Happy birthday!

Today is Mark's birthday...happy birthday honey! I love finding cool wrapping paper for people I adore though what you see is actually not wrapping paper. These are pages from discarded atlases that I have saved. I love wrapping special presents with them. And now that we are all exploring more of the world through these photo blogs, I thought it was appropriate to post this. Another reason the paper makes me happy? It reminds me of all my DP buddies!

Beautiful sky above

Our sky's been just gorgeous lately and the weather has been very beautiful. I thought I would post this now since next week is suppose to bring in a cold front that will hopefully bring some much needed rain to ease our drought conditions.

Yesterday, my new friend Dan from McKinney (TX) tagged me! McKinney is about 4.5 hours north of Seguin and I have not been there yet but if I go, I will of course look for Dan!

I've never been tagged on the blog before so here we go. This game of tag goes like this, When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions we seem to fall into four categories: 1) quite serious about them, 2) flippant about them, 3) pressured to do them, or 4) do not do them. So, the purpose of this game of tag is to let us know which category you are in. I will give mine, then tag 3 other sites to do the same thing.

Hmm...as with most things, when you are in a position where you have to select just one "thing," you realize things are never as clear cut as you hoped. But if I have to choose, I would say I am in the 2nd category. I try not to set unrealistic goals, or resolutions. And I think I set goals at different times of the year. Why wait until January 1? That said, I did decide in November that I would work on things that I enjoy but have pushed aside b/c of work and just taking care of things around the house. That means more knitting, reading, leisure cooking and beading. And if possible, I'm going to try sewing b/c I have been thinking and reading about it for about a year now. I think I'm ready.

Okay, so now I'm going to tag some friends. Please be sure to check out Annie of Little Rock (AR), Web OJ of Kuwait and Edwin S of Kuala Lumpur. You can learn so much about other places near and far with just three clicks. There are some amazing pictures and comments on other daily photo blogs so I hope you will have fun!

Winter Garden

On Ireland Drive, there is a wonderful garden that has something growing throughout the year. Mark and I always enjoy seeing what's there whenever we drive by and we like the way the garden plots are contained in neat rectangles. Right now, there are some scallions growing. I love scallions. I have seen a few other gardens around town as well. We hope to start a little one ourselves this year.

Hanging out

UPDATED 10-Jan-08

Thank you Keith!

KeithAlanK said...

That's a Turkish Gecko in case anyone's interested. Also called the Mediterranean Gecko, they started out in the USA as stowaways on cargo ships who brought them to port in Mobile Alabama and other cities around 1830, and have spread northward and across the south ever since. Eventually they will rule the world, one moth at a time.

It has been a little busy lately so I was looking through my photos to see if there was anything I haven't shared yet when I saw this guy. I had totally forgotten that I had snapped him and meant to share him. This is the bathroom window, looking out to the back deck where the light was on. He was no doubt trying to catch dinner as little bugs were hanging out by the light. Plus he kind of went along with the theme of my last post.

ET & UFOs

This sign alone is one thing. But if you pair it with the yellow sign on the other side of the road, it takes on another dimension. :)

Click on the picture for a bigger shot so you can see the yellow sign.

Updated January 8:
Sorry, it pointed to my Flickr and if you don't have an account or are not logged in, you do not get the option to view "All Sizes." Try to click on this link for the big picture. If it's still not big enough, use the resizing button that will appear on the image if you roll your mouse over it. Hope it works for you. Let me know if it does not.

Bees buzzing about

Today it got up to 78F degrees. It was a beautiful day though I did turn on the ceiling fans due to the warmth inside the house. :)

Our bees are doing well. They have been out and about, gathering up as much pollen as they can find, which is not much right now since there aren't many blooms to be had. We do have a couple of plants with little flowers and a rosemary bush still flowering also so they are gathering from there. I'm sure they're enjoying this more than the cold we have had lately.

Just a note, there is an opening about 1 inch in the bottom box but it is on the right side so you can't see it in this shot. Just wanted you to know the bees can get in and out just fine.

River Drive

This is River Drive along the Guadalupe River in Starcke Park. On the left is the golf course. On the other side of the river, there are some very pretty houses with big yards and paths down to the river. There's one for sale I think so I'll try and snap some pics that aren't intrusive.

