The Yellow Smart Car

With gas the way it is and environmental concerns becoming more and more of an issue, it's a very good idea to start looking seriously at the Smart car and hybrids now more readily available on the market.

I have spotted three Smart cars in different colors: blue, red and yellow. I've been trying to snap one for a while now. They are always on the go. :) If you want to read a bit about the car, check out this article.

Granma & Granpa

Mark heard from his cousin today about his uncle, who is elderly and is now living with family since Mark's aunt passed away. He's on my mind so I wanted to write about him and Mark's aunt. We call them Granma and Granpa and they lived in Burnet, north of here, past Austin and Marble Falls. It's so lovely up there and we used to love visiting Granma and Granpa. In the brief 12 years I have known them, I have grown to love them so and I miss our times together.

We'd head up there and enjoy a day or two of talking, walking out in the fields, tending to bees, playing a board game Granma just LOVED (she'd have the board waiting for us), eating great home cooking, swimming and just being together. They are quite a pair and it's hard when times change and we get older and we lose loved ones. I still miss Granma a lot. But memories of her also make me smile.

This is horse mint and we haven't seen much of it around here this year due to the lack of rain. Bees just love this and since Mark and Granpa kept bees together and even sold honey under their own label years ago, I wanted to dedicate this post to them. I love to hear their bee stories and it always makes me wish I had been there with them.

Smokey

Can't post a long one today but I did want to share a shot of Smokey at least. Ever the faithful kitty, always there to escort us around the yard. Or to chase us in a little game of tag. Or just to sit with us as we enjoy the deck. If only it wasn't a sauna outside. :(

Flowers and Bees

Sorry I didn't post over the weekend. Would you believe I didn't even get online yesterday? I pretty much slept most of Sunday away because of a migraine. Luckily I was up and about by about 7p but just didn't feel inspired to post. I hate it when that happens. I always feel like I'm missing out on all sorts of things in life when I have to sleep, even when I don't have a headache. Do you ever feel like there's just too many things you want to do just for the joy of it that going to sleep just gets in the way. Like reading a really good book, watching a really interesting show or movie, talking with your sweetie, looking at pictures or blogs, and on and on.

All of that to get to this point. I didn't even go outside Sunday so when I walked to my car this morning to go to work, I was just awestruck by the purple vision also known as our purple sage bush next to the car. WOW! How did I manage to miss that it was about to burst into a sea of gorgeous little flowers? I wished I didn't have to go to work so I could just stare at it for a while but I was already running late so no time to even take the camera out for some early morning light photography.

This evening when I got home, I was happy to burn in the sun a little while to try and get some nice shots. There were bees all around the bush! It was so fun to watch them. And none of them minded me since they must have been pretty happy with the pollen. It's been so, so dry that they have not had much to gather. Poor things. This little gal had her head in the flower for so long that I would have thought she was dead except her little tail would swing from side to side now and then. Funny. I even got a good video of them. I enjoyed the scene for about 10 minutes and then the heat really got to me so I escaped indoors. Flowers sure make the space around us beautiful.

Sky Watch Friday

The past two weeks were awesome because we actually a little rain and didn't have to water at all. The days were so interesting. Instead of sun, sun, sun and more sun, we had days filled with unexpected skies --- fast-moving clouds of all shades of white, gray and blue, patchy on-and-off rain several days in a row AND puddles. We had not really seen puddles since April!

This was shot while we stood on our back deck one evening to watch the storms rolling through town. It's always fun to watching fast-moving clouds pass over our pecan trees. Be sure to check out other fellow Sky Watchers.

Post #300

Sorry I have not posted in a few days. One of the main reasons is that I couldn't find the right post to share for my special occasion of making it to the 300th one. So I looked a lot of photos and tried to find a special one but didn't feel any of them were right. And then I was chatting with my brother Tuan and I thought of what I wanted to share. My photography inspiration!

