jerry did some research on the propane brick heater (why it's hard to light) and got fuel. Back to the rig and put everything away. Made sloppy joe's for supper.
Ron and Diana, Jerry's cousin and wife, arrived here about 5:30 PM! Yippee. A marathon drive from the Quad Cities. Had welcome happy hour, dinner (including pumpkin pie - thank you Diana) and a fun visit. So glad we're going to be together for a few days.
Sunday, Dec. 30
Need to deliver the boxes and quilts they brought with them that were gathered in the Quad Cities to be given to the Ft. Sam Houston Warrior and Family Support Center for wounded Afghan and Iraqui warriors. We loaded the goodies into Ron's truck and took off about 11:30. Found the right building after wandering around the huge base area (and we were only on the medical part of the base.)
Received a warm welcome from Jennifer the director's assistant and Eve, one of the 60+ volunteers they have. After showing them two of the 12 quilts which had been donated, Eve gave us a tour of the facility. Prior to this 12,000' building being donated ($5 million plus $1 million in furnishings) they were seeing to the emotional and social needs of those being treated in a 1200' room in the medical center. Thanks to an area construction company they now have state-of-the art family/cozy/warm area to be in. This is for both the warriors and their families with places to watch tv, converse, cook together or just have a snack, children's play area, extensive library of books, video games, do crafts, a man-cave for big screen movies and tv shows and a gorgeous garden, outdoor play area for children, grill area for picnics and courtyard with misters and big-screen tv for outdoor gatherings. WOW - they got input from many individuals before designing it..and it is so awesome.
After this, we drove to Gruene, TX (near New Braunfels) to our favorite restaurant, The Gristmill. It was packed but we got a seat in the outdoor heated area right away. Enjoyed a drink and awesome food. After dinner checked out Gruene Hall (the oldest continuing running dance hall in TX). They had live music but was just too crowded for us. Headed home. Jerry went over to see our next door neighbosr, Kenny and Carmen, who took after our lot when we're not around. I did a quick hello and headed home to rest...still coughing but only when I'm talking, eating and drinking...which is pretty much most of the time unless I'm by myself...LOL! A wonderful day! Still chilly here, but we're coping just fine.
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| Sue and Diana showing them a quilt. |
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| Eva, one of the volunteers accepting the quilt |
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| The huge fireplace in the great-room. |
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| The plaque on the fireplace designed by one of the warriors. He has since gone on to be a very successful artist. |
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| The entrance to the facility |
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Jennifer and Eva, volunteers
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Front porch
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Another view of the greatroom
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| Part of the tour was this hallway with all the volunteer's pictures |
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| Part of the craft area is a mosaic workshop. This was designed for burn victims and has been a very popular activity. Wow - some awesome talent displayed! |
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| Grill area |
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Courtyard
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Ron and Diana at the Gristmill
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