CHRISTMAS 2013

Well, Christmas has come and gone.  I had a wonderful Christmas.  Our family celebrates Christmas on Christmas day.  We gather together around 11:00, open presents, and have an unusual dinner.  We are all tired of turkey and ham by this time so we eat very untraditional things.  This year, we had fajitas, guacamole, queso and chips, rice, and refried beans.  Um-um Good!

Daughter-in-law (DIL) told Daughter to buy Girl-child and Squeaky a magazine subscription for Christmas.  So, Daughter did.  I was sitting next to Squeaky when she opened that gift.  She showed me the informational fly that Daughter had included in the box and said, "I just got a piece of paper." I proceeded to explain to her that she would be getting a magazine, addressed to her, each month in the mail and this magazine would have some fun activities as well as some stories that she and DIL could read together.  She dropped her head in her hands, started shaking her head and saying, "I don't like this.  It's just a piece of paper." The whole time this is going on, Girl-child is punching her in the leg and whispering to her to stop it and be gracious about her gift.  DIL realizes what is happening and she begins to explain that she was going to get a magazine that came in the mail, addressed to her with her name on it, and she WAS going to like it.  Fortunately, Daughter found this amusing and laughed about it.  I did think that out of all of this, Girl-child was sweet and showing such maturity to try to make her younger sister be gracious about her gift and not hurt Daughter's feelings. 

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out.  The grandkids have reached an age where they play really well together and there isn't a lot of fussing over toys anymore.  Boy-child and Girl-child will be 9 years old in April.  I'm not sure how much longer they will believe in the magic of Santa Claus which makes me sad.  I wish they could all stay little forever.  I know their parents don't wish that but I do.

It was nice to have such a relaxing Christmas.  When Son and DIL lived out of the country and was home for 2 weeks at Christmas, it was very hectic.  They had to try to schedule a lot of appointments, see our family, DIL's family, friends, and be a lot of places in a short period of time.  This year, we no longer had to do that and it was nice.

I'm looking forward to the New Year and to what 2014 will bring.  So, here's to a Happy New Year to each and everyone!

 

Curly, Squeaky, Girl-child, Boy-child, Popcorn



FAREWELL TO LIZZY LU'S

I think I've mentioned in an earlier post that I started a ladies' accessories business about 3 years ago.  The name of my business, Lizzy Lu's.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am the queen of accessories and after shopping at festivals, markets, arts/craft shows, I was pretty sure that I would enjoy selling accessories and would be pretty good at it.  So, my adventure as a small business owner began.

I have learned a TON of things about owning and running a business over the past 3 years.  I have met some great people along the way.  I developed a following of customers and have met some great vendors.  I really didn't expect to make as many friends among the vendors as I have.  So, that was a wonderful added bonus along the way.  You figure out what shows to do and soon discover that a lot of the same people do the same shows as you so you develop these friendships. You learn a lot from each other.

One of the best shows I did was Angleton Market Days in Angleton, TX.  This show started as a small  show put on by the city of Angleton at the Brazoria County Fairgrounds.  They had 3 buildings and a lot of area outside for vendors.  The very first show I did, 2 of the buildings were full and the third building only had about 10 vendors.  This past November, all 3 buildings were full, a covered pavilion had been added and it was full, and all the outside area offered was full.  The show in March 2014 is already full including an additional small building that will hold additional inside vendors.  WOW, has this thing grown.  The people there are G-R-E-A-T, customers, vendors, and the people who put on the show.  If you ever have the opportunity to go to one of Angleton Market Days (March or November), please do.  You will find some great things and have a great time.

The circuit of shows happens 2 times a year.  March/May and October/December.  The shows are usually 2 days, Saturday and Sunday, with a set-up day, Friday.  It is a lot of work but I found it to be a lot of fun. 

I have girlfriends who would help me on show days.  We got to have some fun girl times with a lot of laughing and some crazy experiences with customers!  Let me just say, what happens at Lizzy Lu's, stays at Lizzy Lu's! 

Anyway, the weekend of December 14 & 15 was my last show.  Forever.  For several reasons, which I won't go into, I decided to close my business.  It has made me sad.  But I am thankful for this experience.  Like I said, I have learned A LOT.  Just to show you how great the people are in Angleton, the ladies who put on that show offered to arrange a trunk show to help me get rid of my leftover inventory.  They provided a place, publicized it, furnished refreshments, etc.  Thanks to them, I am down to very, very little inventory.  Thank you so much Martha, Kaci, and Patti.

I'm not sure what I will do now.  But, I want to do something.  It may not be a business, but it will be something. I just haven't figured it out yet.

