Best Christmas Presents Ever

And what you ask, may they be? Why, presents made by my grandchildren, of course.

Aedin, Dylin, and Olsin collaborated on this beautiful Christmas Tree painting

Burke lent his hand when he was 4 months old to make this plaster keepsake

Christmas in Sugar Land

As we were on our way to Sugar Land this morning, the phone rang in the car. Seems our 'sleigh' isn't as fast as Santa's and some wee ones were getting quite anxious for us to arrive so they could rip into their presents. Terry made omelets to order, some nice crispy bacon and hot coffee. The children weren't too interested in anything to eat as they wanted to do some unwrapping.

Olsin really liked the 'goo', Annemarie! Aedin and Dylin were quite happy with their gifts as well.

Dylin wearing her new pajamas and riding her new scooter from Santa. Annemarie made pillowslips for all of us.

Aedin, ever the reader, devours the new Harry Potter book...Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey. She was also busy making some fancy cake pops.

Dylin exhibited her prowess on her new scooter

 We watched the movie "Elf" whilst the children played with their new acquisitions - which weren't exactly 'toys'. Started watching an Indiana Jones movie and it was time for lunch. Had an excellent ham with sides of stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and cranberry sauce. A nice relaxing, fun-filled day.

Aedin and Dylin Shine in "Babes in Toyland"

Aedin and Dylin played multiple roles

Dylin in her role as Simple Simon

Aedin as Nadia, then as Grumio, assistant toymaker

Erika's cast photo after the performance

Jourdanton - McAllen

It was quite serendipitous that we spent the night in Jourdanton after all. As we were leaving town headed for Tilden, the first county seat on our list, I noticed that we were passing a courthouse. A quick look at our records verified the fact that we had missed the courthouse in Jourdanton. Fast thinking saved us from having to come back another time.

Sometimes, I try to take photos in the side mirror. This time, believe it or not, I was shooting the flares waaaaay off in the distance behind us. Fortunately, we passed some more flares further down the road that were easier to photograph.

Have you ever heard of the King Ranch? Well, it's located in Kingsville, duh, and was established in 1853 when Capt. Richard King purchased 68,500 acres from Mexican and Spanish land grants called Santa Gertrudis. Yep, the Santa Gertrudis cattle were  named after the grants.The breed was developed here and was the first strain of beef cattle originating in the Western Hemisphere. The ranch now encompasses 825,000 acres....larger than the state of Rhode Island. A hawk rests on a tree branch. We saw lots of hawks on this trip.


An unfurled flag mural on a wall caught my eye. The bottom photo is the six flags that have flown over the state of Texas. Spain, France, Mexico, Texas as a Republic, Texas in the Confederacy, and Texas in the United States.

There are several bootmaking shops in Raymondville. All have made boots for King Ranch cowboys, some state officials, and royalty. Looks as if at one time, they even had their own restaurant.


San Benito, near Brownsville, is the home of guitarist Freddy Fender ~This restored 1928 Southern Pacific depot now houses the Brownsville museum ~ Interesting billboard for the season

Merry Christmas sign on a very busy street ~ I was amused that this Hamburger King proclaims it has the best chicken-fish-shrimp. No mention of beef.

Beautiful Sunset outside of Beeville, TX

We're off on another courthouse photographic trip for a couple of days. Our first day on the road, we left when Sneed got home from work. Originally we had planned on staying in Victoria and then starting out in the morning. Well, we got to Victoria a lot earlier than anticipated so kept driving. The sunset was beautiful as evidenced from the following photos; however, motels/hotels were few and far between. The ones in Beeville were already full. The sky darkened and we were in unfamiliar territory. Getting a bit desperate at this time. Sneed decided to get on I-37 thinking that would be our salvation. The GPS didn't show anything for miles and miles. Finally a Holiday Inn Express showed up but off the interstate by 10 miles. We didn't have any other choice so off we went. Thankfully there was a room available - at $150!! After we got back from dinner, people were being turned away from this motel. Whew, we got here in time.

Interesting signs in Beeville whilst Sneed went inside a gas station store for a few snacks.

Joy Cheer Noel

A most welcomed Christmas card received today.

Christmas is around the corner but is it Fall or Winter?

Had a few things to help Erika with re Queen Theatre. So I was headed down to Sugar Land this morning. Just as I left the side driveway, I noticed that we had some Fall foliage in front of the house for the first time.

The colorful trees are Crape Myrtles

 When I reached Sugar Land and entered Erika's house, Winter had definitely arrived.

 Aedin and Dylin made winter houses in their art class.

Olsin's house. Their teacher certainly provides them with great creative outlets.

Then again, it might be SPRING????

Flower on the Crape Myrtle on the left in the photos above

The Old and the New...Baby Rug, that is

Now all can be revealed. The behind the scenes machinations to recreate the rug I had made for Annemarie when she was a baby more than 3 decades previous.

When we visited Santa Barbara in August, I photographed the rug, front and back, as I no longer had the pattern. When we got home, I first flip flopped the 'back' photos so I had a pattern that was the same direction as the original. Then, I had Sneed enlarge and print them so I could count the number of stitches for each color in order to buy the yarn pieces. Sneed also graphed out the B so it would be the same dimensions as the original A.  It took some time to latch hook it all, but the end result was worth it.

Burke enjoying his toys whilst laying on his rug

The old and the new....both with first and last initials the same - Mom AA, and Burke BB.

