The Symphony

Last night on a very rainy cold evening, we went downtown to the beautiful Bass Performance Hall

where we were able to buy discounted group tickets with our fellow students  from T.C.U.

The lobby was very festive with numerous Christmas trees,

along with other holiday displays.

We were there to hear the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the talented Andres Franco, and the Southwestern Seminary Master choir directed by David Thye. They were both  amazing and played all of my favorite Christmas songs.When they preformed the closing number...Jingle Bells. snow (fake), fell from the ceiling, and Santa appeared. It was a wonderful way to start the holiday season!

Wreath Party

I have pictured before on this blog, the pretty wreaths my sister Polly makes.

Like this gold mesh one.

Well, she decided to have a wreath party to see if she could sell a few.

 She made so many I thought a would make a couple of collages to give you an idea.

She was very successful and has even had orders since then from friends of friends.

It is going to be rainy and cold here this weekend, so a lot of folks are staying in and getting their holiday decorations up. Including us .Have you decorated yet, or will you wait until later in the month?

Thanksgiving

We sure had a nice Thanksgiving.

We take turns hosting the holidays, and it was my sister Polly's time. She had three tables set for eighteen adults and four children.

There was the feast

with turkey. Sorry, I didn't get a picture before they started craving it,

and beef tenderloin.

This of course is where you could consume some calories!

Yes, my niece Kristin made her fancy Thanksgiving cookies....and they were  delicious.
If you celebrated Thanksgiving. I hope you were with family or friends...or both.

Thanks Polly for hosting. Everything was perfect!

Gobble Gobble

Well here in the U. S. it is Thanksgiving Day

So are you going to

I saw this sign at the grocery store yesterday, and it made me chuckle. I don't plan to gobble til I wobble today....but it is so difficult. I always have good intentions of taking just a very small amount of everything.(food)..The problem is, there are so many things. Then, you are faced with all of those desserts. People should take a long walk after they eat, but  truth is, most nap in front of a football game!

another photo from my morning walks

I do realize that I have so many many things to be thankful for, and I hope that you do too.

Although, no matter how thankful I am... my heart is still heavy for the many people (around the world) whose lives have been scarred by terrorism in recent weeks.I hope that they know the civilized world weeps with them.

I also must remember that today is

Fence Day

and this simple fence caught my eye on our drive back from Austin, Texas over the weekend.

Linking to: Good Fences

Breakfast With Santa

I know, I know it isn't even Thanksgiving, but the Christmas season has a way of not waiting around here.

Tom and I were in Austin to take our little three year old Hannah to the above,because her Mom was working the event. On the main floor of the convention center there were probably close to a hundred vendors selling their finest ware. ..but we were interested in the event taking place on the second. floor. Breakfast with Santa.

Where there were nicely decorated tables...and various crafts for little ones.

 including these large cookies with edible paint to decorate them with.

Hannah sure had fun

and I think she looked very festive in her Christmas dress. When I tried to dress her (Mom left early), she said "no J.J. that dress is for the holidays". Apparently, she had been trying to wear it to school. I explained that it was indeed the holidays.

She believed me when it was her turn to talk to Santa.
I think Santa was being silly when he ask Hannah if she wanted broccoli for Christmas? Hannah shook her head yes. You see Hannah loves broccoli . We took her to a pizza place recently and the waitress said "what can I get you sweetie", to which Hannah replied "broccoli"..

Austin cont.

The skyline of downtown Austin, Texas as seen from the Palmer Center, Austin's convention center.

Austin

After meandering through the Texas countryside, we finally did arrive at our daughter's house in Austin. (daughter #5 that is). Katy arrived home from work, and I went with her to the grocery store to get something to cook for dinner. She goes to a wonderful grocery store..and it is fun just to go there.

Since we are closing in on Thanksgiving the store had a display of a cranberry bog...complete with floating cranberries. It sure brought back memories.

Several years ago in the Fall, Tom and I flew up to Cape Cod to stay in the cute town of Chatam at a bed and breakfast. Since I am a native Texan ...and they don't grow cranberries here...I decided while we were there, to try to find a field of cranberries that were being harvested.

So we got directions to a couple of commercial fields .. You see they flood the bog with about 18in. of water, the cranberries float to the top and are gathered. No, this is not my photo. We arrived at the first field to find out that we had missed the harvest....and we never found the second field. I had to settle for a postcard :( Do you like cranberries? I love them and will be making cranberry sauce this week.

