Before we left for SB, Sneed got an email from our friend, Danny Dodson, saying we should get together over the holidays. When we returned, Sneed suggested we go out to dinner on Wednesday. Danny quickly responded and suggested Kona Grill in Sugar Land. We met at 7 and enjoyed catching up on each others' activities.
My attempt at a photo of the four of us didn't turn out so I asked someone else to do the deed. Here we are all bundled up braving the elements lovingly known as South Texas Winter Weather.
Karen and I will have our 3rd annual MLK day lunch together on the 18th at the Black Walnut.
After getting to know and spend time with Brett's family and with Annemarie and Brett, it was definitely hard to head on down the road to LAX this morning to catch our 1230 flight back to IAH. But...we know we will be back soon. Definitely in July for the BIG EVENT so that's the 'sweet' part of the sorrow.
Leaving on a Monday, Sneed was worried about traffic as we encountered quite a bit when we drove up to SB last Wednesday. To pass the time (when I'm not trying to focus the camera while going down the road at speeds too hot to mention), I like to decipher personalized license plates. A few we have seen while out here are: TUKTA on a Mercedes coupe; BCH+SNO; PALADN7 and it acually had a chess piece silhouette pasted between the N and 7; 4R 4WORK on a 4 Runner; RTFL DGR (an obvious Dickens fan); IMA BKKR; 3XADADY (Sneed could have this one); PRN FALU; and 4EYES4T. We didn't figure them all out save the overtly obvious ones. Any help would be appreciated. = )
We left Annemarie's at 0700, dropped off the rental car, and made it to the airport and through security by 0930. WOW, now what do we do for the next three hours. Since we hadn't eaten before we left, we decided to give Ruby's Diner a go. This was a new place to us and the food was 'great' as they sing in their song.
While we were sitting at our gate, a Japanese man put a large camera case on the floor, opened it, and started assembling his camera with a super huge lens. He proceeded to point it out the window, focusing near and far retracting and extending the lens at will. Sneed went to see what there was to do in our terminal... Nothing! (LAX is undergoing a huge renovation and the amenities for passengers to while away their time were zip, zero, nada, zilch). I was reading one of the books I had brought along for just such situations - I didn't get to open them whilst in CA until now. When Sneed sat down, I nudged him to look at the man at the window and told him he was taking photos constantly. A man standing nearby said, "I reported him to Security". I thought, thank you so much and I hope he's not on our flight. Believe it or not, it was almost 30 minutes before Security came and pulled him aside to question him. They looked at his passport and talked to him for 10-15 minutes. Guess he wasn't on any lists, as they let him return to the window, pick up his camera, and resume taking photos. The only saving grace is that another flight was called and he packed up his gear and boarded that plane. Am I getting paranoid? You better believe it!!
It's not often that the moon is right outside your window. Looks a bit bigger in the photos at 35,000 feet than it does from the ground. The sunset as we approached Houston was quite nice.
Anyway, our flight was uneventful and we landed in Houston to some chilly weather and drippy skies. The Saab was where we parked it. Clyde was happy to see us home again.
After another leisurely breakfast, we drove over to the coast to walk along the boardwalk and revisit the carousel. When I was here in October, I wanted to ride the carousel so badly but neither Annemarie, Brett, nor I were carrying cash. I've been riding carousels ever since I can remember (which in my case is a pretty long time). I rode my first horse at Coney Island half hanging off of him (I always ride a steed) and holding on to the brass pole for dear life as I tried to snag the brass ring for a free ride. So this was an imperative repeat visit with cash. The ride was everything I'd hoped it would be...and the price - phenomenal! From now on, a spin on the merry-go-round will be my #1 priority whenever we visit SB, well I'll bump it to #2 cause Annemarie and Brett will take over the #1 spot.
Enjoying ourselves at the carousel and on the pier across the street.
