2019 is out and 2020 is here

Yesterday Dec 21st was the anniversary date of my retirement from Cypress Fairbanks ISD. Wow. I didn't even think about it that day. I was more concerned feeding the family. A whole year has gone by. And on the 22nd the day we were celebrating David was our 1 year anniversary at the Rock'n K. Doesn't seem possible. Loving every minute of it but I'll be glad when David actually retires so we can explore the area around us more.

David is a Christmas Baby so Pamela I have decided that we want To give him a day that's all about him. So Sunday after the family Christmas Dinner we took him to the New Cooper's BBQ in College Station for lunch to start. Holy cow, we ate way to much. It was really good though. When you walk up you pick the meat you want off the grill. I got a big ole pork chop put on potato. Pamela got brisket with sides and David got ribs and a pork chop with sides. Meat was juicy and tender.  That was a good start for the day.

Then he asked if we could go to the Farm Patch. He'd read about it on the Brazos Valley Page or Bryan maybe. Of course we could go. The day was his to choose. Farm Patch is like a small Vegetable stand with plants, jellies, sauces, fruit and of course vegetables. It was a neat little place to go on Texas Ave. in Bryan. 

 
 And they had a cool red farm truck. Perfect to take pictures of and by.

The New Republic Brewery in S. College Station was next. We picked this place since he likes beer and had never been there. It was a bright sunshiny day but was a little chilly out but that's okay we still had fun. We tried several samples of the beer until we found one we wanted to have a glass of.  We want to go back when the weather is a little warmer, they have music and food trucks.
We hung out for quite awhile just talking and Laughing. Just fun relaxing day.

On to the next stop which was in Northgate across from the A&M campus. The Dixie Chicken est in 1974.  The name came from an album of the same name by a band called Little Feat. It became the local hangout for people Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovitt and many others since then. That was only my second visit to the Dixie Chicken. First time was with our good friends Pam and Kevin Jackson. It's where they first met and the rest is history.  
To celebrate David beers we ordered. We sat there long enough that we decided to grab a bite to eat. David ate their famous Death Burger. It's not on the menu but they still serve it.  I think he might have enjoyed himself and the best part.... He relaxed.

It was time to head home. All the fur babies were probably wondering where we were and where their supper was.


I had planned on sharing pictures of the fur babies after their spa day but instead I'll share the pictures of our spoiled babies visit with Santa at Top Paw Dog Spa. Sophie and Bri were up first. The told Santa they wanted cookies and toys.  Where'd Santa go? LOL All that fur he was hidden behind them

Then we added Lilley. She had told Santa she wanted lots of cookies and maybe a toy or two.

It was such a nice thing for Top Paw to do for it's furry and furless clients.














They are so stinking cute and poor Santa. He was good natured and kind to all the fur babies.










With all the changes to when we celebrate we decided to open our presents on Christmas Eve.
No problem for Pamela or the Me, we were ready to open presents. David was only semi ready. LOL  This doesn't happen often but something on TV caught his attention.

We waited on him.  Not,,,It takes so long to shop for everything and wrap or bag it but it only takes 10 minutes or so it seems to unwrap. Santa was good to us all. We all got some new clothes.  After this year I think Santa will have to find me more quilting stuff or crafts because my closet is full. Maybe I need to clean out the old clothing and donate. I guess I dress nice to go feed Jerry and the cows. LOL

Christmas Day arrived and it was David's birthday and became a year older.  For his birthday we're having my parents up for lunch.  Lilley decided Poppy / Joe was her favorite person and curled up next to him on the couch.

Didn't hurt Joe's feelings.


Bri was hoping Mimi/ Mom would drop a crumb on the floor for her to gobble up. Bri was gentle with my mom.

 And Sophie hung out close to her Mommy (Pam) Laying behind the stool Pam was on.






Pam and her Mimi waiting for me to finish up lunch. They were getting hungry.  It was kind of a hard day because for the first time since Mom started having memory issues today she didn't realize who Pam & I were to her.  

We took Mom outside to go pet and feed Jerry. Jerry didn't waste any time coming to the fence for some lovin and carrots.

Pamela had a hard time opening her eyes with the sun shining directly at her but I love the pictures anyway.  

And this is Lola. She crossed over the Rainbow Bridge a week ago into Doggie Heaven. I know Mom and Joe are gonna miss her. She was such a sweetie.
After Mom and Joe left we took a couple pictures on the front porch to end Christmas Day.  Pamela had to head home because she had to work the next day. Another great day family.

