WOO HOO!!

It's a "red letter day", my first social security check arrived in the bank account today! Never thought I'd be excited about being the "age" to collect ... but life is good and there is much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving ... family, friends and health! Must run ... time to bake the apple pie and make the salad for tomorrow's celebration! Until next time ....

34 Days and Counting Down

OMG! Do you realize Christmas is only 34 days away? It's going to be so magical and fun this year with Dylan, and then Melisa and John will be in Texas. This is the first year, in four that we haven't been in Michigan with them. And with Melisa expecting their first baby in May, how much fun is this going to be!!

So, I've ordered Christmas cards, done some online shopping, we've finally exchanged gift lists, time to start thinking about the tree and decorations. OH, we have to find ALL of the decorations since we really haven't done much in the past years! Better get busy, until next time ....

An Exciting Day!

It's an exciting day, our niece Megan, Carin's twin (they were born on the same day ... Carin in Houston, Megan in Lubbock) gave birth early this morning to Nate, weighing in at 6 lbs. 10 oz., 19-1/2" long! He's a beautiful baby, Meg and DJ are proud and happy parents!

Dinner With My Cuz's

Tee hee!! We had a great time since we hadn't seen one another for 3 years, oh we've emailed and talked some, but it's not the same as sitting face to face over dinner at Applebee's in Georgetown.

Now mind you, Peggy and Linda just wanted to get away from League City (suburb of Houston for those of you not familiar with Texas), so they started out yesterday mid-day ... well, when Linda's husband Tom called to see how their journey was progressing they were headed up I45North, nearing The Woodlands ... umm, talking so much they missed their exit and went a bit out of their way to Austin. The good news is they arrived safely in Austin! Their original plan was to check out Fredericksburg; well with a later than anticipated arrival, they scratched that idea ... Peggy teaches high school Spanish and brought along papers to grade ... so she graded and Linda relaxed.

We finally touched base Saturday evening about Sunday plans, well, the story is too long but decided instead of them trying to find their way on country roads (remember the missed exit earlier) to our house we'd meet in Georgetown for dinner; which we did! It was fun catching up on surgeries (see what happens when you hit your mid-60s), adult children (some divorces, some adoption, some pregnant), and just stuff in general. Anyway, we had a great time, and we're hoping they'll come visit next summer, so, until next time ....

Friends and FUN!

We had company for a few days this week, our good friends Helen and Douglas came up from Houston for a short visit; we hadn't seen them since April, so it was great to spend time with them. They arrived Thursday afternoon, we spent time catching up, King Ranch casserole for dinner, and planning of Friday's activities.

Douglas wanted to check out Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, so we called Eli and Sharon and asked them to join our adventure ... both couples made the trip to Michigan in '06 for Melisa and John's wedding. We spent some time at the Wildseed and then went on to visit the Hill Country Sculpture Ranch located 7 miles west of Johnson City. WOW, if you're ever in the area, check it out ... Texas Highway's December issue featured the ranch ... "an Italian artist tames a rugged landscape to create a gallery of art and nature", you can also check out their website at www.sculptureranch.com. After driving through only a part of the ranch (had to pick my mother up by 3:00pm) it was on to the Silver K Cafe in Johnson City for lunch. A fun time was had by all; then, of course, arrive home only to go out for Mexican food at our favorite Tamale King. Hmmm, too much food this weekend. But, we had a great time, and it's always fun to find new things to occupy our Hill Country time!

Now, today, Peggy and Linda, my cousins from League City, are in Austin for a get-away-weekend. We'll be joining them for an early dinner in Georgetown ... lots of meals out, it's back to Curves 5 days this coming week.

Hard to believe but the Holidays are here! We'll be with Eli, Sharon and family for Thanksgiving Day this year, and then Christmas will be with our new grandson Dylan, Carin and Rusty; expecting in May Melisa and John. How much fun it's going to be with a 7 year old on Christmas morning!

And, some exciting news, our niece Megan and husband DJ will deliver their baby boy on Monday!! Woo Hoo ... know Megan must be excited, and filled with some anticipation, to deliver Nate, he's going to be a big boy!

Must close for today, online Christmas shopping is calling, so until next time ...

Glen Rose and Where'd This Week Go??

I had every intention of "blogging" on Monday, am not sure what has happened to this week ... BUT ... we had a fun time in GR with Carin, Rusty and Dylan. Glen Rose is a beautiful area with lots of rolling hills, and the weather was postcard perfect, incredible blue skies, very cool in the overnight (a light frost one morning), and mid-to-low 70's during the day! Perfect!

Carin and Shetlands (13 of them I believe) did quite well, and Dylan WON his first BLUE RIBBON, how exciting is that?! WAY TO GO DYLAN!!! Since it was Halloween weekend, late Saturday afternoon there was a "class" for horses and trainers in their costumes, OMG, so much fun, the Wizard of Oz costumes, a fairy princess, a bullfighter, so much creativity and it was amazing the horses tolerated, as long as they did, their costumes. That "class" was followed by a doggy costume event, so much fun! And then the kids went trick or treating through the barn area, they had a great time! I think my favorite class, and fortunately we arrived just in time to see Carin and her horse, was the "liberty class". It's set to music, and basically the horses "dance" as only they can ... gallop might be a better word. Her horse was absolutely beautiful! So next year we know what to look for, and when not to miss a class.

This week has been a whirlwind, and I'm not certain how we got to Friday so quickly. I guess the most "fun news" is Don and I attended our Volunteer Fire Departments monthly meeting, we actually had two this month, we were present at both. Well, the Board Member of the Auxiliary resigned and one of our neighbors nominated ME as the new Auxiliary Chairman ... yikes ... I've wanted to get involved in our community, however, after I was elected they then explained some of the duties of the Auxiliary Board Member .... hmmm, it's going to be interesting. The fundraising will be a good experience, and our Fire Department is definitely in need of funds for new equipment; however, part of my responsibility is ... during large fires, if the firefighters need water, or food, the Chief will give me a call to bring the supplies ... I was assured it doesn't happen very often ... let's just hope Don is near in the event it does! Stop laughing, I can hear all of you :) OH, and not only that, beginning in January I'm President of our women's group at church, hmmm!

Well, our sweet Dylan has had a challenging week, Carin and Rusty are learning quickly and love him so much ... Dylan's going to be an awesome young man ... until next time ...