Family Time at The Texas Renaissance Festival.

David, Pamela and I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival a week ago

Saturday. It was a great day. The weather was slightly over cast with a tad of humidity and a breeze ever so often made the day very tolerable. We arrived around 10:20am and didn't leave until almost 5pm. After that much walking we were all starting to wilt but it was nice spending quality time together. Even with the thousands of people around us. They were our entertainment.
The first show we watched was "The Ded (dead) Bob show". It was so funny. The guy holding Bob (skeleton) hid behind that veil and got away with a lot of comments on people's looks and clothing.  Bob was a naughty little skeleton. This was our 2nd time to attend the Renaissance since it began back in 1974 in Plantersville, TX.

Plenty of sites and sounds to see

My daughter Pamela made a bee line to the floral head wreath rack to purchase one that match her top. I do believe she succeeded. Well actually her dad bought it. 

A little further down the path we ran into to this sly and dapper fox. He was gracious enough to pose for a picture with Pamela. He purred the whole time he stood next to Pamela. LOL I guess he was a happy little fox but I didn't know foxes purred. Oh well. Maybe it's a Medieval thing.

You could rent costumes just before you entered the festival area or purchase some inside. There were plenty of folks walking in from their cars all dressed up for the occasion. Some actually forgot to dress. LOL

One girl actually had a chain mail top on with her gypsy skirt but had absolutely nothing on under neath her chain mail. I couldn't believe it. That was a bit too much reveal but I'm sure the men enjoyed the view.
I love the clothing of the medieval times but I they were HOT HOT in the summer time. 
                            Maybe next year if we go, Pam and I will dress up. I said Maybe.

As we strolled down the path we came across the bagpipe and drum band show. I don't know that I could listen necessarily to a whole CD of this music away the festival setting but I really did enjoy seeing and hearing it live.

                                 The band is called  Tartanic 

Adrian Walter, the lead drummer, dancer and front man of the group with the black vest to the right and bare chested on the left.
 There's something about a man in a kilt and bare chested. 

I know my friend and fellow blogger Amber knows about men in kilts since she spent a year in Scotland not so long ago with her hubby.

 

David enjoyed this show of course. Something about Half naked girls balancing swords on their heads and belly dancing got his attention quickly. LOL

David so enjoys giving our daughter a bad time.
Can't remember the exact comment right now but
it had something to do with him wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipe.

 Notice the size of the sangria margarita in her hand!?  That was probably best deal for the money all day.
She drank it all by herself to the last drop. The lush. Just kidding dear daughter if you happen to read this post.

Would you look at the smile on this man and to think he just put tip money in the little wooden box he's holding while I take the picture. (Note my drummers and bagpipe band didn't get any of his money hmm half naked man vs half naked girl) The dancer figures if the guys hold the money box they won't be mauling her. Not necessarily the case for the next guy standing there for a photo with the pretty dancer.

Pam and I spotted this Fairy amongst the crowd.

Very interesting and colorful.

Pam decided she wanted to make a little jingling noise when she walked so she found the scarves with the coins and she just had to have the pink one.

So for the next hour or so she jingled when she walked. ;o)












I spotted this woman spinning wool into yarn.


The couple just behind her shows both young and old enjoy playing dress up.

Slightly wind blown but glad to be sitting again. We couldn't believe how long we had been at the festival just wandering around and enjoying the sights, food and drinks. But wait we forgot to get a turkey leg or funnel cake....hmmm.......oh well there's next year because I'm not going to walk any further than the car which happens to be 8 long aisles away from the entrance.

Pam snapped a picture of David and I to end the great day we had at the festival.

Okay wait a minute. Darn not fast enough with my camera. See the guy here in the rabbit loin cloth. Whoa! He was about 6'4"...... tan...... did I say tall, dark, oh and ripped. 


Bad Momma Bad!                                                             
Everyone leaving saw this guy coming in. He was pretty. This is one of those times that I wasn't ready with my camera. I was to busy gawking.  Sorry ladies but I really was hoping to end on a drooling note. You'll just have to take my word for it.  His face wasn't bad either. I didn't notice that he was half naked or anything. Honest. 

ahhhh (sigh) oh

Until next blog..................When you look at your life, the greatest happiness's are family happiness's. ~Joyce Brothers~

.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•. Be Happy ✿ .•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•.
……………… ....♥ •.Carla.•´♥…………............…

Friday+Friend+Family= FUN

One day I'll be organized enough to post a day or two after an event and not a week or so later. Oh well there's only so many hours in a day.

Friday the 18th  I took a day of vacation to spend the day with my new friend Linda from Dallas. Her son-in-law Mike Bell works with my husband. Mike and his wife Amber Bell put up with us old folks as friends and at one of their Christmas parties I was lucky enough to meet Amber's mom Linda.

