Sunday, April 3, 2022
The Academy Awards Ceremony was held a week ago. I wouldn’t have known it had happened except actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock over a comment about Smith’s wife’s hair or the lack of it. That wasn’t quite enough so Smith then gave Rock a tongue lashing complete with the f-word. Kudos to Chris Rock for making the best of a bad situation. Days later, Smith apologized publicly and resigned from the Academy. The press is still talking about it. There’s a war going on across the world and America is discussing Will Smith’s childhood trauma all week. It’s time to move on folks.
Matt and I went to the little church near us this morning and then drove to Branson to eat at Famous Dave’s Barbeque. We hadn’t eaten brisket in a long time, but this restaurant left much to be desired. The brisket was mediocre. Our table rocked—literally—we needed to shove a deck of cards under one leg. It was that bad. A baby was SCREAMING most of our meal. And I ordered a baked potato, but they weren’t going to have any ready for an hour, so they delivered my meal with fries and gave me my choice of another side. I chose potato salad which I wouldn’t order again.
On the way home, Matt got a call from a neighbor that our cows were on his land, so he spent his afternoon getting them back home.
At least the weather’s been nice all weekend. Well, back in Ft. Worth, Ray had his apartment windows open one night this week. That same night it got down to 27 here.
Sunday, April 10, 2022
We had beautiful weather for a productive weekend of fencing and yard work. Cooler temperatures and rain are expected tomorrow.
We ate brunch at the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks today. The facility is gorgeous and the food was wonderful.
Will Smith was banned from The Academy for a decade for his display of anger and slapping Chris Rock. This outburst is still making headlines now two weeks later.
Russia bombed a train station full of Ukrainian civilians attempting to flee to Poland for safety.
And 68 attendees of a high-profile D.C. dinner have tested positive for COVID-19.
Friday, April 15, 2022
Stephanie arrived Wednesday for a few days. We went to the Silver Dollar City Theme Park. I actually rode a couple of rides, but no coasters yet. Waiting for the safety bar to release, the kids noticed my hair was crazy after flying through the air on the ride, and they were laughing at me. Before the ride, I had warned them that at my age, if I fall down due to dizziness, it could lead to a hip replacement.
The weather was great for the park. Today it’s raining again.
Hummingbirds have arrived and are frequently visiting my feeders. I’m still waiting to see an oriole. Sources say they should pass through any time.
Ruidoso, New Mexico is having wildfires. We have vacationed there many times and were talking about trying to visit there again this fall. We’ll see what happens.
Monday, April 25, 2022
I attended the Branson International Film Fest and the Ozarks Writers League Conference over the weekend. Opportunities for creatives are plentiful here and I’m excited to participate, learn and meet new tribe members.
Ray is back here sick again—probably COVID. We had a refrigerator delivered Sunday morning, so we had to unload the old one and organize items in the new model. Sunday afternoon we hauled all the patio furniture to the yard so painters could prep the deck for repainting this morning. Of course, this was the weekend Matt had planned to run away. Ray was a trooper huffing, puffing, coughing, and hacking while we moved everything. We’re ready for the painters—exhausted, but ready.
Orioles have finally arrived and they’re beautiful. I can’t believe we see so many. It’s not like in Texas where you see one cardinal and blue jay a week, they travel in Baptist small groups here.
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
I’m sick now. I’m not sure if I have what Ray is getting over or if I picked up something else from one of the conferences last weekend. The senior adults from Mineral Wells are in town, but I canceled all our plans with them. Rose and Brandon Jordan planned to come up next week, but I canceled with them also.
Putin’s war rages on against Ukraine. Gas and food prices continue to increase and there are fears of nuclear war in the press.