August 15, 2015

A Lazy Day and a Trip to the Beach

August 15, 2015

Took this photo from the causeway going over to the island.

Today was a lazy day.  I was up at 5:00 for antihistamines prior to my allergy shots at 6:00.  I stayed up and worked on doing some cleaning.  Our house is still a mess from the hectic couple of weeks we have recently had.  After the allergy shots, again got a few things done and then read for a while; Ron left for the morning.  I napped some and then got my shower and got my hair cut before lunch.  Lunch was simple and then I finished the book I was reading.

I trimmed the extra fabric from a quilt I had recently had machine quilted and then I made the binding for the quilt.  I hope to get it sewn on soon.  Ron had been napping and I woke him so we could go to the island for a birthday party for our granddaughter.  Any time I say, "the island", I am referring to South Padre Island which is about 25 miles from our house and has the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Laguna Madre on the other side (a bay).

We were to be at the island for the birthday party at 5:30.  When we got to Port Isabel, the traffic was bumper to bumper.  It took 30 minutes from the edge of town to the pool where the party would take place.  It was just after 5:45 when we arrived and we were the first ones there.  It was a beautiful day and the pool is lovely.

For the party the family had the pool reserved and everyone had a good time in the water.  Let me restate that: those who went into the pool enjoyed it.  I did not go swimming.  If I go into the pool, I need to take off my Cochlear Sound Processor, but with all the grandchildren and cousins in the pool, I don't want to be deaf in the pool.

Fun in the pool

There were about 24 there for the party and it was a relaxing evening.  The heat was not as bad as it has been and for that I was very thankful.  Since it was not windy, hearing was not a big problem.  I enjoyed the laughter of the children and the conversation of the adults.

Mom and my sister Debbie at the party

The kids and their dads had fun in the pool and then we ate supper of hot dogs, and tortillas with beans and cheese, by special request of our granddaughter, the birthday girl.  Then they were back in the pool until time for cupcakes.

 Her cake

There were gifts to open and then more swimming.  Ron and I left and with now more bumper to bumper traffic, and it took us 1 hour and 10 minutes to get back to Port Isabel.  What a mess!  

Sunset

Traffic thinned out as we headed to Brownsville.  It seemed like a short trip to me as I spent the whole time on the phone with our daughter-in-law in New Mexico.  After we got home, it was not long until we were both asleep.

Sunset reflecting on the clouds to the East

August 14, 2015

Celebrations Continue

August 14, 2015

It seems like August has become a very busy celebration month in our family.  Today we are celebrating the birthday of one of the granddaughters.  She turns 10 years old today.  Tomorrow she will be having a swimming party, but I didn't want to take her gift to the island and get it sandy.  More on that later.

For some crazy reason, I woke up at 5:00 this morning and knew I could not get back to sleep so I stayed up and cleaned.  I got 4 loads of laundry done and all of the laundry folded and put away.  I cleaned the utility room and worked in the sewing room.  I finished unpacking all that I could do without Ron's help.  For the first time in a long time I made his coffee and I was the one who woke him up for a change.

During the time before work, I also baked muffins for breakfast, got the things organized for the birthday gift, and I got several other chores done.  Of course as I was driving to the office about 10:00, I was sleepy.

At the office I helped with a few customers.  It was not a real busy day.  I did some computer work and emptied trash - all those exciting things that have to be done.  The birthday gift is for the two oldest of Jeff's girls.  It is their birthday and Christmas gifts all in one.  I wrapped the gift in Christmas and birthday paper since it is for Christmas and their birthdays

After lunch our daughter-in-law came with all the children and let the girls open the gifts.  I bought them a sewing machine.  They were both pleased and are eager to try it out.  It is exactly like the one I have at the office so they have used mine and will know how to work the new one.

 

The first one figures out what it is!

In God's perfect timing, their Sunday School teacher for the last few years came by a couple of days ago, to bring some fabric to make stuffed toys out of and so I was able to give those to them also.  There were a few little items they needed for the sewing machine, and then some scraps that a lady gave me recently at a garage sale.  They have enough to get started.

Now the other one realizes that it really is a sewing machine in the box!

I hope the sewing machine will give them many years of joy and creative expression.  They both have a lot of imagination and are artistic, so it will be fun to see what they create.

They all stayed and visited for about 45 minutes and it was good to see them.  They had several errands to run in town so they stopped by to cool off and visit us between appointments.