Linda was in Houston all last week visiting with her daughter but she squeezed a visit with me in. My daughter Pam came home from nursing school and asked if I thought Linda might mind if we went to our favorite Tea Room called The Whistle Stop Tea Room.

Even my husband likes this place and he's not a big tea room fan but the food portions are ample and the desserts are awesome. The only thing we don't like is ........ oh wait there isn't anything.

Linda was game so she drove to my house and we all jumped into my car and headed to Tomball for lunch and a little shopping. 

If you're ever in Tomball at lunch time you ought to give the Tea Room a try and if you're a quilter

you can roll walk across the street after lunch to Quilter's Crossing.

Both are located next to the railroad tracks one block off Main on Commerce Street. Along with all the other quaint little shops around. And if you're a Vera Bradley fan you need to hit O'Suzanna's shop right down the walkway from the tea room.            

Linda seemed quite please with our luncheon choice.

As you can see she was all smiles.
We had finished our creamy potatoe soup, salads, and yummy chicken enchiladas and had moved on to dessert.

I'm making myself hungry as I write thinking about all the yummy food.

Linda and I shared Bread Pudding with a buttery rum sauce.

Linda thought it was better than.......
well okay I'll keep it G- rated. She thought it was out of this world.
I had to steal her picture of the bread pudding from her blog.

And Pam ordered a piece of Yum Yum pie that is so delicious too.
You'd think by the look of it, it would be rich rich but it's actually very light and easy to eat. 

Linda and I stole a couple of bites just to make sure it was okay for Pam to eat. 
Pamela was being camera shy as usual.  She like so many of my friends put up blocks to my picture taking.

Linda received a call while we were shopping and stepped outside in a little garden area. It was a beautiful day to be outside and strolling the streets of Tomball.

                                                                                       Linda is in the pink and that's me in the purple.
After a quick photo shoot we strolled down the streets thru a couple of shops to see what we could not live without. This trip we came up empty handed. So we headed to the car and took off the big town of Conroe via the back roads. I rarely travel the highways if I can avoid it.  My Mom had heard so much about Linda that she wanted to meet her and said she knew of a couple good thrift stores there in Conroe. Sure enough she took us to the Goodwill Store. Now Linda is the Queen of Goodwill in Dallas so I expected nothing less when we were in Conroe.


I wasn't disappointed. LOL. I did find a pair of brown shoes but not much else. But Linda, well she hit the mother load. I figure Louis Dean her husband won't let her come back to visit me.  She filled her basket and the back of my car with her finds.
Linda found some of the cutest pairs yes pairs of shoes and some nifty decorations that I know she'll work her magic on and they'll be just gorgeous.
We planned on hitting another shop but I looked at my watch and realized that it was nearly 4:30pm and by the time we drove back to Tomball it would be getting dark and not being familiar with the roads from my house back to her daughters I didn't want Linda to have to drive in the dark.


But before we lefted my mom's I had to snap a picture of my mom and Linda together

What a fun day! Lunch, talking, shopping, more talking and I got to spend time with Linda, my daughter and my mom.
What more could a girl ask for? Good friend and family.

Until Next Blog.......... Wishing you a dazzling day of delicious delights!

  

Houston International Quilt Festival! Oh Boy!

It was that time of year again! The Houston International Quilt Festival was here @ the George R Brown Convention Ctr.  

This is Terri Winsauer with Quilts Inc. Terri is the IQM/IQF show assistant and volunteer coordinator. She's also a member of Tri County Quilt Guild (the guild I belong to). She is always looking for worker bees and volunteers.

 

Last Saturday morning I headed to the Quilt Show for my shift as a door guardian at the food court. I’ve worked a few hours at the show for the last 3-4 years then afterwards I get to shop and wander amongst the quilts on exhibit. I guess my mind was wandering as I drove because I smooth missed my exit off I-10 to the George Brown. GRRRR. So I had to drive about a ½ mile down the road before I could turn around. I did get lucky and got the last spot in the parking lot right next to the George Brown Whew!

As I walked to my assigned position I couldn’t help but check out the vendor booths. There was so many quilty tools, gadgets, machines, stencils, fabric and buttons oh my. Along with jewelry, dolls, teddy bears, a machine to help you lose weight (you stood on it and it shook the poop out of ya LOL), a chair to relieve back pain and a foot massage machine. Oh how I wish I could have walked back to that booth at 6:30pm for a foot massage..

When my shift was over I went to sign out and stopped to take a couple pictures thru the windows looking out over the vendor area.