So, here's a farewell to Lizzy Lu's.  She was a good friend who I will miss terribly.

KINDERGARTEN FIELD TRIP

Yesterday, I got to go on a field trip!  YAY!  Since I always was working, I never got to go on  a field trip unless I took a day off, which didn't happen very often.  So, yesterday, Curly invited me to go with her kindergarten class on a field trip to a Christmas Tree Farm.  Mr. W, Daughter and Popcorn went too. :).

We went to Holiday Acres Christmas Tree Farm in Manvel, TX.  It was a great place for kids.

When we arrived, Curly's class was the first to go on a hayride.  They loaded all the kids and parents and grandparents on 2 trailers pulled by a tractor and off we went.  The man who owned the farm stopped and talked about the types of trees they grew and about how you can tell how old a tree is.  Mr. W decided that none of these kids were going to be horticulturist.  They were pretty much interested in what the man had to say for about 2 minutes.

 

The next leg of our field trip was playing on hay bales.  How fun is a playing on hay bales?  LOTS!

 

After you play on hay bales, you need a snack. Right? So, you roast marshmallows and make smores.  Yummy.

 I didn't want to bring up the fact that Curly is always surrounded by boys. I didn't want to make Son-in-Law nervous yet. :)

 

They then split the class in half and did a scavenger hunt.  Curly ran over to one side and most of the kids ran over yelling, "I want to be on Curly's team."  Daughter was standing back with a big smile on her face.  Did I mention that my kids, Son and Daughter, grew up being quite competitive? Well, Daughter was trying real hard to not be a "proud" momma, but it wasn't working....

After the scavenger hunt, we had a picnic lunch and some free play time.  They had some plastic disks that you would sit on and slide down the hill as well as some green tires that you could climb. 

After the picnic lunch and a little hill sliding and tire climbing, it was time to leave.  There were some tired kids and a tired Mimi leaving Holiday Acres Christmas Tree Farm.  But, boy, am I glad that I had so much fun with some special people.

GRANDPARENTS' DAY

Last Friday, Curly had Grandparents' Day at her school.  I had known this since school started and had it on my calendar. 

One day when talking with Curly, she told me that she wished she had grandparents.  Do what?  I preceded to tell her that she did have grandparents.  I was one of them.  She told me no, that she wanted a grandma.  Ok and I'm what????  So, I told her that I was her grandma and that her Nanna was her other grandma.  She told me no.  I was Mimi and Nanna was Nanna.  Ah, so here lies the problem.  I tried my best to explain that even though she called me Mimi and she called Nanna, Nanna, we were in fact her grandmas.  Curly was having nothing to do with that explanation.  She wanted a grandma and grandparents.  I tell Daughter about my conversation and ask her to try to explain.  Evidently Daughter did a good job because the next time I talked with Curly, she explained that I was her grandparent and therefore she would have grandparents at Grandparents' Day at her school.  Wow, what a relief!

So, last Friday I make the trip to Curly's school.  Very seldom does it rain and get really, really cold in H-town, but last Friday, it did.  I know some of you from up north are probably laughing at what I call really, really cold.  Anyway, I was glad that I left early because the traffic was worse than normal. 

The school had pie and coffee/punch for each grandparent and that was followed by a program by the kindergarten kids.  Curly goes to a private Christian school and part of the program was for the children to recite a Bible verse about thankfulness.  With about 90 kids, it is hard for all of them to stay together.  So, the teacher had Curly and her BFF Hope come to the microphone and lead the other kids in the Bible verse.  This "grandma" was very proud of her.

They also sang some songs and were dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians.  Here are some pics from this very special day.

 

This was a pic with Pops who, by the way, is not a grandparent.  He is Pops.  Maybe Daughter didn't do such a good job after all.

 

 

 

See my little Indian maiden standing by the Pilgrim.  Cutest little Indian maiden ever.

 

But last but not least, each child gave their grandparents a framed picture of them dressed up like a grandma or grandpa with a poem about grandparents.  What a treasure.......and what a great idea.  I love this.  All the girls wore the same outfit in their picture and all the boys wore the same outfit in their picture.  I love the pill box hat and the eyeglasses chain and pearls.

 



What is funny about this is Daughter dressed up like an old woman one year for Halloween.  She had the shawl, the eye glasses and I can't remember if she had pearls or not.  We sprayed her hair silver and put it in a bun with a hair net over it.  I wish I could find a picture of her dressed like that.  It would be fun to compare the 2 pictures.

BACK IN H-TOWN

I haven't posted anything for a while.  You were probably thinking that I had given up writing the blog or that I wasn't doing anything exciting or.......