Okay it's the small things that can amuse me.  We had TBone processed and the 1# hamburger packages are cute. Don't ask me but the little red and white checked pattern are cute. What can I say. LOL

 Okay moving on. David and I decided to take a break from the farm and go explore. There a country store called Circle X that we wanted to go check out So we did. They had some vehicles parked out front that looked photo worthy especially trucks and tractors.

 David found a 1956 red Massey tractor for me but the owners sold it right before he contacted them. Butttt
 Seeing the Ford tractor all painted maroon and Texas A&M on it gave him an idea.  He can find plenty of old tractors so he's thinking he'll buy one and paint it Aggie Maroon.  Works for me.
 In the store we found clothing and lots of Christmas decor for sale and some dishes. We walked out with a new red serving bowl, an ornament and something else but I'll be darn if I remember what. We left here

While meandering around the back roads we found the coal mining pit near Bremond. It was something to see. The cranes were huge and the pit was wow huge.

We had fun running the roads. Even ended up at the Green House Sausage general store and restaurant. We stopped for a bite of lunch and it was quite tasty. Before we left we bought a pound of bacon, 2 links of sausage, some different kinds of rub and sauces. Oh I can't forget their kolaches. Oh yum. David got a cherry one and I got cream cheese. Warm and oh so tasty. Headed home after that.

Before we knew it the days passed and it was New Years Eve. It was time for our long time college and sorority friends to come help bring in the new year. Unfortunately Tim and Gigi could make it so we told them we'd be sure to talk about them. LOL  Who knew back in our college days that any of us would buy property and live in the country. Mark and Kathy were the first and have really immersed themselves into the country life. They have chickens and  eggs and veggies.

Sheryl and Ross were 2nd to move to the country. They have cows, donkeys and chickens.
Well the chickens are raised as broilers. They haven't sold any but they did give us one to try.  Really tasty. When it says it's a 5# bird it is a 5# pound. No water fillers.
The bird was big and juicy when cooked.

And now look at us. Small town life is great. It is a culture shock. It'll take us more than 5 minutes to run to the grocery store for something we forgot but the traffic is a breeze.
We don't have chain after chain of restaurants to choose from but with a 40 minute drive from the Rock'n K to Bryan-College Station we have some nice places to choose from.
Cows and Donkey's have been our entertainment lately. LOL 
We offered a bed to everyone so they didn't have to drink and drive. Mark and Kathy took the offer but Ross and Sheryl headed up the road to their homestead.
They rest of us actually stayed up to see the ball fall. I think that's a first for David and I for a couple of years. 

I was ready for my New Year Kiss and 20 seconds before the ball drops David runs to the bathroom...

Great timing dear. LOL

New Years Day I cooked us some breakfast and we just sat around and talked. Of course the subject kept coming back to farm stuff but that's okay.

It was a great evening and morning.  I think it might have been a rough long night for Lilley.  LOL  She crashed out on the floor and ignored us.
So HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE....

What shall 2020 bring? Did you make any resolutions?

Until my next blog.....n  Make the SCRAPS in your life beautiful.

Wine Wine Wine and Holidays

We got home from the Hill Country in my last post and the week was spent catching up around the house while David went back to Houston to work. I had work of my own to catch up on since I had been gone a couple of days. But then here comes the following weekend for more fun. Rockdale a small town nearby was having the Whistle Stop Wine Tour and Tree Lighting. We had all planned on going but Friday David decided that Pam and I should go ahead and do the wine tour and he'd come up later for Dinner and the Tree Lighting with some of the music.

The wine tour started at the Whistle Stop Depot with wine, appetizers and music. The day began a little chilly and windy.
Our first stop after we left the depot was the Rainbow Courts. Voted #1 place to stay by TripAdvisors choice for the past 4 years. I need to think of a reason to come stay here. It's been family owned since 1918. They have made sure to every detail from comfort and beauty in and out.  They even host weddings. They had two wineries set up in the Garden Room.   Isn't it pretty?
The wines were good too. We bought a bottle from each. Go figure...

 Landscaping was pretty .  

