Wow where has the time gone. I've been trying to be more productive and not blog for right now since it takes me forever to write a blog. So much has happened since my last blog that I know I won't get it all posted unless you want to read a novel. And I really doubt you want to do that.

We breezed through Thanksgiving which was really a lovely time at David's sisters house. 

 Of course after dinner everyone wanted to watch the Texans game.

Well Phillip and Nathan did. Kendall was more interested in her phone. 


This is Shelby and her new little pup called Charlie. He weights about 4 pounds. Talk about tiny.


For the days dinner I only had to cook my broccoli, cheese and rice casserole and show up with cranberry sauce.













So the night before Thanksgiving the hubby, the daughter and I headed over to Puffabelly's the night before Thanksgiving to see Jesse Dayton and Davin James Rock the house.

These guys had those guitars smoking. 

Thank goodness I didn't have to cook or I couldn't afford being out late. Pamela unfortunately hadn't had much sleep since she had worked the night shift at the hospital. She got a short nap in but by 10pm she was ready to fall asleep.  She told me she really really liked the music but was really tired. Unfortunately she had to leave Thanksgiving day by 4 so she could get back to Bryan so she could work that night.

Then we I got busy with preparations for the Christmas Holidays plus work got pretty busy. We did fit in a night of music in at Main Street Crossing to see the Black Top Gypsies and the opening band called The Clarkes. A cute husband and wife team. They had some great songs and music. And the Black Top Gypsies were really great too. Two groups you don't want to miss if you have a chance to see.

Pamela was suppose to work the night shift Christmas Eve but she was called off at the last minute and she headed home. Yippee. Only we missed having Christmas Eve with my parents. She got home late that evening and we were able to open gifts Christmas morning like always. 

These little guys were made by my mother-in-law. Wish she was still here to help celebrate.  

Here's Rudy, he's checking out my reading sources while

I hang all our stockings with care. Dexter and Sophie had to 

share a hanger.

Now here's my Little Elfie who watched me put up our rather small but quaint tree. It was a tree just his size. Elfie is quite the antique. He's as old as I am and that's old. He freaks out my daughter because she says he looks evil. I don't think so  do you? 

David calls the tree our Christmas bush.

This year my cowboy snowman decided to sit in my art niche with the Texas boot and Cross. He decided the fire place mantel should be left to my Santa's.

 Here's my Santa afghan to keep me warm while vegging on the couch.  



Christmas Day I had this idea for the kids to go outside for pictures but the wind was so strong that the girls hair was going every which way.

So we moved inside for our Kodak moment.  Nathan was spending Christmas with his girlfriends family so he's missing in the photo.


Left to right
Phillip, Kendal, Shelby, Pamela and Dexter, Kevin.

 Here's Sophie the newest member of our family antagonizing our older Dog Dexter. 

We rescheduled getting together with my parents the evening after Christmas so all was right with the world.

After all the shopping and it's over in 10 minutes..

Hope everyone's Christmas was blessed and filled with joy.

It's hard to believe it's almost 2013. Just short of 24 hours from now. 
Hopefully I'm back in the swing of things and will be better about my blogging. 

So until the next blog... Here's hoping you had a Merry Christmas and have a Safe Happy New Year.

Can I get WHOOP WHOOP? Taco Bell Gang in da house!

How about them Fighting Texas A&M Aggies against Alabama? While I missed the actual game  last Saturday the rest of the crowd I was with didn’t. The Taco Bell Gang hits San Antonio........

Last Friday David and I went to San Antonio to meet up with 5 of his childhood friends and their wives. Not only were these guys childhood friends they worked at Taco Bell together when they were in high school. Hence they are now known as the Taco Bell Gang or just the Bell Gang. One of the guys, Tommy and his wife MaryBeth wasn’t able to make it for this fun weekend. Missed y'all!  Oh the stories these guys tell when they’re together. Let’s see there’s … the two times Taco Bell was robbed, Hippy Hollow, the Purple Mustang, and stories about some wrecks to name just a few. Wish I could share but I must protect the innocent. Ha! These guys were/are not innocent but they are fun. Last weekend I did learn that they corrupted Kevin. Mmm are we sure about that? I know he only drank milk while the rest of these guys were drinking beer or orange vodka. I know orange vodka, don’t ask.  