Well, the truth is, I am back in H-town for the holidays.  My kids and grandkids live here so, where else would I be for the holidays? Right?  Remember that I mentioned that I have a ladies' accessories business?  Well, this is the time of year that my business goes crazy.  I do not have a store front.  I just do festivals and markets and holiday shows.  So, every weekend from this past weekend to the weekend before Christmas, I have a show.  Not many people know this, but at the end of this show season, my business is closing.  Mr. W may live to regret this since my clothing and accessories bill has been cut drastically since I started this business.  But, I guess being retired and living in an RV doesn't call for an over abundance of clothing and accessories.

I will have a few posts before the first of the year.  Mainly it will be of Curly's birthday party and Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I will be leaving around January 8th to head to south Texas and the blog will "fire up" again.  But, if you don't want to read about my family and holiday events, please check back in January.

If I don't get to "share some time with you" before the holidays, have a great Thanksgiving and a very blessed Christmas.  Remember, Jesus is the reason for the season.

IN SEARCH OF THE AMISH COMMUNITY

Today, I went on an extended drive across some beautiful Missouri countryside.  I told you earlier that Mr. W's brother (DWW) is visiting.  DWW had read somewhere that there was an Amish community nearby and he really wanted to locate it.  For any of you who know Mr. W, you know he is the Google Master.  So, he Googled info on the Amish community nearby and off we went.

The day started out very foggy but eventually cleared off and was beautiful.  The roads I travelled today were not your normal Interstate or even 4 lane roads.  These were 2 lane and in one case, an unpaved, not quite 2 lane road.

The local weatherman on one of the local channels said the other night that you will see the leaves on the trees in the cemeteries changing first.  Did he say what I thought he said?  Does he hang out at random cemeteries? How does he know this?  Who says this on TV?  But then, who stops at random cemeteries to take pictures of the trees changing?? Right?  Well, regardless, he was right.  Thus, the pictures below.

The journey continues and I pass a sign that says something about a cattle and elk ranch.  Not sure exactly what it said but as I kept going, I went over a hill and there sat 4 buck elk under a tree.  So, we stop to take some pics.  As we are taking pics, a car stops and a man says, "If you want to see some elk up close, turn around, go to M street and take a left, go to E street and take another left and keep driving toward the barn."  Mr. W is looking at him like the man was trying to get us shot by driving somewhere we shouldn't.  The man says, "I own this place so feel free to go."  Well, you don't have to tell us twice!

Off we go and here's what it looked like driving back on the property.  Pretty huh?

Sure enough, right as we got to the bottom of this hill, there was a buck with one of the biggest rack of antlers I have ever seen.  His harem of does and baby elk where all around him.  When I got out to take pics, all females surrounded him as if to protect him.  He finally stood up.  But, if I had to carry around that rack of antlers, I would probably stay sitting down as much as I could too!

We finally made it to the small town of Ava, Missouri and had lunch at a local restaurant which was good and our waitress gave us some tips on finding the Amish community. 

We travel on down the road and as we are passing through the little town of Seymour, Missouri, sister-in-law (Barb) says that she sees an Amish person in their horse and buggy.  So, we turn around and drive back toward the horse and buggy.  But, there is no horse and buggy......anywhere. We are not talking a lot of area to try to backtrack.  We are talking maybe 2 blocks.  We are in a pick-up truck, the Amish in a horse and buggy.  (If she drank, which she doesn't, I might have thought that she had been hitting the bottle a little early. Maybe Barb needs to have her contact lens strengthened???    just saying.......)  So, we head toward the road where their farms are suppose to be located.  There were signs on the highway and on the road off the highway that shows the horse and buggy and says, "Share the Road".  So, we know we must be in the right place.

As we get to the road where we are suppose to turn, I look and there is a horse and buggy being driven by an Amish woman.

 

 

As we continued down this road, we did pass several Amish farms.  How do you know it is an Amish farm you ask?  They have buggys parked outside in stalls, windmills on the property, the people are dressed differently, and no power equipment.  Most of the farms were on this main road so we couldn't really stop to take pics.  There was too much traffic.  So, sadly, the pic above of the woman driving the horse and buggy is the only pic I got.  I guess I'll have to take another trip to the actual Amish country if I want more pics. It will be tough but someone has to do it.....  :) 

 

Just as a side note, we were driving down a road when we came upon a barn close to the road.  I love old metal barns and think they are great photo ops.  I only had time to roll down my window and snap quickly.  I like how it turned out so I am including it below. 

 



DOGWOOD CANYON

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