A Week Without Bob - November 22-27, 2021

As I stated in my last blog, I am writing blogs for activities I did not have time to blog about from November through March. This blog is being written on March 24, 2022, for events last November. 

Bob is in Las Vegas visiting his family this week. You can read about that in my previous blog titled "My Birthday Weekend."

Tuesday, November 23: At 7 am, Sunnie had his monthly vet visit for a glucose check for his diabetes. His glucose was high, so the vet increased his insulin and he will need a re-check next week to make sure all is well.

Sunnie in his favorite room at the vet:
the Pink Panther room.

Sunnie at the vet's office.

At 9 am, Susan Medlin and I walked 10k from Southside Lions Park to north of Covington Park in San Antonio. It was a beautiful day. Our Randolph Roadrunners Volkssport Club is sponsoring this walk on the day after Thanksgiving. Susan will be volunteering and wanted to walk this ahead of time check the route and get credit for the walk.

Cypress tree reflected in Pecan Valley
Lake at Southside Lions Park.

Pecan Valley Lake fountain at
Southside Lions Park, San Antonio.

There are miles of paved paths.

A very pretty walk in San Antonio.

Red-tailed hawk?

After we finished our walk, I'm sure we went out to lunch. I don't remember where but it may have been Salata salad buffet restaurant. 

We then headed to the theater to see "King Richard." The movie is based on the true story of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams. King Richard was the nickname their father used. The story is well told and very well acted. Both of us enjoyed it immensely. The end credits show photos of the real family and coaches.

Wednesday, November 24: I had my haircut and color done this afternoon. When I got home, I made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner (at Susan and Darren's house tomorrow).

Thanksgiving Day, November 25: Susan and Darren invited me, a friend of Darren's, and three airmen from Lackland Air Force Base to their home for Thanksgiving Dinner. She made a moist, delectable turkey and most of the fixin's. I made the gravy, the pumpkin pie, and a spinach and mushroom salad. We had a wonderful feast with interesting conversations. 

One of the airmen was with the newest branch of the military: Space Force. "And that's all I'm going to say about that," as Forrest Gump would say.

Susan Alton and Susan Medlin 
in our aprons that we bought at
the Comfort Christmas Market 
two years ago.

Our formal dinner table.

Here's everyone except Darren.
[Photo credit: Darren Medlin.]

There may have been some watching
of sports involved. 

Friday, November 26: Today, our Randolph Roadrunners Volkssport Club had a 5k and/or 10k walk that started at Southside Lions Park. Susan Medlin and I did the 5k walk around Pecan Valley Lake, up to the baseball field/community center, and back to the start pavilion. It was another beautiful day. 

Martin Callahan and Ellen Ott.

Diana & Robert Adelman with Odin. 
Ellen Ott is giving Odin a doggy treat.

Robert & Diana Adelman
heading out on their walk.

Gail and Martin with their dogs.

Martin taking our photo.

Well-marked trails.

A golden shower tree blooms in 
late November and changes color for
autumn at the same time!!

"Tis' the season..."

The water tower by the ballfield.

We walked a loop around the ballfield
and the Community Center.

Hermes manning the 
checkpoint.

Yes, they fish in the lake. 
This guy let me take a photo
of the catfish he caught.

The map of Southside Lions Park.

After the walk, we had a hot dog lunch complete with chips, soda, Devil's Food Apricot Cake, and two homemade dump cakes. Susan Medlin has been busy cooking, that's for sure. She made a pumpkin dump cake and a blueberry dump cake. That's in addition to all her Thanksgiving culinary efforts. Ellen made the Devil's Food Apricot Cake. Mmm.

During lunch, Ellen Ott handed out our club's Commendable Service Awards. It's nice to get recognized for the volunteer work we do. 

Of course, Ellen as our Club President does an immense amount of volunteer work as well. Thank you, Ellen, for keeping the club moving forward. Susan Medlin also does so much for our club as well as the national Volkssport Association. Those are our two powerhouse club leaders.

Saturday, November 27: Today, the Comfort, Texas, Volksmarch Club had their "Christmas in Comfort" walk. We love going to this walk because it corresponds with the holiday bazaar put on by the town of Comfort. Not only do we get to do an interesting walk, but we also get to shop for Christmas gifts! Woo hoo!

It was a cold, blustery day so we wore warm coats, scarves, and gloves. I also took my umbrella because rain was in the forecast. 

The walk started in a second-hand bookstore. Susan shopped for and bought a number of books. My car wasn't too far away, so she stashed the books in the car before the walk. 

Comfort is out in the country and today we saw lots of animals!

A church in Comfort, Texas.

If you like antiquing, Comfort
is known as "an antique town."

Cypress Creek.

The horses were lonely today and
very friendly. 

Up close and personal.

A beautiful buckskin.

Potbellied pigs and an alpaca.

Don't cross Cypress Creek 
after a heavy rain!

We found some deer, too, right in town.

Before we hit the Christmas Market, I debated on whether or not to take off my coat and leave my umbrella and coat in the car. I had a sweatshirt on. The wind had died down and the temperature had gone up a little. I left my coat and umbrella and we continued on our walk. We still had about 1-1/2 miles to go. 

We shopped at the market along the way. I was getting chilled, so I was going to buy a hot chocolate, but they only took cash and I didn't have any.

Comfort Christmas Market.

Reindeer made from horseshoes.

I bought the fused-glass art piece
on the top right.

The apron maker was back this year.

Collaborative mural.

Cool bike rack.

At this point, it started to drizzle. Having been an Oregonian for 35 years, that was no big deal. I decided to continue without my coat. In the photo below, you can see the street is getting wet. 

Historic downtown Comfort.

Then we came to this sign. That should have stopped us.

This is our walk route! What to do?

We decided to go around the sign to finish our walk. The river wasn't up over the road and it wasn't raining hard, so we felt confident in our choice.

The Guadalupe River in Comfort, Texas.

Cacti can grow anywhere.

An artistic mailbox holder.

Look at these gigantic
maple leaves!

It started raining harder and we had at least 3/4 mile back to the car. People were scurrying back to their cars from the Christmas Market. A number of vendors covered up their wares. We walked faster. I was getting pretty cold and wet. We picked up our purchases from the art glass vendor and hurried back to the car. I couldn't wait to get back and hunker down in the car with the seat heater, steering wheel heater, and car heater all on. I put my heavy coat back on and that helped a lot. The rain was coming down steadily as I drove back to Susan's house to drop her off.

When I got home, I took a nice, hot shower. I was happy to be back. Bob will be home tonight and I am thrilled to see him again!

P.S. After I FINISHED writing this blog, I went back and found I had already written the blog about Southside Lions Park. If you want to read that one from last November when my memory was fresh, you can read it here.