Snowflakes!

This is the closest we have gotten to snow this year. :) I am busy trying to wrap and ship gifts (5 boxes sent yesterday) and decorating both home and office this year. There is a 9 foot tree in our living room, tall and VERY slim. Can a 9 foot tree be cute? I think it is. It's on loan from my sister as we couldn't find one we really liked.

I have not cut snowflakes in over 20 years I believe! These are for my office at work. There is a decorating contest and Sonia and I have decided to participate. When we finish, perhaps I will post a picture here for you to see. We are really enjoying working together at the steel mill in town.

Hello from up above...

We're slowly getting the house put together after having so much work done on it this past year. The study is coming along although it is currently Gift Wrap Central. We have a house about a hundred years old. Mark found a government survey of historic homes in Seguin and our house was included. I like features on our old house, like the storage space tucked in above the closet here. Smokey likes it also, as you can tell. Anytime the ladder is brought out to do any kind of work, he has supersonic hearing and is up the ladder before we know it. And of course if we don't notice him right away, he will meow to get our attention.

Inside Chiro Java

This is an inside shot of Chiro Java, a coffee house located on the town square. (I also have an outside shot of Chiro Java.) I am really glad we have a coffee house in town and I hope that they will one day extend their hours into the evening a bit more. It'd be a great hang out where you can unwind in the evenings and would also be a good place to gather for some group activities such as a knitting group, which is something we did in San Antonio once a month.

Besides coffee, there are other beverages and some food. I've met friends there a few times for lunch and we had some great salads and sandwiches. You can also surf the we there on a PC that's provided.

Beautiful days

Well, I've been out of town again so I didn't get a chance to post before I left. I'll be home tomorrow so look for some more pictures soon.

Here is a little birdy I noticed on the tip of our roof day before the trip. I heard sweet little chirps and looked for him but it took a while to find him up there. I'm not sure what he was looking for up there. The blue sky is an indication of just how lovely the weather has been lately in Seguin. Just perfect temperatures; cool and crisp during the day and chilly at night. Cold enough to enjoy hot chocolate properly. :)

Red leaves

Sometimes we get so busy that we miss things right under our noses. I have been in Texas for a little over 12 years now and I have grown to love it here. I still, however, ache to see endless seas of orange, red and yellow leaves to herald in the fall of North Carolina, where I grew up. We were getting in the car Sunday and as I got in, I noticed the leaves on our crepe myrtle. Well, when did that happen? The leaves are so beautiful. I love red leaves.

Our weather has been sort of up and down lately. We caught a cold spell with nights in the 30s (F degrees) but then it warms back up into the 80s. It's hard to tell if it's spring, fall or winter. That's south Texas for you.

"Smokey" Joe Williams Blog Launches Today!

Today I wanted to let you know that a new blog has been created to honor a native son of Seguin that many people outside the area probably know nothing of unless they are baseball history buffs.

On October 17 2006, I posted an entry about "Smokey" Joe Williams and my favorite photo of him. I am happy to report that my husband, Mark, has created a blog where he will share some of his nine years of research on "Smokey" Joe. This incredible man and ballplayer brought recognition to Seguin when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, yet most people, even in our own little city, know nothing about his accomplishments. When you know "Smokey" Joe's story, you will also have a glimpse into the lives of other black ballplayers who played during a time when baseball was segregated. It's very interesting and also amazing how these men loved the game so much, they were willing to suffer through many challenges just to be on the field.

The picture you see here is of young Joe Williams. You can learn more by visiting the "Smokey" Joe Williams blog when you have a chance.

Elvis in Seguin

As promised, here is my celebrity shot from last night's Holiday Stroll festivities! When I saw him, I knew I had to get a shot. Elvis was a riot and it seemed everyone enjoyed him. He made us all laugh and even belted out a few lines for us.

Lighting of the Town Square

Tonight we met up with a new friend and shared with her the lighting experience and I had a great time. It seemed like we had fewer floats and not as big a crowd but it was still really nice to get out in the chilly weather. Really gets you in the holiday mood. The parade started at 6:30p and then the town square was lit up while the high school band prepared to play some Christmas tunes. It's always fun to see how bright it gets once the light switch is flipped on!

We walked around and looked at the decorated Christmas trees around the square and then walked over to the Heritage Museum, which was open late and offered refreshments and a warm welcome to passers by. (I'll post a very funny picture tomorrow of a celebrity impersonator who was one of several at the Museum tonight.)

