We saved some wine, It was trapped in a bottle(s)

Okay so it's Saturday (4/13) and today we won't just be saving wine. On Saturday's when Fredericksburg is full of tours and people we stay on the Kerrville side of I-10 to miss most of the crowds well usually.
We woke up and moved slowly waiting for the rain to clear out and then headed to one of my favorite places in Kerrville.... Creations the quilt shop.  Pamela allows me this interruption of wine fun because she tends to benefit sometimes. Like her whole guest room. LOL
There is sew much eye candy and soft furry fabrics to touch and fun stuff/quilts to make. There's just not enough time for all the quilts I see to make.
This is a pattern I wouldn't mind trying one day. Right now I need to get busy on the ones I have started and the ones I need to start and finish.
But instead I was satisfied with buying a couple of bluebonnet fabrics to incorporate into a quilt my one of my quest rooms that I call the Texas Room. I hope to start that quilt in maybe June the latest.
I also found a quilt panel with a red truck. Pamela actually found it and said I should get it for the Texas Room. It didn't take much coasting.  I have some ideas on how I'll finish it off but I'll have audition the ideas with Pamela's help.
After our shopping trip we went to lunch at Cafe on the Ridge. A place David and I found by accident when looking for land a couple of years back.  Great food and after you eat you can go wander the grounds and plant nursery but like last year the weather had turned off cloudy and chilly but this time we were prepared and brought our jackets.  But didn't care to wander around in the cold, the wind, or the sprinkles.

So we drove back down the road to Kerrville and made out next stop at The James Avery Family own Shop/Head Quarters.  It's dangerous in there. Too many pretty charms, rings, etc. Pamela has her eye on this little ring.

I have the smaller version of it that I wear on my pinkie sometimes.
Everyone in the shop is very friendly and helpful. Of course they're helpful they want you to buy something.

I walked out with nothing. Whew! It was tough. Maybe next year.



After spending some time here we headed to our next location. We could hear the wine calling from Comfort, TX about a 30 minute drive away.
We stopped at Bending Branch another winery with great views and the wine ain't bad either. This is David's favorite winery. We did have a glass on the patio and listened to music. They had blankets ready for anyone who wanted one. That wind was a little nippy sitting outside. I accepted the blanket quickly when offered. Wine wasn't warming me up enough. LOL Pamela discarded her jacket, I didn't
for the picture on there deck patio. As you can tell by out hair the wind was blowing.
 After we left Bending Branch we headed for Singing Waters. Only when we getting close we saw bunches of cars. More cars than we'd ever seen there. They were having an event so we decided to pass this year but that's okay because we decided to drive to a new winery that finally opened up it's tasting room.

 The sommelier from Bending Branch that we really liked went to 1851 Vineyards to help plant vines and start it up so we were hoping to catch up with her this year... Well darn she had moved on to another vineyard. Oh well we took time to taste the wine and I actually found some I liked. I didn't think I would because they tend to be on the more dry side that my taste buds just haven't acquired yet.

Hopefully I can get David by there when we go in June.

Speaking of David. He's at home with no electricity and 3 dogs and nasty weather. This tornado was just miles down the road. Someone by last name of Hodges took this picture in Mumford, Texas and not much further away another tornado devastated the small town of Franklin. That's where our builders dad lived. Come to find out the whole family was there working when the tornado came through.
They were very lucky and didn't suffer any injuries and the house was spared. Unlike some areas. That's a lot going on while we were gone.  David lost power he said early morning Saturday and didn't come back until Sunday at 2am.

All very scary and sad.




After getting all the news updates from David and Pamela started getting news from friends who live in the area of Franklin we headed to The Hill Country Distillery in Comfort. It was pretty crowded but we found a parking place. They had food trucks and music outside but it was too chilly for my blood so we went inside and was greeted by James the owner who was doing tastings for the newbies.  We already knew what we wanted. My first drink of choice was a bloody shiner aka bloody Mary but made with Jalapeno moonshine and Pamela got a Signature Mule with a kick. The girls behind bar were celebrating their birthday's. They were sisters. They even shared a birthday shot with us. They remembered us from last year and before. Had a really good time there. We decided to have another drink where I got the Bushwhacker which is like a Mudslide but better and Pamela got a Key Lime Pie. It tasted like Key Lime Pie too.  While there this guy came up to the bar and was giving the girls a bad time and teasing with them. We started laughing because he was feeling no pain and cracking some funny comments.

Come to find out he was a doctor in a hospital in Fredericksburg and San Antonio. He kept us entertained each time he came inside to order drinks.  Pamela had me strike a pose like she did last year with my last drink of the evening.

