Spring and the Alamo Drafthouse

Tuesday night, we had a new and unique experience.  I guess this was the third time to celebrate my birthday.....I went on an RV trip, came home and had King Cake with my kids and grand kids last weekend, and then my kids got 4 tickets to the Alamo Drafthouse as a surprise. There are three of these movie cinemas in San Antonio, one in New Braunfels, and five other cities in Texas plus 7 in other states. And they aren't just your average movie cinema.

First of all, seats are arranged in rows angled for good screen viewing like any other theater but that's were the similarity ends. The rows are much further apart and in front of each row is a long narrow table. You should arrive early because you will want to check out the menu....yes, menu. In addition to being a cinema, the Alamo Drafthouse is also a restaurant which also serves beer and wine in addition to a fairly extensive menu of food. You pick out what you want and write it on the paper provided. Then you fold the paper and stand it up in the rail at the front of the table. Your waiter will slip in, head down, and get your order. When it's ready, he brings it out to you.  All this is done very quietly as they have a strong policy of no texting and no chatting. Unaccompanied children are not allowed and babies can only come in to specified screenings so it really is relaxing. The rest of my party ordered all ordered different specialty hamburgers but I ordered a barbecue chicken pizza. I think I got the best deal because it was really good and I got mine first.

We saw "3 Days to Kill" with Kevin Costner and it was a good movie. The seats were comfortable and, they had special earphones for those that are hard of hearing. My DH enjoyed those.  All in all, it was a fun experience made even better because the company was great and Helen was smart enough to snag tickets through groupon.

And now, on to a word about Spring. Spring is here right? I mean it was here several weeks ago and we had weather up in the 80s. Then Winter hit again. Spring came back.  Well, I really hope things are straightened out now because I am sick of Winter.

So, I present Spring!

Redbud tree blossoms

Mountain Laurel

More glorious Redbud blossoms

Leftover winter blossoms

Oranges on the neighbor's tree that should have been picked

You guessed it.....Redbud blossoms, hey, they don't last long so you have to enjoy while you can!

Trees budded out

Oak trees in bloom

What the heck?    Google.....I don't even think this is funny.  Winter is over.....stop....stop...stop.

Seriously, I downloaded my pictures from the camera, uploaded them to Google and found this extra picture added to my album when I pulled the pictures into blogger.  Really.....I did not do this!  You may remember once in the past that I had a picture with twinkling colored lights.  I didn't do that either!  Really.

 It is just too cruel.  Winter is over!

That is my story and I am sticking to it!

Spring Can Be Taxing

Today was a beautiful spring day....temperature about 76 degrees....lots of sun....a little breeze.

Now we've had begonias all winter long although we do have to cover them a night here and there if we get a frost.

My redbud tree has been blooming for almost a week.  It's so beautiful.  I think of my mother when it blooms because it was her favorite tree.

The blossoms are fleeting.  They don't last for a real long time but they are just gorgeous when they pop into bloom.

This bush will get leaves and then beautiful Rose of Sharon blooms on it in a couple of weeks.

The hackberry tree is leafing out.  It isn't a great tree as trees go; however, it does provide shade.

Little flowers even pop up in the grass.

The neighbors have a couple of pretty potted plants in bloom.

And what was I doing while all this spring blooming and glorious weather was happening right outside the window??????

I was working on our taxes.  Yes, taxes.  Things were going along swimmingly with Turbo Tax input until I had to calculate the basis for some stock shares we sold this year.  Lest you think we are talking big bucks here, we're really talking about two shares.  Numerous calculations led to a splitting headache but I think I eventually figured it out.

Now tomorrow is going to be 85 degrees so I'm pretty sure the taxes are going to have to wait.

Who Needs Punxsutawney Phil!

Who needs Punxsutawney Phil......here in Texas, we knew because we have ample proof that Spring is already here!

Of course, this doesn't even include the many flowers that bloom all winter long inspite of a freeze here and there.