Photos from the pier. The number of boats in the harbor is astounding. As far as the eye can see, there are moored boats sized from dinghies to yachts. One can even drive out to the end of the pier, for a fee, but a walk in the fresh air was much more stimulating. I'd never seen a starfish in its natural habitat and was surprised to see one attached to one of the pier pilings..and it was orange, not the sandy color usually associatied with starfish. There were some waffles left over from breakfast and I suggested that Annemarie and Loralyn break them up to feed the birds in her backyard. She still had them in her pocket and they fed the seagulls instead...in spite of the DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS sign. Birds of paradise don the landscape of SB like weeds, they're everywhere and all are so vibrant with color. The center calla lily was outside the Harbor Restaurant. Don't know about the guy trying to bend the cactus plant though. Oddly enough, the plant grows in that arched shape.
While the rest of the family planned a day at the movies, Sneed and I drove down the coast to visit some friends. First stop was in Huntington Beach to see Sue and Marvin Johnson at their lovely home on a golf course. Sneed and Marvin were in the same class in Bedford (VA) HS. Around the Christmas tree, Marvin had a fantastic train setup that captivated me and the 2 young girls who were visiting with their grandma. Having kept up through Christmas newsletters, it doesn't seem like over 25 years or more when last we saw them in VA. Hopefully, this July, they will make the trip to VA for the 50th HS reunion. We will be stopping there on our way to Toronto for the RROC National Meet.
Next stop was further down the road at Dana Point. There we met Barbara and Dean Daggett and had lunch at the lovely Ristorante Ferrantelli. Dean participated in a number of the camping trips with the Societe de Derriere de Fer that took place over the past 20 years. Here again, Christmas newsletters 'introduced' me to Barbara so that when we finally met in person, it felt as if we already knew one another. We had an enjoyable visit while dining on a scrumptious lunch.
The California coast is beautiful beyond compare. The homes are an architect's nightmare or dream depending on how you look at it. Built into hillsides one further up than the other, they draw many oooh and aaah comments. And sunsets - we don't get them like this in TX.
This evening we watched a few "G" rated movies, then watched "The Taking of Pelham 123" - the more recent version. Brett and Bruce started a fire in the fireplace and we were lulled into dreamland from the warmth it put out.
Oh my, Betty was already up reading a book when I entered the living room this morning. Guess we are the most excited about getting up early on Christmas morn. Santa seems to have lightened his sleigh considerably judging from the loot under the tree. After everyone was up here and Brett, Autumn, Rob and Loralyn made the trek over, the decision was made that we would eat breakfast before opening presents.
Here we have Annemarie and Sneed at work on the scrambled eggs for the scrambled egg and sausage casserole. She also made some cinnamon buns and Eggos, and we drank coffee and a variety of juices.
We took turns opening our gifts so everyone could see what each person received. Everyone was so generous and we received some very nice gifts. I especially liked the 2 scarves I got since they are all the rage with people wearing them all day. I have found it keeps the neck nice and warm and have taken to wearing mine all day even in the house. Sneed and I both got SB t-shirts - cool. Gift cards and magnets - all way too much, but I'm not complaining.
Sneed and soon I found out that SB is not like Katy in that the grocery store is not within a mile of the house nor open on Christmas. We had to go to the next town/city to find the one store that was open. They were doing a smashing amount of business. I forget what missing ingredient we were searching, other than another 12 pack of Coca~Cola. (I wasn't the only one drinking them)
The two flowers on each end were in a flower box outside the grocery store. They were too beautiful to not snap a photo or two or three or four. The one in the middle was growing in the garden at Annemarie's.
While we were gone, Annemarie and all her red-shirted elf helpers were in the kitchen whipping up all sorts of goodies for our dinner. Aedin, Dylin, and Olsin called on Skype so we enjoyed a conversation with them during the culinary preparations. Olsin spelled 'Santa' for us. H-O, H-O, H-O. Well done, Olsin! Once again, it was hard pushing away from the table after filling up on such good food.
After cleaning up, Annemarie pulled out Cranium and we paired up with our spouses and in her case, her fiance = ). Fortunately, Sneed and I drew a lot of the cards that required spelling or definitions so we whipped round the board quickly. We were stuck in the middle until Annemarie and Brett joined us and challenged us to start getting some of the other categories answered correctly. Sneed is so clever and made it easy for me to guess 'boxing' with his modeling clay boxers giving us the win.