After I left the office, I took some mail to the post office and then went to meet Mom, my sister Debbie, and my husband for supper.  It was so good.  We had a nice chat and enjoyed our time together.  From there I went to Kohl's and used a gift card.  Then I came home and started one more load of laundry - the last.

August 13, 2015

Getting Caught Up

August 13, 2015

One of my favorite photos from the weekend.  

This beautiful young lady is Diana's niece.

After a trip we all have things to do to get caught up at home and at work.  At home there is laundry to be done, bags to unpack, and yard work to tackle.  At the office there are deposits to make, bills to pay, and bookkeeping to keep me busy.  This blog should get me caught up from falling behind on the trip.  Since there was no internet access, I could not work on them at Quiet Hill Ranch. 

Still, I have not had time to take photos, so I continue to share some from the trip.  In the next few days I may show more of the bird photos.  It was so much fun to take the bird photos.

Both of Diana's nieces playing a game of checkers

This morning we were up at 6:00 so I could take the medicine before the allergy shots.  I am doing much better with the shots this week.  They are not causing the large red itchy areas.  I did the shots at 7:00 and then worked on cleaning the kitchen and started some laundry.  By the time I went to the office a little after 10:00 I had made my lunches for today and tomorrow and gotten one load of laundry dried and another washed.  Then I discovered several bags Ron had set in the living room that I need to unpack.  I started on one but did not get too far.

Running to the pool

At the office, much of the day was spent on the last of the monthly bookkeeping.  I was able to mail the reports to the accountant and now just need to pay bills tomorrow and I will be caught up on my work.

Enjoying the pool

A few minutes early I left the office and came to the house.  I got a couple of chores done and then when Ron arrived we met our friends for supper.  We had a good time telling them all about the trip.  It was a lot of fun to share with them. 

Vickey bought some bubbles that don't really "pop".  

You can catch them or they will catch you.  She has several in her hair.

The filters on my Cochlear sound processor need to be changed and I hope to do that tonight.  Ron usually does it for me, but I need to try to do it.  I hope that improves the hearing.  It has sounded very tinny the last few days.

Dad and daughter time

Tomorrow or this weekend, I hope to get back to sewing.  I haven't been able to do any this week.

August 12, 2015

Happy Anniversary!

August 12, 2015

Bob and Vickey

August 12, is Bob and Vickey's wedding anniversary.  It is a joy to see our children add up years of marriage celebrations; not just to brag about how many years they have been married, but to show that they are still working together to make their marriage work.  The years of their marriage have not all been easy.  Vickey gave up a lot in order for Bob to get his doctorate in Space Physics.  She was always an encourager to Bob, helping him achieve his goals.  In return, he does the same for her; not because he owes it to her, but because he loves her.  Happy Anniversary!

Another deer as we were leaving the ranch Monday

Wednesday was a day of work at the office.  And sleep.  I am off caffine and oh, my, I can't stay awake.  Ron commented that I was snoring a couple of times at the office.  I told him I knew I was sleeping, but he was there and it was not too busy.  Each time the door to the office opens the loud chimes wake me, but sometimes I just check to be sure he is helping the customer.  I will adjust in a few days, but in the meantime, I am so sleepy!

There are a lot of goat and sheep ranches in the area as well as cattle.

At the office I still had some "first of the month" things to finish up. I spent time dealing with the credit card slips from things we sell.  The credit card company we use sends us pages and pages of information each month, but they are so much harder to reconcile than the previous company.  After we closed, I still stayed a while to work on things without interruptions.  From there I went to the drug store to pick up a prescription and then to Mom's house.  We had a brief visit before I headed home to fix supper. 

A quiet stream near the ranch

I spent the evening working on a couple of blog entries and got one posted and one was almost ready to post.  One of my sisters was coming for a visit and arrived at the airport at just about midnight.  I went to pick her up and take her to Mom's house.  When I got home, it was late, but I wanted to finish the blog that was almost done.  When I started to work on it, I noticed one was not on the list.  I have no idea what happened, but one blog disappeared!  I spent time searching for it, but finally gave up and went to bed.

 Jeff and his youngest

There has still not been time for me to take photos, so I will continue to use some from our trip.  I do have some favorites.  Hope you like them.

The lodge at Quiet Hill Ranch

August 9, 2015

Sunday Blessings

August 9, 2015

The horse and donkey grazing around the swimming pool early Sunday morning.

Ron and I were both up early Sunday morning and were walking around outside near the lodge when we encountered the horse and the donkey.  They are very docile animals.  Before long I encountered our youngest grandson our looking for someone who would get him some breakfast.  He is much more active than the horse and donkey!

