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

Thanksgiving with Erika, Terry, and Family

Aedin's and Dylin's turkeys greeted us as we entered their home

Dylin overthanked God for family and Grandmas and Grandpas and Olsin added "and thank you for Burke"

Top left: Aedin's version of Martha Stewart's Cranberry Steamed Pudding, right: Gavin's Blackberry Cobbler
Bottom left: more desserts in background - Pumpkin Pies by Aedin and Pecan Pies by Dylin, right: Dylin and Olsin help themselves as Gavin looks on

We finished the day with a Scrabble Game. Erika beat Terry and me handily.

2011-12 School Photos

AEDIN - 4th Grade

DYLIN - 2nd Grade

OLSIN - 1st Grade

A Sneak Peek of Where and What we'll be doing on 26 November

Cypress was our steed of choice today

Fanthorp Inn has quite a history. We were afforded a private tour...just the two of us and Tom, the Parks person.

A replica of the Fanthorp stagecoach....some Riders' Rules

Celebrating Danny's 35th Anniversary with Shell Oil Company

Danny invited Phil (former boss) and Pam, Nathan (current boss) and Kimberly, and us to his celebration of 35 years with Shell Oil Company. Has it really been that long? The nice part about the entire evening is that Shell picked up the tab. We had dinner at Brennan's, one of Houston's most notable dining establishments. A great time was had by all.

Danny with his celebratory plate of pralines

Danny and Karen in front of Brennan's as we were leaving

Tournament Time

The other team boasted, "In order to be the best, you have to beat the best." Well,they did. The Super Bees are now the BEST!!! 


Dylin in action



Dylin and Aedin at play between games - neat new playground equipment. LOL at the little girl holding her head.

Dylin scores

American Girl Doll Fashion Show

This year is the 25th Anniversary of the American Girl Doll. It doesn't seem that long ago when Taylor got Kirsten with some accessories for Christmas. Last year, Aedin was in the American Girl Fashion Show. This year Dylin joined her on the runway. Erika, once again, was a stage mom. Terry and Olsin came too.


Taken before the show - Love this photo of Erika and Olsin

 

Aedin and Dylin were both in the "Just Like You Wear" part of the show

The festive table at which we were sitting. During a slight intermission, door prize ticket numbers were called. Ticket 8-1-8-3-3-6 - woohoo, that was ours. Olsin started to go up to get the prize but then thought better of it. The little girl at our table became the lucky recipient of some Bitty baby bibs and paraphernalia.



Dylin left and center photos and Aedin on the right.

Dylin on the runway

The Finale

It's Apple Pie time

We jointly made an Apple Pie. Sneed peels and slices the apples, I do the rest. However, this time he vented the pie crust. Voila! here's the result of our efforts. We had some tonight and it was yummy.

Olsin's last ballgame of the season

Olsin's team, the Red Sox, played their last game tonight. They had a pretty good season. He's done exceptionally well playing first base. His two times at bat he got a hit and slid into home in the first inning. He also had one RBI.

Here he is on first, then second, running to third, and staying there for awhile.

Dlylin was having a good time playing on the fence near the outfield.

Unicorns last game of the season

Tonight was the last game for the Rose Rich softball teams. Aedin's team, the Unicorns, had a great season. At bat, she got an RBI but was unfortunately thrown out at first. Erika kneeling in the background got a great video of the hit, especially the sound of the ping as the ball flew out past the pitcher.



Dylin had a bird's eye view perched atop Papa Sneed

 

THE UNICORNS

1994 Cinco Ranch Swim Team MVS

Waaaay back when Taylor was still in middle school, she was on the Cinco Ranch swim team. In 1994, she was the Girls' Most Valuable Swimmer. I had never seen the plaque with her name on it.
Penny and I went to lunch at Panera today and walked around LaCenterra as is our wont. We visited my friend, Danila, in the Simply Cinco store to see some of the new home designs. In the back in a display area, I espied a number of plaques and was delighted to finally see this one.