My last of April into May

So after the Mother-Daughter trip it was time to squeeze in things I want to do before I can't for the next 6 months. Like drinking wine and eating. 

Monday (4/25)I I went into Bryan to have an Echo.  And then I went to PT. For dinner we had fried the green tomatoes our neighbor Odis gave us to try. They were in a canned jar. So I rinsed them off and I dipped them in egg, flour, and corn meal and fried them up. And I seasoned them. When he gave them to us it never seemed the right time to cook them but tonight was the night. They were soooo good. Thank you Pam & Odis.

Tuesday (4/26) I went to lunch with my friend Kelli, the other Kennedy. We decided on Texas Steak and Seafood in Caldwell. We both decided on crawfish. It was so good. After lunch we headed to her house when I saw Momma Cat and her new kittens. I couldn't believe that Momma had her kittens in the grass bag off the lawn mower on top of the wood pile. They're so cute. One of the little yellow came out to see me, so I got to pet it but Momma kept a close eye on both of us. The critter I really came to meet was Patsy Cline the pot belly pig. That little devil is fast. At least for now. When the dogs came up she'd roll over so they could nuzzle on her tummy. LOL  She go running off just a snorting and oinking. Too cute.

On Wednesday (4/27) David and I went into Bryan and met Pamela, along with friends Cole and Kaleb for an early Mother's Day dinner.  We went to Casa Rodriguez. Hadn't been there in a while and it was pretty tasty. I do like my Mexican food. It'll be a while before I get to nibble on it again.

Thursday (4/28) we met up with Pam and Kevin J. for a lunch at Napa Flats. The weather was nice enough that we ate outside. They were on their way to Houston to take care of their grandchildren for a couple days. We might have occupied the table for a good hour and half. We always have good conversations.

Like I said this week is about going out to eat before I can't for a while.

Friday (4/29) we met up with our good friends Larry and Sylvia for Catfish at Independence General Store. Larry's son is home from Connecticut and was with them. We had planned on eating catfish but the poor girl who took our order had to come back out and tell us they were sold out. Well shoot. So we had to make new choices. But the company was still great and so was our food of which was hamburgers and I had their nachos. Yum.

Sunday (5/1) was a day of liquid. Now to reveal what's going on. Tomorrow I will start my weight loss/ Life journey. After refusing the suggestion by doctors I finally agreed to have bariatric sleeve surgery. It was a decision I struggled with but I've struggled with my weight for years and now I can't get my knee replaced until I lose quite a bit of weight. So it's time. Originally I wasn't going to say anything but I hope you'll start seeing a change and now you'll know why.

Monday (5/2) at 4:30am we headed to the hospital. Oh I forgot to mention that my doctor and surgeon is in the Woodlands which is 2 hours away.

Got all checked in and dressed in my new fashionable warm gown. The gown had a warmer in it. It was great. And IV in and meds already started. Don't remember much after that. 

 

After the surgery when I woke up I expected pain and nausea but to my surprise I didn't have any except when I had to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. Oh yeah there's the pain. And then it was gone. I had to stay the night since I lived so far so they could monitor me. The length of the stay depends on how you handle pain, nausea or if there's any issue with the 5 incisions. Yep there's 5 cuts. All have healed up nicely. Only the main one on the left side is still semi tender but nothing major. 

Tuesday (5/3) Before I got out of hospital they wanted to give me some more meds through my IV before pulling it out. OUCH Ouch. There's a problem and that hurts. I looked at my hand and realized the IV must have pulled out because all the liquid was just under the skin. .

Phase 1 of the is all clear liquids which included Diet cranberry juice and broth for 4 days. Plus a few other things but I did fine. 

Phase 2 is called full liquids and I got to add protein shakes, cream soups, sugar free jello and pudding and yogurt. Start this on the 5th day through May 17th.

On that day the doctor told me I could start Phase 3. Which is adding 2 oz of pureed food. I'll be on this for 3 weeks. So I've tolerated everything I've had. I'm get a protein shake and 2 meals of 2 oz of pureed whatever.

It was nice getting something that wasn't sweet.

Oh and the doctor tells me to start walking and working towards a mile. mmm Small problem with that.... my knee and then Friday I was running the dust mop through the house when I tipped the heavy bar stool to remove puppy fuzz and the chair slipped and fell directly across my toes. At least it's on the same side as my bad knee.  Looks pretty doesn't it. Bruno decided my blanket is his blanket so I used him as a foot stool. Oh you haven't met Bruno yet.

