Nopalitos at HEB

Yesterday I went to our local grocery store (HEB) and saw these two ladies preparing these for sale. Nopal means cactus in Spanish and nopales is term for cactus stem. Nopalitos are the pads after they are prepared for cooking. These are from the prickly pear cactus.

Before I moved here, I didn't know these pretty cactus plants could also be eaten in tacos! I have tried a chicken taco before with nopalitos. It looks a little bit like sliced bell peppers but the taste is not the same. I'll have to try it again to refresh my memory since it's been a while.

Writing cards for the New Year

This evening I am feeling well again and realize I have lots to do to prepare the house for Tet this Thursday. At my previous job, I had plenty of holiday leave so I always knew that I could take a couple of days off to clean, shop, cook and so on. Starting my new job means no leave and preparations were to be made this past weekend but as you read, I spent most of it totally out of it with a throbbing head. I won't describe the rest of what the terrible cedar has done to so many of us around here.

I am hoping these cards will make it to their destinations on time! Mark and I wrote our well wishes to everyone and tomorrow they go in the mailbox. It was very hard to find Tet cards this year. Normally we've had good luck finding them in Hallmark, HEB and even Walgreen's stores. Not so this year in Seguin. Luckily my wonderful sister stopped by Saturday and shared her cards with me plus she also gave me some TLC. Thanks to Mark and Lan for taking such good care of me.

Cat in a House

I have been down and out with the allergies I'm afraid. Yesterday was the worst of it and I feel better today. At least good enough to post but I had to dig through some pictures to find one since I have't been out still.

One day on one of our walks, we passed by the Baxter-Fennell-Tips House. This is one of the small houses that is found on the perimeter of the main house. There were lots of cats in the area but I like little guy most. He just sat quietly watching us from his house.

Hope everyone has a good week. Tet is Thursday!

Volleyball night

A couple of nights ago, I went to the Seguin Activity Center where some friends were playing volleyball. It was hard to get a great shot b/c the lighting is challenging in the evening there. The flash can't do the job b/c of the distance but no flash was pushing it. I tried several manual settings but I still have a lot to learn. However, that said, I did find this one shot that I like. It looks like my friend Sonia could be playing basketball and not volleyball. I caught her at the right moment. Looks as if she just made a basket!

I am still fighting whatever it is I have -- can't tell if severe allergies or some bug going around that I have. All I know is I'm tired and the coughing is getting worse. :( So I have not been out and about too much for photo opportunities. Sorry. I'm now off to take the Theraflu and head to bed.

One last stop on our walk

Finally, after a walk from the house to the library, we circled around and stopped by the house of friends who have just moved here from California recently. They just got this new little puppy and we wanted to meet her. Her name is Gracie and they got her from the animal shelter. That is also where we got Smokey, our cat. They have a very clean facility and the animals are well cared for I think. I will try to make a visit there soon for a photo if possible.

How could you not love this face?

We passed this little cutie on our walk. I just love that face. I don't know if it is male or female but it was nice and never barked at us. It was just very watchful.

Woodpecker

Also spotted on our walk was this cool woodpecker. I normally don't take my camera with me when we go walking but I'm glad I did this time. I was busy looking for the cardinal I heard but Mark spotted this little guy. He looks a little different from the woodpecker we normally spot in our back yard. I enjoyed watching him busily check out different trees.

Colorful tree decorations

We made time to go for a walk today since it was actually really nice outside. Mild, in the low 60s, and partly cloudy. This was in a yard we pass on our route. I think it's very festive and it's nice to see them. Makes me smile.

We saw lots of great things on our walk so I may be posting more of what we saw the next couple of days. Hope you all have a great week.

Tet Preparations

Tet is the Vietnamese word for Lunar New Year, which will be on Thursday, February 7, this year. The day and date changes each year according to the lunar calendar. Most people just call this holiday Chinese New Year. Today my sister and I drove about 3 hours to get to the shops in Houston, which is due east of Seguin. It's the only place where we can find things such as the special yellow flower, Mai, that you see in between the golden mums. These flowers are considered good luck flowers, especially if they are in bloom as the new year rolls in. We stocked up on tons of cookies, candies and decorations. We also had some great Viet. food while we shopped. And of course I had my favorite drink, frozen mocha pearl tea. Mmmm...

I'm pretty tired now with all the driving but it was worth it. The festive atmosphere of the shops was what we needed to get us in the right frame of mind for Tet. Throngs of people pushed carts through the doors of the Hong Kong Market on Bellaire and we were thrilled really to be among this craziness. It gave us a chance to recall memories of all the celebrations our parents took us to when we were younger. In the Raleigh (NC) area where we grew up, there was always big Tet celebrations where the Vietnamese community would come together to eat, sing, perform traditional skits and dances, pass out gifts to the kids (usually the red envelopes filled with lucky money) and celebrate together. It was nice to think about those times again with Lan. Last year I also posted about Tet on February 18.

Another soggy day

Lately all we've had is drizzly, cold days. Today's no different. It's been so gloomy and wet, I have not really been out and about. Just to work and then home. This is on Kingsbury just before you get to the Water Park Experts company on the left and Texas Lutheran University on the right. I do like that old Chevy truck in front of me.

Farewell trees

I don't know when exactly the trees were chopped down but we went to take papers to recycling and saw many trees were gone from this nearby facility that the school is using for administrative offices or something like that. It used to be very nice to walk by the trees but perhaps they were sick and needed to be taken out. I'm hoping that was the case. Otherwise, I don't know why you chopped down any trees. You can see my feet in the shot, just wanted to show you how big the trunk was next to my size 7 feet. :)

I also shot other photos of the trunks. I liked them so much for some reason so I took several shots. You can check them out and let me know your favorite if you wish. Have a great Thursday. By the way, we just got back from the Spurs/Lakers game and I'm pushing to get this posted in time for it to count as Wednesday! :) Spurs won. Yah!