It was getting time to get some food and I sure didn't want to get drunk on these roads. Wait I was driving down I-10 back to Kerrville. NO NO I don't want to drive drunk on any roads. When we got
 back to Kerrville the idea was to go to this Pizza place called the Pint and Plow but all the sitting was outside and that didn't sound like fun so we stopped at this place called Sera Bella Italian Food. It wasn't bad.

Our trip was almost over.
When we get up Sunday we take off down the twisty winding Hwy 16. Motorcycles love this road.
We were head to the Apple store in Medina. But before we get there we found the perfect spot to stop and take some pictures by a section of the Medina River. 

Found this little guy resting and getting drink of pretty water.The water was running swiftly and the sound was soothing.  Someone even had a tire swing hung over the water on the other side of the bridge but the water didn't look deep enough but it could be deceiving.

After our picture taking we headed on down to the Apple Store where we bought apple turnovers to bring home and share with David. They're really tasty. Plenty of cinnamon and apples. Then we drive back down Hwy 16 all the way back to Fredericksburg.

We do stop for one more selfie.  It doesn't do the view any justice because you could see forever. The weather today was great unlike yesterday that was cloudy and chilly.
We didn't take time for breakfast so by the time we got into Fredericksburg it was lunch time and surprise there was front row parking at the Sunrise Cafe. The parking lot is so small but they still have a crowd.  They added a cover over the outside area this year. David and I sat out there last year and the tree didn't provide any protection from the sun so this cover should make a big difference.
We normally stop at the Wildseed Farm for some pictures in the Poppies and bluebonnets we decided to forgo because Pamela needed to stop by Fat Ass Winery to pick up another T Shirt for another nurse friend. She needs to charge them a personal shopper fee. LOL

Our last stop before getting home was at one of her former nurse co-workers. Her husbands job moved them from College Station to Llano and Pamela had a birthday present for her. Bet you can guess on of the items in the bag. Yep it was wine. LOL
From there we had a 48 minute drive to a town about 15 miles from the Rock'n K. I texted David and told him what time we'd be in Rockdale if he wanted to meet at Julio's for supper.
He thought that sounded like a deal.
After dinner we headed to the Rock'n K where Pamela moved her stuff from my car to her's and grabbed her 2 pups Sophie and Brianna and headed another 30 minutes down the road to her house.
I unloaded my stuff and went inside to prep food for David to take with him when he left for work on Monday morning for the week.
Then I sat down on the couch and visited with him for a while.

Another great Mother-Daughter trip is done. Now it's back my life at the Rock'n K a some contract work I've signed up for.

Until next blog....

Oh Look it's Wine o'Clock

Minor correction from my last post... My sister (the proud Grandma) reminded me that my newest great nephew lives in Kansas with his Mom and Dad not in Missouri.  I knew that. I was just testing to see if she was reading. LOL  Is he a cutie? Tate looks a lot like momma but I see daddy in there too.









Last Wednesday I had a visitor! My former co-worker and friend Samara. I had to work for a bit so

she had to entertain herself and I knew where she would head first.  LOL Jerry of course.

Jerry came right up to the fence to get her attention. She was able to pet and talk to him. No treats even.  Once I finished up some things I needed to do I went out to give Jerry some attention too and then we went to lunch at Madden's Casual Gourmet back in Bryan. Pamela and I really like this place.

After lunch she still had some time to kill so I drug her to the grocery store with me. I mean I really know how to entertain my visitors. LOL So glad she came up to see me.  Other than doctor appointments and grocery store visits I don't tend to leave the farm. I'm content doing so.


Upon arrival back home I caught this picture of our new calf and posted it on FB saying "Okay this doesn’t seem like a good place to be. If you know what I mean"
I know/understand she's hungry but standing behind the Momma and reaching between her legs could get a little messy.  I got several interesting comments..like.. "Could name her Cow Patty" or "Could be a crappy situation"  LOL I love it.

Happy ending was she stayed clean.






So the fun began on Thursday (4/11)  but first things first. The girls need a good bye treat and extra hugs.

