2026-2-15 Wimberley Glass Blowing

One of the Christmas presents my son and daughter-in-law gave my husband was a glass blowing experience. We headed up to Wimberley on Sunday. Granddaughter Morgan was also with us. The plan was for Helen and I to drop her off at UT Austin after we finished in Wimberley. Well, she forgot her dorm room key and ID. Dave and Steve rode their motorcycles while Helen, Morgan, and I plus Angus and Xena (the dogs) came in the car. It looked like someone had to go back to Cibolo for pick up the forgotten but absolutely necessary items. Steve said he was going on the motorcycle while Dave and Morgan did the glass blowing. 

The instructor pulled the blob of glass out of the furnace.

Dave is working with the glass.

 Helen took pictures of Morgan doing the same thing while I held the dog leashes. Honestly, it was a little disappointing compared to the much more hands-on experience they had when they made knives out of horseshoes at the blacksmith in Gruene because the instructor did most of the actual work instead of the participants getting to do it. The guys rode back up on the motorcycles several days later to pick up the finished products.

2026-2-8 TRR Rally at Goliad State Park

I wasn't planning to attend this rally because the weather in February is iffy and my RV is winterized. But then I got a phone call the afternoon before asking if I was coming. I thought about it and made a quick decision to go.

But the RV didn't go with me. I decided to book a room at a local motel for two nights instead of unwinterizing my RV. Xena stayed home with Dave since I would be out at the park all day and dogs can't be in the building we rented. I took off about noon and arrived at 2:00PM to check into my motel room. It wasn't the Ritz but it was very clean and comfortable and that's all I was looking for.

I headed out to the park which was only about 3/4 mile from my motel and then another 3/4 mile to get to the campground area where most of our members were located.

I just barely arrived at the park when our host Vicki said to jump in because we were headed to "Mother Cluckers" in Victoria. When she planned it, she thought it was more of a flea market venue but when they moved into town, it became more of an upscale boutique. After browsing there, we walked down the street to "Second Blessings' which was a  second hand/consignment store with very nice merchandise. 

We met up with the rest of the group at Cracked Crab for dinner. It's halfway between Goliad and Victoria on Coleto Creek Rd. I had lasagna, lol. 

Saturday morning I set my alarm to get up early because I thought Vicki was fixing the breakfast and figured she could use some help. When I arrived, I found out that Jimmie and Shelley were the chefs for breakfast and they had things well in hand. 

A crowd gathered for the biscuits, gravy, and sausage as well as coffee, juice, and jelly. It was all very good.

After lunch we gathered to play some card bingo.....only kind of bingo I like...it's so simple. Nancy had brought over some red beans and rice for anyone who wanted some but I finished up my lasagna from the night before.

Kathy White demonstrated a new device that you attach to your black/gray tank outlet that allows you to hook up your stinky slinky very easily versus the normal attachment method which requires a fair amount of strength to get a tight fit. I have a macerator system so I wouldn't use it but several ladies were very interested in how easy it worked.

We headed into town for dinner very early as we heard they were having a Mardi Gras parade event and parade around the town square so it would be blocked off. We all snagged great parking and thn had to wait for the Empresario Trail Steakhouse to open at 5:00pm. It took quite a while to get all the orders for a crowd but since we were there early we didn't mind waiting. My chicken fried steak was great.

When we left the restaurant, we walked right out to the parade. It's a small town parade so it was composed of very decorated large golf carts.

Some of our group was eagerly collecting the bead necklaces and candy that the parade participants were throwing.

Now some might quickly assume that Frankie got herself in trouble with the police, lol, but that was not the case. She slipped and fell on the curb and all three of the cops came over to help her up and make sure she was okay. Now, she may have been milking it just a little bit because they were all young and cute. 

Our oldest member Barbara (100 years young) and her daughter Pat drove down for the day and Olivia and Barb drove up from Rockport.  All in all, it was a great rally and I'm really glad I went but I sure missed having the RV there since I forgot my brush and didn't have a lawn chair. But otherwise the last minute motel worked out okay. Until next time.

2026-01-12 Adoption is in the air.

 There is a new baby in our house. Her name is currently Tina but Dave thinks he would like Diva better but "Diva" has both positive and negative descriptions. Scratch that.....her new name is XENA (the Warrior Princess). It sounds the same as Tina to her and it makes her ours.