Tuan is my older brother and he's the best brother and friend any person could ever have or hope for. He's always been there for all of us whenever we need him and it doesn't matter how many miles are between us all. I have a pretty big family, eight kids. He's second to the oldest and I'm second to the youngest and we're both born year of the Rooster. And we've always had great times together, even when those times are bumpy.

I wanted to dedicate this post to Tuan because for as long as I can remember, Tuan's always with a camera. And I've always thought it was so cool that he photographs his life -- travels, marriages, births, school, friends, everything. He has a great eye and I often think, "Oh, if only Tuan was here, he could teach me so much about photography and we could have so much fun doing this together." I miss living close to each other; he's on the west coast.

Well, this hummingbird shot is one of the first shots Tuan took with his new camera and he said I could use it when I asked him. Thanks bro! You should have heard us on the phone, talking about his new Nikon D300. Very nice! It's a lot more camera than I can handle at this point but I'm impressed and I can't wait to see what else he will share with me.

Progress on the puzzle

We have been making some progress on the puzzle and have really enjoyed just having time here and there to work on it. I'm thinking what's left will be a real challenge since it's just different shades of green. :) Luckily Mark is ever so patient and I must give him most of the credit on the puzzle. Good job honey!

This evening, we went for our first long walk since Mark hurt his back a while ago and it was great. Humid and sticky but it felt wonderful to walk. Walking solo is okay and I have music to keep me company but I much prefer having Mark with me! I'm just really glad he's feeling better.

You're So Crafty

Even though it has nothing to do with the crafting I'm talking about in this post, I have the Beastie Boys' She's Crafty song in my head and playing on my mp3. LOL.

So, I finally went with my friend to check out You're So Crafty in advance of our July 18 visit, where we can craft until midnight. Yep, you read right; I said midnight. This wonderful little gem has been open a little over a year now according to the nice lady who showed us around. I have been meaning to check them out and I must admit I wasn't sure how much crafting could be squeezed in the house but I was pleasantly surprised. I am now very excited to see that our little town has a cool place to get crafting supplies at reasonable prices and to hang out while crafting.

You can check their website for lots of information about the shop, classes, events and they even have a blog. Very nice. I mentioned crafting late -- it happens every 1st and 3rd Friday each month. I have a new sewing machine and since I haven't touched one in over 20 years, I was thrilled that I can pay for some one-on-one instruction at the shop. I'll let you know how it goes. I am making an effort to get back into some of my favorite hobbies to maintain balance in my life and not work too much. Or spend too much time on the computer. :) So with that, I will take leave of you to do something crafty.

Sky Watch Friday - Happy Fourth!

Hi everyone. The sky was doing amazing things today and into the evening so as we drove down Court Street from HEB area, I thought I had to try and shoot the sky. It was beautiful and as usual, there's no way to do it justice but I tried to catch what I could. It was very cool to see the changing colors and clouds. We have finally gotten some much needed rain this past week and I thought we'd get some today but it held off though the clouds did look pretty interesting. Bottom left of this picture is where the clouds were darkest and it happened to be over the area where the fireworks are going off right now.

As I type this, I can hear the booming from the fireworks show down at Starcke Park tonight. We decided to skip it this year and just relax at home. I'm doing all sorts of things (craft, blog, read, listen to my music) and trying not to distract Mark too often since he's busy busy on his book. :) BUT, we did go outside to see if we could see any of the fireworks and I caught a few. This one is my favorite. Check out other Sky Watchers!

Prepping for our big parade

Seguin is known for having the Biggest Small Town Parade in these areas. Friday is the big day but people start claiming their spots by placing lawn chairs out by Tuesday. I compare it to people staking out camp sites at Brackenridge Park in SA.

Fireworks Super Store

Anybody need some fireworks for this week? I'm not sure how well these businesses are doing since many counties have a ban burn due to the extremely dry conditions.

Mockingbird Activity

About a week ago, I said that one of the baby mockingbirds was dead in the yard and that I didn't know if there might be more. Well, we've seen plenty of activity this past week to indicate that there may be more in the nest given the number of times Smokey has been chirped at and buzzed.

