Concert

The concert last night was wonderful!! Someone (me) was trying to decide what to wear and had us running a little later than the other someone (him) would have liked. Waco Hall is on Baylor campus and we were not exactly sure where it was. Once it was located, we had no problem finding a place to park within several blocks. We arrived with time to spare. Most attendees were over 30 so were dressed appropriately, suits or sport coats and ladies in nice dresses or slacks. Our tickes were on the second row of the upper balcony. The hall only holds 2300 so there really are no bad seats. The Waco Symphony opened with a couple of selections, one of which was the William Tell Overture. It reminded me of the old Looney Tunes cartoons we would watch on Saturday mornings. They always used a lot of classical music in those old funnies. I was very, very impressed with the quality of the music. After a short intermission, it was time for Mr. Garfunkel to perform. When Greg first mentioned wanting to go see him, I was a little apprehensive. I wasn't so sure he could handle things without the help of Mr. Paul Simon. But I was wrong. Garfunkel was awesome!!!! The music took us back to a time in our lives when our world was uncluttered by the worries of adulthood, when we were younger and carefree. I even shed a few tears during some songs, for old memories and longing for a more innocent time. Garfunkel was quite the performer and his own small band was great! The symphony accompanied him on many of the selections and did a wonderful job. We have decided that attending more functions like this are a MUST!! It was lots of fun!!

Getting Some Culture

Greg and I are going to this concert tonight, which has sold out. We have never been to the symphony so will see how it feels to rub elbows with the freu-freu of Waco. I don't think we will wear our jeans and boots for this affair, although in a college community the dress at most anything here ranges from shorts and flip-flops to formal wear. Since we are in the cheap seats, we may need to bring binoculars though..........

Hmmmm......what will it be??

More Grandbaby Pictures

Grandbaby waving "Hi, Mimi!!"

Still too early to know if it is a boy or girl. Stay tuned.

Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

I made this tonight and it was pretty yummy!!!

Happy 1st Anniversary to Us!!

Whew.......we made it!!

Have you had your black eyed peas today?

We had them for lunch. I never know quite how they are going to turn out. This time they were rather tasty. But could I reproduce them? Maybe not. I was grabbing different spices to add at the end, i.e. cajun seasoning, seasoned salt, Julio's seasoning. They did hit the spot. I also did something that I haven't done since they told us it was bad for our health to do. I FRIED pork chops. Yep, I can't remember the last time a meat in this house wasn't grilled. But it is hard to make homemade gravy when you grill. We had pork chops, gravy, rice for the gravy, black eyed peas and cornbread. If that don't tighten your clutch, nothing will.......

And I have been told by my mother, and probably her mother before her, that the peas MUST be cooked from dried, not from a can. I guess the "luck" is different????? Brandon and Jeremy were never very fond of black eyed peas. But Jeremy would always eat just "one" to pacify me. I am not sure who will force them to eat them now........

Wishing you a GREAT 2008!!

Happy New Year's Eve from Texas!!!

This is an annual picture that we have taken for many years, everyone in the same spot. We have been able to watch the kids grow and change (we certainly are not changing as we are getting older.......but the hairstyles have!!), we have shed tears the years of our losses, and been joyful over our additions.


Wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year!!!

Christmas Eve

Morgan baked cookies til sometime into the early morning hours. Today, I made Chex Mix (thanks to Pioneer Woman) which I haven't done in a long, long time. This was the first time in many years that Morgan and I didn't attend evening candlelight service together. She was scheduled to work so I hitched a ride to church with Jeremy. We are back here at home, watching Walk The Line, waiting for Santa to get here.....

I think of our many friends and family who are far from us tonight, wishing them love and happiness. I think about our grandkids, Kaila and Bricen and Madison, and wish for them a wonderful Christmas filled with gifts and fun and family, but also the knowledge of the True meaning of Christmas. I think of how much we have to be thankful for, and how very blessed we are. Merry Christmas to all!!! Luv ya!!

