Viva Las Vegas

So, we're off on a trip.  Wish us luck.

There will be birthdays celebrated, visits made.  And, I hope I can come home with lots of $$$ to spend in the garden.  I won't hold my breath, though...haha...

I'll let you know how it went.

Flying Down to Rio

Well....not really flying...but...

If you saw the post about We Got Rocks, you  know we had a creek/drain put in.  We call it The Rio.
Well....it ended at the back gate.  But, the drainage problem didn't end there.  So, we called Sara from Enjoy Your Landscape, to come back out and make an extension.  What do you think?

The water can flow through the gate, and on down to the lowest part of the yard. 

It's better now.  That space between The Rio and the fence, will be a flower bed.  Another fine opportunity to dig in the dirt and rocks.  I haven't had much time, here lately, for digging.

It'll all be there, when I get to it.

But, I think it's going to work.

By the way...the kids decided The Rio should be Rio Linda.  Hmmm....we'll see.

I’ll Be Seeing You…..

I’ve written here before, about the sudden loss of someone, when our neighbor passed away, back in the fall.  This time it hit closer to home.


Mr. P’s sister, passed away last week.  She’d felt bad for a short while.   Her son came over and drove her to her doctor.  The doctor diagnosed stomach flu, and gave her some medicine to help with the symptoms.


After seeing that she ate something, and took her medicine, her son left her to rest.  Mr. P. was on his way to her area, for a business meeting the next day.  They talked on the phone, about an hour or so after our nephew left.  She was tired, so they decided they’d wait until the next day to visit.  Then, another hour passed, when our nephew couldn’t reach her on the phone.  Her neighbor was called, but couldn’t rouse her either.  So, a call went out to 911.  It appears she sat down on the sofa to watch television, fell asleep and just slipped away. 


She’ll  be missed.  Her son and daughter-in-law, and their two boys.  Her brother and I, our children and grandchildren.  We’ll all miss ‘Aunt Barbara’. 


Those we love, live on in our hearts and our memories.  Those of us who believe there’s something better on the other side, look forward to seeing those loved ones again sometime.


So, here’s to you, Barbara.  We loved you.  We’ll miss you.  And, as your mother loved to say….

I’ll be seeing you.

We Were Warned...

They told us it was going to get cold.  Actually, it's BEEN cold, here at the Patchwork Garden.  Just not this cold.

When I first woke up this morning, it was 8 (eight) degrees Fahrenheit. 

I went back to bed.

A couple of hours later, it had warmed up.  Wow...10 (ten) degrees.  That's what the old fashioned thermometer said. 

The new fangled one, that has the thermometer outside and you read it inside, said 9 degrees.  What's one degree, right?

The water along the sides of the creek was frozen.

This side looked like someone had painted it, with a heavy brush.  Or did some critters come out to skate across it?

This side was just frozen solid....the leaves all suspended in the ice.

I hope the icy grass on the golf course, was because they watered before the freeze.  That's supposed to help insulate.

 These blades of frozen grass, look like ice straws.

The prickly pear growing along the creek was frosted.

And, the gourd birdhouse, hanging high in the tree, was sprinkle with glittery frost.

Could this little guy be the one who left the skate pattern on the ice?  He looked cold, with his feathers all fluffed out.  Probably looking for a drink.  There was still water flowing along. 

It's supposed to be cold again, tonight.  I need to go cover some things, again.

You know....maybe we should've taken Santa's lead...

and headed on down to the tropics, after the Holidays.

Stay warm.

You Can't Win 'Em All

Well....looks like you can't win 'em all.  You can try.  But, sometimes it just doesn't work out.

The Longhorns lost the big game. 

Our starting quarterback was hurt within the first five plays of the game.

Our back-up quarterback is good.  But, he's a very young man, and had little or no experience in college play.  He'll be back next year, and he'll do a good job for the team.

But, on this night, in the Rose Bowl, the team just couldn't pull it off.  They gave it a good try.  There were some exciting plays.  It even looked for a while, like they'd make it.  But, it just was not to be.

So, congratulations to Alabama.  They played a good game.

We still love our team.  They'll be back strong.  We'll be there to watch.

HOOK 'EM HORNS!!

Live the Dream Again...

As you may know, we are HUGE Longhorn fans.
And, as you may also know, The Longhorns of The University of Texas are playing the
The Crimson Tide of The University of Alabama for the
BCS National Championship.
January 7, 2010
in the
Rose Bowl.

Here's hoping these young men play a good game, nobody gets hurt and
let the best team win.

and.....

Hook 'em Horns!!!

Road Trip....Fredericksburg, Texas

We've had some pretty days lately.  Cold and crisp, with the kind of bright sky you only get, with that kind of weather.

We took advantage of the day, and took a short drive over to Fredericksburg. 

Fredricksburg is a Hill Country town, settled by Germans, in the 1840s.  It's famous for it's quaint bed and breakfast lodging, and shopping.  And, of course, the old fashioned German ambience.

We went to see the German Christmas Windmill.  It's almost thirty feet high.  

Each tier depicts a different aspect of German Christmas decorating.

The bottom tier, depicts the Nativity.

The shepherds.

The three Kings.

A tier with carolers.

Wooden 'smokers'.  Small sizes of these would burn incense.

There were tiers with Nutcrackers and Angels....but, for some reason, I didn't get photos of those.

A real Christmas windmill would be powered by candles.  The 'candles' on this one, are powered by electricity, as is the windmill.  The figures parade around and around.

It was a nice day.