What's Happening, and I Wonder Why ....

Okay, it's beginning to really bug me, why can't I post on blogs; sometimes I can, other times, no matter how I sign in or when I sign in to post, my comment won't post! Anyway, on with the morning ...

I worked last week for my friends at Travel Ezee, three of the four travel agents were on the Heart of Texas Cruise through the Bahamas, they had a wonderful time. Me, however, well do you realize that if you haven't worked a 30 or 40 hour week in many years the toll it takes on your body! Of course since I'm only a "temp" there are many things I can't do, except greet clients to the office and answer the telephone, it was fun ... but how did I keep up with a house, kids and everything else in life when working full-time for Shell all those 30-plus years ... I was exhausted by the end of my Travel Ezee week! Glad to be back in my regular routine once again and preparing for this coming weekend!

Last Saturday we ventured over to Fredericksburg for dinner with friends Eli and Sharon. "The girls" decided to run by Wildseed Farms .... not too many plants blooming since we're getting into our fall season, but what a fabulous place to visit, with a great gift shop; the Cinnamon Honey Butter is awesome!

We've had lots of rain in the Hill Country, YES! Eight and a-half inches last Thursday, and another inch and a-half yesterday, what a welcome relief. However with the cooler temperatures and rain my beautiful hummingbirds have already started south. We haven't seen one at our feeders for almost two weeks; so I'll keep one feeder out for another week for any of the stragglers about to begin their trip across the Gulf and patiently wait for their return next March. Who would have ever thought I'd be interested in plants and birds, it's interesting how you change over the years!

Rascal, our almost 11 year old Brussels Griffon gave us a scare last week. Sick with pancreatitis, she's fully recovered but was a sick little girl for a couple of days! She's such a part of our lives, just like another child.

And, this weekend we'll be with Carin, Rusty and Dylan at a Shetland pony horseshow! We are looking forward to spending time with Dylan, getting to know him better and watch him in his second competition! Of course, there may be some "spoiling of the grandchild"; so much fun, spoil him rotten .... believe he deserves it after his journey into the lives of Carin and Rusty.

Must run for now, the second cup of coffee is calling; until next time ...

Do we miss Houston?!

NOT! We often get asked that question; however, this weekend has been absolutely beautiful, well probably in Houston as well ... but, it's cooler in the Hill Country with much less humidity, and the sky is crystal clear blue, a very deep blue! No pollution here.

What else do we love about this area: the rolling hills, there is nothing as much fun as driving Park Road 4, wish we had a sports car, the scenery is incredible and it's like riding on a roller coaster! The wildlife ... we had a young buck sneaking through our backyard Saturday morning, about 7:45am; I've seen him before in the dark morning hours, but he was late yesterday. The cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers, red-winged blackbirds, and my favorite, hummingbirds are abundant.

I think my hummers may be gone with the cooler morning temperatures, we normally have 3 nectar feeders out, with as many as 8 ~ 10 hummers, and two weeks ago noticed the frontporch feeder was not being visited, took that one down and left the two on the backporch; haven't seen any hummers today, so I'll change their nectar and watch. The books say to keep feeders up two weeks past your last sighting, so we'll see if they've fueled up and are headed across the Gulf, as many travel, until March.

Hmm, whomever thought I'd find an interest in birds, and now yardwork. My Fall native blooming plants are beautiful, now that we've had some rain and the temps are cooler. I'm already designing what will be planted in the Spring for the Fall foilage and flowers.

Do we miss Houston, well, we miss friends and some other conveniences, but for the most part ... no! Until next time ....

It's Hot, Humid and That Was FUN!

Ahh yes, the heat and humidity is back; it almost feels like we're living in Houston! But, according to our favorite weatherman on KXAN, he says by late Thursday a new cold front will approach the area, dropping the daytime temps into the 70's ... YES!!

Our friends Eli and Sharon called around 11:00a.m. and wanted to know if we were free for lunch; so after about a minute of consideration we agreed to meet them at River City Grille in Marble Falls! We had a good time, sitting near the windows overlooking Lake Marble Falls and talking up a storm ... AND, the event was totally spontaneous :) For those of you who know me, I'm a Type A personality and PLANNER! We had a great time, and how awesome it is to have the freedom and flexibility during the middle of the week to meet for lunch!

