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We enjoyed the month of May enormously. My sister, Susan, who lives in New Zealand visited for a month. What a joy to have her. She totally spoiled our mother, and now I am instructed to do things "the way Susan did them" by the mother who used to think I could do no wrong. OK, so I have to give her credit! Not a bad thing.

Her being here brought in all sorts of company to visit her and us. Dijea and her boys drove down. Friends from Corpus came, and so did our cousin Lois. Susan went to Dallas to visit my girls and my grandchildren. She also went to Fredericksburg with Lois for a "girls luxury weekend," had a pedicure, and two massages. We tried to pamper her a bit too. She also gained weight, dispite going with me to CURVES while she was here. No more fajitas and breakfast tacos for a while!

Now there is not so much to do. Life is less brite withour her sunshine. We miss you, Girl!

A TEXAS FUNNY

These signs sent me into uncontrollable laughter! Certainly, these signs are unnecessary considering the bridge, completed in 1957, stands 273 feet above the water. But maybe the Texas Highway department wanted to show off its sense of humor.

Big Ben

Walt and I took our first trip since starting the remodel of our house in October of 2005. We headed for Big Bend. I had never been there, and Walt han't been since he was a kid. We thouroughly enjoyed it, especially all the blooming flowers and cacti. We ran over 2 rattlesnakes, but they survive still. We did some hiking and lots of driving. We saw surprisingly large mountains, some beautiful grasslands in pockets, wonderful rock formations and enormous emptiness and uninhabital space, in my opinion.

Indian Lodge

Fort Davis isn't very big, but it makes for a great get-away. For historians, the Fort itself is the attraction. It had to have been a rugged assignment in the days of its operation. It is remote by today's standards, but must have been the end of the earth for the soldies of the 1800's.

The For Davis State Park is delightful. I highly recommend a stay at Indian Lodge. It was built in the 1930's by the work program, and the facility retains all of the charm of the era but the comforts of today...air conditioning and private baths. Expect amazing views, great hiking and a short drive to the McDonald Observatory. But I suggest finding a weekend before or after the summer heat.

View from the Top

If you turn right 90 degrees while viewing this landscape, you will see the newest Ft. Davis observatory marvel. From this you really see into the heavens. Interestly, even the scientists don't get to look directly into the telescope lense. A scientist is given time with the scope focused on a particular location, then the telescope is focused and the stream is view on a television feed. The scientist might be in Maryland or some other country.

Wouldn't it be fun to actually be the guy in the chair looking through the telescope! The whole, rounded top with the telescoped moved in the older version, but in the newer model only the mirrors adjust to find the image. An amazing machine to behold.

Lucky Us

Not everyone gets to keep his love ones happy and healthy to 86 years. What joy.

Spring Beak

Dijea and her family visited during Ethan's spring break. We'd planned a week of fun, which started off with a train adventure. That's when the rain started, and we were stuck indoors for most of the week. On Friday, the sun came out, and we took advantage of it at Fredrick Wilderness Park.

Spring Chores

Spring causes all sorts of outdoor chores. For me, outdoor chores promise much more fun than the indoor kind. The cooking and cleaning can go undone if the yard needs help.

Boy does the yard need help! After a year of construction and the drought, our yard cries for help. One of the first things on the docket was spreading compost. We had 7 yards delivered. I'm sure our neighbors laughed and took bets on whether or not we'd get it spread. Surprisely, we had the front yard covered the afternoon of the delivery. The next morning we spread the rest in the back. Walt and I are take great pride in the accomplishment.

Roses now reside in our yard. We are enjoying them now, but Walt wasn't too sure when he started their bed.

Best of all. We got rain! March was very generous.

Spring Arrives

Walt and I were having tea in kitchen when about 40 cedar waxwings descended on our backyard nandinas. They would eat a berry, then fly to and perch on the side of a 5 gallon paint bucket that happened to be filled with water and drink. Then back to the berries. What a glorious sight. I ran for my camera and managed to get several satisfying shots of them. In a few minutes they were gone, but the images remain.

Finally Finished

Last year our lives were dominated by the remodel of our home. After 20 plus years here, we decided we needed some changes. We didn't expect it to take so long, but it was worth the wait. The project wrapped up a week before Christmas. We are still "moving back in," so to speak and trying to make yard repairs from all the construction and the killing drought of last summer. But we have gotten a new life...the one that has been on hold.

Walt is the newly elected Vice-President of RAG, the River Arts Group, which is a co-op that operates a gallery in La Villita. He works at least 2 days a month in the gallery and takes care of other gallery business whenever it comes up.

I decided to jump start the year with 3 community ed courses, one of which is watercolors. I'm hoping Walt and I can do some plain air painting this spring. I'm looking for adventure.

We are now in the process of trying to re-establish our back yard. Between the drought of last year and the construction process, it needs some serious attention. We have trimmed the crape murtles and hired a man to do the cedar elm that was struct by lighting. Seems we don't think it so wise to play monkey in the tall trees any more.

I'm looking forward to the gardening efforts.

The Long Project

For some time now, Walt and I have debated on an age old problem couples face once the kids are long gone--to move or redo. New is so tempting, but such a hassle. Walt really didn't want to start a new yard. Remodeling is risky, drawn out and pretty overwhelming. Walt finally came up with a plan and built a model so I could understand. What I saw was lovely! Now, what about a contractor?

Almost immediately, there was a guy working on a house in our neighborhood. We asked him to take a look, and in about two weeks the decision had been made and we committed to remodeling. We started with the outside. New siding on the back and a new deck. Overall repair and paint.

Now, for the tough part...the inside. We started tearing out on December 19, 2005. We were without kitchen facilites from then until July 8, 2006. The not cooking part was not all bad.

Come see what we did!

The New Look

The idea was to open up and create new space. The wall between the great room and the kitchen came down and the kitchen ceiling disappeared up to the roof line. This required a new structual beam. That part had me very nervous. Boy, was I glad when that got put in and I was convinced the roof was going to stay up.

Kitchen

The biggest transformation occurred in the kitchen. We completely gutted it and extended it into what was the old dining room at the end of the original living room. The new kitchen goes from the front to the back of the house. Cabinet and counter space greatly increased, and a nice pantry system lies behind the ovens and to the right of the window.

Big Grandma

Recently, Big Grandma visited me. She had been to the beauty shop and was looking pretty good. I grabbed my camera and tried to capture her in a place other than her "Archie Bunker"chair. An "Archie Bunker" chair is a chair that can only be occupied by its owner...no one else allowed.

Best Yet

After more than 30 years of trying to grow these tropical flowers, I am celebrating my best flower cluster yet. I pull these frangi panis out of the pots at the hint of the first freeze and replant after I think the last freeze has occurred.
This group appeared in June and some of the other plants got flowers before the leaves had come out. They must have been ready to bloom about the time I pulled them last fall.

I acquired a yellow one last year that is growing nicely, but has not yet bloomed. I got it from my friend Clevel. I gave her a cutting many years ago, and from that she created a multitude of these trees. She even branched off into the yellows and reds. She knows how to do things right...many things.

I once heard a man say, "Love is the only thing that the more you give away, the more you have. " Clevel has given away more love and kindness than just about anyone I know. She has made a difference for so many. She also makes the best chicken and dumplins in the world! She shares the recipe too.

My 3 Kids

This is "my favorite photo" of the kids. It was taken on Grandma Hennig's front porch in Victoria, Texas about 30 years ago. These "bored-to-death" youngsters are all grown up now with families of their own.

My Big Tree

One of "my favorite things" is the big tree in front of my house. This has been home for more than 20 years now.