They were so cute all sitting pretty waiting for that special little Scooby snack. They know how to be good sometimes.
Pamela always takes her selfie before we take off. She's kinda cute too but then I'm prejudice.
 About 45 miles into the trip I have 3 sensor lights pop up on my dashboard. Not good!.  But with a little bit of delay not knowing whether my car was good to go or not. Dang car had 3 sensor lights pop up as we drove down the road. But after a couple of phone calls to David we determined I should be okay to continue mine and Pamela's Girls weekend trip to the Hill Country.
Since I live closer to her  now we decided we'd try a different route and make new stops. One stop was supposed to be Deep Eddy's Vodka only I managed to pass it up and decided it wasn't worth turning around. In prior years we'd make a stop at a quilt shop in Dripping Springs called Val & Kim's but unfortunately they closed last year. Sad. So down the road we drove on to Bell Springs Winery to make our 1st Stop.

They are located down a hilly, winding road. The property is really pretty and makes for nice outdoor sitting if the weather is right. And today was sunny and just right outside. We had our first glass or two of wine for our trip leisurely and just enjoyed the surroundings.
This is an annual trip we take for Mother-Daughter Time. We drink wine, moonshine, enjoy the views and landscape, find good food, give each other a bad time and just have fun.
From here we went to the other side of 290 in Driftwood to check out Driftwood Estates Winery.  Pamela went there with some of her friends and wanted me to try it so we did. We sat outside and the views were just awesome. Miles and miles of greenery. Our photos don't do it justice.  See that stone wall .... you don't want to trip over it. It's got very little slope it more of an almost straight down. But it's purdy.

Pamela got comfy

Instead of going 8 mile back to 290 we headed toward Wimberly and took some back roads and ended up going past Luckenbach up to 290. It was a really pretty drive.

We stopped in Fredericksburg for dinner at Mamasita's. No drinks just food.
Then we headed to Kerrville to our hotel.




We walk up Friday (4/12) for another day of adventure and exploring. We go to Fredericksburg on Friday while most people are still at work and the wineries aren't overly crowded. We take a leisurely drive back to Fredericksburg admiring the wildflowers and the sights and stop for Lunch at the Peach Tree Tea Room on 16 in town.  Thanks to a friend who mentioned the place on her face book page we started going here. Thanks Pam B.
Food is always good and there's plenty to eat. Service is good too.

I got the Quiche, salad and a piece of garlic bread.  I forgot to take a picture before I took a few bites. Oops.

Everything was so darn good I couldn't wait to dive in and eat.




Then we went to Barons Creek Winery. Most of their wines are to dry for me but I found a couple I liked and would drink. I think David would really like this place. We'll see if I can get him there on one of our trips to Fredericksburg.

Then we drove to the Blue Lotus Winery, then Horn Winery-Distillery-Brewery. We tried their whiskey, rum and vodka . I think that's it.  They haven't started mixing drinks yet but they're working on a menu.  Spent quite a bit of time here while Pamela and our server talked. Next we stopped at Fat Ass Winery where we got wine swirl slushy's. Yum.  

Pamela pulled out a list on her phone with wine orders from her nursing friends so she walked out with several bottles of wine and T shirts.    Our last stop of the day was Fiesta Winery where we picked up our wine club box of wine and sat down outside to enjoy a free glass of wine. Privilege of being a member in most clubs.  With all those stops I was ready to call it a day besides the fact it was almost closing time for all the wineries....   We decided to that we'd head to Alamo Springs Cafe for dinner. Going the way we went this time didn't seem like the place was in the middle of no where. The first we went from Comfort and thought Siri navigation was taking us out into the middle of nowhere and dumping us. LOL  This year we got there in the day light and left at dusk. We also got smart and shared a hamburger and onion rings. You get a lot for the money and we knew we couldn't each each a whole order.  This is a whole order and we split it. Oh and Pamela ordered us grilled garlic. We still didn't finish the whole shared meal. But it was damn good.  

After dinner we headed back to the hotel.  I know it's sad but we were back to the hotel each evening by 8:45 or 9. We couldn't handle no more. LOL What can I say.  Between the alcohol, the food, the sun and the driving we were ready to stretch out and watch a little TV and fall asleep.  Besides we had to get up Saturday morning and start all over again.

I'm going to save the rest of our trip adventures for the next post.  

Until next post.... We almost never met a wine we didn't like.

Farm Life is ... ..

So that last day of retreat I got a another new great nephew. His name is Tate and he lives in Missouri. His Dad, Tyler and His Mom Andrea are just a little bit in love with the little guy. I can't understand why. Just kidding he is a cutie.
 

