Blog catch up

Started this blog and never posted until now.
Lilley says getting groomed is hard work so she says it's time to take a nap when we get home.  She's such a pretty girl. She the queen doggie. LOL
We're gonna go to Pammy's the next day July 22nd to hang out and I forget what else.
Pamela's landscape is still looking really great. She need a couple of new plants that didn't make it over the summer but it still looks nice.

She wanted me to check out the Peach Creek Winery with her so who am I to say no.  I see the small sign for it all the time but there's never time to stop so today we shall go check it out. The first thing I see is this swing set. I've seen it on pinterest and had told David I wanted one for the farm.  
In the middle is a fire pit. Can't you just imagine you and friends or family relaxing on it around a fire. I can.  That day it felt like we were on fire it was so hot out but I had to go sit on it.
Of course we sampled the wine. Look at all those grapes. They even had a gazebo next to a pond that you could sit and drink. Too hot today but there was a couple of love birds out there kissing.

From here we went to another winery called Perrine Winery in College Station. I mean who knew College Station had 3 wineries. lol

You build them Pamela and I will be there eventually.  The inside was nice and the wine was good too. They're located in warehouse house sitting and right next door was a brewery called New Republic and there was a Rios Distillery but it was closed.  We stopped at the brewery so Pamela could sample the beer. I refrained I'll try it next time because I know there will be a next time. They'll even allow your furry friend if on a leash of course. Pretty eventful day.

The following weekend (7/29) Pamela came home to go with me to my sorority annual luncheon. The Phi Mu Annual Salsa Luncheon benefiting the Children's Miracle Network and Texas Children's hospital at the Cadillac Bar and  Grill. We have a live and silent auction to raise money for our cause. Our sorority was recognized as one of the largest sorority contributors. I can't remember the exact recognition.

Sheryl and I always have fun when we go to this. We know at least once a year we get to hang out only she didn't know she'd be seeing later that afternoon to share her birthday. Her husband Ross made sure Pamela, David and I were invite over to their son's to celebrate like one of the family. 

Sheryl has a total of 5 sons.  There's only one little girl in this family. A niece. Anyway she finally has and is getting daughters. The two on the right have little boys so the boy trend continues.

She tends to think of Pamela as the daughter she never had before these young ladies came along. Well she still claims Pamela

Here's Sheryl with a few of our Phi Mu sisters 

JoNell Ault, Sheryl Harper, Linda Leavens and council woman Melissa Noriega

I bid on a few things on the silent auction and won a basket with a cookbook, some seasonings, wooden spoons, tea towel and a green roaster pot. Haven't used it yet. 
After the luncheon Pamela and I ran home to take care of the dogs and giving Sheryl and the girls time to get back to the their house. We surprised Sheryl when we showed up. Pamela and I brought Sheryl a gift we knew she'd love....wine. A girl after our own heart.

While there Pamela got to get baby cuddles with Tanner. Richard (long time friend) and his wife Abby's 2nd baby boy

Being a postpartum nurse she has the love for babies. 

We had a great time at the Harper household and appreciated being considered part of the family.

I love my crazy office family. The newest thing is everyone wants a computer riser for their desktop. If you get tired of sitting you can stand up and do your computer work.

I caught Leonard off guard when I snapped this one.  My boss Kim hollers at me to come look at her new riser desk top. I didn't realized she had got one..... So when I walk into her office I die laughing. Too funny. Only my boss. Hey they couldn't argue with the cost. LOL

I'm sure others will follow her trendsetting idea. Maybe.

Well that's it for now.  

Until next blog... “If you want to be happy, be”~ Leo Tolstoy

... Welcome Back

Well the vacation is over and it's time to go back to work. I walk into the office and I'm hit by the heat and humidity. In the office! Apparently the AC didn't want to come back on after it's 3 day break. It was almost lunch time before it came back on and started cooling down but hey we're dedicated employee's and survived it. The work must go on, right?...LOL
Cassie was not impressed as I was walking around taking pictures and waved me off. Now she'll really shoot me for posting this picture. But hey she's always saying that I  never put her in my blog. mmm I don't think this is exactly what she wanted. Love you Cassie.

It was hot as all get out outside too that day. When 5:40pm rolled around I got in my car and it said it was 110. I'm melting..... and my car developed a bad case of dandruff. 
What! where did that come from...???? Then I moved my window sun screen and figured out real quick where it came from..
The screen was flaking all over the place. YIKES.  It went in the trash as soon as I got home.