Here's hoping for cooler weather, and appreciating great friends!

Hilltop Cafe! and Carin's Horse Show

A couple of weeks ago we spent a fun evening with dear friends Eli and Sharon at the Hilltop Cafe. It's been written up in several magazines across the country and is located about 30 miles west of Fredericksburg ... the food was fabulous and the atmosphere is quaint. If you plan to dine on the weekends you'll definitely require reservations, however, we went mid-week with no problems! So if you're ever in the area and looking for a great restaurant, check it out and come hungry!!

Carin, Rusty and Dylan are at a horse show this weekend. We're waiting to hear Dylan's results ... he was scheduled to show his Shetland pony, Crystal, in at least one class! Well before I could "post" Carin called, Dylan came in third in the "lead class", which is great for a 6 year old never having been in a show prior. He would have scored higher, however, his feet didn't fit firmly in the stirrups and the judges took off points; other than that, Carin said he smiled, and was able to handle Crystal when she was 'spooked' in the arena. GREAT JOB DYLAN!!!

Melisa and John had a quiet weekend, with much studying for Melisa. She'll graduate in December and is most anxious so she can turn her attention to Baby W who will arrive in mid-May.

Our "dinner for 8" was fun last evening, however, thinking we'd be able to sit outside ... not the case, it was too cool and no sun! More rain today, and we won't complain, our little creeks and low water crossings are starting to flow once again, even though very slowly. Until next time ....

It's Finally COOL!

YES! It finally feels like Fall!! It's a mild 53 degrees on our deck this morning, absolutely LOVE it, reminds me of Iowa! And tonight, for our dinner group from church, we'll actually be able to sit outside! Gotta get busy and finish cleaning house ... haven't done that in a while!

Seven Senses, do you remember what they are?

Well, I didn't remember them all so I 'googled' and they are sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, intuition and equilibrium ... I didn't remember the last two. Why do I wonder, well many of you know my almost 94 year old mother has been living with us for almost 7 years, that's a whole other story! Anyway, she is nearly blind, and probably only has 20% of her hearing ... until today.

Today, she was fit with her first pair of hearing aids. It was not until that point I realized how totally precious hearing and sight are ... for the last 7 years I have talked way too loud, having had to repeat myself time and time again. It totally took the joy of talking to her away from me as there is no joy in repeating, and imagine when I took her shopping for greeting cards to have to read at the top of my voice so she could hear the verse (remember, she has lost most of her vision as well). I always felt bad in stores since others would look at me like, "why are you screaming at the poor, sweet woman".

Hopefully from this point on, for whatever time she has left on this earth, she'll have a better quality of life. We can't change her vision, but now she'll at least hear ... probably too well :)

So bear with me now as I must learn to lower my voice so she doesn't feel as though I'm screaming at her. God has given us some incredible gifts for living, appreciate them daily ...

THANK YOU!

Put your hands together in THANKS for niece Lori helping her Aunt CiCi with her blog wallpaper! You're appreciated!

It's Monday

and our grandson is sick, Carin takes him to the doctor in the morning; seven of his classmates are also ill today, we're hoping it's not swine flu. I remember the girls growing up and being sick, it's not much fun ... for anyone!

Well, the calendar says it's Fall, but it's warm and humid today, no rain yet. Both Don and I are eager for cooler temperatures, the Hill Country has had enough heat for the year. Being a midwestern girl I miss this season most of all, the cool crisp temperatures, trees turning their vibrant colors ... it's beautiful in Iowa this time of the year.

We are also eager for the Holidays, our first with a grandchild, and we'll all be celebrating at Carin and Rusty's. What a treat that will be to have our small family together for Christmas, it's going to be so special! We're praying for cooler weather, a Christmas tree that sparkles and we can hardly wait to see Dylan's big eyes on Christmas morning. It brings back very special memories of Carin and Melisa sitting atop the stairs waiting for Santa to finish arranging all their gifts before he leaves ... yes, we were usually finished with all of our presents well before daybreak and then we'd have to wait to call cousins Lori, Jenni and Megan until well after 9:00am.

Well, more later, waiting to hear how Dylan is feeling!