Pamela has accepted a PRN position at one of the hospitals in the Woodlands. She only has to work 1 day a week if needed. But primary job is at Scott & White in College Station. So she had to go have blood work done on March 18th and asked if I'd want to keep her company and ride down to Houston. I said sure. So I drove down to Bryan to her house that morning with Lilley in tow and rode down to Houston with her. On our way back we took a slight detour and passed up our turn off to go back home. OOPS. Instead we drove just outside Brenham to

Saddlehorn Winery.  LOL. We might of had a couple of glasses of wine and hung out in the sunshine enjoying the afternoon.  It was a fun and relaxing day. Pamela felt we needed to go there now since when we leave for our annual Mother-Daughter trip we'll be taking a new route since neither of us live near our usual route.

It was just late enough when we got back that I decided Lilley and I would stay the night. The girls must have played hard.   Our little pillow princess Sophie found a spot resting against a pillow of course.
Then Brianna and Lilley curled up next to Pammy on the couch while we watched a movie.

Brianna found a pillow and Lilley used Pamela as her pillow.

LOL

Next morning Lilley and I got up when Pamela left for meetings at the hospital.
It was such a pretty day that we sat outside for a while.
Another enjoyable day.
On March 24th they started grading the yard and adding soil to it. YAY. We've been waiting for things to dry out so the could do all this work. It looks so different. We've since put out rye grass for the time being until it starts getting hot. Then the rye grass will die and hopefully the buffalo grass that our friend Kathy H. suggested will take over. It's a drought tolerate type grass. The rye grass is coming up nicely. We had our first hummingbird. It was very flighty and didn't sit or hover long enough to take a picture.

I had been working in my sewing room and had a quilt top hanging off my cutting table when the pups started playing. The running and chasing each other and Sophie ran under my cutting table and caught the quilt top and pulled it down on herself.  It was too funny. She just kinda wandered around like a ghost. Poor baby. The girls weren't sure about Sophie disappearing under the quilt top.


Jerry now comes up to the fence every time I walk by. This day I was taking the trash can out to the road.


He now likes it when I rub his velvety nose and rub his jawline. He starts leaning his head into my hand as I rub his jaw.

We had to have a little talk this day. For two days he has attacked one of our cows.  He kept pushy her down and holding her by the neck.  He was being a .... a Jack Ass for real. No clue why but the last time he didn't want to let go and I was heading out to the pasture but my neighbor to the East jumped the fence and broke it up. I told him that that was not  acceptable. So far so good. Now he is very lovable to the newest calves.  They lay close to him whenever they can. I caught him nuzzling them one day and they him.
On the 30th of March David and I spent some quality time together. There hasn't been us time since we moved to the Rock'n K because there's always something to.

As we left the house David pulled up out front where a patch of Indian Paint brushes popped up.

This particular week there was a Benefit for our neighbor who was seriously injured in an accident that almost caused him to lose his legs and even worse it almost killed him. We went to support our neighbor. We had BBQ and had a couple beers and talked with other folks who were there.  Got to meet some of our other neighbors.

After a couple of hours we left and went to a grand opening of a new brewery in Taylor. It was built in an old school building. How crazy is that. A school turns into a brewery. We hung to listen to music and had a couple beers.  This brewery I think knew that David was coming and named it after him. LOL

From the Loose Screw we went to the Texas Beer Co and we grabbed a beer.

And then we hit a Mexican food restaurant. Didn't know anything about it but there were plenty of cars there so that was a good sign.

El Corral Lozano was really good. I'll definitely go back.

The yard is now graded, rye grass planted until we plant grass that will last longer like Buffalo grass. Thanks for the recommendation Kathy H. And they have delivered and spread some road base for the driveway and parking areas. The yard looks so different even if it is mostly sand and dirt with very little grass popping up.

Friday April 5th at 7:30 David got a call and I got a text saying on of our calves was on the road. We went out and tried to get that calf in for over 3 hours. Stupid thing ended up on our neighbors property and going to far back of it and we couldn't get to it. Then we would get it as far as the driveway but of course could go across the cattle guard so we were trying to get through the open gate just past the driveway.  David decided to give up for a while and go get some supplies in town and I had to go to work. Yep I said work. A couple of my former bosses offered me a part-time contract job. I get to work from home. Now if I can just get the process and details down.  So when my conference was over I looked out the front window and saw the calf had come back to the edge near the driveway so I decided I'd try to get it in by myself. After about 30 minutes I was able to get by the calf and get behind it to shoo it towards the open gate. It ran right past the gate. Awesome.
The guys had just finished delivering the road base and was pulling out of the driveway when they stopped and asked if I needed help. The guys were awesome. One of the guys jumped the fence so he could get around the calf and shoo'd it back toward me and finally the calf went through the open gate.  Geez.
Farm life breaking up donkey attacking a cow and now chasing a calf to get it back to the pasture.