This is another of those park the car Friday and don’t see it again until Sunday kind of weekend. Lots of walking... We stayed at the Valencia Hotel. Very nice. The rooms were nice, spacious and the beds were comfy.
That Friday night we went to the Iron Cactus for dinner. We had some really Good margaritas, not bad food and lots of laughs. The food was good but it needed more spice heat.

 After dinner we walked down the riverwalk and then headed to the street to see what we could find.
First we had to stop for a photo op of the Bell Gang..
Carter,  Fred,  Gary,  Kevin,  Billy and the Hubby David

We ended up at the Celeb Star Karaoke Bar. Okay I don’t sing in public. Nope Nope Nope can't make me but we got the guys to.  First Gary, Kevin, Billy and Fred braved the stage and sang "I Get Around"


Then the guys drug Hubby David and Carter on the stage to sing

 “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction"  Peer pressure works wonders.

A couple of the wives (Pam and Lisa) were brave and strutted their stuff across the stage as they sang “Like a Virgin”.

Lisa was enjoying herself.

Decided to snap a picture of Kathy also taking pictures.
The Bell Gang and the girls here did a good job.

After a few songs and a few more beers everyone was ready to put Friday night to bed.

Saturday we  headed to LaMansion for Breakfast. Can you say YUM? Everything was really tasty from the Eggs, sausage, omelets, bacon, bread, muffins, fruit to the cereal. No I didn’t eat all that but I a couple of the guys made a good dent in the buffet.

 

Breakfast over and we need a plan. Mmm Where do we go from here? No decision was made sitting there so we got up and started walking.

Must have been the motion because someone decided we needed to hit the Alamo. Of course being a military town there was a parade to honor past and present military personnel that was between us and the Alamo. The folks in the parade were in full military dress and families held signs for their loved ones who had lost their lives to serve our country.

This full grown Live Oak tree was transplanted in 1912 at the Alamo. I love how the branches twist and turn. The base of the tree is 12 feet in diameter and the branches are up to 50 feet long.

Sophie says Would you look at the time….it’s almost Aggie game time so we headed to Waxy O'Conners on the Riverwalk to watch the game.  One of the guys had gone by the bar before we got there and called to tell us it only had 1 small TV and it was dark in there so we headed to The Ticket Sports Pub. Not shortages of TV's there and there was plenty of Maroon and White already there so it looked like a good place to be. About the time the Aggie game started Cheryl, Kathy and I took off to the Mokara Hotel and Spa. Our guys treated us to Girls Days out. Awww, ooooo, ahhhhh. We had a 50 minute facial and a 50 minute facial and a lunch. IT WAS WONDERFUL! Thank you hubby.

In the mean time the Aggies were providing a heart stopping game and so did our group so I'm told. See the guy in the back row with the white shirt well I guess he jumped up and was Yell Leader.
Several folks asked if he was a yell leader when he went to A&M. I'm told he was very good. When someone asked again my crazy husband if the guy doing the cheers had been a Yell Leader he replied "No, but he did stay at the Holiday Inn Express". Oh brother. You've seen those commercials right? By the time I catch with the group they are on top of the world between the Aggie Win and the alcohol they were something else. They couldn't contain their excitement.

Everyone was hungry so we decided to grab a cab and go to Mi Tierra down in the market. 
David snapped this picture of the gang while waiting for a table. Gig'em Aggies.

What can I say here the food was awesome and so was the company. 

 No slowing this group down so after dinner we headed back tooo oo Howl at the Moon. Now if you've never been they have this big mirror where they write sayings for a price. Lisa paid and had them write "Taco Bell Gang in da house" Pretty cool but before I got a picture someone paid for something else. But I did get this shot of the mirror.... It was a really fun night. David provided us some of the entertainment. He was being very generous and bought Allison's bachelorette group jello injections/shots and moved on to the pretty Marines. I don't think there is an ugly Marine in uniform.
Some of the things that happened in San Antonio will stay in San Antonio. LOL And some of them well you just had to be there.

And with David's final two beers it's time we decided to call it a night. Of course some folks had to be guided back to the hotel .

Sunday morning arrives. Some feeling better than others. LOL Breakfast at the hotel on the terrace provided some entertainment. Thank goodness it was at the opposite end of the table. Billy and Fred were

 swarmed by the honey bees. Billy became the great bee killer. They landed on his menu and that was their demise. When the waiter took away his menu he had his wallet to use for defense.   Then the pigeons showed up just behind Cheryl and Billy.



