South Padre Trip

Finally made it to Dirty Al's for shrimp and it was super good!!

And Butch enjoyed his cheeseburger

The beach

Butch and Donn

Peg and Donn soaking up the rays

Great surf

Sand sculpting school

Shiny yellow shorts

We had a great time walking the beach. Walking on sand is a different kind of exercise and you can feel the pull in different places the next day.

Padre is great!

Walking on the beach...Great exercise for our lily white legs!

Old-time photo of the day: What did a 27-foot trailer cost in 1945? | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com

Old-time photo of the day: What did a 27-foot trailer cost in 1945? | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com

Sunshiny Day and this and that

Every morning I get up with the intention of getting the blogs done and the first thing I know it is 8:00 AM and Butch is up and my day begins. Happened again this AM. The weather is absolutely perfect and the 10 day forecast is full of cookie cutter days. When you take the weather out of the mix we can get on with more fun stuff. The plan tomorrow is to finally go to South Padre Island. It will be the first time down there for us this year. What the hey!! It is usually the first thing we do.
My duties as President of the park association does take up some time but no more than teaching beading, trying to get my walks in and the other usual life stuff like cleaning and laundry etc. To be more precise, I find myself busy. And it is not particularly interesting stuff to other people. So it can be a challenge to come up with something I think will knock your socks off. We have been coming down here for over 20 years. That is hard to believe, even for me. At first it was for a weeks vacation and we stayed in Harlingen which is east of here. Then we stayed in a motel with kitchen for a couple of years. Finally buying an RV and staying in Magnolia Park for 4 weeks until we retired in 2003. So we have pretty well seen and done it all or nearly all. The last few years we have become more involved in the park activities and administration. When this happens to you, weeks can go by where you never leave the park! I know! Heaven forbid! We may reverse the process in the future. I am giving that some serious meditation. But it is very hard to back off. Time changes all things however. It always looms on the horizon and for me it has always been a good thing even if I did not think so at the time. So till the next time I can find some minutes for blogging....

BEE-YOO-TEE-FULL Day

Winter is over and I am sure all of you up north are so glad to hear that. Our 10 day outlook is near perfect with highs in the 70's and 80's and lows in the 50's. The sun is shining and the birds are all atwitter. It will take about a week to ten days for the new buds to show up on the trees. What usually happens after a couple of weeks of this gorgeous stuff is the farmers who come down to escape the cold forget that it is still pretty chilly back home and start to get antsy to head that way. Making that mistake two years in a row usually cures it. When it turns this nice down here it is hard to imagine it isn't that nice everywhere. So we will enjoy the Spring here and then slowly make our way north and enjoy it there too.
Last night we were invited to Donn and Peggy's for turkey, dressing and all the rest. I was really hungry and it sure hit the spot. I was oh so thankful. Turkey will do that for you!!
Made a new bracelet...see below.

Butch is outdoors giving Angel a brushing. I am seeing balls of her fur rolling up the street. Could make nice nesting material for those birds that are all atwitter.
Life is made up of little things....

Swedish Weaving Get-together

I met these ladies online through a Yahoo group about Swedish weaving. It is much fun meeting people in person that you have come to know through their posts and their projects and their trials and tribulations of the learning process. We met at Trish's place in McAllen. Next month we will meet at Magnolia Park.

Barbara W. explaining a pattern.

Pat S.

Trish H. our hostess.

Which hand should I hold the baton in?

No relation to this youngster but he sure gets into his work.

Which hand should I hold the baton in?