Today I snapped several shots of our bird duo scolding Smokey because he was sitting on the porch, too close to their crepe myrtle I guess. It was really interesting. The one bird (pictured above) perched on the redbud tree and chirped loudly at the cat, who was watchful but not stalking. Then I noticed another bird on a wire up high, with a morsel of food in its mouth. I think this one was guarding us so the other one could get to the nest. Very fascinating to watch. Only when I uploaded these photos and zoomed in did I realize this bird's also got something in his beak as well!

Here's a shot of one of the birds in the nest, which is up too high even for Mark to get a good look. I've been trying to get a good shot of the birds in there for a while now. Glad I could see the eye at least on this one.

Turtles at Starcke Park

We spotted plenty of turtles sunning themselves when we took a cruise along the drive along the Guadalupe River on the golf course side of Starcke Park. Lately there is nothing but hot, dry weather for us so there's no lack of warmth for the turtles. I spotted the one on the log and we weren't sure if what was in the water were turtles or debris. It looks like it was actually a parent turtle and a little baby turtle! I love turtles so I am thrilled to have seen so many. Makes me want to go back down there soon to see how many we can spot. Maybe I can get a better shot if we get to stop at a good spot.

So the answer to the question about yesterday's post is that the bloom came from a mesquite tree! The source of many people's allergy woes but not as bad as the dreaded cedar. :)

Who can tell me what this is?

Anybody know what this is and which tree it came from (there's a hint for you)?

Thank you for all the comments on Sky Watch. I always enjoy seeing who stopped by and left a message and I try to return the visit as well. I liked how Erica described the clouds as looking like God pulling a blanket over us. That was a pretty cool idea, Erica. Thanks!

Sky Watch Friday

Hello everyone, I made it back from Arkansas today and after a quenching dinner at Big K in SA, I am ready to post. Here's my contribution for Sky Watch today. As usual, there are many other wonderful sky watchers to check out at Tom Wigley's Wigger's World. It's very cool!

One more shot of the same sky just a couple of minutes later. I found it quite mesmerizing.

Mexican Hats

Hi everyone. Here's a pretty shot of some Mexican Hats we saw a couple of weeks ago. I have to go finish packing for a trip to Arkansas. I probably won't get to post for a few days so see you when I get back!

Migas at Las Palmas

Back in February, I posted a photo of a breakfast taco from Las Palmas restaurant. Now, here's my other favorite dish, the migas plate. Oh my goodness, it's good. I am always on the hunt for great migas and LP fluctuates between having too much cheese and being pretty perfect. The other great place in town is Las Mananitas near the Guadalupe River. Can't eat this very often but once in a while couldn't hurt too much. ;)

Here's a shot of the restaurant itself.

Birds & the Garden

Besides the squirrels, birds sure do love the pecan trees in the backyard. I've posted about the woodpeckers before but I never get tired of seeing them in the trees.

Sad news on the mockingbird front. I posted a shot of the nest in the front yard tree earlier this spring but never posted about it again because the nest was destroyed by a wind storm we had. BUT the birds came back a few weeks ago and rebuilt the nest and we were so excited to see them. Today after church, I even saw the tail feather of the mama sitting on the nest but my hands were too full to snap a shot. This evening when I went out to water, I saw a dead baby on the ground. It had feathers and was maybe 5 inches long, good long legs. I was sad to see it and haven't seen the mama flying around. I wonder if there are any other babies up there.

Garden update: no new pictures to share since I'm sure you don't need to see more tomato shots. Those are the best plants we have going, next to the lemongrass. Everything else is pretty much done for the season I think. The cucumbers are really suffering but I don't know from what. Too much sun and heat? There are only two cucs on the vines and they don't seem to be producing more. Not sure what the deal is on that. Disappointing. Next year, we'll try a different variety and maybe in a partly sunny spot.