I have to avoid alcohol, caffeine for next 6 months and straws forever. 

That's it for now. I'll update my Phases as I progress. But now about Bruno.

On May 6th David asked if I'd go see a dog in Caldwell. He's 11 months old, a border collie mix and he needs to be rescued. We've been missing Lilley and it's been lonely without a dog so I went with him to check out Bruno. He's pretty cute and friendly.  Soo who could say No to that face. He came home with us. All 61 lbs.

Bruno got a new collar and I got pretty roses for Mother's Day. Win Win! If you ask me.

Bruno was all excited when we opened the door to go outside. And all the cows and Jerry came running to the fence. They couldn't figure out what he was. He's as big as the calves and he wasn't barking. I didn't get a picture of his and Jerry's interaction but they were nose to nose and Bruno even gave him kisses. His favorite spot in the yard to watch the cows.

Bruno also thinks he's a lap dog.  He tries to be real sneaky. He leans up and puts his head in David's lap then he very slowly brings up one paw at a time. It's really funny.

The weekend of the May 12th we babysat the Bri and Sophie. Well the girls weren't impressed with the big guy but he kept trying to play with them. This is one picture of Bri close to Bruno. 

Of course Bruno would try to push her away from us when she was getting attention. Eventually I hope they become friends. He makes even Bri look small.

I went out and took pictures of my Desert Willow and Roses. This is the fullest my desert willow has been since David planted it.  And my roses are looking good on the eastside of the house.

This is a couple of the roses outside my east window in the sewing room.

  

Shock of Shocks, I'm actually all caught on the events in my our life.  Of course I'm sure I'll come up with something to bore you with in my next blog.

Until then...n  Like quilts, Pets bring joy to our lives

Time for the Mother-Daughter Trip!

So this year for the Mother-Daughter trip I told Pamela I was going to take her to new places that Daddy and I found and a new route to get there.  So Thursday late morning 4/21 we took off towards Belton first. Our first stop was for an early lunch at the Gin on Nolan Creek. . This place has proven to be so good. I got their fish and chips and Pamela got the fish tacos with some kind of mac n cheese.  Pamela was impressed too.

We couldn't pass up their cinnamon roll bread pudding. It was very yummy.

From here we headed to Texas Legato Winery. We were greeted by the winery pups. This is their newest addition Bandit or was it Ranger. He's a party Yorkie. It's really a breed and he is adorable and friendly. 

But of course we were there for the wine. Pamela had to try the Dreamcicle wine that I had told her about and she was like yum but then she moved on to the more dry wines. The owners are super nice and fun.

It was starting to get later than I had planned so we got on the road to San Saba to try another winery and have dinner. We pulled into Wedding Oak Winery. We had tasted their wine before when they came to Rockdale's sip and stroll but now she could try a bigger variety of their wines.  We bought a bottle and sat out on their patio to relax before dinner. 

Have I mentioned how windy it has been. We had to hang on to our glasses and the bottle so they wouldn't blow off the table. The wind was with us for the next 3 days. We didn't finish the bottle so we sealed it up and placed it in the ice chest and headed to dinner.

Dinner was at the Pecan Grill. Our waiter was the best. He was funny and Johnny on the Spot.. When David and I was in San Saba we picked Diggs over Pecan Grill because we wanted steak Totally different atmosphere but both are really good.. Time to head down the road to our hotel in Kerrville.  We made it to our hotel at 9:30 and we were tired.

4/22 Friday we got up and started moving and getting ready. We went to one of my favorite quilt shops but didn't stay long. I just wasn't in the mood. I kept thinking of my little sewing buddy Lilley

We went to lunch at El Sombero. After lunch we headed to our first winery of the day. It's on Hwy 16 heading into Fredericksburg call Santa Marie Cellars. We go by it more than once every time we go to the hill country but they're usually closed. We're either to early or too late. LOL  They have some great wine. We got a glass and sat out back just enjoying the view.

Our next stop was Ron Yates Wines in Hye. Oh my goodness. 

We got there and the fun started. I got a single glass while Pamela did a tasting and another and another...+ The guy goes you drinking with me and as he walked by he'd pour her another glass and another. He asked who was driving and I said me and he goes good cuz she'd about to get drunk.

We met a realtor from Austin with a Tesla. Lots of fun hanging with all the folks in there.

I bought a bottle for David and one for my Physical Therapy guy. He asked if I'd pick one up for him and he'd pay me back. No problem. Got it to him just before his anniversary.