The aisles didn’t look too crowded but dang if all the people didn’t appear when I reached the first floor. I began my walk shuffle up and down every single aisle from the north end to the south end. That’s a lot of walking.







For those of you who have never been to the Quilt Festival or the George Brown let me give you some stats. The George R Brown covers 11 city Blocks. It's something like 1.8 million square feet (yep million) with the first floor alone where the vendors and exhibits are, is just over 853,000 square feet. I know I must have covered at least 800,000+.



   

Trish Lopes - Nolting Long Arm quilting machine

 Anyway as I shuffled (too many people to walk normal) thru the vendor area I did catch a few familiar faces that belong to Tri County Quilt Guild. On camera that is. Of course that flash caught their attention and I was in trouble. What's new?



Cindy Megginson - Bonnie Blue Quilts



They were all hard at work promoting/selling their wares.

Here's Cynthia Chaffee in the Quilts of Valor Booth. Another Tri County Member

I did ask a couple of folks that I didn’t know personally if they minded if I took their pictures. Like John Flynn here demonstrating his Quilting system you use with your home machine. I have one but have yet put it together. I guess that will be one of my projects while organizing my new sewing room at the new house.

Where to spead my money first? Not that I had much to spend. So Many Choices!

One vendor called Block Party Studios carries word panels. I found a tote kit for nurses with sayings like "It's only Poop" or "Nurses call the Shots!" I had my daughter in mind when I purchased it.
I also bought two packages of pre-cut batik fabric for a log cabin quilt from Jordan Fabrics. Several ladies at the booth told me the cuts were very precise so I won't have to worry about trimming them up. I can’t wait to actually get productive. We’ll see how that goes. I’m still busy cutting up blue jeans for some denim quilts.

Here’s a picture TQM Products rep showing how the bias and binding rulers work. I did walk away with both rulers.

Especially needed that binding ruler. I know how to make the binding and put it on but I can't seem to make the ends match up. After a few non-repeatable words and the use of a seam ripper I finally get it but this ruler should get it done in one try. Of course that means I must complete a quilt that needs binding. Novel concept. 

I also spent money on a pattern by Bobby G designs. It had these cute little kitchen aprons applique's on it like the ones my grandmother always wore.  I know I know Get busy and start making something and stop collecting. I'll get there I'll get there.

Purchase or just browse I didn’t want to miss a single vendor or quilt on display.

To the left are some Texas Theme 4H quilts.









Well okay to be honest I didn’t make it to see every quilt on display. By the time I finished in the vendor hall I was starting to fade.

About half way thru the quilts my feet and hips were killing me.

Didn't even feel like taking pictures so you know something was wrong.

That shuffle thru the aisles and the crowd of people took its toll.
Oh but all the pretty quilts were just hanging there waiting to be admired.

So I trudged thru as best I could. To see more pictures from the show Click Here.

An aisle or two away from the door I planned to exit I saw this woman with all her finds

 of the day waiting for the rest of her group.

There weren’t any chairs close by so she just made her own resting spot. I felt her pain and thought about joining her but then I would have to figure how to get up and I wasn’t sure that would happen the way I felt.

Now will I remember this pain next year when the Quilt show rolls into town? Yeah probably but that won't stop me I will go back. Maybe next year I need to start a training program so I can last longer like runners do when they're preparing for a marathon.

I called the hubby to say I was on my way home and I was hungry. We had already decided that we would go out since it would be late when I got home. We decided to try a new place for us, Mel’s Country Cafe in Tomball home of the Mega Mel Burger. My parents had been telling us about this place and how good it was and that the prices were reasonable. It’s not a fancy place but the food was really good and there was lots of it. 3 young boys were served the Mega Mel Burger for a chance to get on the Wall of Fame and a T-Shirt. The Mega Mel Burger is 1.5 # of ground beef, 1# of bacon, .25# cheese with lots and lots of lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles. I need to submit this place to Man vs Food. Wow! That is just crazy. If you’re looking for a family restaurant and good food I recommend trying this place. I got a grilled steak patty with grilled onions, mushrooms and brown gravy. Now I'm not a big fan of brown gravy but OMG I am of Mel's. It was sooooo good. When we go again we're gonna try the hamburgers and onion rings that looked and smelled delious but we're gonna pass on the Mega Mel Burger.

So now not only was I in pain I was stuffed.

I woke up Sunday still stiff and sore. It’s hell to get old.

David helped me put 2 more chrome shelves up in the laundry room to help me get it organized. Looking good but I need to find some baskets to help with the organization.

Man the weekend was over before I knew it and another work week began.......

Until next blog….. “Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from what you can do” ~ John Wooden

.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•. Be Happy ✿ .•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•.
……………… ....♥ •.Carla.•´♥…………............…