It is way past time

Things can get away from me in a hurry down here. So this is an attempt to get a bit caught up. On Butch's last doctor trip she told him the cough part of his respiratory ordeal would be a long time going away...and it has been. I was glad she told us that or I would be getting concerned as he is still coughing a fair amount. I keep dodging the bullet on this cold/allergy business but in the last two days it has been much closer to settling in to something than I like. Still using the neti pot but I am out of Zicam swabs and so are the stores. I ordered some online but they are enroute. I am feeling a bit better tonight but my head still feels like a throbbing watermelon.
Enough of that.
Anyway, after getting my duties as prez taken care of at morning coffee hour I vegged out the remainder of the day. I think we all deserve one of those now and then.
Butch is scheduled to play in the Senior Winter Olympics on Thursday and Friday... I think. I know definitely about Thursday as that is golf AND it is one of our colder days this week with highs in the low 50's. I played a couple of years in this event and the weather was crappy both times. I think it is traditionally crappy for the golf event so I have since declined. I am a fair weather golfer and a weather wimp. I am sure Butch will do fine with it.

Elise home on a snow day

Elise home on a snow day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEPodsIQN6k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyMV1VbvA10

From Bill Brooker

Bill sent me these photos of fellows fishing the river in front of their home in Arkansas. I really cannot tell if the people in the boat are men or women. But really, what do you think?

A woodpecker eating his lunch.

The Wee Ones

Great Grand Elise ready for the winter snow

Great Grand Ethan brushing his teeth.

Mo Snow

Son Gary sent me some pictures of the snow in the Kansas City area. More specifically his front yard.
His comment was "Fun stuff digging out from 50 year storms."

Oh, how we remember and do not want to go there... 

We have been dealing with our own form of winter here. We have had cold temperatures for four days with ice coatings, windchills, electrical outages and no water etc. But this fine sunny morning we are seeing the end of the tunnel. The predicted high is 62 and the low tonight in the 40's. We can live with that. Butch has our water hose hooked back up and later I will take the plants outside. Since it was a hard freeze the leaves will all drop from the trees in a few days and then as the temperatures rise we will soon be seeing buds on the trees. It was definitely cold enough for crop damage. Fortunately things do grow quickly here so that too will be short lived although it will be a blow to many pocket books for awhile.

Still hunkered down

Still cold and now they say it is going to get even uglier. Precipitation starting about noon and with the temps in the 20's that means ice and snow. It should be fun to watch the news to see video of those expressway fliers doing "wheelies". This far south the drivers are amateurs when it comes to driving on the slick stuff so accidents are inevitable. Our trick is to stay out of their way!
I did do a cooking marathon yesterday making Runza casserole and Chili. Two main dishes in one day is a marathon for me.  The casserole was very good but once again I got the chili too hot! After making this mistake twice I threw the habanero sauce in the garbage. If Butch wants his chili hot he will have to figure out how to get it that way all by himself. So then I went on the internet to see how to cool it down. The one suggestion that made the most sense to me was to freeze it in smaller portions then add it to a batch of plain chili (chili without ANY heat). Other suggestions were to add sugar or chocolate or pineapple juice. The truth be known with the temperatures in the 20's I secured the crockpot lid and placed the whole business outside. I do not have a fridge big enough to accommodate a big batch of chili so this cold snap really has worked for me. Don't worry I will rescue it before the temps return to normal.
We are all closed in with all our shades pulled in hopes of keeping some of the cold on the outside. Thus I do not know what is going on outside. My guess is not much. Although if the South Texas Polar Bear Club decides to take the plunge I do want to know. For an explanation see the other blog.(www.magnolianews.blogspot.com)
That may be the only thing to get me outside today. Oh yes, I forgot. Mixed pool league is tonight too but if my limbs are in danger in getting there I may bail on them.
Another benefit to this weather is that I have much more time for uninterrupted blogging...and bracelet making.
Later...

Hunkered Down

My plans are to make Chili and Runza Casserole in the next couple of days. Too cold to do much so it seems like a good time to cook. Most everyone knows about Runza casserole but if you are a rare one that doesn't you can do a search on this blog and it should pop up for you.
The current temp is 32 F. and I have not seen one soul out for a stroll. I know I am going to hold out for warmer temps before I get my walk in. I usually just bundle up and do it but not today...and maybe not tomorrow.
My guess is the golf course isn't even open so Butch will most likely be hunkered down as well. I know him...he will get antsy by mid afternoon and go to the pool hall at least.
He does have a doctor appointment at 8:15 this morning. Hopefully he can be pronounced well although he still has a nasty cough. Not as frequent but still in evidence. This was some very nasty stuff that many people have suffered through.
I think it is going to be a Netflix day.

