Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Christmas 2019


Christmas came and Christmas went! It was one of the best ones in recent years.

Tim flew in from Albuquerque on the Saturday before Christmas - December 21. And then on Monday the 23rd, around noon, Chris, Kelsey and the grands arrived. Everything kicked into high gear from that moment on.

We had our Christmas meal on Christmas Eve - roast beef and gravy, potatoes, carrots, green bean casserole, pasta salad and hot rolls. I had planned on a different salad, for a change, but Tim and Dan were horrified that I didn't have our family's traditional pasta salad on the menu, so I gave in and went with the pasta. The dessert choices were apple cobbler, ice cream and pecan pie.

Christmas morning began with opening presents at 7:00 a.m.


Everyone was pleased and grateful for their gifts, but the one who was most surprised and pleased was Clara. She received an electric violin, and she was speechless when she opened it. 




She gave us the joy of a short "concert" on Christmas evening.




One of Robert's favorite gifts was a game called Beyblade Burst, which involves customizable spinning tops, battling it out in a small plastic stadium.  Robert spent nearly all day switching out parts in an effort to build the BEST top for the battle and convincing others to take on the challenge.



This family is a game-playing family, so we had fun playing one of Chris and Kelsey's new games, Tsuro. We had a Bingo tournament - yeah, not really a big hit. And, that evening, we played Charades. It was Clara and Robert's first time to play Charades, and they really got into it and had fun. This one might have to become a family Christmas tradition!






It seemed everyone had just gotten here, when it was time to start saying good-bye. The day after Christmas Chris went back home to Houston so he could get back to work, and Kelsey and the kids headed to Pecos to visit her family. Tim stayed with us until Saturday, the 28th, when I drove him to Austin to catch his flight back to Albuquerque. 

Now the house is quiet again, and I'm slowly trying to get back to life as usual. It's New Year's Eve today, and we'll be going out to dinner with Kay and Andy this evening. I'm really looking forward to that time together. With all the activity of the holidays, we haven't seen much of each other.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Meet-Up with Friends in Waco

Until yesterday we have been having warm, beautiful fall weather. Yesterday, however, dawned with a vengeance, throwing sheets of rain at us, and chilling us with 40 degree temperatures and wind. But this weather didn't keep me from a pre-arranged meet-up with friends in Waco.

 Bob Hagan (JDHS class of 66) and Sue Dean Hagan (JDHS class of 67 - whom I have known since 3rd grade), who live in Washington state, have been visiting Texas kinfolk, and wanted to come to Waco to see Magnolia Market at "the Silos." This is the beautiful home decor market operated by Chip and Joanna Gaines, who have put Waco on the map with their TV series, Fixer Upper.




Driving up there in the morning was challenging, with terrible visibility because of the weather. But I got there safely and on time. After touring Magnolia Market, we spent a long time together, lunching at a nearby BBQ spot and catching up on the events of the past 50-plus years.

After lunch we stopped by the old historic suspension bridge, built in 1870 to drive cattle over the Brazos River on their way up the Chisholm Trail. Lining the street, on both sides of the bridge are beautiful bronze statues of longhorn cattle, the trail boss on his horse and some cowboys.



Sadly, that cold north wind brought our sightseeing to an end rather quickly, and we parted ways around 2:00. The drive home was much easier, for the heavy rains had stopped.

Thanks for thinking of me and arranging this meet-up, Sue and Bob, and may you have a wonderful Christmas and a safe trip back home.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Thanksgiving 2019 in Bastrop

We got home yesterday after two really enjoyable days at Bastrop State Park, with Chris, Kelsey and the grands.

The weather was cloudy and, at times, a little misty, but it wasn't bad enough to keep us from having a lot of outdoor fun. Chris managed to do some delectable cooking over the open fire, using his cast iron Dutch ovens.

The kids and I tossed around a football for awhile after our big Thanksgiving meal.




Here is a photo of Robert, swinging on one of the hammocks - just before his Mom noticed, and scolded, " ROBERT! That's not a swing!"


And here's Clara, speed-solving her Rubik's Cube - with some strange lady photobombing my shot! Haha.



Later Kelsey, Clara, Robert and I went to Fairview Cemetery, where we did some letterboxing. Letterboxing is a "treasure hunt" style outdoor activity. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and post clues to finding the boxes online. We successfully followed clues to four different caches on this outing! Now that I've shared in a letterboxing experience, I may just have to get into it on my own! (more info on letterboxing here.)

Inside each letterbox will be found a handmade rubber stamp and a small logbook. When you go hunting for letterboxes, you bring with you your own logbook and personal rubber stamp, as well. The stamp found in the letterbox is used to imprint a record of your find in your own logbook. And you use your personal rubber stamp to leave a record of your find in the letterboxer's logbook. Then the box is re-sealed and hidden in the exact spot, so it can be found sometime later by another letterboxer.




As we were leaving Fairview Cemetery, we stopped to read this memorial to the Texas Rangers, 15 of whom are buried here.


Once the sun set, it was pretty chilly outside, so we spent our evening inside the motorhome, playing Yahtzee and watching TV. I found Crosswalk the Musical on Broadway (James Corden and Hugh Jackman) hilarious. From the look on her face, I think Clara enjoyed it too.