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Dieterich.

Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves.....

I think this is my Christmas present. Greg knows of my great love of babies, children, plants and animals, birds and fish (and the ponds that they live in - with waterfalls --hint, hint). When we were in Fredericksburg, we saw a large outside bird cage that I fell in love with. They had some pretty doves and other birds in it. A security guard at my office raises birds and has informed me that what I was wanting was a "flight", not an aviary as I thought it was called. Greg built this on Friday and was priming it today. The weather was sunny but turned much cooler and windier, but this bird sanctuary will be on the south end of the house which will block it from most of the nasty north wind during the wintertime. It will have a metal roof and we haven't decided on the type of wire mesh to use. Later, it will be painted the same beige color as the trim on the house and moved under a large tree. I am hoping that come springtime, I will have some birds to go in it (and maybe a pond for my goldfish, too). I am SO excited!!
Thanks, Greg!!

O Christmas Tree

This is my Paris Hilton tree, so named by one of Morgan's friends that thought he was SOOOO funny. It is a "slim line" tree since we really don't have much room for one anywhere in the living room. I think it looks fine. The kids think it is too skinny. I finally got the ornaments on it earlier in the week. I think it sat there for almost a week with only lights and garland on it. Then I took the day off on Thursday and wrapped gifts. So I am pretty much ready for Tuesday. Greg and I will probably just head to the mall late this afternoon just to go and watch people. It is much better being there when you are just killing time and not searching desperately for something.

The weather is sunny and warm now but it is supposed to change later today. We should be getting some much cooler weather which will be much more like Christmas. Greg is working outside on a project today. I think I know what it is that he is working on and I am about to go out and take pictures so I can post them.

What a face!!

This is the newest addition to my sister's family. As yet unnamed (I think Honey may be the choice because of her coloring), she is a rat terrier. She is a cute little thing.

Birthday

My sweet husband got these pretty roses and surprised me by bringing them to my work on Friday. We went out on a date Friday night, and had a double treat of going to dinner on Saturday night as well. He also got me a self contained water feature fountain to use on the patio until we can build a pond and fountain in the yard. I got some new jeans from my mom, two sweaters and a Pioneer Woman calendar (yahoo!) from Brandon and Samantha, a couple of Santoku knives and some "smelly" stuff from Marci and Jeremy, and a James Avery heart charm from Morgan.

Blowing out the candles on my peanut butter corn flake cake. Numbered candles should be outlawed when you reach adulthood. Pay no attention to the numbers on the candles. I don't know who did the math on those things......
Whew!! Made it another year!!

Robinson Christmas Parade

The Robinson Christmas Parade was tonight starting at the school, through beautiful downtown Robinson, and ending at the shopping center. It was a clear, cool night and I was quite impressed with the many homemade floats.

Morgan is on the outside with the saxophone in the middle of the picture.

My Pesky Brother-In-Law (only PW readers will get this) Tim's son Lucas is in the driver's seat........
This float was really cute....
So was this one. Cute idea to use the decorations to also keep the kids from falling out of the trailer......
And finally Santa Claus......

Happy Birthday Madison!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Madison!! Hope you had a fun day!! We love you!!

A New Grandbaby!!

.....first picture.....

I am so excited!! Marci and Jeremy are expecting a baby in July!! They told us a couple of weeks ago but I was waiting until Jeremy posted about it on his blog before I mentioned it. Marci is having morning sickness and fatigue, and Jeremy, a man of planning, structure and routine, is wondering where he can find an instruction manual on how to raise a child......

Salado Stroll

We finally made it to Salado late yesterday afternoon. The weather was NOT what you would consider holiday weather since it was in the 80's during the day and mild last night. But it was nice enough to ride the motorcycle the hour drive. We got there just about dark and it seemed that every building, tree, and bridge along main street was covered with white lights. There were a couple of carriage rides, music, funnel cakes and kettle corn. The shops stayed open later than usual but we only looked as they are a bit overpriced. It was fun even if we were just window shopping. I was upset that I forgot the camera since everything was so pretty. We had a really relaxing time.