David was in deep concentration here watching the bee he caught in his coffee cup under his glass of water.
Doesn' t take much to entertain us this morning.
So ends a wonderful weekend with good friends, lots of laughs and beers/margaritas. Back  home we went.
Until next time.................Good friends are like quilts. They age with you, yet never lose their warmth.

 

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED!

I've been Tagged

I've been TAGGED BY Sylvia @ Sylvia's Stitches. See what happens when I go off for some fun. I come back and get tagged. Never been tagged before so I had to go see what Sylvia got me into. If you click on her blog name it will take you directly to her  cute blog. Thanks Sylvia.

So Here are the rules:

• Every tagged person has to tell 11 things about themselves
• The person who tagged you asked 11 questions, answer them
• Ask 11 questions for the 11 blogs you're going to tag (the people you tag should have less than 200 followers) Well some of mine are over 200 but under 300
• Mention the blog that tagged you, but don't tag them back.

Let's get started: 11 things about me

1.    I was born in the small town ofTrenton, Missouri. Almost to the Iowa line.

2.    I got to Texas as fast as I could via Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska.

3.    I have been married 34 years and we have one beautiful loving daughter and a 16 year old Sheltie named Dexter

4.    I started taking Jazz and Flamenco dance classes in my late 20's and continued to dance until my daughter turned 2.

5.    Have been a member of a book club for 15 1/2years. I became the unofficial secretary/photographer after sending out a review of the first meeting in 1997

6.    Love photography and share it with my friends and family. The good, the bad and the sometimes ugly pictures.

7.    I learned to sew doll clothes and simply tank top from my Othermom (my grandmother). 

8.    I think as I've gotten older I have become ADHD. LOL

9.    My Husband bought me my first sewing machine for our 1st Christmas.

10. Didn't try my hand at quilting until 2003 when I made my daughters 1st quilt for waterpolo when she was in high school

11. Thanks to my daughter I have become a Fighting Texas Aggie Fan. Whoop

Here are the 11 questions I was asked and my answers:

1. What is your favorite craft/hobby? Reading Photography and quilting. I'm probably best at the reading part. ;o)
2. How long have you been into your hobby/crafts?  I've loved to read since I first learn to read. Photography I took up in high school and quilting I started learning about I guess 9 years ago but it's been a slow process.
3. Do you have a special room or designated place to do your hobby? If so, what do you call this space? I use one of our spare bedrooms as my Office/Sewing/Craft Room
4. What time of day to you craft?  Usually I start after 8pm and quit between 11pm and 2am
5. What is your favorite tool for crafty/hobby? Not sure I really have one. Sewing machine ....
6. What was your last purchased tool? Not really a tool but I bought the extention table for my Viking Saphire
7. What would you purchase if money were no object? mmm  long arm, and a serger... I think my list could be endless.
8. If you could live anywhere, where would you live? Closer to the Texas Hill Country but actually I think I'm happy where I am.
9. What is your favorite season? Spring with all the color popping 
10. What is your favorite TV show? Just one? ;o) Castle 
11. Do you like sports? What's your favorite sport? I always liked baseball when I played but don't watch it on TV. Water polo became my favorite spot when my daughter started playing . But Texas A&M football is I guess my fav overall. 

Here's my 11 questions for the people I have tagged:

1. What time of the day or evening do you do most of your crafting? 
2. If money was not a concern, what would be the next machine or toy you would buy for your craft?
3. What is your favorite craft/hobby?
4. Do you have a special room or designated place to do your hobby? If so, what do you call this space?
5. What is your favorite TV show?
6. What was the last tool you bought for your craft/sewing room?
7. Do you prefer to read a physical book on use an e-reader device like a Kindle?
8. What was your last purchased tool?
9.  If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
10. Do you EQ?
11. What is your favorite season?

 

And here's the 11 People I'm tagging

1. Crafty in Crosby
2. Dancing Moon
3. Humble Quilter
4. Linda's Life Journal
5.  Adventures of Wanderlust Gyrl
6. All the Things I Love
7. Donna's Lavendar Nest
8. Gold Country Cottage
9. Katie's Quilts and Crafts
10.  Kissed Quilts
11. Texas Tales
     

A fun way to learn something new about our blogging friends. I'm looking forward to reading their responses how about you.