After each flood (esp. since the big one in 1998, it seems we have flooding issues every other year almost), more of the road was eroded and for a long period of time, this drive was closed for safety reasons. I believe it was last year, maybe year and a half ago, that the city had the funds to rebuild the banks so that it was safe for vehicles to once again cruise along there. I'm really glad b/c it's quite beautiful.

Sunrise

Today I had plans to post my last shot of our visit to Starcke Park but I just had to do this one instead. I was saying goodbye to Mark this morning as he left for SA at about 7:10am and I loved the sky I saw! I also visited Mitch in Minneapolis and was happily surprised by his post today so be sure to check his site. :)

Earlier this week, PaB asked if the name Seguin was of French derivation. Our city’s name was originally Walnut Springs but was later changed to Seguin in honor of Juan N. Seguin, who had been a colonel in the Texas Calvary at San Jacinto .

The family name did indeed originate in France, where an ancestor left Paris in 1654 and sailed to the New World. You can read more about the city’s namesake by visiting our Convention & Visitors Bureau page.

Way back on September 12, 2006, I posted about our Juan Seguin statue down on the square. There was an anonymous request to see a shot of Juan Seguin’s burial site and I have been there a few times but I still don’t have a photograph which I feel does justice to it so when I do get one, I will post it.

Lone golfer

Before the postings for the new year, I mentioned we had go to Starcke Park and I took several pictures I wanted to show you. Here's another one. The golf course is very nice, sprinkled with mature pecan trees. Right now the trees are bare and the grass is brown but that's to be expected, though there is still a beauty to it in my opinion. This part of the course runs along the Guadalupe River (where my back is as I shoot this picture). I'll go back when things are in bloom; it's quite pretty. You can rent carts, bring your own or walk it, as this gentleman is doing here. It's good exercise. When my husband worked with the City of Seguin, he had to oversee the course at one point and so he took up golfing. I went with him and we walked it once and had a great, relaxing time. I enjoyed it much more than anticipated but we haven't the time for it these days. It really eats into your day to do 18 holes, or even 9.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is my favorite post from 2007. I like it because a bluebonnet is so unique to Texas and I just love seeing them bloom each year I’ve lived here. Before I moved here, I never realized how beautiful a blue flower could be. Now the bluebonnet stops me every time I see it, whether it is a single bloom as it is here or in a field among thousands.

For our January 2008 Theme Day, there are 118 other city bloggers participating so be sure to take a little trip around the world!

Paris, France - London, England - Hyde, UK - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Grenoble, France - Stockholm, Sweden - Riga, Latvia - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Manila, Philippines - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - New Orleans (LA), USA - Wichita (KS), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - San Francisco (CA), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Greenville (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Mainz, Germany - Melbourne, Australia - Portland (OR), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Toulouse, France - Naples (FL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Brussels, Belgium - Stayton (OR), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Baziège, France - Nashville (TN), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Prescott (AZ), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Nottingham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Evry, France - Trujillo, Peru - Arlington (VA), USA - Denpasar, Indonesia - American Fork (UT), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Coral Gables (FL), USA - Montpellier, France - Joplin (MO), USA - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Boston (MA), USA - Torun, Poland - New York City (NY), USA - Dunedin (FL), USA - Quincy (MA), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Chateaubriant, France - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Budapest, Hungary - Austin (TX), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Cypress (TX), USA - Bicheno, Australia - Wrocław, Poland - Brookville (OH), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Cheltenham, UK - Wellington, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - London, UK - Haninge, Sweden - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Arradon, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Mumbai, India - Terrell (TX), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - Delta (CO), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Saigon, Vietnam - San Diego (CA), USA - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Belgrade, Serbia - Auckland, New Zealand - Seguin (TX), USA - Inverness (IL), USA - Oslo, Norway - Singapore, Singapore - Las Vegas (NV), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Torino, Italy - Susanville (CA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Memphis (Tennessee), USA

Favorite Photo - 2nd runner up

Another favorite from this past January, this traffic light is still pretty cool looking to me.