Yesterday we made our third trip to Mexico this season. Peggy, Butch and I went. Donn is in Iowa because his brother is not well and he needs to see him. So the 3 of us ventured into ol' Mexico for shopping, Margaritas and panchos. Peggy had the idea of gluing a frog on the plates and I thought it was a good one so we went to buy frogs. W  e have them now. Another plate project is in the works...in between bracelets. We are just so busy!!

Elise is on the move

From Grandpa Gary:Two from her playing at our house after Church.
Ballerina Walk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iq-lHvPH48
SquealCrawl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piq4mDh7HAQ

Plate flower Yard Art

Items needed:
A variety of plates and dishes that look well stacked together
Hockey pucks with 3/8" or larger hole drilled in it
marine epoxy,CLEAR ( we used Gorilla glue at first and it fell apart when it became wet)
ReBar of your desired length, painted your desired color
(Some people were using plastic rebar they found in the garden department and it worked too.)
I wiped off the plates with alcohol before using the adhesive to make sure there was a clean surface to adhere to.
Here is a picture of the back side of the plate.

Allergies and other stuff

Allergies are a big problem here in Sunny South Texas. And if you are prone to them anyway it can make it even worse. My theory is that it does not get cold enough or rain often enough to wipe out allergens. Butch is suffering with allergies and has been for several weeks now. The sinus drainage starts and doesn't shut off. It is allergies out of control. I went through this a year or two ago and decided I would take every precaution at the earliest inclination and so far I have warded it off. I have taken loratadine every day since that uncontrolled bout I had a year or two ago. But that isn't always enough. I use the nettie pot at the first sign of a tickle in my throat from sinus drainage. Of course, being around others with the coughing and sinus clearing is not good either in case there is a virus involved. Butch has had two visits to the doctor and received lots of high dollar meds and we can finally say he is on the mend. Or at least I think he is. I think he finally got a good nights sleep last night with only a couple of coughing bouts. He is still sleeping in at this writing and that is a good sign.
I do not know how I ever found time to put the directory together in years past. Deon has done it this year at my request and I am ever so grateful. I did enjoy it but it is also great not having the pressure. I have taken the pictures and that was pressure enough.
The flower plates are a big hit around the park. I have taken pictures of all I found placed in yards and I have a few more to get yet. It is a fun and easy craft project. I will write out directions and get them posted in a separate posting. Peggy placed hers in our yard so she could enjoy them from her window. Wonder who gave her that idea?

The one on the left is a vase glued to the plate.

Balmy

Looking at this I would say we are downright balmy. Perspective- it is all about perspective.

Reunited

Not much moves me to tears...but this did.

Lately

Double meaning with the title today. I have been making and teaching bracelet-making on a steady basis. Last Saturday there were four of us enjoying a beading session learning peyote. It is the hardest to teach and learn in my opinion. Classes for that must be small. The Saturday bunch did very well. Either they were quick learners or I am getting better at explaining. Maybe a bit of both.
Last week Peggy and I went hunting out bead stores. There are several but all are small and so far only one sells the Delica beads we need for peyote. We ran into the mananas state of mind at two different stores. The lights were on- a sign said they were open- but the door was locked and we couldn't get anyones attention. It is the way of the deep,deep south if you catch my drift. The only ones who think there is something wrong with that are we winter Texans. Different cultures clashing. Small thing. We also stopped at a couple of thrift stores because the next craft project is the flower plates on rebar. Thrift stores and dollar stores are the perfect place to get the items needed for this project. I think most of us have gathered enough plates to make a whole garden of non-growing flowers.
Butch is busy getting as much play in as possible on golf and shuffleboard as he is playing in the Seniors RGV Olympics in those two events.  I guess it makes him feel better to know he practiced. He is quite good at both these days.
Must get on with my day. Till next time...