Maybe next time Bruce and I will get the memo about wearing red....
Some of us went last-minute Christmas shopping, some stayed home, Sneed and I went to find a lightbulb for the light over the sink in Annemarie's bathroom. It wasn't a run-of-the-mill-find-it-at-the-grocery-store kind of lightbulb. We finally found one in a really neat Ace Hardware Store - the biggest one we've ever been in. Would be fun to spend an hour or two in there looking at all the neat stuff. It wasn't like our local Ace which is more of a gift store than a hardware one.
While we were gone, Autumn and Loralyn made a "bringerbread" house. Turned out great for a first time effort.
Annemarie, with Molly's help, worked on her blog reliving and recalling all the details of the engagement. You can see the smile on her face as she works. Since we heard the story last night, it was even more fun reading this time and seeing the photos that went with the narration.
Later in the afternoon we went to the Christmas Eve service at Reality. Sneed wasn't feeling well so he stayed behind. We were all able to pile into Autumn's SUV. It was a lovely service of singing Christmas carols. Loralyn was so tired she slept through it all. On the way home, she woke up and said "I thought we were going to church".
When we got home, we had chili and rice that Annemarie had started before we left . After dinner as we were sitting around watching some movies, Santa (Brett) called "Ho, Ho, Ho" down the chimney from the roof and left Loralyn a present on the front door step. She spied him as he was going down the street. Boy, was she excited!! When she opened up her gift, she was so amazed that "Santa shops at Walmart".
Today is the day we are flying to Los Angeles and driving to Santa Barbara to share the Christmas holidays with the affianced couple and Brett's parents, sister and her family. WooHoo!! The plane can't take off and land quickly enough.
Along the way, I like to sit by the window and take snapshots of what I see below. A real lesson in topography seeing what Earth looks like from 35,000+ feet. Below are a few samples of the diversity of the land from TX to CA.
Bottom left is a photo of the Salton Sea - you can see it just above the gray line midway up. It appears as a l>ake. Next, snow-capped mountains, then March AFB with planes on the runway, followed by the Los Angeles County residences photo taken while on the approach to LAX.
We landed on time, whoopee!, but our suitcase took awhile to get to the baggage carousel so we lost about an hour waiting. Sit back and revel in the scenery on the 405 which intersects Ventura Highway (the 101) as we make our way to Santa Barbara. Now, sing out loud:
Ventura Highway in the sunshine Where the days are longer The nights are stronger than moonshine You're gonna go, I know oh oh oh oh...
,
We were the first ones to arrive. Annemarie asked for the afternoon off so she was home waiting for us. It was so good to see her. Brett arrived shortly thereafter and took us to one of the most fabulous views of SB. Surprisingly it was his friend's house where we picked up a table for all of us to dine around. We also took advantage of the beautiful sunset to take some photos of the view. Annemarie started dinner so it would be ready when everyone else arrived. Soon, Autumn, (Brett's sister), Rob (Autumn's husband), and Loralyn, their 3 1/2 year old daughter came. Loralyn was quite excited when Annemarie showed her the ring that Brett had given her and that meant that they are going to get married. When Betty and Bruce, Brett's parents arrived, dinner was ready. We enjoyed a Chicken dish that Annemarie borrowed from her roommate, Laura's, recipe file. After cleaning up the dishes, we relaxed in the living room and chatted until we started falling asleep. We will get to know each other over the coming days as Annemarie and Brett have lots of activities planned. We needed to get our rest.
Last night when the phone rang, I peeked over at the caller ID as I am wont to do. There wasn't a name and I didn't recognize the number so I said, "It's for you" so Sneed would pick up the phone. After a few minutes, he called downstairs, "Pick up the phone". Well, this was a surprise ~ it was Brett. He called to ask for Annemarie's hand in marriage and wanted our blessing. Together we unanimously said "Yes!"
Fast forward to today...