Thank you to everyone who commented to me about the blog and/or the article. I felt so happy that people took an interest in this hobby that I have. I think it was the first time Mark and I have been out on the town and I actually talked to more people than he did! ;)

Christmas Preparations

It is very hard to believe that December is a couple of days away already. My sister and her family were visiting from FL so I really wanted to finish gifts for all our FL family members in order to send it all back with her but I lacked just two gifts! Oh well. Here are some stockings we did manage to fill and send back with her.

I love Christmas time and finding just the right things for a friend or family member. It really is fun. I learned about the stocking tradition when I met my husband and his kids. I had so much fun finding goodies for them that my sisters and I started stockings for the kids in our families and each other. I think it's my favorite gift related activity!

Thank you everyone for your interest in the blog and for your comments and emails. I love hearing from all of you!

Pecan & Reporter

Recently I was interviewed by our local paper, The Seguin Gazette Enterprise about this blog and I thought it was a really neat experience. Actually, I was quite surprised and tickled when I received the posting from Michael asking that I contact him if I wanted to talk about the DP blog.

It was fun but felt odd to have someone asking about why I do this and then photographing me photographing Seguin. This is a shot of Michael shooting me. His shot can be found on the Gazette website if you want to check out the article.

Thank you, Michael. It was a great experience!

Checking the lights...

I did ask first if I could snap a shot. :) This is a close up of one of the City of Seguin employees preparing the lights on the trees on the square. I can't wait until we're all lit up!

Sorry for the lack of posts. With family visiting for Thanksgiving, it was non-stop with little time for surfing or posting! Hope everyone had a nice time. We were so thankful to have the chance to spend time with family. It was wonderful.

Christmas Lights on the Square

Here's another sight I saw downtown that was an unexpected but wonderful surprise. City employees were busy putting lights in the trees. The lighting event will be on November 29! I love tree lights. It becomes really magical. The event also includes a night parade and is usually a lot of fun.

Decorations

While downtown, I saw evidence that Christmas is indeed right around the corner. Decorations are going up, including on this light post. It's cloudy this week according to the forecast but when I took this series of photos last Friday, it was a perfect and beautiful day.

Juan Seguin and the Water Drops

Yesterday I was downtown and walked around Central Park to take some pictures. I'll be posting them this coming week since I saw several things I found interesting and want to share here. What I like most about this shot is the way the water drops look. They look frozen but then I look at it again and they look animated. Also, I like how it appears as if Juan Seguin is doing battle with the water.

Insulators & Flowers

It's November and when I took this photo a couple of days ago, it was in the mid-80s in temperature. Too warm for my taste since I can't get into the holiday spirit with unseasonably high temps. Today, it was wonderfully cool...lower 70s all day and tonight will be in the upper 30s. I love the crisp, cool weather.

We have these insulators on our fence on the side of the house. Mark and I use to go insulator hunting along railroad tracks. Those were the good old days when we actually had more personal time!

Corner of Kingsbury & Austin Streets

I have been trying to get a good shot of this sign for some time. I smile every time I drive by because it is so clever. I haven't been there as a customer, which I suppose is a good thing, but they do brisk business from what I see.

Veterans Day

Grave of a forgotten veteran...

Calvin Williams was born a slave in Orange County VA on Juy 4, 1832. After securing his freedom in 1864 he joined the ranks of the Union Army. After the Civil War, Calvin re-enlisted and served in the 38th and 24th Infantry as one of the famed "buffalo soldiers" assigned to protect settlers on the American frontier. After his discharge in 1871 at Ft. McKavett TX, he settled in Seguin TX. He lived the remainder of his life there, quietly raising a family and developing the Second Baptist Church, which still stands today. He passed away on Jan. 12, 1909.

That very year, his grandson Joseph Williams embarked on a professional baseball career that earned him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Today's post was written by Mark. Thanks, honey! I knew you would be the best person to write this for Calvin. On October 29, 2007, I posted something else about Calvin.

Red eye candy

I don't even like candy apples but I was so drawn to these beautiful red creations I just had to ask to photograph them. The lady was so nice, she took the plastic off the top. Can you spot something interesting or unusual about one of these?

We saw these at La Paleteria, which I posted about on October 20, 2006. It's a local ice cream place we keep hoping will succeed but worry about b/c we hardly ever see people there. There is ice cream, fruit bar, shakes, smoothies and more! If only they were on the town square, it would be lovely to walk around there with a yummy treat.

Here's a Photo without flash, which I sort of like though the vibrant red with the flash won out on it.