She needed a new home and we weren't hard to convince that we needed another dachsund. She was posted on Adopt-a-Pet as a rehome from another family. It was posted a week before I even saw it and I wasn't even sure I should be looking. I hesitantly showed Dave and he said he was sure she would already be gone but I should apply just in case. I did the paperwork Saturday morning and sent it in. They forwarded it right away and her other mom texted me Sunday morning and asked when we could talk. Well, right away! So we talked and asked lots of questions and set up a meeting at a park that afternoon. Her mom chose us out of a number of other respondees. We all agreed to make the transfer later the same day.our 

This is my husband Dave holding our new baby while we filled out some transfer paperwork. It was chilly, well chilly for Texas and dachsies never turn down a blanket.

Now, you may wonder why her family wanted to rehome such a beautiful baby (okay, she's 2 1/2 years old). They got her five months ago from a coworker who wasn't able to keep her but it turned out that their older dog didn't like her. The white spot on her upper muzzle is where their older dog bit her. Hopefully the fur will grow back. They loved her enough to know she would have a better life in another home. We have had 6 dachshunds since we got married and every one of them needed a new home for one reason or another so this was a perfect fit for us.

She was unhappy to leave but the car ride home was uneventful. She loves riding in the car.

She loved her big new fenced in yard. Lots of room to roam and dachshund tested for escape artists. All was quiet as she explored the first day. Night time went well. She went in her crate upstairs about 10:15 and slept until 8:30 the next morning. Going outside potty was not so great as all the dogs behind our house were having a barkfest so she was afraid. Later in the day, it was quiet again so she had a good time. 

Doggy blankets are plentiful in our house so we can meet all her blankie needs. We even still had a couple toys as well as a collection of doggy bowls. 

She is giving us both plenty of lap time.

She loves a good time of pull the rope and did I mention she is a parkour expert? We are going to have to work on that as she zooms from floor to furniture before you can blink an eye and zipping up stairs is also a game to her. Not so good for dachsies.

She also loves to chase balls, toys, ropes, etc. and brings them right back to you. We are working on walking on a leash without pulling. She is very strong. I discovered that she knows "sit" so we stop and "sit" when she starts to pull. She also responds very well to "come" and know what "no" means. She is very smart so we will really need to work with her. She has figured out that the dogs on the other side of the fence aren't going to get her. They barked this morning and she ran to the fence and barked twice then ran back to the porch. She gave some guys putting up a canopy next door a couple warning woofs then went on her way. Dachsies can be determined barkers and they have big dog voices but I think she is going to be a good girl about it.

Let me end this first post by say she got the zoomies at bedtime last night and raced around the bedroom for 19 minutes. Then she didn't want to go in her crate for bed. I let her stay on the bed where she settled right down. After I finished reading my book, I picked her up and put her in her crate where she went right back to sleep. I don't mind if she sleeps on the bed but I was afraid she might wake up every time I got up to go to the bathroom which is several times a night and I didn't want her leaping on and off that high bed.

All in all, I think her transition is going great. 
 

2025-12-11 Birds and More Birds

 Elaine and I set out to see the Sandhill and Whooping Cranes. Rita told us to head for the famous Big Tree near Goose Island State Park and then head towards the water and turn right. There was supposed to be a feeder than went off at 8 and 3. We were not up for an 8AM arrival so we tried for 3. We never did see the feeder or the birds and deer running towards it.

Using the 30 power on my cell phone camera was the only way we could see the birds.

Next we went to the area near the fish cleaning station which pretty much assures seeing birds waiting for a snack from people cleaning fish.

We saw this pelican catch a big fish. Here he is with it in his mouth.

All in all, it was a worthwhile excursion.

2025-12-9 Lots of Holiday Partying

 We all met at Paradise Key Dockside Bar and Grill for a delicious late lunch and party game.

There were three tables full of Texas Ramblin' Roses and a couple of guests.

A drive through downtown Rockport provided another great light display.

We also checked out the Rockport Beach light displays. They were set up by different organizations.

I was driving so I didn't get a lot of pictures but it was a great display with voting for the best displays and the opportunity to make donations.