We enjoyed a scrumptious pre-Christmas dinner at Erika and Terry's this evening. Glazed ham, mashed potatoes, sausage stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce, rolls. Plenty to fill us up. Since we were leaving for Santa Barbara the following morning, we opened presents then. Dylin and Aedin looked resplendent in their new jammies. Olsin, however, was too involved with his robot dumpster so he didn't don his.
After we got home, we more or less sat around on pins and needles waiting for THE phone call. It came after 10PM as we were both sitting up in bed reading. After I said, "Hello", Annemarie said, "I said YES". You could hear the joy in her voice. And so the beginning of another chapter in her life. We leave tomorrow for Santa Barbara to share the holidays with Annemarie and Brett, Brett's parents - Betty and Bruce, his sister - Autumn, her husband - Rob, and their daughter - Loralyn.
The happy couple after a very eventful day and night.
One of Sneed's camping buddies from when we lived in Pittsburgh notified Sneed that he was going to be in the Corpus Christi area for a few days. Immediately, since he hadn't seen Rob in over 10 years, Sneed suggested we drive down and meet Rob and his family for lunch. Not to have the trip (200+ miles each way) be just down and back, we combined it with stopping at a few county courthouses to photograph them for our eventual compilation of all 254 TX county courthouses in a book. As you will see, there are some courthouses which aren't too exciting, but to be a complete reference book we have to include them all.
From top left going clockwise: Refugio County (Refugio), Aransas County (Rockport), San Patricio County (Sinton), Nueces County (Corpus Christi)
We finally (after going across the bridge several times) found the Omni at which Rob's son has been working as manager of the Front Desk for the past year and a half and joined them for lunch across the street at The Railroad Seafood Station. Sneed had met Rob's family on previous trips, but it was my first time. We were also introduced to Morgan, Mark's girlfriend who also works at the Omni.
AOA = Active Older Adults, and man are we ever!! I only participate in the water half of AOA, but there are several who do the 'land' or gym exercises as well. We also take day trips to museums and other places of interest during the year.
Today we gathered for a Potluck Lunch and Ornament Exchange. The Y furnished 2 cooked turkeys and we did the rest. Duh, I didn't take a photo of the delicious food we enjoyed. Two of the dishes that disappeared quickly were the Spinach Madeleine (I'm getting that recipe - it's from an old Louisiana cookbook from the 60s) and the cold steamed asparagus with red peppers.
Here's a small representation of those of us who brave the cold weather to jump in the pool. (Cold for Texas that is)
Back row: Renee' and her husband, Jack, Pat and her husband Abe, Anne, Sid Middle row: Abe, Katie, to be identified Front row: Sandi, Gloria, Sandra, Hetty, Terri Here's the cute guy I got to steal. Bet you didn't know I possessed that vice...but, why not? I was number 19 and there were only 21 players. Jack came up to me afterward to let me know that I had stolen the one he had brought. I think I did pretty good considering Annemarie wound up with an avocado with a paper clip speared through its top at the ornament exchange she attended.
A week ago I was down at Erika's. Aedin announced she was going to be in her class play "Bob Humbug". I immediately said, ah yes, Bah Humbug. She said, "No, BOB Humbug...I'm Bob". Seems she beat out 7 boys in the class to get the part. Tonight was the performance...
Bob was one of Santa's elves. He lived next to the Toy Dump. He was upset that the broken toys would never have a home with boys and girls to love them, so he was a grump. One night he came up with an idea to fix all the broken toys. The other elves helped him and his frown turned into a grin. Aedin played the part well. (Could it be in a past life she had some experience being a grump?)
Oh Radhika, little did you know that your invitation to go to the 2006 Revels performance in which you were a member would be starting a yearly tradition for us. It was so much fun - singing along with cast members on certain songs, and singing and weaving in and out of the theatre to the cast and audience singing of "Lord of the Dance" between Act 1 and Act 2 - that I was immediately hooked. I couldn't wait for next year. 2007 we invited Taylor and Rob, last year Aedin went with us, and this year Dylin was our guest.