 From here we headed to another new

winery called Signor Winery. You're greeted by this longhorn. He's pretty. We only had a little over an hour to spend there. LOL We spent way to must time hanging at Ron Yates. The wine was good but pricy. Their landscaping was beautiful for sure.           

 

 

 And  She walks away.

Time for food. We hadn't been to Pasta Bella in a couple years so we decided that sounded good. This place isn't overly big but they pack folks in with no problem. I was so tired and my knee kept talking to me.  It wasn't talking nice either. But the food was so yummy. I've been on a shrimp kick so got a shrimp pasta and I forgot what Pamela go.t.  This is how we ended our day with a yummy dinner.

Saturday 4/23, we stay out of the Fredericksburg area because it's so crazy busy. We headed to Comfort, TX  First on the list was food and we decided to try yet another new place called The High Cafe. The menu was a little different for us but Pamela got Crab Cakes and I got Smoked Salmon Crostini's. Another Win. Food was good!

After our yummy lunch we headed to our first winery of the day.  Singing Waters Winery. We go here every year generally. No tastings, just a bottle to drink and hang out and listen to the music.  We hung out here for about and hour and it was time to go to my favorite place. They have music wine and food.

Now for our favorite place to go to hang out for drinks. Hill Country Distillers.   I love the sign they have behind the bar.

 I got the Bloody Marie with Jalapeno moonshine and 5 dashes of Tabasco.  mmmmm Now Pamela may have gotten a Dreamcicle or a Mule with a kick. I don't remember not. Maybe one day I'll make notes. Yeah right. 

While sitting there Pamela saw that my former co-worker Ashley was in town with her new husband so Pamela sent her a message to come join us.. I haven't seen Ashley in 2 years. While waiting for her and Elliot we had a shot for Esme's birthday. We've been coming here for almost 8 years now and always around her birthday. Her son Avery was there too but he got busy. This day Esme actually performed a wedding outside. She was so nervous but she did it.   Ashley and Elliot finally got there. It's been a long time. 

We hung out for a while longer but we needed to leave by 6 to try to get to one more new winery and they decided to come along.  We made it to Augusta Vin and got a table for tastings for everyone but me. I just got a glass of one of the wines This place is really nice and the landscape is nice.  I had when I came with David in March. 

We had to good time talking and tasting wine. They even got Elliot to join the wine club. Elliot was a great guy and Ashley was really happy. I'm happy for her.

We all had dinner reservations at different places. They were headed to a place called Navajo Grill. We haven't been there in a few years but food was really good when we went. Our reservation was at the Cabernet Grill. We've tried to go here for the last couple of years but could never get in but Pamela was on line one night and sent me a message telling me she got us a reservation. Yippee. 

David and I need to go here one time too. The service and the food was great. We hadn't even ordered and they brought this cup of I believe pumpkin soup on the house. It was very tasty..

I ordered a shrimp and corn grits. Oh my so good.  an Pamela got Steak

 We were so full that we actually passed on a dessert but they looked good too.

They had a cool Texas sign made out of wine corks. That's a lot of corks. Cool

 And another good day and night.

      

 Sunday 4/24, is our last day.. Today we headed to Cafe at the Ridge for an early lunch.. Never disappointed in the food here. I got the chicken salad sandwich with sweet potato fries and Pamela got the green BLT.  

The was fried green tomatoes. So much food but oh so good.

We had planned on making 2 stops on our way out of town. First was Barron's Creek but they were closed for a private event. Oh well and the 2nd was El Rey Chocolate on 290 in Stonewall. You got free tastings of chocolate and they were good. Of course we bought some to bring home.

Our last stop of our trip was at Flat Creek Winery outside of Marble Falls. Actually it was real close to Austin. Like maybe 10 miles.

We had stopped last year and did a tasting and thought we'd try them again. When we walked into the tasting building I about turned around when I saw all the stairs. Thank God there was an elevator. My knew was giving me fits and those stairs would have killed it.

While here we met some really nice people including the lady that worked there. We were late leaving here. I was waiting for the lady to say time to close out your tabs at 6 but instead she called out at 7pm. Oh poop. That makes us later than I wanted to be to get home. I looked at the lady and said you're here an hour after closing. She said we were all having fun so what the heck. Well for me the heck was I was gonna be late and I had to call David.

         

          

Great trip. And lots of fun. Until next year...

Until next blog post... Every mother-daughter should make time for a trip. It's good for the soul.