Painted Bunting

After I got him settled, I headed to the birding blind and soon Ron left with Jeff and David to get some items in town.  They were going to have to go later to get rotisserie chickens for lunch so they ended up just waiting and killing time in town to be able to do it all in one trip.  It is about a 45 minute drive each way to the place they were going. 

Western Scrub Jay

One of the granddaughters joined me for a while in the bird blind.  There was a book where we could list the birds we saw and so she and I worked on that list and she drew some pictures of the birds in the log book and left a comment about the blind: "AWESOME".

The scrape above her eyebrow happened when she 

was swimming and ran into the side of the pool.  

Later I returned to the lodge and had biscuits for breakfast.  Sunday was a relaxing day and several slept late while the children were in and out of the pool and hiking the trails.  The little girl in the picture above saw deer frequently when she hiked and had no idea how high they could jump, to clear a fence.  She came back from each hike excited about what she had seen. 

On one trip back to the lodge, I found Stephen and Kristina petting the donkey.

The youngest of the children got food and water for the cat that lives on the lodge porch.

Snoopy the cat was totally gentle and not bothered by the activity of the children.

The wide shaded porch was a relaxing place to sit and watch the kids in the pool.

Barb prepared the rest of the lunch food: baked potatoes, salad, and green beans complimented the chicken.  It was a delicious meal.

Sunday was a relaxing day.  We are blessed with such a terrific family.  We are not perfect, but we love each other and we love the Lord.  We are too scattered to get together very often, but we enjoy the times we can spend together.  The cousins all pick right up where they left off on the last visit and all get along very well.  We talk until the wee hours of the mornings and all go home sleep deprived after one of these gatherings. 

Ron, Linda, and our four sons

After a little time to relax after lunch, we started on group photos.  They are amazing!  What a super bunch we have.

We are proud of everyone of them and each holds a

 special place in the family.  God has been so good to us.

Following the group shots inside, pictures of the couples were taken outside.

Stephen and Kristina are the newly weds.  

They have been married 9 months and are very happy as they continue to get settled.

David and Diana have been married almost 11 years and are blessed

 to be able to be caring for Diana's niece and nephew.  They also brought 

another niece with them for the weekend and she fit in very well.

Bob and Vickey have been married 21 years this week.  

They have a deep love for each other and enjoy their married life.  

They live the furthest from the rest of us.

Jeff and Barb have been married the longest at almost 22 years. 

 They are the proud parents of 7 children and could not be happier.  

Each of our boys selected the wife who was perfect for them.  They are so blessed with their choices.

Stephen and Kristina had to leave late Sunday afternoon to both be at work Monday morning.  We loved having them there for as much time as possible but hated to see them go, and I know they wanted to stay.  After they left Diana, Barb, and Vickey went shopping for a little bit in Fredericksburg.  I returned to the photo blind and took more pictures.  The girls weren't gone long and about sunset several of the adults and children left on a hike.  Of course since I was not with them, they saw deer.  The only deer (and antelope) I saw were on our way out of the area Monday about noon.

It was another good day.  God is good.

August 11, 2015

Back to Work

August 11, 2015

 Learning to take a selfie

There has not been time for photos since I got home, so I will continue to share a few from our trip until I have time to get back to taking some pictures.

Having gotten home at midnight, by the time I helped unload the car, checked my emails, etc. it was 2:00 before I got to sleep.  We both overslept the 5:00 time for my antihistamine prior to my allergy shots.  So a little after 6:00 I took the medication and then the shots at 7:00.  I did some unpacking before going to the office around 10:00.

Ron was in the office all day doing work brought in by customers.  I helped some at the counter until I left for my doctor's appointment a little after lunch time.  This visit was for the results of the biopsies done when I had the endoscopy done at the hospital a couple of weeks ago.  This time I saw the Nurse Practitioner who just happens to be the doctor's wife.  She went over all the results with me.  There is no cancer.  There is no bacterial infection that often leads to the types of problems they found during the procedure.

Photo bomb bunny

So when she finished with that information, I said, "So that's the good news.  What is the bad news?"  She opened a desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper and said, "This diet for 6-9 months."  The sheet just listed the things I can't have.  I asked what I could have.  She named a few things.  Anyway the bottom line is that I am to have nothing acidic or that can be hard on the stomach.  No citrus: oranges, grapefruit, limes, lemons, or pineapple.  No tomato products: No fresh tomatoes, pasta sauce, pizza, lasagna, or spaghetti.  No sodas:  Yikes!  Dr. Peppers are my mainstay.  No coffee except with food already in stomach.  No problem, I don't drink coffee.  No chocolate - not too bad.  I like it, but can do without.  No vinegar based products: No vinegar based salad dressing, olives, pickles, and jalapenos that are preserved with vinegar; no salsa from a jar.  Not a big problem.  No peppermint - no problem, gave it up long ago - really bad for acid reflux.  No excessively spicy food.  Never have liked those.  So, it will be an inconvenience, but I can live with it.  She prescribed a much stronger Prilosec.