FYI, total stitch count, 16,416!  Also, last photos courtesy of Annemarie in Santa Barbara, of course.

San Antonio Fun

Early Saturday morning, Sneed drove and I enjoyed Cypress on the way to San Antonio. We literally flew there as that's the only way Cy knows how to maneuver along the interstate. Arrived at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in time for the planning session for the 2013 National RROC meet to be held in San Antonio and here, the host hotel. A lot was accomplished and we're well on our way to hosting the first TX National Meet ever.

Two of the myriad decorated Christmas trees displayed thoughout the hotel...sure hope when we come back in April 2013 it doesn't look barren after seeing all the decorations.

 We were treated to a chauffer-driven limo ride at meeting's end to see the lights on the San Antonio River Walk. Due to the water falling from the sky, we were not able to walk the Walk. We did enjoy the ride though. At Luce, we were greeted by the owner and had wonderful Italian entrees for dinner.

As it rained overnight, the autumn leaves that looked like rose petals rained on Cy.

Sunday we had a wonderful Christmas lunch at a club member's home in SA.

Tables throughout the home were set up for the gala occasion.

Our host borrowed this beautiful Fiesta Train from his neighbor whose daughter had been a Duchess and a Princess in the Fiesta San Antonio court. Each year there is a different theme so the trains have to be sewn anew. It is extremely heavy and is attached to a harness in order for the lady to pull it along. We were told that the train is insured for $35,000!!

Some of the PMCs that attended the party

Burke's Early 1st Christmas

Yippee!! Christmas is here.

Burke opening some early Christmas presents

Methinks Annemarie got hung up on the word "cute"

Apologies for the quality of this post. Still photos and video were taken while on a video phone call with Skype so not the best, but you'll get the idea.

Queen Theatre Singers serenade at Miracle on Morton Street

Queen Theatre participated in the Miracle on Morton Street Festival held the first Saturday in December. The theatre is one of the store fronts on the street which is closed to traffic so vendors can set up booths to vend their fares and stores are open for holiday cheer. The stage has performances all day.

Having a Christmasy sing-along with the audience

Little Women: The Musical Opening Night

Before the show started, Erika introduced Addie, a kindergartener from Sugar Land, who is raising money to fight cancer. She asked Queen Theatre if she could use their venue to promote her cause. Her friends at school painted pictures which she will be selling along with the bracelets she has made.

Curtain call. No photos during the performance. It was amazing. Beautiful voices and a live orchestra. Such professionalism for a non-profit theatre struggling to make itself known (it was established November 2010) in the area. So proud of what Erika and Katie (Jo in the play) have accomplished thus far. 

New 'Spot'

Clyde evidently tired of living in the Cabbage Patch 'hood and sought new digs...

It pays to follow the instructions to the letter...

Good old Martha. She posted instructions on how to make ornaments from old Christmas cards. I should have measured my circles. Hers were only 1 1/4". See if you can spot the difference in my ornament. No wonder it took me so long to make it. Only one of mine possibly would fit in her glass vase.

Martha's on the left...mine on the right

Panto Red Riding Hood

I've heard so much about the British Pantos that are performed every year at Christmas. When I received a promotional brochure from Stages Repertory Theater that indicated they were putting on a Panto, I knew we had to go. It was a real hoot!!

As with any theatre performance, photography was not allowed. However, this is the stage before the performance started. ~ Two of the Three Little Pigs, Hansel, and Lenny the Leprechaun ~ Gretel

Lil Red from the Ridin' Hood and Ms BaaBaara Blacksheep ~ Frank Sharpteeth Wolf the Third captures me

Am I seeing this correctly???

Sometimes I find it rather difficult to believe we live in Texas.
This is only the end of November!!

Rainy day, Shall we go?

Two weeks ago, Sneed and I went to Anderson, TX, Grimes County, to scope out this area for a car club activity. I blogged that day back on November 13.
Today dawned dark and dreary and it wasn't long before the rain began to fall. By noon, our rain gauge was at 1". At that time, we decided to forego the trip and stay indoors. Then by 2:30, the rain ceased and the sun was peeking through the clouds. Sneed was anxious to get out of the house so we set forth and we are so happy that we did.
The Fanthorp Inn is now in the hands of the Texas Parks and Recreation Association. Every year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, carriage rides from the Grimes County Courthouse to the Fanthorp Inn are provided to all who show up. Volunteers in period costume provided authentic conversation from the mid-1800s and introduced us to how it was to live back then.

Our ticket to ride. We had a choice of the stage coach or an open wagon. The one-way ticket was for the stage coach. We opted for the open wagon as it would be chillier on the return trip and an enclosure would be incumbent then.

Mr & Mrs Fanthorp welcome us to the Inn ~ In the day, this room was for men only..to play cards, checkers, smoke. Today this gentleman was asking me how our journey to the Inn was as if we had ridden in on the stage coach.

Singing Christmas carols to the accompaniment of the sweet sounds of dulcimers ~ Standing next to a replica wagon

In the barn, music filled the air and my foot started tapping along. The gentleman with the tall white hat then taught a few of us volunteers a few dances. What fun!

Our ride back to the Courthouse arrives as we called it a day

Martyn and Sue, RROC members from Aberdeen, Scotland and now living here in the Heights area of Houston, and we enjoy an enclosed ride back to our modern modes of travel