Visit to the City Cemetery

When we visited the cemetery to put a flag on Calvin Williams' grave on Veteran's Day, we noticed this next to it. We don't know what it is. Do you know?

The last trip to the post office

Yesterday Mark and I made our last trip to the post office and our gifts for far off family members are on their way. We did priority because the postal rate is currently 5 days behind, pushing arrival of our things to post-Christmas. It is always nice when the staff tells you what your options are and also when they honestly tell you if it will make it in time!

This trip was fun. Everybody in line were good spirits and we talked and laughed and waved to Santa, who was there for pictures with anyone who wanted one. It was one of the most fun trips to the post office ever.

White Spider

I don't know much about spiders but I thought this one looked very interesting. All sorts of living things love our plumeria. Check out those cool legs he has! Every time I got too close with my digicam, it would scoot to the other side of the plant. It took several times and slow movements to catch him.

Hair Haus Revisited

About a year ago, I posted my first post of Hair Haus. I thought I would post an updated shot since some greenery has been added to the front. I like the potted plants and the little tree to the side. You can't go wrong with more green. Tomorrow I finally get to use my Stress Reliever gift certificate and I am so excited!! 2 hours of pampering; what a treat.

You can also see the location of the shop is very close to the Aumont, which itself is pretty interesting. I need to look inside the Aumont sometime and perhaps get a shot inside. Well, it will go on my mental list of things to check out for the blog. Two blocks beyond the Aumont, in the picture, is our town square.

Bare pecan trees

We're still experiencing quite a bit of see-saw weather lately. 80 on Monday, 40s on Tuesday, 50s today. Who knows what it will really be tomorrow. Anyway, as I was driving from the library to the house, I noticed these neat piles of leaves in this yard. It reminded me of my childhood in NC, where fall meant lots of raking on weekends. We used to rake winding paths in the leaves and ride our bikes all around the yard before we finished our task. It made the chore more fun that way. Around Seguin, pecan trees are mostly bare of leaves now but on the tree in our backyard, we still see some pecans still in their little coverings, waiting to drop. And yes, there is still plenty on the ground.

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!