Back on July 8th my friend Donna Marie and I went to the retreat house for our next to last hand off for our round robin. The quilts are really turning out awesome. It was hard to imagine how they'd turn out. I'd do another Round Robin but not now with everything else going on. Currently I'm working on the last border for the last medallion I am to work on. I've learned a lot and improved in my piecing methods but have a ways to go. Our final reveal will be at Quilt retreat in September. Can't wait to see mine. I'll be sharing those pictures after the big Reveal. After we had critiqued each quilt except our own of course it was time to head back home. We had some time so I decided to corrupt Donna by taking her wine tasting at the Saddlehorn winery outside Brenham.

 
It was funny because if she didn't like the wine she'd poor in my glass to finish. We had a good time and then I asked if she wanted to take a small detour to go see the farm and she said yes. So to the farm we went. We sat on the Mini Mansion porch and talked with David who was already there and taking a break from the heat.  After that we stopped by Pamela's to pick up Lilley. David had brought her that far as headed to the farm in case it was late when we got home.
So I drug Donna all over the country side but said she enjoyed the sights and the farm. We'll see if she'll ride with me again. 

The weekend of July 15th I had another Missourian family member visiting Texas. My nephew Jeremiah had a conference in Austin. He called to ask about coming by to see us and he'd have his cute wife Melissa and their son Beckett with him. Of course I wanted them to come by. But instead of coming straight to our home in Tomball I asked if he'd like to see the farm and he said sure. So we coordinated our arrival at the farm with them.

We sat around on the mini Mansion porch talking and relaxing for a while and the boys went down to the pond. It was starting to get into lunch time so we headed to Pamela's house so she could see them too.

When we got to Pamela's the girls had to get used to Beckett and he them. He has two big dogs in waiting for him at home in Missouri. Can you see the dimples? He got them from his Daddy.

Uncle David was getting a kick out of watching Beckett with Sophie and Lilley. Sophie was the bravest to get near a little person. Lilley kept her distance.

We didn't stick around to long because everyone was getting hungry. We headed to the Cotton Patch. We took David there once when traveling and he loves the place. I really like it too. They have a variety of food choices so everyone could find something they liked. After lunch Pamela took them on a quick tour around Texas A&M campus while David and I went back to Pamela's. They even stopped to do a little shopping. Now I never thought I'd see the day when my Nephew would wear an Aggie TShirt or let his son wear one.  This is one for the books. Jeremiah and Melissa are both graduates of MIZZOU. He's an engineer and she's a nurse. Yep another nurse in the family.  Did I mention that when I went to San Antonio last month to see my sisters and my niece, that my niece Shelby was also a nurse. Well she is.  Anyway we had to take a picture to document the moment. I think Beckett would make a great Aggie in the future. He's awfully cute in his Aggie Tshirt. Okay so is Jeremiah. 

So we were trying to think of something else we could do when David suggested we take them to Messina Hof Winery. Now why didn't I think of that...LOL

So it ended up the guys stayed at the house so maybe Beckett could nap which didn't happen but us girls hit the winery.

Now don't panic Melissa didn't drink full glasses but she had a flight tasting of 6. She even found a wine or two she liked. Pamela made sure she went home with a Texas wine. 

Pamela made sure we took a selfie before entering the house. 

It was starting to get late in the day and we still had to drive back to Tomball. Jeremiah and Melissa stayed the night with us and got up early the next morning to head home. I even got up early too to make biscuits and gravy. It was awesome having them stop in for a visit. Hope they'll come back again. 

Until next blog.... You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. Desmond Tutu

June Vacation time winding down

Can't believe our time is almost up in Durango. Pam and Kevin were the best hosts. They showed us the town, fed us or made sure we found food at the various great restaurants. Oh and David learned a new way to eat french fries.... with mustard and catsup. Kevin was eating his that way one day and he told us we needed to try it. Well I'm not a fan of mustard but David is and he tried it and like it. 
They provided us with a comfy bed and room with a view. We hated to leave. David was relaxed which he rarely does and enjoyed every minute.
Our daughter Pamela was doggy sitting for us and took the girls to get groomed then sent the picture that the groomer took. How does she get them both to sit still long enough to take pictures especially these two together.
Lilley Momma is on the left and Sophie Girl is on the right.