Favorite photo - 3rd runner up

As we near the beginning of the new year, some other Daily Bloggers have been showcasing their favorite posts so I thought I would go through some of my own from 2007 and find my top three favorites. I posted this shot back on January 21. It was about 20F degrees when I shot the picture and it looks like we will kick off 2008 with a big cold front so I'm looking forward to that. This current mild weather is nice but a bit of cold weather is nice this time of year.

The January 1st theme for City Daily Photo Blog will be "Best Photo of 2007" so be sure to check back here on January 1 and I will include a list of all the participating city bloggers.

Fishing along the Guadalupe River

Lately the weather has been lovely during the day. Still a nip in the air but enough sun to warm you up a bit. We like to cruise around town once in a while to just soak things in. It's very relaxing to drive, listen to the Sirius jazz and see what goes on around town. This is along the river in Starcke Park. There were plenty of fishing going on but I like this spot these men found. When I moved here from NC, I noticed and really liked the color of the water in rivers and creeks here. I grew up near the Cape Fear River and water in the middle of the state of NC tends to be muddy so you have a rusty color. I love the bluish green here.

I'll post a couple more the next few days of things we saw in the park.

Chilly mornings

Lately we have had very pretty weather though we do need some good rain. During the day, it's been in the 60s (F) and mostly sunny. Overnight, it's been dipping down into the upper 20s (F), which means mornings can be frosty. This is the windshield of the truck. I tried to scrap the frost as much as possible but it's hard when the frost is on a truck and you are only 5'2"! :)

Here's a shot of the windshield from inside the truck, where I implemented Plan B -- melting the frost, which only took 1 minute really.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sorry for the last minute post but I was ill yesterday and then we visited family all day today. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with love, laughter and fun!

Nutcracker Museum

Besides pecans and other nuts, dried fruits and sweet treats, Papes Pecan store also has a nutcracker museum that you can browse. It is amazing how many are in the collection! There are all different sizes, shapes and characters...from Ronald Reagan to Yosemite Sam.

Hot Santa

Here it is a few days before Christmas and in Seguin, we have beautiful weather -- in the 60s with plenty of sun and very little humidity in the air. The only "bad" thing about this is that it's hard to get into the Christmas mood if you don't have to layer on some clothes. I wonder if Santa is hot in his suit.

We were running errands this morning and we passed Santa standing in front of a florist shop. I was impressed by this Santa b/c he face really looks nice and what I envision as a "good, authentic Santa." Some Santas you see don't even bother covering up their dark hair! We didn't stop to chat but his beard even looked real. Very nice.

We stopped by Gift & Gourmet to pick out a few more final gifts and now it's wrapping time. Or napping time. This is the first weekend in months where we do not have to be somewhere or do something away from home. It feels nice. :)

Honorable Mention

It was hard to capture a full view of my office decorated with the snowflakes and lights I have posteb about earlier. But here is one shot. I think I cut out about 40 snowflakes! It was fun today in the office. Lots of cheer in the air. Sonia and I received Honorable Mention along with another coworker for his office. There was also a winner for Most Creative and another winner for Best Traditional.

Christmas lights and a little friendly competition...

Tonight I am busy pulling together the final touches for my office decorating contest. Things have heated up a bit and people were busy preparing for the judging tomorrow morning. The snowflakes I cut and posted about a few days ago have all been taped or hung in the office along with some trees fashioned out of tissue paper. I needed just a little something to finish off my space. My friends suggested adding ambient lighting. So here I am digging through attic boxes to find unused lights. Choices, choices. White string or dancing color...hmm. I will let you know if I place in the contest and I'll post a picture of the finished product. It's really fun.

Mistletoe

One of the first things I noticed when I moved to Texas was the abundance of mistletoe EVERYWHERE and this is year-round. In the past, I only encountered mistletoe during the Christmas season and usually in a boutique or at the tree stands. I recall having to hunt down some mistletoe once to have some for decorations for a party. And here? I can just walk around (or even stop along the road on the way to work) and snip off whatever I want. It's pretty neat. I also snapped a shot of a batch with berries this past weekend. Okay, off to bake more brownies. Have a good week everyone. Only six more days of waiting!!!