Friday, November 14

The Canyon Lake Texas Connections

Friday night and burgers at the VFW.
Gary and Lou Nelson
                 


             Mike and Sharon Bryce



Bob and Cathy Jones



                   Terry and Lisa Linder

Thursday, November 13

Hunkered

We are hunkered down and trying to stay warm. The little orange temperature square on the right side of my computer screen says 34 degrees. It might have helped a bit if we had gone further south sooner but not a lot. This polar vortex thingy has made its way clear to Mexico. We shut the water down last night for fear of freezing and will need to do the same tonight as the predicted low is 32 degrees.
Tuesday we went with Lou and Gary to Marble Falls. Our main goal was the pie at The famous Blue Bonnet Cafe. We had lunch and pie and it was good. I have been spoiled on pie however and considering Keri's and Marlene's pies the Blue Bonnet pies were a definite second.
We shopped at Burke's, a place that sells discounted items. Butch picked up a pair of jeans that will not need altered for length. That is unusual. We had a good time and enjoyed the visiting up and back as well.


Last night we had a many bean soup at Lou and Gary's place. It was delicious and the perfect night for it. Their other friends from Snow Mountain Ranch , Kathy and Bob were there too. They are on their way to Edinburg Texas, not too far from where we stay in the RGV.
I made the pumpkin pie pudding that I featured recently on the blog and it is worth the effort to make and will be one I make again and probably soon. It was still warm  and we all agreed that ice cream would have worked a bit better than whipped topping. Here is the recipe again in case you missed it the first time.
Pumpkin Pie Pudding

Ingredients
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup biscuit/baking mix
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
Whipped topping, optional
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray.
Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until a thermometer reads 160°. Serve in bowls with whipped topping if desired. Yield: 6 servings.

And let's assume you do not have any Pumpkin Pie spice on hand. Let's assume that because I didn't and it is pricy in the store. I do have a recipe for it and here it is.
Pumpkin Pie Spice
3 T Cinnamon
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Nutmeg
1 ½ tsp Allspice
1 ½ tsp Ground Cloves
Store in airtight container.


Monday, November 10

Weekend shenanigans 2

Sunday afternoon we were invited to John and Jolene Oyer's home in New Braunfels, a short 15 minute journey from where we are staying. Jolene and I were schoolmates. Yes, she is a J.I.G. (Jefferson Iowa Girl) and another talented member of the class of '61! They are everywhere!
 We had a nice visit and they gave us a tour of the New Braunfels area. John and Jolene have lived in this area for 25 years.
Jolene is very active member of the New Braunfels Art League and many of her works are on display there along with dozens of other extremely talented artists. Jolene will be attending a workshop there today on fused glass. The two photos below are of a piece done by the instructor of the fused glass class.
 From the other side...

This is one of many of Jolene's pieces. She has recently switched from photo's to abstract. Artists everywhere will tell you their work goes in cycles.
John's birthday was yesterday so we helped him celebrate with a delicious homemade two layer cake.

It was a pleasant Sunday afternoon with Jolene and John.

Weekend Shenanigans 1


Saturday was a beautiful day so we decided to go to the dam for a walk. Mistake! We were unaware of a bicycle race connected with New Braunfels Wurstfest event. So the drive over was a nerve racking experience as there were numerous bicycles to maneuver among. Most were off the highway but there were many places where that was not possible. It was like Iowa's Ragbrai with traffic to boot. Well maybe not that bad but I greatly feared for their safety. And then when we arrived at the dam it was loaded with bicycles. So we modified our plan and went for a short walk away from the dam.



After the dam we decided to find a place for lunch. We spotted a full parking lot next to Granny D's restaurant and since we had plenty of time, decided to give it a go. It was a very pleasant experience. http://canyonlakerestaurants.com/granny-ds-restaurant.html As long as we have plenty of time to enjoy a dining experience we would go there again. They were very busy on a Saturday at 1:00 PM. The food was worth the wait.