Our adventures for our last day included a drive to Ignacio to the Sky Ute casino. My husband is crazy.. What can I say. We hadn't brought any money to gamble with so he pulled $50 bucks each out of our travel money to donate of course to the casino.
Only the surprise was on us. I won $250 on a quarter slot machine. I stopped and didn't get greedy. We used some of the money to take Pam and Kevin out to dinner that night for their hospitality and build a new cabinet for the kitchen. We bought the house with this opening next to the sink and we finally built a cabinet to go in it. We had lots of fun and some good beer and food at the Steamworks Brewery for our last night. After that we went back to their condo to pack up and relax.
While they were on the patio I went up to take a shower and missed this beautiful Durango sunset. Pam took it and share it with me.
Friday morning we got up early and headed back to Texas. Bye Bye Durango. Many Thanks to Pam and Kevin for inviting us and putting up with us.
The drive back was uneventful. We had planned on driving 10 hours to Abilene, find a hotel,  get up the next morning and drive the rest of the way to the farm but David wasn't tired so we kept going. We got as far as Gateville, TX and David had to give up. Checked into the Holiday Inn Express to find out that the elevator was broke and we were on the 2nd floor. I'm not good on stairs anyway but carrying luggage up made it fun but we made it.
Next morning we got up and headed to the Rockin K. It was nice being back but not the heat. It never go over 80 while in Durango.
I called Pamela to let her know we were down the road. She said great then maybe you can ride with me to San Antonio to visit with Aunt Barb and Nancy and cousin Shelby.  I thought yippee more time in the car but David said go and he'd meet us back at Pammy's house that evening. 

When we got to the farm we were greeted at the gate with a deer. She trotted off quickly toward the pecan tree and cabin. Next day David found Momma and baby hanging out in the grove of oak trees.

But before leaving I had Pamela take our version of the American Gothic picture..














Then Pamela and I hopped in the car for our 3 hour drive. Of course we caught with each other for the happenings the past week.
My sister Barbara is a retire teacher/coach and was a medic in the Air Force Reserves. She served a tour in Qutar and Afghanistan but now she travels and sets up recruiter booths. You know I'm not exactly sure of her official position but it keeps her traveling and seeing the sights. Anyway she and Nancy knew Pamela was coming but not Me. I was a surprise and a surprise I was. Barbara didn't get off work for a couple of hours so we decided to take Nancy and Shelby to a winery. Nancy and Shelby has already been seeing the sights of San Antonio while Barbara was working so this was something a little different. 
Now Nancy is not so much of a wine drinker but we found a wine she liked.
In fact Shelby caught this picture of Nancy making it look like she was a heavy wine drinker. LOL
It was a new winery and not much seating but we found spots by this nice couple who in the end bought all our tasting. WOW Didn't expect that. I was ready to pay when the owner goes the couple you were sitting with paid for everything already. Wow. It was getting close for time for Barbara to be off work so we headed back to the hotel.  Pamela walked into the room first and Barbara jumped to give her a big hug but then I walked in, the look on her face was priceless and she started to cry. Nancy and her daughter had guessed I was coming when Pamela told them she had to stop and pick up a package. 
It was going on dinner time so we headed to the Market to have dinner at Mi Tierra Cafe & Bakery. YUM. Shelby enjoyed a strawberry margarita while we waited on food. 
I will say the prices have gone up since I was there last but still tasty. 







After dinner we wondered around the market and acted silly. 

 

  And I do mean silly. LOL Never a dull moment with Barbara 

 

Barbara, Me and Nancy

Cousin Love

 Time went by quickly and it's a 3 hour drive back to Pamela's. David would be waiting for us at Pamela's. So we headed back to the hotel and gave hugs and goodbyes and we were off. I really enjoyed getting to see my family from Missouri in Texas.  By the time we got back to Pamela's I was attacked by Lilley and Sophie.
We stayed the night and Pamela's so David could go back up to the farm and finish a couple of small chores. I ran some errands with Pamela then it's time to head home.
That night even though Lilley loves being with Pamela and her little Sophie she's ready to crash in bed. Home Sweet Home. We felt the same way.

 Until next blog.... As Dorothy would say... There's no place like home.

She'll be coming around the mountain............

We ate at so many good places while in Durango and I can't tell you which one we ate at which day except for a couple. Kevin and Pam made sure we saw the sights and ate well. Even when we cooked at home. Tuesday June 13th in Durango Colorado we get up and go into town to have breakfast at none other than the Durango Diner. I had a green chili egg burrito. Let's just say after a few hours my stomach was rumbling. It was a huge burrito and was smothered in green chili's.  But it was good going down. 
After breakfast we headed to Silverton by car. What a beautiful drive. 