White Plumeria

It has been a super hectic week at work. I am barely keeping up with things. I did want to post this Plumeria bloom. I find it so soothing, the white on green. Our plant is about 3 or 4 years old and has never bloomed until this year, when we put it in the ground. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Gift & Gourmet

This is a wonderful little gift shop right across the street from our home. I love walking over there. Or I should say, I use to. I have not been in there for some time so I will try and check it out next weekend for an inside shot. I like to check out the window display. I took this right before Halloween, hence the pumpkins and so on. I meant to see about that green dish towel with the candy corns. It looked so fun.

I knew the lady who owned this store but Anne has sold it (I think last year) to another lady, her name escapes me but I did meet her once in the store. There was always something wonderful in there I wanted and Anne kept a wish list for customers so that she can make suggestions to shoppers. That was really nice to have a retailer give you that attention. She also bought some earrings I made and so that was coolto see my stuff in the display case. I think that was my first official sale to a store (versus friends and family buying my creations). Sometimes, I would just hang out with Ann and chat. That seems ages ago.

Water Tower Completed

All summer, we passed the water tower and it was covered either partially or entirely. Very mysterious even though we knew it was getting a cleaning and new paint job. And now here it is! I really like the clean look and the blue lettering. If you want to see what it looked like before and during the face lift, check out these links:

Photo 1 Before facelift and Photo 2 During facelift

Men at Work

Something blue for the theme today - the sky! I saw these two men working waaaaaaaaaaaay up high at the high school before one of our Friday night football games. Gotta make sure all those lights are fully functional I suppose so they kids can see where they're running and throwing the ball. :)

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Well, tonight we see how many visitors we have. I have my candy bowl ready and Mark and I managed not to eat all the Snickers, 3 Musketeers and Almond Joys (my fav). Hope you all have a great day and plenty of fun!

Honey from our bees

They didn't make as much as Mark had hoped but our bees in the backyard should have enough for the winter. They swarmed early in the summer, splitting the hive in half. We are glad they all didn't leave us!

Lights, camera, action!

We don't know what they were "shooting" -- couldn't decide if it was a movie, commercial or print shoot. It's not everyday you see the Texas Theatre lit up so we drove by twice (thank you honey) so I can see what was the best shot. I mainly wanted to get the theatre lights. There were several trailers, trucks and other vehicles. Not to mention tons of equipment and people working in the dark.

Praying mantis

This "little" guy hangs out in our front yard quite a bit. Here he was just walking along the driveway. I actually don't know if it's a he or she; how can one tell? Anybody? There is also a green one that I am still trying to get a good shot of to post. It hangs out on our plumeria, which is about to bloom. We have lots of late bloomers in our yard; like the plumeria and esperanza...they always bloom much later than other people's plants.

Pecan Fest

It's time I gave blogging here another go at it now that things have settled down a bit for me and I'm not traveling as much. Here in Seguin, it's fall and the weather is actually acting like fall would act elsewhere in the states. :)

This weekend is our Pecan Fest so in honor of that, I'm posting this picture. I'll try to catch some of the activities this weekend. Our crop is fantastic this year. There are pecans galore all over town and they taste GREAT. We have two pecan trees only and we can hardly keep up picking them up. Mark is shelling them. And when you drive around town, you have to be very careful of pedestrians b/c everyone is out and about picking up pecans wherever there's a tree nearby! Even if it means along the side of the road!

Calvin Williams but in DC

While in DC for a library conference, we went to visit the African-American Civil War Monument b/c one of Seguin's very own soldier is listed on the memorial wall!

Though I am working in town now, the new job is requiring more time and energy than anticipated. So I must go on break for a while. I will post at some point in the future. Meanwhile, you can check out photos on my flickr page if you wish. I try to post pictures at least. Take care and have a great summer!
.

Indian Blankets

Lesser known than the famous Texas Bluebonnets, the Indian Blanket flower is quite pretty. It blooms later than Bluebonnets so it doesn't have to share the limelight. It is a couple of weeks past prime right now. I took this and forgot to post it earlier.

It is amazing to me the variety of wildflowers in south Texas. I am really enjoying getting to know more about flowers that I did not know growing up in North Carolina.

Have a good week everyone.

Texas Peaches

Though we are not pulling in a "crop" of these goodies, our peach tree is at least producing more peaches this year than last. They were very pretty to look at and pretty tasty to munch.

Lately we have been very very humid. I have learned to tolerate it after 12 years here but I don't like it. Makes everyone feel yucky and lethargic. Especially when you go for a walk, which we did this evening. It was hard to keep moving. On Friday, the temperature was 93 degrees but with the heat index, it felt like 102 I read. That is not good. I hope this doesn't mean a crazy not summer ahead.