There were 8 wineries spread out about town and we hit them all. They were all on our personal list to try. This made it a lot easier.
Rohan Meadery, Kissing Tree, Legato, Colorado River, Blue Duck, Blue Mule,  Cast Iron, and Fatsolush Winery.
I had been planning on stopping at the Antique Queens prior but now it had a winery stationed there so even better.  Other wineries were stationed at Buck Wild Designs a cute boutique, Tisk a Tasket Florist and Charming Blossoms & Boutique. What a great way to spot light some of the shops in Rockdale.  The wine tour was a success for us.
David finally got there and we got some BBQ from a Brett's BBQ tent. Brett's BBQ is good no matter what you pick. If you have a reason to be in Rockdale you should stop by his place on Hwy 79 just past downtown.  Yum.
David found the beer booth and we had our dinner and listened to some music by the Rockdale band, a couple called the Treble Soul (we enjoyed) and it was getting too cold for me so we missed the head liner Austen Giorgio. He was a 2018 Voice Contestant on Blake's team.

He has a nice voice and I really hate that we missed him. Pam stayed long enough to see the Tree Lighting but she had to head home to prepare for work the next day.

Nice day and evening.

This Thanksgiving we headed to David's sister Glenda's house back in Cypress. She and Thomas had some appetizers set up and food was close to being ready.  I was bad and didn't take many pictures. I'm losing it. Pamela wasn't able to join us since it was her holiday to work this year.  Plus David's brother Gary and all his family weren't able to join this time.
My nephew Phillip is ready to eat. LOL. Thomas is diving in to all of the good stuff. He fried the turkey. Glenda and Thomas did a great job of feeding everyone.   And that's how November ended... Good Food and Family.

To start off December my adoptive niece as I have started calling Hannah came down from Kansas with her boyfriend Phil to go to a wedding in Navasota and stayed with Pamela. They came in on Thursday and I went into Bryan to see them on Friday. The girls had it all planned that we would go together to get a tattoo Friday afternoon. And yes me too. My first small tattoo came out okay with very little pain. It was a small wine glass with wine splashing out on my left wrist.  It's only 1 1/4" tall.
This time we all went with something a little bigger. Hannah got an
arrowhead with some flowers around it on her right side with some flowers to honor her late Dad. They used to go arrowhead hunting when she was growing up.
I got this pic of her while it was happening. She was hiding her face so I couldn't see her grimace. The side is a tender place to get a tattoo. It came out great.
It looks really cool in person. Thanks Hannah for sharing the picture. And Thanks to Shelly helping her take the picture.



Pamela got a hummingbird in a hibiscus flower on her left shoulder. We love hummingbirds. And I got a vintage sewing machine with sunflowers on my right shoulder. I love to sew and sunflowers and found some sample tattoo's with both and the tattoo artist Scott transformed it into this. Love it. He's good. He also did Pamela's. Cliff the owner of Arsenal did Hannah's tattoo and came up with her final design for the arrowhead and did an awesome job.  Everyone in the shop was really nice. They made sure we were doing okay and asked if we needed anything several times.
We went to Arsenal Tattoo and Design in Bryan. Several people recommended the place to Pamela and now we will too.

David never took time to look at it until about 2 days later when he saw it above the collar of the shirt I was wearing. So I showed him and he goes "Holy Shit that's big".  LOL. He knew I was getting it and of what but he didn't think about how big it was going to be.
It actually didn't hurt.  I could feel the scratching as he added the color and some of the shading but it didn't really hurt. I guess there were a few times that the shading and coloring made me wince a bit but it was brief.  If you'd asked me before if I'd ever get a tattoo and I would have said 'hell no' but I guess at the age of 63 I've lost my mind or got daring and went for it. Now will I get more.... maybe. Pamela wants me to get a Mother-Daughter one like a small bouquet of wildflowers that match. Not big. She and I go every year in the spring to the hill country to enjoy the wildflowers and yes the wine too. So maybe. Don't have too many places that I'm willing to have tattooed so there won't be many more. Maybe 1-2 and that will be plenty enough for me I think.  Then I could get a tattoo of Jerry our donkey that charms everyone that visits. LOL, NO.
Saturday 12/7 they all came up to the farm. David showed Phil around and told him all about cows and the farm. Hannah got to feed and hang with Jerry. Of Course Jerry.

 
Hannah and Jerry have a special relationship. LOL
Too cute.



And Jerry photo bombed the girls picture. Too funny.




   He's waiting for more attention.  How can you ignore those big brown eyes.

They had to leave after an hour or so, so Phil and Hannah could go get ready for a wedding in Navasota. About 30 miles south of Pam's place.