KWED of Seguin

A month or so ago, I had an opportunity to have some fun with the local radio station in town, KWED. I once saw a sign that said this stood for Keep Working Every Day. :)

KWED also has a print daily that they produce and there is a feature called Seguin Citizen. I was interviewed by a very nice lady and got my mug in the paper. Mark got in there several years ago when he came to work here in Seguin for the City before going back to San Antonio to work.

Anyway, as I stood in the hallway waiting, I saw that the show was running on the air so of course I pulled out the digicam and snapped some shots. I didn't really want to interfere with her work so I didn't ask to go in the room. Maybe next time.

Sky Watch Friday

Here's a shot of some clouds I still think about, isn't that funny? It's just that I was so mesmerized by them when I saw them but how do you photograph something that is enormous and takes up the entire sky. They were the biggest, puffiest, most beautifully white clouds I have ever seen I think. Anyway, I just wanted to share it with you. None of the shots I snapped did them justice in my opinion. As usual, you can see other magnificent skies at Wiggers World.

Sorry for the late post but we drove to San Antonio to meet some library friends for a Knit Nite event at Big K. It's always nice to see our old friends.

Hanging out in the heat

We've had lots of little guys like this hanging around trying to catch some dinner around the porch, deck and near the water faucets. I love the green of this little one.

Yes, that was a hamburger cake in the last post. We loved it! We had picked out a chocolate cake that looked like a watermelon but they didn't have it so we got a hamburger instead. The unusual cake was a fun way to celebrate with the family. That's one of the ways we celebrate being together in our families (even with other friends and their families) -- we eat! My parents had us over one night for dinner and then mom even had a special bowl of soup for us on our way back to Texas (we pass their house from my sister's). It was a great week.

I'm back!

See? I'm not the only one who loves to take pictures of food. :) This is my sister snapping a shot of the burger birthday cake we got for a triple birthday celebration -- mine and my two nieces. Our birthdays fall in May and June and this year, we decided to wait and celebrate together in FL. We had a blast and that cake was yummy!

And here's another photo of another photographer. That's my niece, trading photo snaps with me. We had a blast and though I missed blogging and checking out friends online, I have to admit something. Being without a cell tower and fast Internet was actually nice after the first day or two of withdrawal. We played and talked and read and just relaxed. And I only thought about work the first day or two. And only had 103 emails waiting for me today. Much better than I had expected so I consider it a great day for me. Back to the mill tomorrow and back to blogging.

Tuesday night activities

Well, it's a busy night as we prepare for our trip to visit family in Florida later this week. My current activities:

1. Blogging (Really, I'm thinking of how to blog about my camera since two people asked me to post something about it.)
2. Baking cookies for the trip
3. Packing other snacks and a picnic basket for the 18.5 hour drive
4. Chatting with an old library buddy
5. Listening to jazz on Sirius
6. Feeling really good about life in general

Okay, so after about 20 shots, I settled on the picture above. It's hard to take a picture of my digicam when I want to use it. Here it is. Mark gave it to me as a Christmas gift two years ago and I have really, really enjoyed it. It's a Kodak Z612 (EasyShare). I love it for it's simplicity. Has all the settings I need as well as the manual settings if I have time to try and figure it all out. If you want more info, all you have to do is Google "Kodak z612" and you'll get tons of info. The camera bag I found at Target when we were in Columbia, SC. It has taken me two years to find the perfect protective cover for my z612 and I love it b/c it fits perfectly for my cam and for my purposes. I don't really like carrying around accessories and that's what other bags offer but then they are way too big. This bag was about ten dollars I believe.

Okay, cookies are done and so am I for the night. I'm off to clean up and get in my jammies for some good reading before bed. Goodnight everyone.

Second Baptist Youth Celebration

Yesterday at Second Baptist, we celebrated the youth and they did us proud with a singing, dancing and their big hearts and smiles. We have some really great kids at church. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed some delicious brisket and sausage with potato salad, beans and this great cake. One of my coworker's sister made it and most of it was gone by the time we left. It was a really great day.