Memorial for Teyran "Ty" Patterson

Today was the memorial service for a local hero. His name is Teyran Patterson and he is the son of friends of ours. Ty served as a game warden and though I did not know him personally, I wanted to post a tribute to a young man whom the community loves so much. The Patterson family and local officials expected about 1000 people to attend the service, standing room only at our coliseum. It is a statement of what Ty meant to Seguin and to his colleagues in law enforcement.

Update June 5th: the local paper today states that about 2100 people attended Ty's memorial service.

Lemongrass

We have had a lot of rain lately. I think it has been the wettest (?) May I have seen in a while. So, as a wonderful result, all our plants are nice and green. This is a lemongrass plant that my mom gave me year before last. She always has a wonderful garden no matter where she lives and her gardens always seem to thrive! It was shaky at first but my cutting from her original survived and now I have successfully split it and put some stalks in a pot.

Memorial Day

We made time to take a spin around town and it was really nice to see all the flags on display to honor our armed forces personnel.

Update on the Water Tower

We happened to be driving by and saw some activity on the tower. I snapped several shots of the skirt going up so you can click on the pic to go to my Flickr page for more. The skirt was huge and looked so cool going up; it was a very impressive job they did. It only stayed up for several hours and came back down. Looks like they sandblasted while it was up and we should see a new paint job soon. It still has the little "hat" on it as of today.

Seguin Water Tower

I was driving by the Library a while ago and noticed a funny thing happening with the water tower behind the Public Library. Looks like they are doing some work on the tower. This made me think the tower had a "hat" on. I am not sure what the setup is but it looked neat. I tried to get a good shot of the tower but it's hard. Didn't want to get too close so b/c you can't see the top well. I shall go back by there and see what progress has been made.

Sorry for the lack of postings. However, I hope to be working in Seguin very soon so that means no more commute to San Antonio. Which means, possibly, more time to post. Of course, I have a whole list of things to do to catch up around the house and town so give me a bit of time to do all this.

Yellow Wildflower

Bluebonnets often get the most attention in terms of wildflowers here in Texas. However, we have plenty of other gorgeous flowers to enjoy thanks to all the rain we have been getting! Now that the blue has faded away, I see a lot of yellow flowers along the highways and in the most unexpected places. I snatched these from a parking lot curb! I don't have my wildflowers guidebook with me so I don't know the name of these. I will add the name when I find it. Have a good evening everyone.

Green Gate Nursery Greeter

Yesterday we stopped by Green Gate Nursery on Highway 123 near the Wal-Mart. Green Gate is a wonderful place to go when you need plants or trees or soil of some sort. I also like getting mulch there. This colorful birdy was watching the store when I noticed him from the checkout counter. I went over to snap a shot of course. The staff was a little busy so I didn't ask any what's-the-story-with-this-bird questions I wanted to but I will next time I go.

We selected a beautiful white mandevilla, which was being nicely trained on an inverted u-shape bamboo form. The lady helping us wrapped the pot very nicely in a somewhat burnt orange (Go Longhorns, we were going to Austin afterall) and a white/orange bow. I highly recommend the nursery if you are looking for a good shopping experience.

As an aside, I also love going to the Schulz nursery in Marion. They are also a great staff and they have a great selection that different than Green Gate so it's worth visiting both. I saw there was a new gardening business off Kingsbury so I will give them a visit the next day I have off for landscaping duty.

Misty days in Seguin

We have had good rain in South Texas lately. Which is very nice, especially once summer rolls into fall b/c it might not rain for 2 months straight, as it can do sometimes here.

I have been enjoying the misty days the past several days. The yards are all so green and trees are budding, many have full leaves now and blooms of all sorts are popping up everywhere. This is one of two blooms coming out on a cactus in the backyard.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

I ran to the store the other day and as I left, I was struck by the image of so many Our Lady of Guadalupe figures, arranged like an army marching out. I liked it for some reason. I love the colors. People like to decorate their yards here in South Texas. And I have seen many Lady statutes around Seguin. She is rather tall, the statute, as you can see if you notice a customer lurking in the background. Maybe she bought one, I didn't stay to find out.

Lonely Kitty

I know this is not a problem unique to Seguin, but I am worried about the number of cats we have running around. They are everywhere. My little Smokey does run around outside but at least he has a home and he usually sticks around the house within a house or two.

Everywhere I walk or drive, I see so many homeless cats. Even at Starcke Park, there are always at least 3 or 4 that we see. My husband use to work for the City of Seguin and at one time early last year, he said there was a family of 14!! They just kept having babies. And people would just come and leave out food and water.

