See.....things are bigger in Texas!!!

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

I don't have any pictures for this post but Sunday for lunch, we had crockpot baked potatoes. Had baking potatoes, washed them, pierced with a fork, wrapped them in foil, put them in the crockpot on low for 10 hours. I had both my crockpots going and cooked 14 potatoes for family lunch. They were really good, the inside of the potato is not white like when baked in the oven, but it doesn't affect the taste. And best of all, it doesn't heat up your kitchen! Taco seasoned ground turkey, and all the fixin's to go in them made for a great lunch. Then last night, I made "twice baked" potatoes with the three leftover potatoes. Greg doesn't care for sour cream so I used cream cheese in his, sour cream for me and Morgan. Cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, butter, then restuffed them and warmed in the oven. Oooooooo.......yummy!!!!! I was reading on the internet that a gal said that she will make a whole bag of "twice baked" at a time and freeze each potato individually before the second baking, just taking out what she needs for the meal. Great idea!!

Sunday morning meeting with the dog

Jonathan and Tipsy spent some quality time together on Sunday morning before breakfast.

I think Tipsy was really wanting to go outside and get away from Jonathan.

This appears to be a stand-off.

Jonathan reached for her but we kept them apart. I don't want Jonathan to be scared of Tipsy, and I don't want Tipsy to not like Jonathan.

Jonathan at 8 months

Jonathan is staying with us tonight. He was so happy, even though his mom said he didn't take an afternoon nap. He ate a good dinner and then it was bath time. He loves to splash and play in the water. He was screeching and making so much noise that the dog started barking!!

I think he was trying to squeeze the washrag.......

Yahoo, let's see how wet I can get the bathroom!!

Hey, Mimi, this is fun!!!

Clean, and lotioned, and dressed for bed, this was just an instant before Jonathan realized that Papa didn't have his bottle.........

For just a minute, it got ugly.......

Didn't take Jonathan long to finish his bottle, and he is now sound asleep.

Office Plants

OK, all you "non" plant people just bear with this plant person for just a bit. I was watering today before I left work and noticed something on this old "corn" plant. It has been around for many years. It started out very small and in my office. It has now graduated to the boss' office and is over 6 feet tall.

It had a bloom on it!! I knew they bloomed but had never actually seen one.

This is a schefflera that is very old. It came from the boys' maternal great grandmother. She used it to prove to me that you CAN root a cutting from this plant. It is over 6 feet tall, too.

This split leaf was just potted last year. Once the threat of frost is over, it will go back home in a few weeks to sit on the patio.

This is the ficus tree that I rescued last June from the ditch where a neighbor had dumped it without even a pot. It was so dry that I soaked it for days in a large trash can of water. It really looks great and it will also travel home shortly to summer on the patio.

Several of my work BFF's from several different offices in the district sent this to me when my dad died. I haven't always had good luck with rubber plants but this one is doing quite well.

The peace lily was sent at the same time. It dries out so fast, I probably need to repot it. And it appears that it could stand some plant food, as well, to green it back up.

I can't remember how old this ficus is. It has made a couple of office moves with us. It has really done well sitting at this window. It is so full and green. It could probably stand to be repotted but I am almost afraid to mess with it since it looks so good.

There are quite a few more plants in the office but these are the largest and oldest. Needless to say, it takes me a while to get them all watered. But I enjoy taking care of them. Maybe when I retire I can get a job at a nursery.......

Special little gal...

We had a special visitor at the office today. Brinley Pick came by on her way to the doctor. Isn't she a cutie???

Check out her headband.......Thanks, Leslie and Paul, for sharing Brinley with us today.

This IS my life.......

Fun Night

Jonathan spent the evening with us. He is such a good natured little boy. We played with toys on the floor, he watched the dog, he ate a good dinner, we sat outside on the swing for a while. Then he got a bath and a bottle but he wasn't quite ready to go to sleep yet so he and Papa were watching tv. I was folding clothes and the next thing I know, this is how I found them
"watching tv"......

Bar-B-Que

A coworker brought this to work this morning, ready to head north to a bar-b-que cookoff. Us Texans sure know how to build things, huh?

Being a Grandparent is GREAT!!!