Garden Update - Week 11

This week the garden highlight is on our cucumber plants, which are finally showing lots of progress! There are several nearly ready and many more that are beginning to develop so we just have to provide plenty of water.

I recall helping my mom put in cucumber plants in her garden. She always had the most amazing gardens -- everything was always so green and produced plenty for her. She always had me put in the cucumber seeds for her. I think it was due partly to superstition -- she thought for some reason, I would be the good cucumber grower. I was always proud to do it and we had pretty good crops, so hopefully my luck will hold out for us now. I don't know what type she grew but hers grew very tall onto the trellis my dad built for her. Mine, however, grows low to the ground (as many do in other Seguin gardens we noticed).

I picked one off the ground since it looked like ants are beginning to enjoy it. We had our first cucumber/tomato salad and it was pretty awesome. Mark and I have really been enjoying our garden. And we're really glad to have tomatoes given the removal of tomatoes by the grocery stores.

On the way home from work

One day last week, after another good day at the office, I was driving home on Kingsbury Street near the Tyson's plant, when I saw something out of the ordinary. You know what that means...camera out, just in case it was something worth documenting. And it was! I went around the block and doubled back so I could try and get a good shot but through my windshield was the best I could manage without getting in the street.

What first drew my attention was the man on TOP of the thing being hauled. He was making sure that the cargo they were hauling would not touch the line. Needless to say, it moved at a snail's pace. While this one was clearning the lines, another truck waited back down the road.

I had no idea what this was so I Googled Suzlon to see what it's about and now I am so thrilled to know that this was part of a wind turbine going through our town. Suzlon is actually the name of a company and I looked a one of their brochures and I believe this is a "nacelle" with a cover on it. I won't go into all the technical details here (b/c really, it's too much) but I am so glad I learned more about it! Who says blogging is a waste of time?!?

I have been wanting to see a wind farm for some time and maybe this is a sign for me to take a trip out to west Texas since we have at least one farm there. I think we have another one somewhere in the state.

Sky Watch Friday

You can check out other Sky Watchers at Wiggers World. As usual, there are some really cool looking skies to check out! I took this a while ago but Mark and I still think it's a cool shot so he thought I should share it.

Ladybug in hiding

I spotted this little ladybug tucked away in the folds of the drooping sunflower. Ladybugs have been everywhere this season. Especially about 2 months ago...they were flying everywhere. When I was cleaning out my bamboo flower bed, there were tons of them everywhere among the leaves that had fallen. And then I noticed lots of ladybug bodies in the window sill in the bathroom. And occassionally, I see a ladybug body when I pull out dishes or a frying pan or the honey. :) Funny.

I spent some time in our new store in Rosenberg, TX. This location is a part of our Construction Services division and it's only my second store to visit. The first was a small store in Vegas. The people at each location are so, so wonderful! It's been such fun! And tomorrow, I will post about something awesome that I found while visiting our new store. Good night!

Squirrely

Quicky post for the evening since I not only have to pack for a short trip but I also said I would limit my online time tonight. Here's a little fella that spent half his time digging into his pecan and the other half of this time twitching his tail at my poor little Smokey, who happened to be snoozing on the grass under this squirrel. Smokey took no notice of all the squirrel yelling. Have you heard them chattering away? They can be sort of loud about it. We have tons of squirrels in the neighborhood.

This is Smokey enjoying the upper 90s temperatures in the shade and with a breeze blowing. At least the grass is cool. He loves it outside. Not to worry, it looks like he might be dead, plastered to the ground, but I assure you he is fine.

Sunflower & Pollen

The sunflowers that have survived whatever animal chewing on our plants (perhaps for liquids?) are beginning to turn downwards due the the weight of the bloom. What is different about this one is the amount of pollen that fell upon the leaf right below it. Maybe I've just never noticed before that this happens and only now, when I am making an effort to notice my environment, did I see this beautiful shot. I really liked it. I had a friend in mind when I snapped this and she knows who she is so this one's for you J!