This cat was one of at least 3 grown cats that I saw in a vacant lot. She was not too frightened of me and let me photograph her but she didn't let me too near. All 3 were very curious about us and why we were there.

Bluebonnets in bloom

When I first came to Texas 12 years ago, I was awestruck by the sea of blue blooms along the highway as I commuted to work. The blue sea was created by the thousands of Bluebonnets, one of the most beautiful wildflowers I have ever seen. Blue flowers were not something I was use to at the time and I just fell in love with them. And I still am. Along College Street in town, there is a house and every year, they have these gorgeous flowers in their yard. This year is a good year b/c we received plenty of rain and enough cold weather so everyone is saying we should have some beautiful flowers. I didn't have to adjust the lighting and color on my shots and you can see how vibrant the blue is! For more photos of the Bluebonnets as well as a flowering Dogwood (a favorite from my home state, North Carolina), view my flickr set.

Thank you to those of you who have posted recently on the Seguin DP. Especially about the ZDT Amusement Center. I am glad you are enjoying the posts and I hope you keep visiting and posting comments. Perhaps I will visit the INSIDE of ZDT soon and then I will provide a follow-up posting. If you have any requests for entries, photos or whatever, let me know and I'll try and capture a piece of Seguin for you.

Amy & Kathy's

I don't get to lunch in town often so I always enjoy going local when I get a chance. My friend took me here and it was very nice. Had their shrimp & avocado cocktail and a panini sandwich. Very tasty and the price is not bad. I like the location of the sandwich shop --- on the square downtown. So if you're on jury duty, this is a great place to check out and then you can grab a cup of joe at Chiro Java along the same block.

King Ranger Theatres

The only first-run theatre in town. I have been there once but it's been open for several years now. It's just a little too young for me (teens) but it's nice for them to have a place to go in town. I do like their star logo.

Spring is in the air!

That's my cat Smokey relaxing on the grass. Now that it's warm in Seguin, he's spending more time outside. I spied him making friends with a new cat. I haven't seen her before. I think she's a she anyway. They were doing a funny follow-the-leader, slow walk around the yard. Very interesting to watch the animals (birds, squirrels, etc.) enjoying the change in weather.

Old Fire Station

This use to be a fire station. It is the American Bank of Texas and I just like the red brick of the building a lot. Makes me think of North Carolina where I use to live and still miss. We use lots of red brick there.

Ahoy mate!

I love this company we have in town. They are Waterworks Experts Inc. and I posted some frogs I first spotted last July. I pass the Experts everyday going to and from work and I find myself wondering what creature, vessel or other structure I will see. It's so fun! And what a cool thing to think Seguin is home to a group of people whose work is used in waterparks across the nation! I wish I knew where each piece will travel to and call home.

The Aumont

Per a request from an anonymous visitor, here is a shot of the Aumont Hotel. There is now a dance hall in there along with some office space and apartments. I think it would be neat to live there and to be near the center of town. We see more and more activities all the time downtown and the area is looking very nice.

The one story adjacent space is now a pool hall. Haven't checked it out yet but want to. It's immediate previous life was spent as a tattoo parlor. That didn't last long however.

New Year Money

For Lunar New Year, I like to give unusual currency for fun. We don't typically spend what we give each other. We like to keep it as a momento. I liked the $2 bills from my sister but I was so excited when I saw they had introduced a new dollar coin. I love coins and these have a wonderful feel to them. I'm going really try and circulate a ton.

Happy New Year!

According to the Lunar calendar, today is the first day of the new year. This year is the year of the pig in the Chinese zodiac. One of the things one does is to offer thanks to Buddha and also to your ancestors. And to ask for additional blessings in the new year. On the ceremonial table, you will find things such as water, coffee, cookies, candy, meat fill rice cakes, and other yummy treats.

Hagn House Retreat and Spa

I passed by this and was surprised to see it. I've been in Seguin for over 8 years and now all of a sudden, spas are popping up all over town. There's this one and another one, FX Spa or something. And then there's the medical spa, that's one on the fancy side so I'll swing by sometime and snap a shot.

I haven't tried any of these spas in town. I've only been to one and it was Patricia's in San Antonio. I get massages at the Hair Haus, where the staff educated me on how people have different meanings for "spa" and your spa experience at one place may be totally different from your spa experience at the next place. It was all very interesting.

Going back to the Hagn House, I'm curious if you can hear traffic and such since Kingsbury is a rather busy street right in front of the house.