It's weird not seeing any cows or Jerry in the back pasture. But I can see them generally out my sewing room window. David moved them to the front pasture to give the back pasture a break and get the grass growing again. The cows mowed it down pretty good. They were excited to get some new fresh grass. When I videoed the
yard the sun was out but it didn't last long

It started pouring and then the hail came. Later that evening when David came in from the barn we were hungry so we decided to go grab a bite to eat in Rockdale thinking the rain was over for a while but we got a big surprise. Rockdale is about 12 miles down the road and just at the edge of town it not only started raining really hard and then the hail started again. It was crazy.
We ended up getting about 3 3/4" of rain.
Things are still really wet still.

Sunday the 7th it was pouring rain yet again and we got Surprise #5. We woke and David calls me into my sewing room to ask me what the brown pile was.... Looked like a pile of poop. NOPE. It was a new calf. The storks just keep dropping calves. LOL It hadn't even started walking. It was just born. 
David put on his boots and walked out to make sure the calf was okay and as he walked up to the calf it jumped up all wobbly. So little and cute. 




As he walked out Jerry followed him like a puppy but as he got closer to the calf Jerry bite David. Didn't break the skin but make his back red. You can see David holding his back where Jerry bite him. 

  

The calf was a hungry little thing. Once David scared her up she caught up to her momma and started eating. Being born is hard work.

 

Took this picture today with the sun shining.  Can you see the little brown lump top left of the picture behind the cows. That's the calf way back there all by itself.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ➽

This is the back pasture. See the rows of bushes. Those are crepe myrtles. They're a product from the tree farm that used to be on the property before we bought it.  Now sure how big they'll really get but they bloom like crazy. Should be lots of color out there if David doesn't mow them over.

Never a dull moment at the Rock'n K.

It's that time of year.  Mother - Daughter trip to Fredericksburg. We live Thursday while David babysits the Lilley, Sophie and Brianna.

Until next blog post..... Take a seat and have a glass or two of wine.

We only sew in days that end in Y

I only sew in days that end in Y.. LOL thank goodness they all end in Y.
Retreat was almost over. It's mixed feelings. You're ready to go home but not really ready to pack up and stop sewing....
Here's the rest of the quilt retreat fun.
One of the games we play is a dice game called Left Right Center. We use Fat Quarters. I had everyone bring 4 fat quarters with a theme of words in Red White and Black to play with. Go Figure... The only game I actually play and I won all the word fat quarters.

 
 I added this one. Saw it at one of the quilt shops before I came home from retreat. I think I have an idea to start using them.

But first I need to do the taxes and finish some baby quilts for some new and older babies.

 Elly snapped a picture of me with my first log cabin blocks.  I've now finished all 24 blocks and have laid out the design I wanted. It's on my design wall waiting to be sewn together. I bought a pre-cut kit from Jordan Fabrics one year at Quilt Festival. Figured it was time to sew it up. This will be a goal this year to finish up some old projects. One down.
And I finally finished my quilt top for my great niece who was born about 9 months ago. The pattern is called Love Notes. See the envelopes. The tutorial is on a Missouri Star Quilt Company youtube.  Okay I'm bad. I couldn't decide which picture of it I liked best sooooo... I'm sharing
3 of them. Sorry.

I really liked the mail box picture. I thought it was appropriate for Love Notes,   I remember using a washing machine like this at my Grandmothers so this was nostalgic.
 This last picture shows  almost the whole quilt off.









Here's the quilt design done by Donna Lynn @ Donna's Lavender Nest.
 
And here's The Material Girls. What a bunch of fun and talented ladies.  I had my round robin quilt with me because I still have to finish the binding so we used it as a drop. Have I mentioned that I love my Round Robin Quilt.  Thanks again to the ladies who added rows to it.

And before we knew it, it was Friday and time to go home.   I had plans to make a couple of stops at some quilts shops between the retreat house and my home.

 And with that in mind I headed out with the retreat in my review mirror.  Until next time.

First stop was at the Quilted Skein in LaGrange. Had to snap a picture of the wall on the side of the Texas Quilt Museum. Everything was flowering but there was a guy in there mowing and I didn't want him in it so I stood to the side.

Made two more stops and final I was home.

Home Sweet Home - The Rock'n K Farm

  



Got to work on taxes now.


Are you tired yet? There was so many more tops finished but I was already overloading you so I had to stop.

Thanks for following along.


Until next blog....Friendship is a tapestry woven through the years with threads of joy and laughter, happiness, and tears.