After chattering away nonstop for 15 minutes into the car ride (well, truck ride actually), Dylin fell asleep. That was OK; she was awake for the concert. During the show, we got different reviews of the program from her. At one point, she enjoyed it. That may have been when the 'fool' mimed for me to squeeze his leather water flask so that he could have a drink, but I managed to squirt him in the face instead. Or when she was singing along to "Deck the Halls" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas", two songs she knew. Another time she said she was bored - that was a valid complaint as the production started over 15 minutes late due to technical difficulties. Even though it was only 5pm when we exited the theatre, it was already dusk and she thought it was late. It was a long afternoon for her.
On the way home, since it was just about dinner time, we stopped at McDonald's for a bite to eat. Dylin had fun in the play area while waiting for our order. Even though it wasn't that late when she got home, it was dark and Erika came out the door as soon as we pulled in the driveway. Sneed and I 'reveled' in our time with our younger granddaughter. We're already looking forward to next year.
I've been reading The Pioneer Woman's blog for over a year now. Annemarie 'introduced' Ree to me and I gained a friend. Since then, I've been hooked, checking daily for Ree's posts. Evidently thousands more across the country are as interested as evidenced by the massive crowds at the previous book signing stops. Who would not love someone who tells it like it is and introduces herself this way. Click here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/blog/category/pioneer_woman/about_pioneer_woman/
Originally Blue Willow Bookstore planned to have the signing at their 1700 square foot store. Once they realized that this was going to be a huge event, the venue was changed to Georgia's Market, an organic food store in an over-sized warehouse type storefront along the feeder of I-10. There were over 350 people waiting for Ree to appear at today's book signing. "Ree, Ree, Ree" went the chant as we waited. Seems there was a wardrobe malfunction...trouble getting into her Spanx. = ) (although she definitely doesn't need to wear one)
Taylor accompanied me not knowing what she was about to experience. There was a short Q and A session conducted by the proprietor of the bookstore then the floor was opened for questions from the audience. The best question was actually for Marlboro Man, Ree's name for her hunk of a husband, who unfortunately didn't come on this leg of the tour. She said, "I'll answer for him". The question..."boxers or briefs?". After a lengthy discussion, the question had not been answered. She finally admitted "boxers" and a few other choice tidbits which set the audience to laughing uncontrollably. Taylor said, "She's so real".
The order of signing was determined by the color of the card one had. I was fortunate to have a yellow card allowing me to be in the second group of 25 to have books signed. (How I managed to have such a great card is a story for another day...but I will say it was compliments of my hubby) Ree is so generous with her time that each person was allowed to have a photo taken with her as she signed the book(s) and carried on a short conversation. Her generosity extended to both of us receiving a very nice PW t-shirt to remember the occasion.
She announced that "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels", the Harlequin novel of her meeting, courting, and marriage to Marlboro Man will be coming out in a year or so. Woo Hoo, another chance to meet our friend. More than once she told us that she considered all of us her friends - which is a good thing since so many of us start conversations with "My friend Ree....". Now we have met our friend and she is real.
Every few weeks some of us from the Y meet for lunch at different restaurants in the Katy area. Today's choice was Perry's Steakhouse to sample the $10.95 pork chop special. To say the least, the pork chop was overwhelming. It was accompanied by some piped mashed potatoes and cinnamon applesauce. The smallest piece, speared with the lime, was called the 'eyelash' (that alone almost put me off eating it) and was all I managed to eat. The rest came home in 2 styrofoam containers.
Here we are enjoying the last bit of snow left on the ground. L>R Anne, Sandra, Jack and Katie, Ray
Oddly enough, the weather prognosticators are calling it snow. Can this be? This is Texas, after all, and I was in the Y pool this morning (albeit it's a somewhat heated pool). Oh well, you can see for yourself....
A number of years ago (way too many to recall), Taylor and I enjoyed the movie, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", so much so that I even think we watched it at one of her birthday parties, or maybe it was a sleepover. The remake, "Chronicles of Narnia" took awhile to cotton on to as it had more glitz and a new "Lucy". When I saw that there was going to be an exhibition in Sugar Land of Narnia items from the movie, I knew I wanted to go. So that's where Taylor and I ventured today....through the wardrobe.
