A Day at Connie's

Connie, my friend from church who lives out on the Tres Hermanas ranch, near Salado, invited three of us to her home yesterday for lunch and to teach us the basics of encaustic painting. Encaustic painting involves applying melted colored wax (such as crayons) to a surface in order to create either abstract or realistic art (or a real "mess," which is how mine turned out).

Before we left for the day, Connie walked with us, out onto her property, and helped us identify a lot of the wildflowers currently in bloom in the meadows.

Thank you, Connie, for a beautiful day!

Breakfast with Friends

Tuesday morning we met for breakfast with our Georgetown friends, Milt and Susie, and our mutual college friends from Montana, Dave and Sharon, who were down here visiting their daughter and son-in-law.

Many years ago (about 39 years ago) we all met up at Dave's parents' home, in California. Here are a few comparison photos.

Far left in green dress: Susie. Next to her, in white: Me. Behind me, holding child: Dan. Lady in pink: Sharon. Next to her: Dave. Far right: Milt.  The children in the picture are Tim (held by Dan), Andrea - our foster daughter (held by me), Chris in front of me, Dave and Sharon's son at right. (The extra young man, next to Dan, is one of Dave's brothers, as I recall.)

Above is the picture taken this week. Left to right: Dave, Sharon, Susie, Milt, Linda, Dan. 

Below are two pictures just of "the girls." We are in the same order in both photos, left to right: Linda, Susie, Sharon.

Easter 2018

Easter weekend was full of life, chatter, energy and laughs around here. Chris, Kelsey and the children arrived around noon on Friday and stayed through lunch on Sunday.

Kelsey has been wanting me to take some family portraits, outdoors, for some time now. Every time we plan it, something happens to bring it to a halt. This time it was the wind. Although it was warm and pretty outside, the wind would have played havoc with hair and dresses. 

Saturday was egg dying day. Besides the traditional egg dye, we also tried putting color on the eggs using an "egg spinner." It worked, but wasn't really a hit. 

The Easter Bunny had no problem finding our house and hid eggs indoors this year.  First, the kids looked through their Easter baskets, which were full of fun little gifts and chocolate bunnies. In Clara's basket was a new charm for her bracelet - a cute little silver bunny. Among the most popular of the basket trinkets were these marvelous glasses, which we all had to try on, for laughs, at one time or another over the weekend

Then it was time to hunt for the candy-filled eggs, hidden in the house. It was surprising how quickly the two of them managed to find them all.

Sunday morning saw us all having breakfast at Starbuck's, where Dan and I always begin our Sunday morning. Then we were on to church. I was really happy that Robert, who is in second grade, was the right age to be in my K-2 Bible class. 

When we got back home we took a few family snapshots before changing into our "play clothes." Notice, in the last photo, how much taller Clara is than me now!

Our Easter lunch was not exactly a traditional one. Dan grilled burgers, brats and dogs on the grill. I used up some of the Easter eggs in a big potato salad. 

Sadly, the time for the Houston Judds to hit the road came very quickly. And so ended another Easter weekend. As much as I love having them here, I always find myself pretty tuckered out after one of these whirlwind weekends with the kids. I guess that's why I gave into the urge to take a mid-afternoon siesta. 

Today is Monday, and it's back to routine. Routine isn't nearly as fun as the pandemonium of a grandkid visit!

The Wacky Women's Waco-Wednesday

A little over five months ago our long-time friends, Ken and Gloria, who live near Seattle, Washington, surprised me with a visit. I say "surprised ME" because, sadly, Dan was out of town, so he didn't get to see them. It was a wonderful visit, but so short that it just made me want to spend  more time with them. Gloria and I were very close back in our Oregon days, when we were both busy rearing our "chicks." I hadn't seen her since she came to New Mexico, in June of 2008, and we had a week of fun, exploring the Albuquerque and Santa Fe environs together and catching up on what life had dealt us since our families parted ways ten years earlier. She's one of those amazing friends with whom I can just pick up right where we left off, no matter how long it's been.

So, you might understand how thrilled I was to hear from Gloria again, a couple weeks ago, asking if I was up for a couple of "girl days", since she would be in Dallas in early March and was willing to make the trek down meet me in Waco - less than an hour from my home. I couldn't say "YES" fast enough.

We met there, at the Hampton Inn, on Tuesday, March 6. We spent that afternoon talking up a storm and relaxing in our hotel room, and then went out that evening for a Mexican dinner at On the Border. The next day, Wednesday, would be our only full day in which to play and explore Waco, since Gloria had to leave Waco on Thursday morning to catch her flight home from Dallas. We vowed to make the most of our Waco-Wednesday.

After Wednesday's breakfast, we drove to Magnolia Market, because Wacoites Chip and Joanna Gaines' fame has spread even as far as Washington State, and Gloria was anxious to visit "the Silos." We didn't buy much, because Gloria's suitcase was already really full, and she didn't want to stand in line to have things shipped home. Also . . . beautiful as the displays and products are, Chip and Joanna are REALLY PROUD of their merchandise, making it all a little "spendy." None the less, there's no better place to get decorating ideas.

The City of Waco operates a free shuttle service in the Silo District, making it really easy to get around Downtown Waco. After shopping the Market, we hopped on the trolley and rode a couple blocks down the street to The Findery. The Findery is "more of the same," so to speak. It's full of home decor merchandise and ideas. Its original red brick building is only the beginning, because one more block down the street is their huge warehouse, which is also full of design ideas.

By the time we finished with The Findery, it was lunch time, but we decided to make one more stop before heading out to Homestead Heritage Village for lunch. I really wanted Gloria to see the old suspension bridge and the amazing bigger-than-life-sized bronze sculptures, depicting a herd of longhorns, the trail boss and cowboys about to cross the historic bridge, which was a part of the famous Chisholm Trail.

These kids were playing on one of the longhorns. We asked their mom's permission to take a picture.

From the bridge, we drove out to the Homestead Heritage Village. I've written about it before (here), so won't go into great detail this time. We ate a tasty lunch at their cafe, then roamed from building to building, talking with artisans who were working there and appreciating the many crafts.

The Basket Shop

This young lady owns the Basket Shop and was just starting a basket made of Texas pine needles.

Glorious Gloria!!!

A couple of ladies were working in the Pottery Shop

The waterwheel that provides power to the gristmill. This gristmill building was originally built in 1770, was dismantled and restored in this location in 2001. It continues to grind grains - three types of wheat, corn, oats, rye spelt, rice, buckwheat and soybeans. They grind with natural granite stones.

We both enjoyed our Wednesday together, and ended the day with a fabulous dinner at Heitmiller Steakhouse - a new favorite of mine; one I want to return to with Dan.

Thursday morning arrived all too soon. Gloria had to be on the road no later than 10:00 a.m., so we ate a leisurely complimentary breakfast at the hotel and said our good-byes. Gloria and I share so much in common - our history, our humor, our interests, our love of family, and our faith. She's definitely more of a sister than a friend! Until our next reunion, Gloria, God bless and keep you!