Trying to catch up but my next post will be about our fun filled weekend in San Antonio with the hubby's childhood friends and their wives. I know another weekend in San Antonio.

Until then..... The Love of Sewing is our Common Thread

 

 

 

Don't be a Hater - I can't help I live in Houston

Wow it's Wednesday and I'm just now finding time to recap my adventure at the Quilt festival last Friday. I know what's new. Now don't be hating just because I got to go to festival. I'm just lucky to live in the Houston area where it's held.

I took a vacation day to go to the Festival with my friend Denise last Friday. She’s the one who got me into this quilting stuff in the first place. See I blame her for being a fabric-aholic and any other bad habit in quilting. 

Denise     Jan       Me



She emailed me and told me that our former co-worker Jan wants to join us. She not a quilter but loves the art of it. Who knows we might bring her over to the dark side of quilting if she hangs out with us enough…. We had so much fun wondering thru the quilts and vendors.

All the color and the designs almost sent our senses into overdrive. All that talent and creativity in one building and I think I’ve recovered now from all the walking and shuffling up and down the aisles at the George R Brown Convention Center. That happens to be A VERY big building! Like 11 blocks big. We arrived @ 9:40am and didn't leave until around 6:20pm and we still hadn’t covered all the vendors. We almost closed the place down. (Hours were 10-7)

And look what I found amongst the quilt exhibits…. Tri Country’s very own Jean Chapman. It kinda cool knowing someone who has a quilt hanging in the show.



Shelly and Barbara

 I saw lots of familiar faces. And would look who I found all the way from Boston. Barbara a former Guild member back in town visiting.
Saw a couple of my friends from the Quilt Bus Tour I took back in July – Bobbi, Sandy and Lonestar Quiltworks shop owner Terri. Then there were some of the vendors I got to know from Tri County Quilt Guild 2010 Quilt show like Hayward the Scissor Guy and Mary Ann Faye from the Fat Quarter Café.

I also had a laugh or two with Cynthia England while she was giving a demo. She had spoken at our Guild and mentioned that her home had something like a 6 car garage and she took over half of it which I found amazing. The garage is off limits around my house but the hubby said if I made the money Cynthia made we might re-negotiate. LOL. No Question about it His garage will be safe.

One face I never saw was my friend Tom Russell who always has a hug for me and vice versa. Talk about talent. He’s been very busy of late.. Being on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, teaching Embellishments and on a Quilting Cruise as a teacher or who knows what.    Jan I think was in awe of the size and the art of quilting going on. I usually had Denise answer all her questions since I feel like I’m still in learning mode and will be that way for the rest of my life. Jan had a lot of good questions too. So glad she got to join us! She’s ready to go on another adventure with Denise and me when we head to LaGrange to check out the Quilt Museum. Whenever that that may be.

After all the quilts we hit the vendors aisles. Oh My. There’s every tool, fabric, stencil and quilty things one could ask for. There’s a get skinny machine, sewing machines, quilting machines, there’s beads, lace, clothing, jewelry, buttons, vintage collectibles… and on and on and on.

Here are a few pictures I took.

My picture doesn't do this one justice. The thread detail was awesome




Three ladies from our Guild man the Quilts of Valor Booth. 

 

Smile Denise

 Can you see the quilted hands? Kinda hard to see in my pictures. In fact I didn't see them at first while standing right in front of the picture. It wasn't until someone standing next to me mentioned it.

"Shelter in the Time of the Storm"

 Toward the end of this post I provide you with my photo link of all the pictures from the show. If you look at the picture on the link the Hands will show up better.

Dang can't see the back of this quilt clearly. The front of this quilt had over 22,000 beads. It was really awesome then she flipped over the quilt. The back of the quilt was just as embellished. Gorgeous.

The little gal in this quilt reminded me of my daughters little pup.











While looking at Quilts with blocks from various guilds I noticed one of the State of Missouri and then I noticed it was a guild from my hometown.
'Trenton, Missouri'

 Here's the whole quilt.

 I used to to dance Flamenco so this quilt of a Flamenco dancer really caught my attention.





This guy was a walking work of art. Someone walked in front of me when I was trying to snap the first picture that showed you his full attire. Very eccentric to say the least.

 To see all the pictures and the quilt titles you can click HERE and it will take you to my Photo link.

So long  Houston Quilt Festival...until next year.

Until Next post…. I love quilting and have plenty of material witnesses