Along the same line with pollen, here is a look at what the bees have been bringing in lately.



When I looked at it, I noticed that the color has changed significantly than a couple of months ago. Notice there is more white colored pollen in the current collection and overall, it is a more subdued color. I wish I knew where these samples came from, that'd be pretty neat.

Garden Update - Week 10

Here are some of our tomatoes from the garden. So far, Mark estimates that we've had about 4 pounds worth and we've really enjoyed them. Tonight I made crispy baked chicken with rice and sauteed squash and green beans from the garden. I also made a tomato and cucumber salad though the cucumbers were not yet from our garden. As you can see below, we have a little while to wait. Can you spot the cucumber? It has been a long time since I've grown cucumbers with my mom so I forgot they grow like the squash -- from the flower!

It's a Puzzle

Today was another great day of relaxation and not too much time on the computer (I'm trying to not be a slave to work and blogging all day and night). I finished my David Baldacci book; I believe that concludes my Camel Club series which was very, very good reads. I was about to start another Baldacci but then I thought about a puzzle we've been meaning to work on.

I bought Mark this puzzle while on a trip to SC, in anticipation of having more time to do things together that we enjoy. We started sorting out the pieces and I'll let you know when we finish.

We also went for a little walk and just now (it's about 10:30p) we went for a drive around town. It's been so hot during the day (mid to upper 90s) that you just need to wait for the sun to go down a bit before it's pleasant enough outside to run around. On the way back to the house, we passed by the high shcool and it appears graduation was tonight. So congratulations to all those seniors out there and to their families.

Sky Watch Friday

This is my Sky Watch photo for Friday. Check out other cool skies at Wiggers World.

A friend at work reminded me of the Auxiliary Airfield area out on Highway 90A so Mark and I took a drive out there. Looks like the sun has set on gas prices like this for a while, if not forever.

The sun also set on my Spurs so that just means I'll probably now have more time for visiting blogs I enjoy. :) There's always next season!

Here's the field to the left of the sign I photographed. It's really nice out there with all the open space.

Two of my favorite things

It's game night and my sister joined us from Austin AND she brought yummy soup with her (tomato base broth with crab on top of vermicelli noodles). We have our gear ready -- t-shirts on, clappers in hand voices ready for cheering. I sure hope the guys make it. The yarn is for my stress...a distraction from the intensity. :)

Before I moved to San Antonio, I never even bothered watching pro basketball. We grew up in North Carolina...Atlantic Coast Conference college ball (go Wolkpack!). But when my brother took me to my first Spurs game in 1995, I was hooked. And it's wonderful to watch Tim, who played in the ACC for Wake Forest University.

Spurs Sterling Silver Dancers

The loss to the Lakers last night was a big disappointment but I thought of a few things that made it a happy day for me:

1. It was a night out and I had fun with Mark and other Spurs fans (what with all the high-fives here and there).
2. During one of the time outs, we saw the Sterling Silver Dancers. These ladies are from Seguin! There are about 20 dancers and they are in their 40s through 70s. They have performed at a previous game I recall but we didn't know we'd see them tonight so what a nice surprise.
3. It's my one-year anniversary at CMC and I'm very glad to be there.
4. There's still Game 5 tomorrow night and I'll get to watch it with Mark and my sister at home. We'll still use our clappers so that they can hear us all the way in SA. :)

White wildflower

I shot a series of shots when I saw this flower a couple of years ago and they remain some of my favorite photos. I love looking at the leaves as they remind me on onion-skin paper and I used to love writing and drawing on that type of paper when I was young. These are in bloom right now around town and at a distance, they look like weeds but up close, they take on a beauty you might miss as you drive by.

We're off to Game 4 of the Spurs/Laker series but I just had to try and get a post in. GO SPURS!

Cool ride

I thought this was an interesting ride. Mark and I spotted it outside the library during one of our outtings.