Oh Katy (my daughter), cooked a wonderful dinner. Turkey/pork meatloaf with chunks of sweet potatoes mixed in, and a side of lemon garlic fingerling potatoes.

Back Roads cont.

Another reason to take the back roads is that when you see a scene like this,

you can pull over.

click on photo to enlarge

These are not the typical Texas Long Horned cattle, but a breed I think were imported from Africa.

Our trip on the back roads from Ft. Worth to Austin, takes us about 30 min to an hour longer....depending how many stops we make :) We do get away from the traffic, huge trucks and boring scenery. 

The Backroads

We headed down to Austin, Texas on Thursday, which is usually a three hour drive, but since we are retired and usually not in a hurry, we take the back roads.

First stop was for lunch in the cute little town of Granbury

Where we had lunch at place that is a combo bakery/lunch spot called the Nutshell

We chose a booth in the corner by the window, and under this mural

where I enjoyed a bowl of great Gumbo

The view through the window was the county courthouse across the street

There was also a view of the town Christmas Tree. I couldn't figure out why there were umbrellas on the tree?

When we finished eating and walked outside, I noticed that the live performance down the street at the opera house was Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins....umbrellas...I get it.

So we popped in the old opera house, and bought tickets so we can take two of Tom's grandchildren who are visiting in December.

Zero Property

Our new place in Ft. Worth is what they call a zero property line home. That doesn't mean that we don't have some property.

 We of course own the land the house is sitting on, and on our side of the fence there is 5ft. from the house to the fence... and  the neighbors have 5 ft. on the other side, before their house begins.. This is the view from the kitchen sink,

and this is the opposite side of the house.  The five feet here is measured from the edge of the patio  We on the other hand live  in the mountains for five months out of the year, where we have no fencing, over 2 acres with spectacular views. This just takes a little getting use to when you return. The convenience of being in town sure does make up for it though. Could you, or do you live this close to your neighbors?

Linking to: Good Fences

You Know You Are In The South

You know you are in the south

when the chairs at the airport are rocking chairs.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport

The Long Letter

Today would have been my Dad's ninety seventh birthday.(1918-1986). I wanted to show you one of several letters that I received from him. I am the only daughter that ever moved away from this area. Therefore, I am the only daughter he ever wrote to.

This is the beginning of one of those letters that I received in 1982. Are you wondering why he wrote "top" at the beginning of the letter?

Well, for the same reason he wrote "bottom" at the other end. Apparently, the pages weren't numbered, because the letter was one long sheet of paper.

His explanation for this letter being nearly three feet long was that he didn't like to number pages, or write "over". You see, my Daddy had a great sense of humor, and I would like to think I inherited it.

Happy Birthday Daddy.

I miss you, and your funny letters

A First

Birthday that is. I have been in:

Yes, that is correct Charlotte, North Carolina over the weekend. The above is a section of the invitation to my granddaughter's first  birthday party.

By now you may have guessed.... it was all about The Muppet's

My daughter and her husband invited thirty adults, and I forgot how many kiddos, for an afternoon of celebrating.

 Stacy made all of the decorations and the food...although she did a have a bit of help from her sister Katy, visiting from Austin, TX and me!

I didn't take pictures of all of the treats, but you get the idea...There was a Muppet theme running throughout.

You had to almost get in line to hold the birthday girl.

It is customary to get a one year old their own special birthday cake (which is actually called a smash cake)..to see what they will do. As you can see, Abigail didn't disappoint.
I sure had a wonderful weekend. Happy Birthday Abigail!

A Pretty Pot

Just wanted to wish you a happy Sunday,,,or maybe Monday for Gracie

Another view from my morning walk

My heart is saddened by the slaughter in Paris. I only wish there was something I could do.

The Secret Garden

This is not really a door to the secret garden, but that is what it reminds me of. You see, this is the doorway to someone's property.

I pass  here on my morning walk. I assume there is an intercom there somewhere?

Once through the door (no I didn't go in), there are stone steps that you really can't see, behind the tree....leading down to the wooden bridge that spans a ravine. Then up a long set of steps to a rather large home. I really do have a very interesting walk in the morning. Thanks for coming along!