At this time they don't recommend the surgery for the hiatus hernia.  So all in all, it was good news.  The stomach problems are rather severe, but should heal in time with the increase in the Prilosec and the changes in diet.  At the hospital they had also said to avoid tea.  That was not on this list.  I have always watered down my tea by about a 50/50 ratio of tea and water.  I may try making it weaker.

Snoopy the cat that lives on the porch of the lodge.

Following the visit to the doctor's office I returned to the shop and prepared and took a bank deposit before going home to straighten things up a little before quilting.  As often happens, I fell asleep in the recliner and woke up just a couple of minutes before they came.

It was good to get to visit with friends.  We all had fun chatting and a couple of them had projects to show off.  I did some fabric ironing while they were here.  Mom had not come to quilting, so after they left I went to her house to check on her.  She was just not feeling real good. We had a short visit before I headed home to get some much needed sleep.

 Young female cardinal

August 10, 2015

Time to Go Home

August 10, 2015

Playground

All good things must come to an end, but we had a wonderful time celebrating the anniversary and just getting the family together.  We are too scattered to get everyone together very often, so we squeeze a lot into the times we can all gather together.  The first time we did it was for our 40th anniversary and I think we all thought every 5 years would be good.  Then it seemed that was not often enough.  The first was in Wimberly, in a lovely house with a pool.  The next was on a ranch south of San Antonio.  Then we did a last minute one, one year at a motel in San Antonio.  Last year was in cute little cabins near Lake Austin.  I think we will continue doing them with whoever can come.  Some years maybe not everyone can come, but hopefully we will get together often.  Each place has been perfect for the year we were there.  We have outgrown several of the previous places and this place is supposed to be limited to about 20, so we may soon outgrow it.  We had 20 there.

The nice large kitchen and the early riser of the bunch!

We are not a family of perfect people.  We are a family of people of love each other and love the Lord.  We try to deal with any problems as they arise, but they are few and far between.  We grow closer to one another each time we are together.  We focus on the things we all have in common.  The ten children got along wonderfully.  Maybe I think so because I don't hear well, but if that is the case, they didn't get too loud if they weren't getting along.  The adults tried to let the kids have fun and just be kids.  There is too little of that these days.  Children seem to grow up too fast. 

The chicken coup where the girls gathered eggs several times

Our interests are different.  I am the only true bird watcher in the bunch, but the others want to know what I saw and the children enjoyed that they could stop by the blind for a few minutes and then leave to do something that interested them more.  Groups would gather to visit - the older cousins together or the guys together.  This place had a large kitchen with a huge table with 6 chairs around it and they were almost always filled with people chatting. 

Breakfast the last morning

As for the sleeping arrangements, the fact that they only have 4 cabins called for some adjustments.  Jeff's family took the one large cabin and all were able to stay together.  David's family took one cabin for the 5 of them.  In the two remaining cabins, the remaining guys were in one and remaining gals in the other.  So Ron, Stephen, and Bob were together while Kristina, Vickey and I were together.  After Kristina and Stephen left, Bob and Vickey could have shared a cabin and Ron and I could have had the other, but we decided it was too much work to move for one night.

A couple of the cabins

Monday morning was mostly cleaning time and packing time.  We were to be out by 11:00 and we just barely made it.  We all drove to Fredericksburg and ate lunch together at a What-a-Burger.  It was noon and they were very busy so it was a challenge to find seating.  Vickey ended up eating with a stranger, an older man who was alone, but she had a good time visiting with him.  Then Jeff's family headed home, as did David's. 

The porch on the lodge facing the swimming pool

Ron, Bob, Vickey and I headed to a quilt shop in San Antonio and shopped a little.  Then we went to a Chick-fil-A for supper and visited a couple of hours until the rush hour traffic died down.  Bob and Vickey went to Dave's for a couple of days and we came home, arriving just at midnight.  It was a super time together.  Thanks to the family who all worked to make it happen.  Thanks to those of you who sent anniversary cards for us that we were given at the party.

Memories for a lifetime