Whenever Robert wasn't busy with something else, he picked up his guitar and played for us. I think he's doing really well, considering he's only been taking lessons for three or four months. But best of all ... he's loving it!


Clara, in her spare time was making friendship bracelets, using embroidery thread (see photo above). I came home wearing my own bracelet. Thank you Clara!


Friday, October 18, 2019

My Morning Panorama



It's not the Rhine. It's not the Danube. Not even Wolfgang Lake in Austria.

It's just the little pond on Sammons Golf Course, here in Temple, Texas. This is the morning view from the windows that line one side of the large ballroom where our "Sweatin' with the Oldies" exercise group works out three times a week. I don't think I could make myself crawl out of bed and go each time if we met in a boring, old, stuffy (smelly?) gym. But gazing at this panorama at 8:30 in the morning, while stretching, lifting and crunching; following the lead of our fun leader, Kathy; and  chattering with my quick-witted, comical and congenial senior companions make the hour something I actually look forward to!

Friday, October 11, 2019

Budapest - Our Last Port of Call

Good morning, Budapest!


We were docked on the other side of the river, straight across from the Parliament Building. The photo below was taken from our cabin's balcony.


Our morning tour of Budapest was full of scenic vistas, monuments and majestic buildings. 




I walked to the top of the Gellért Hill (where the above photos were taken) to see the Liberty Statue. It was erected in 1947 in remembrance of the Soviet liberation of Hungary from Nazi Germany. The original inscription was in both Hungarian and Russian and would have translated as: "To the memory of the liberating Soviet heroes, the grateful Hangarian people 1945." Some portions of the monument were damaged during a 1956 revolution, when public sentiment toward the Soviets decreased. After Hungary's transition from communism to democracy, the inscription was changed to read, in Hungarian: "To the memory of those all who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and prosperity of Hungary," and the Russian version was removed entirely.



Peace
Progress
Overcoming evil

We boarded our bus again, which took us to Fisherman's Bastion, with its seven towers, which was built built in the early 20th century, just as a panoramic viewing platform ... and believe me, the view across the Danube was magnificent.




The square behind the Fisherman's Bastion is home to Matthias Church and the statue of the first king of Hungary, who was later venerated as the patron saint of Hungary, St. Stephen. The Statue is very ornate, especially the saddle cloth.




Dan filled me in on the history and legend of the bent cross on the crown. In the close-up below, you will note that the cross is sitting crooked. Actually, there is a lot of interesting history about the king's crown, which for a period of time was held, in safe-keeping, by the United States.


Walking back to the bus I snapped a couple pictures of the quaint neighborhood streets.



Later in the day we were taken to the Pest side of the city for a piano/organ recital. It was held in an old building, used as a school for the blind, with narrow, windy halls and up-and-down steps here and there. It was in that building that Dan took a fall. It was the last tour of the last day! He fell on his left shoulder, but somehow injured his right hand, as well. It was painful, but no bones were broken, so he pushed on like a trooper!

After getting back to the boat, we began packing our bags for our early morning departure. We spent the evening with Lee and JoAnn. We will miss them, as they have become friends. Some Hungarian folk musicians and dancers came on board to entertain us. 







The Parliament Building at night was a spectacular sight.


And shortly after sunset, we started seeing these birds, circling over the dome! (You'll have to enlarge this video to see them.)


Saying "good-bye" to people we'd grown so fond of was really hard. Our friends, Lee and JoAnn were especially hard to leave behind, but they tell us they will come see us in Texas - maybe next year! 


We also had a hard time saying good-bye to Alex, our cruise director, who made our European River Cruise everything we ever hoped it would be ... and more! Thank you, Alex!



We had to have our luggage all packed and sitting outside our cabin door by 4:45 the next morning. At 5:15 our ride came to take us to the Budapest Airport. That airport was kind of a dreary space - concrete and tile, very little color, no art. The only brightness was in the two duty-free shops that we had to walk through to get to our gate. 

The weather on our trip was fantastic. Other than one night in Amsterdam, we didn't have rain. We had a few overcast days, but many sunny ones. The temperatures were pleasant. But as we were taxiing down the runway, leaving Budapest, I saw rain dotting the window. I guess that meant it really was time to go home.



We changed planes at Heathrow, and once again it was a crazy mess, getting from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5. It required us to go through security again, and took a little over two hours to get to our gate. The long flight from London to Austin, however, was pleasant, and we actually arrived a half-hour early. 

All I got to see of London was the airport and some landscapes as we gained altitude, leaving for home. Someday I'd like to cross the Atlantic again and visit England, Ireland and Scotland, where many of my ancestors came from.


Kay and Andy were there in Austin to pick us up, bless their hearts! We stopped on the way home for dinner at Chuy's Tex-Mex Restaurant. We hadn't had Mexican food in over two weeks, which must be a record for us. Once home I took a long, luxurious bath and went to bed. Unpacking, laundry and re-stocking our refrigerator and pantry had to wait for a new day. And that new day was a return to normal life - no chefs, no butlers, no drivers!