Today was a wonderful day. We got to see or talk to all our grandkids!! Aunt Mo was helping Marci feed Jonathan his carrots for lunch.

Samantha, Brandon, and Charley made it to Sunday lunch today. Jeremy got to hold his niece for the first time. I asked if he knew how to hold something "pink". I think he did a great job!!

Charley has grown so much. I ran across a newborn picture of her today and the change is just amazing!! I think her daddy said she weighs over 9 pounds now. She is playing "fingers" with Aunt Mo.

Papa even got to do a little "rockin".....

This afternoon, I called Madison. Papa and I both got to talk with her. She is doing well in Georgia. Hard to believe she is already 4 years old. Her dad is going to send us some new pictures and I will post them. But until then, this is the newest picture of her that I have.

Tonight we got a call from Kaila and Bricen. They had been looking at the blog and Kaila wanted to tell us that she liked our new shower. Bricen was jealous when he saw "his Papa" holding other babies. They are such good kids. And so smart. Bricen was watching monster trucks on the computer. Kaila was about to get ready for bed and school tomorrow. Both are in the Easter program at their church. Hope their mom sends us some pictures of them.

We have truly been blessed!!!

New Shower

Greg has been working here at the house since Wednesday. This is what the old tub/shower looked like.

I think he took the saws-all to the old tub since it was made of fiberglass, cutting it in half to get it out.

Here he had put in the new blue board.

The marble people came out yesterday and this is the finished product. We will get to shower in it tonight!! Yahoo!! Will use a shower curtain for a while until we decide what type of glass door we can afford.

Greg has really worked hard on it and he did a great job. Little messy but great job!!

Rain!!

Thank goodness we traveled early in the week. We got home just ahead of a cold front and three days of rain!! We have gotten 4 2/10 inches of much needed rain. I could have done without the cold weather since while we were gone, the highs were in the upper 70's. But to get the rain, I won't complain!!

Tuesday 3/10

From San Antonio, we started home but stopped in Austin, capital city of Texas. We walked down 6th Street, which is a hoppin' place after dark. Lots of restaurants and bars along the street.

We were looking for a Cajun restaurant that we had eaten at several times before. We found where it "was" but it had been closed down. Boo hoo!!

We finally decided to eat lunch at the Iron Cactus and what a good idea that was!!

We ordered a "made at your table" guacamole. It was very, very good!!

By the time I remembered to take a picture, this was all that was left.....and Greg had pretty much cleaned his plate!!

Then it was time to go home. Needless to say, I think I like the country back roads that we had traveled much better than IH 35. I always feel like we are just a split second from disaster.....especially on the motorcycle. But we arrived about 5 PM in great shape!!

Aquarena Springs

On our way home, we also stopped in San Marcos. Years ago, when I was a kid, we had visited a place called Aquarena Springs. It was a type of water amusement park, created due to a large spring which also feeds the Edwards Aquifer. There were glass bottomed boats, a submerged "submarine" auditorium where you could watch clowns and mermaids swim underwater. There was even a diving pig. The local college in San Marcos, Texas State University, purchased the park several years ago and now it is used only for research. About all that is left is the boats, which we took a ride on. It was a lot of fun. The water is so clear and clean enough to drink.

I realized that our reflections could be seen in the glass "bottom" of the boat so tried to catch it with the camera.

http://www.aquarena.txstate.edu/Aquarium/Endangered.html

Monday Afternoon 3/9

In San Antonio, we stayed in a motel which was much more to Greg's liking. It had a tv and a remote!!! We didn't waste any time getting to the riverwalk.

We ate at Casa Rio. It was good Mexican food.

I was very pleased with my little 50mm lens. It was rather dark outside already when I took these pictures from the table where we were eating.

Mariachis will come by and serenade you.

We were playing with the candle at the table and decided to make use of the light that it gave off. How did that margarita get in the picture?????

When you travel by motorcycle, you wear a cap alot......even when you go out to eat!!

After our meal, we went to a piano bar called Durty Nellys. The piano player is really good, and sings a few tacky little songs along the way. Everybody in the place was singing along to the oldies that he was playing. Of course, he got a tip from me for the Neil Diamond song....

It was a fun night.