I was disappointed that photography wasn't allowed in the exhibit, but we did get a photo on the outside. Right beyond the photo, we entered an area that held personal items of C.S. Lewis. He actually started writing books when a very young lad and he and his brother created the world of Boxen, inhabited and run by animals. He and J.R.R. Tolkien were friends from their Oxford days and some of his original works were on display as well. When we finally went through the wardrobe doors where the fur coats were still hanging, we came upon a small area where snow was falling and trees were covered with the white powdery substance. The rest of the exhibit explained how the different elements of the movie were put together - the various global settings, the animatronics, creature prosthetics, every detail down to putting the designs on the armor which probably weren't even noticed in the movie but needed to be there to authenticate the shields. Snippets of the movie showed how each of these elements was used. We went into the exhibit with a vague sense of the movie, but came out realizing we hadn't even scratched the surface. It's what went on behind the scenes that made the movie the epic it is. Here are some photos from the Narnia website of what the exhibition was like.
Oh, and no, we didn't disregard the "No Photography" warning in taking a photo at the frozen waterfall. In fact, at the end of the tour, I was disappointed as we hadn't seen it. Turns out it was on the main floor of the museum not even in the exhibit.
Sneed and I visited the park this morning for a leisurely stroll around the lakes. Saw a few alligators and turtles, and were educated by a volunteer about the best known flannel moth in TX called the 'Puss Moth'. A sting from its larva, or caterpillar stage, is one of the most toxic in North America. This time of the year, the caterpillars inhabit live oak trees and are hardly distinguishable on the bark - great camouflage. Just as we were leaving it started to rain. I drove the Z and it was exhilarating. Drove it down dry and put it away wet. That’s what you do in TX with your cars or your horses…well, maybe not the horses if you want them to be around for awhile. Other than the mosquitoes that were very annoying, we had a nice walk around and about the 40 acre lake.
Taylor's mother-in-law, Sally, is visiting from Chicago. She drove down for her daughter's baby shower last Saturday and is staying a few weeks. We decided to visit Kemah and have lunch on the Boardwalk. It was a nice trip down - hardly any traffic. After visiting the few shops that were still around (the others were decimated by last year's Hurricane Ike), we stopped at Joe's Crab Shack for lunch...or should I say lunch #1. Sally was hankering for a bucket of shrimp to share. The shrimp were rather disappointing in size considering we were right in the middle of shrimping territory. Also the shrimp were dredged in Old Bay Seasoning after being boiled. I tried to dip my first shrimp in the cocktail sauce unsuccessfully. It was gelled over and impenetrable having been in the refrigerator probably overnight. Needless to say we were happy we hadn't ordered anything else, so Sally paid the bill. She started laughing when she got her change. The girl brought back the amount of the chit, not the change amount.
We resumed walking and visited the shops directly on the Boardwalk. Decided it was time to ride the carousel. It was a slow day for the amusement park. I went to pay the $3 for the ride and the concession lady said $3.25. I showed her the sign out front that read $3. Her reply "we charge tax". Hmmpf. Then it should say 'plus tax'. Wellllll, that was the biggest ripoff of a carousel ride. It only revolved 3x ...could it have been because I was the only one riding? No music emanated from the center either...it would have been nice to hear instead of the horses and other animals groaning as they went up and down on their poles. Does this carousel afficionado recommend this carousel? Absolutely not!
So, now it's time to try lunch #2. This time we chose the Chart House and sat outside under an umbrella. The table still had the previous patrons' dishes. Despite being assured that a busboy would soon be by, the dishes were finally cleared away by the manager. I enjoyed a bowl of seafood étouffée while Sally relished her shrimp po'boy with string onion rings and fries. It was a fun, sunny day and we made it home 'lickety-split'.
Last night I was about to toss out the coffee grounds when hubby volunteered to put them in the garden. Our hibiscus plants stopped blooming some time ago, so I suggested placing the grounds around the bases of the plants. Lo and behold, this morning each one had a new bloom. Coincidence?...maybe, but believing in miracles nowadays is a cool feeling.