The balmy weather from yesterday is over. We had a cold front come in this morning and all of a sudden, it is wintertime!! The skies are gray and the wind is quite brisk. It will make you hurry to get inside the house. But I like it. Today is more like Christmas than last night when no one was even interested in the hot chocolate that they were selling......

Bah Humbug!!

Most of you probably don't know that the holiday season is just not my favorite time of the year. My comment is usually "if I were to go to sleep and wake up on January 2nd, I would be so happy!!" It isn't that I don't like Christmas (although I say it a lot). I mainly don't like what Christmas has become. It seems that the season starts earlier and earlier every year and the goal is to see who can spend the most, eat the most, cook the most, and go to the most parties. By the time Christmas rolls around, everyone is exhausted and broke!! I long for the simple Christmases of my childhood but I fear that those days are gone. I also remember a Christmas season over 25 years ago when my dear, sweet grandmother was ill in the hospital and died shortly after the holiday. My Christmases after that were never quite the same, even though I was a mother myself. I fear that the gloomy feelings that I feel linger/are brought on from that time. That being said, I think you probably understand that I am the office "Scrooge". Imagine my surprise when I returned to work from our Thanksgiving trip to Pensacola to find my area of the office gaudily decorated by a co-worker that I could easily paddle because she is the age of my oldest son!!! She, and everyone else in the building, have gotten great joy out of me sitting in the midst of what I have termed "trailer trash Christmas".

The garland around the monitors was probably the tackiest of the decor.....

Then there is this little display that I must look at all day that is on the window into the reception area......
And last but not least is the 'Charlie Brown Christmas tree' that is on the counter that was wrapped with wrapping paper............it is kinda growin' on me......

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We talked to Madison on the phone tonight. She talked about seeing Santa Claus but I don't think she sat on his lap or talked to him, assume she just walked by him at the mall. She also knows that she has a birthday coming up and told me she was going to be "two and a half". I reminded her that she was going to be "three"!! It was nice to hear her sweet little voice.

Turkey Leftovers

I had to come home and beg leftover turkey from my sister to make this yummy soup. Greg says it is the best part of a holiday!! I have been making this recipe from the leftovers since I found it a few years back. It is so simple and very tasty!!

TURKEY SOUP FROM LEFTOVERS

½ cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cans chicken broth
2 cups water
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
½ cup bite sized pasta, uncooked

Cook onion, carrot and celery in hot oil in large saucepan 3 to 5 minutes or until tender crisp, stirring occasionally.

Stir in chicken broth, water and dressing mix. Bring to boil.

Add turkey and pasta, cover. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 – 12 minutes or until pasta is tender. (I usually tweak the recipe a bit by adding more veggies and pasta than it calls for.)

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Greg and I both talked to Madison on the phone last night. She was really chatty and wanted to know about Tipsy, and wanted us to know that she was eating a piece of candy. I sure do miss my little "mini me". She was my constant companion since July. But she sounds like she is doing well. She is in my prayers daily.......

Greg and I actually had a date last night. I can't remember the last time we went out. We went to dinner, ate Mexican food and had a couple of margaritas, and walked down the block to dance a bit. It was so early that the place was pretty deserted and only a handful of couples were dancing. We always laugh that we are now ready to head home at about the time (10:30 or 11:00) that we at one time would get there to dance!!!! Ah, to be young again......

I had such plans for today. Greg was going to help a friend tear out a bathroom this morning and then I had hoped we could ride the motorcycle and head about an hour away to the town of Salado. It is a quaint little town that decorates for Christmas and has lots of neat little shops. But it was not to be as it has been drizzly and cloudy all day long. Not cold, in fact I think it was in the low 70's. Certainly too nasty though to ride the motorcycle OR walk around the town. Maybe next weekend.......