On Sunday I joined then in going to some wineries around Brenham along with a couple friends of Phil and Hannah's also from Kansas. We hit Windy Hill, Texas Star and Saddlehorn. I do believe they enjoyed themselves. I had to head home and they went to a brewery back in Bryan and to dinner at Cooper's BBQ. Pammy was a sweetheart and bought some for her Dad knowing he had been wanting to try it.

Monday morning they all got up and Pamela drove them back to the airport in Austin. About an hour away. And off they flew.

I had bought some red truck pillows a couple of Christmas's ago and threw on the couch. They are really cute. What I didn't realize at the time was they light up.  Didn't use them last year since they were packed up for our move to the Rock'n K a couple days before Christmas but this year when I was putting them on the couch I notice something hard in the pillow so when I undid the zipper I saw a plastic box that held 3 batteries. I put in the batteries and flipped the switch and my pillows started blinking. Wow!
Too cool Right?



Ralph the Elf hung out on the liquor cabinet. Especially on the bottle of Warrior Whiskey. He may have a drinking problem. Dang the bottle is empty.

It was time to get the tree decorated. I put out what little Christmas decor I had and the tree was still naked.  Had to get busy because Christmas and other events were coming up.




Friday the 13th our good friends Larry and Sylvia invited us to dinner as Casa Do Brasil to celebrate their daughter's Texas A&M graduation.  WHOOP!

Next Stop for Gabby is VET School. Wishing her the best. It was an honor to be included in the family celebration.
The proud Parents had big smiles all evening.
    
 The proud parents.

This is the most I've seen David laugh when someone is taking his picture. One the best pictures of him. I can't remember what he and Larry were up too.

Then the next day our niece Kendall graduated from the U of H.

 With her proud parents. Gary (David's brother) and his wife Lynn.  Next step is a job.  Good Luck to Kendall..

 She's already got a couple interviews lined up. Good for her.

That same evening back in Kansas Phil, Hannah's boyfriend was about to surprise Hannah big time. After dinner ................   Her boyfriend Phil popped the question and Hannah said 'Yes'.  So Happy for her and Phil.

It was time to grocery shop and start cooking because on the 21st of December we were having an early Christmas with David's family. Trying to make it easy for the kids and they're extended families these days.  Pre-Cooked the dressing and my Lemon Ice Box Pies. Kennedy Favorite. All the kids would fight over Nanny's (David's mom) fudge and lemon ice box pies.
Already laid out the plates, napkins and silverware.
I was trying to make it less stressful but then I counted how many people we'd be feeding. OH MY 14 plus 2 babies. We were missing Phillip since he'd had a minor surgery the day before and Shelby's significant other had to work. Bummer.


On Saturday the 21st we volunteered David's brother Gary to do the carving of the turkey. He's good. There was just a skeleton left.
 We were all getting hungry while these three stood over the turkey as Gary cut talking and snacking. LOL
"Hey Guys: Can we have some too?"


After dinner it was time to play with Jerry and Cows.

Jerry is very interested in Alyssa and Kevin. LOL
  
 My sister-in-law Lynn with her youngest grandson Oliver. He's dressed like his cousin Wyatt. They're so cute. They were really good.


 This little stinker, Oliver was passed around and he was quite content. Even Uncle David hung on to him for a while. My youngest niece's boyfriend Christian even took a turn.

 Along our Nephew Kevin

 & His Mom, Glenda (David's sister) with our niece Kendall
Alyssa drove back to Houston from a wedding in Mississippi so she could come up with our her boyfriend (our nephew) for our Christmas dinner.  We're glad she did.
             
 She's a farm girl at heart I do believe. Look at her feed Daisy aka Crazy Bitch. Daisey earned that name and at the time. She was crazy and we didn't know her name at the time but once she had her calf we decided to give Daisy some respect.  Alyssa handled her just fine.
 Even Shelby (niece) and Oliver was out feeding the cows some cow crack.









Shelby and Oliver enjoyed Jerry's company and then Jordan and Wyatt got Jerry's attention too. Jerry was the center of attention and he was happy.

And then everyone was gone.... Jerry's like come back, come back

Sorry the blog is on Photo overload of our holiday

Oliver is not Happy. 😔 "Wyatt is like why is he crying.   Poor guy I'm fine."

 "I didn't do it.... LOL"












Thomas took a family selfie.  It was wonderful surrounded by family.  We missed Phillip (nephew) who was at home recovering from a minor surgery and Shelby's significant other, George who had to work. We sent them each a care package, a plate of food.

December is almost over. I'm about to catch up soon enough.

Until then....Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.  Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~ Jane Howard