A Week's Recap

Our week was nothing out of the ordinary, but looking back, we had something on the calendar every day.  

Monday:  Platinum Singer rehearsal for Dick and Men's Bible Study at our house

Tuesday:  Libby had an appointment with a pain management specialist

Wednesday:  Dick taught his Wednesday Life Group class and the housekeeper                       came.  Not any too soon!

               The Trumps visit Royalty and looked royal.  This didn't affect us personally as we weren't invited.  Nevertheless, it was fun to take in the events from a distance.

So many negative and judgmental comments were made, but I thought they all looked "royal" and dressed to the nines, as my mother used to say. 

Thursday:  Platinum Singer concert in Tyler, TX

Our choir was invited to join the Green Acres Senior Choir for a concert and lunch.

I invited long-time friends, Judy and Tom Ivey, who now live in Longview, TX, to drive over and meet us.  It was so good to see them again after our move from Shreveport five years ago.  

Friday:  Dick went to his Men's Bible Study that meets every Friday morning at 7.

            

            I walked in the Willow Bend Mall which is near our house.

The story of Willow Bend could be capsulized with Bad Luck From The Start!

When The Shops at Willow Bend, a 1.4 million-square-foot shopping center in Plano, TX, one of the nation’s most affluent and growing areas, opened in August 2001, it was billed as this area's answer to luxury shopping — but the mall was on life support from the start.

Its debut came just weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks, which sparked an economic downturn and dampened retail spending nationwide.

Willow Bend struggled to draw consistent foot traffic and never quite found its own identity.  Today, Willow Bend is remembered as the last enclosed mall built in Texas — and among the last in the nation — a reminder of a retail era long past.

Now, it has been sold again and branded “The Bend.” The new plans call for demolishing more than 500,000 square feet of the mall to make way for apartments, offices, retail, green space as well single-living homes on the outside.

So what does a huge luxury mall doomed for destruction look like?

It is the perfect walking space for all seeking some relief from the intense Texas heat.

Many of the stores are closed so there are several Pop Up stores and cultural dress shops.

The original anchor stores have all closed except for Dillards and Neiman Marcus.  Neiman's is slated to close in 2027.  It is such a sad story for this mall.

Our afternoon was spent binging on the series "A Place Called Home" on Prime.  

Saturday:  Dick again met his buddies at Whataburger for their usual Saturday morning gathering.  We had a friend over for lunch, then the rest of the day was spent in front of football games.

Sunday:   We get to go to church for worship and Bible Study with some of the nicest people.  It's been another good week for the Days in Plano.