1 Close up in color
2 Wide shot in black and white
3 Close up in black and white
4 Side view close up in black and white

Digging a big hole

My friend gave me a ride back to work after we dropped off my car for a state inspection. As we drove by these workers, we were impressed by the sheer size of that drill! Being the great friend she is, she immediately offered to do another drive by so I could snap a shot. My husband is just as nice. I think they are psychic or they are beginning to see things and think, "photo blog..." :)

This drill shot reminds me that Mark and I once hired someone to help us dig some holes for the deck in the back of the house. After digging over 25 holes 20+ inches deep for our fence, we were ready to have some help with the rocky ground. Though our guy's drill was smaller than this in the photo, he assured us it could take it b/c it's tough and sturdy. Well, we felt really bad b/c it broke. That's how rocky some areas can be around here. In the end, we finished digging the rest of the holes. I'll have to find a picture of that project.

MLK Banquet

This past Saturday night, we attended the Banquet and we had quite a treat. Instead of the dinner theatre format typically used in the past, there was dinner and music this year. The choir was FABULOUS.

This is only a portion of the Huston-Tillotson University Concert Choir and we were blown away by how wonderful the kids were. We imagine that had the entire choir made the trip from Austin, they would have blown the roof off the coliseum (per Mark and I agree). The "choir is comprised of voice and instrumental music majors as well as students who sing fo rthe sheer love of performing the standard choral concert repertoire at a very high level," as stated in the program.

This talented group has performed for President George Bush at the opening of the Texas State Museum, at Lady Bird Johnson's funeral and for President Jimmy Carter. They will travel to St. Thomas US Virgin Islands this February! Since they are located in Austin, we hope to have an opportunity to go up there to hear them again some time this year.

Thank you everyone for your funny comments about the squirrels. I really enjoyed reading them and got plenty of chuckles in as well. Remember if you have any requests to see about-town shots of Seguin, just let me know.

Squirreling around

Last week was very cold, rainy or overcast...dark. This weekend? Beautiful. This morning we woke to bright blue, clear skies and we're all taking advantage of the sun. Spotted these two little squirrels coming out together for breakfast. We have dozens and dozens of squirrels around here. Sometimes they are cute and sometimes I find them pesky b/c they take over things, knocking over our insulators, tearing around the yard, hissing at me and sometimes Smokey. They don't always like to share the yard. :)




I want to thank J.C. of Subang Jaya, Jim of Terrell and Southern Heart of Memphis for honoring me with a You Make My Day Award! It is such a great surprise and adds to my happiness about continuing to keep up with the blog again. :)

The award rules say: "Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

I have learned so much about blogging, photography and the kindness and sensitivity that still exists in people and this makes me very happy. Through the daily photo blogs, I not only get to revisit places I have been but also places I have yet to see and know. I also make new friends along the way. My ten picks follows, though many other destinations also come to mind!

Please visit them and see for yourself how beautiful their photos and writings are -- I think you will enjoy the daily photo community.

Jilly of Menton
Abe of Brookville
Keropok Man of Singapore
Edwin S. of Kuala Lumpur
Nathalie of Avignon
Joy of Norwich
Dot of Georgia
Annie of Little Rock
Lynette of Portland
Mitch of Minneapolis
Jenny of Sharon

Peach blossoms

Thank you everyone for sending your well wishes regarding my cedar fever. I am all better now thanks to the doctor's visit and the rain that washed down much of the pollin floating around.

Last week when Mark and I were out, he pointed out these peach blossoms. Pretty, but with a cold snap, they may not make it to spring. That happens when you have flip flop weather. It's beautiful and sunny so some things might start budding and then you get hit with below freezing weather and the new growth doesn't always survive.

Right now it is about 35F but with the wind chill, it feels like 29F. Pretty cold for around here. We're going to get Chinese food tonight. Some soup sounds good to ward off the damp cold.

Persimmon

This little tree is in the same garden as the scallions from last week. I loved the look of it despite the tinge of sadness in the drying fruit. I believe those are persimmons (which I love). I couldn't get closer as I don't know the garden owner.

The little tree makes me think of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. Which makes me want to make this persimmon tree my honorary Lunar New Year tree. February 7 will be the first day of the new year for many Asian communities, families and individuals. We will be celebrating the year of the rat (or mouse, if you prefer). If you are Vietnamese, you call Lunar New Year, Tet.

There is typically not a lot of Tet festivities going on in Seguin -- not in public anyway. But Mark and I usually do the house up in preparation. For now, I would like to point you to a few other Daily Photo Blogs I enjoy visiting -- Subang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. These, in particular, are in Asian countries so you can get a glimpse of what other people do to prepare for New Year's Day. Me? I must start cleaning house!

Staring at the honey pot...

What does a honey pot have to do with my lack of posting? Well, the cedar pollin has been out in full force and I had done well in avoiding "cedar fever" but then it hit me hard Sunday and I was simply too out of it to post. This morning, my head pressure was much better but I was so tired, I just sat at the kitchen table and I barely break my gazing at the honey pot. I really like the bee. We have a little collection of these little pots. Now, if only our sweet little bees will produce some honey for US this coming year! :)

Anyway, cedar fever is a big thing around here. I had never heard of it before moving here but the pollin can really make people's lives quite miserable. Itchy eyes, scratchy throats, cough, slight fever, a head that is so full of pressure that even sleep doesn't provide relief. Sound fun?

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!!!

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.