 

Wasn't exactly a lot of places to pull over to take pictures but these came out okay. I took them as we drove up and down and around the curves and mountains. Poor Pam was on the edge of her seat the whole time. She has a definite fear of heights especially when we were close to the edge of the road and it was a straight down fall but she did survive. I think she was ready for a beer after that or maybe two. Love you Pam. 
Made it to Silverton and our first stop was the courthouse where there was a bathroom and a parking space. Look what I found in the courthouse... A quilt hanging on the wall. Leave it to me to find a quilt.









Silverton was a colorful town. Can't imagine what it looks like in the winter all covered in snow.  Funny thing happened while walking down the streets of Silverton and shopping. We're all talking and laughing when Kevin calls his wife Pam by the name Debbie. Uh who's Debbie? It became the joke for the rest of the week. He has no clue where that came from. 
We may not have rode the train but Pam took our picture in front of it.  It arrived at the same time we did.  Oh and did I mention it was only 37 degrees when we woke up. It was close to 50 when we got to Silverton. Beside if we had road the train we wouldn't have been able to stop in Ouray or drive on to Telluride.

Then I took a picture of Kevin and Pam with the train. 

 After shopping and walking the streets we hopped back in the car and headed down or I guess it was up the road to Ouray. More beautiful scenery. 

Look at the snow still clinging to the mountains.



Made it to Ouray without falling over the side of a mountain and We found a place to park and the first thing I see is O'Brien's Pub. 


I sent a message to Pamela's (my daughter) friend Marlaina back in Houston telling her that they named a Pub after her and the hubby.

We continued down the street to shop and look around. I found this cute little piece in one shop and picked it up for a quilter friend of mine Donna @ Donna's Lavender Nest. She loves to make pin cushions and will put one in the egg.  I also found a sign that would be appropriate for any dog owner.  

I sent a picture of it to my co-worker Ashley because we both tend to wear some dog fur to work a lot of mornings.

We stopped to have a bite of lunch at a pizza place. And David and I shared a hamburger. I know I know a hamburger. While sitting there David texted a co-worker of his who just happens to have a get away fixer upper in Ouray. Jimmy gave us the address and directions. It was about 3 blocks away. So after lunch we went to see where Jimmy likes to get away from the heat and hustle of Houston.

Kevin stopped and Pam took our picture in front of Jimmy's house.

Jimmy said it felt weird seeing us in front of his house and him not there but thought it was cool that we took time to go by. This is his views standing in the front yard. Downtown Ouray and Cascade falls, and mountains. Heaven....

Some people have all the luck. Just gorgeous. Our next stop was Telluride.  We rode the gondola to the first jump off and saw plenty of these little guys running around on what would be the slopes when it's ski season.
More Awesome views again.

You can just barely see the falls in Telluride in the below picture. It looks like a white line.

What a beautiful and fun day.

We didn't go hungry while visiting with Pam and Kevin. They cooked Chili one night, ate at place called Chimayos and I had a margarita flat bread pizza with jalapenos. That was so good. The jalapenos really added flavor. One day for lunch we ate a place called KEN AND SUES under the veranda  I had a mushroom sandwich with balsamic. Not bad but wasn't exactly what I expected. One night David and Kevin went down the road to get us pizza. YUM. The drive thru of this place was about 3 inches wider than Kevin's SUV. 
On Wednesday 6/14, David and I took some pictures around the condo. 
Can you see the Lizard on the rocks. 

You can just make out the Animas River behind us. We slept with the balcony door open in our bedroom and you could hear the river water rushing by.

When we were coming back from Telluride yesterday I spied this quilt shop. Pam and Kevin were so sweet to take me back by it on Wednesday so I could check it out. The ladies were really sweet there. I might have bought some fabric and this Tshirt.  LOL

Gotta Love It

Front and Back 

Every time we left the condo we'd pass this tavern. I thought it funny when I read the sign. You would find medicinal shops all everywhere. Meaning of course they had some form of pot for sale. You can even grow a plant and take in on a certain day to sell at this place Kevin was telling us about. I think I got that story right. 

Well we have one more day in Colorado but I'll save that and the rest of our adventures for another post.

Until then...Travel becomes a strategy to accumulate photographs