Back to Texas

 Last Thursday we loaded up and headed back to Texas. Our dear friend, Bob passed away unexpectedly the Friday after Thanksgiving. He and his wife, Sue, are so special to us. I posted about them here, when I recently gave them a quilt. Bob & Sue

He will be missed greatly. Bob's celebration of life was this past Thursday so we left the house at 3 a.m. in order to be there for the service. Our girl drove from Oklahoma. If our son would have been closer, he'd have been there as well. We would have liked to leave on Wednesday, but we shipped out 114 steer calves that morning:

I made cookies that morning for the buyer, who is a friend, another friend who came to help, and our North Camp man and I added a Whopper Reindeer for each:

I've been making these for so long and each year I claim I will never make them again because I have given them to everyone we know, but then new folks pop up and I end up making more. They are just a silly little gift, but they seem to bring a little joy every time I share them:

We've known the buyer for 34 years, he's a friend and lives just 10 miles down the road, but we don't see him often so he and DH enjoy a good visit when we do:

So shipping the steers out was what dictated that we couldn't leave for Texas until Thursday. After, the memorial service, we checked in to the hotel and drove a few miles up the road to Gruene:

It was so nice having our girl with us:

We ate at the Gristmill:

We were pleasantly surprised to find this taking place across the street

It was such a fun night

Live music? Yes please!

The band, Grumpy Like Riley 😂 was phenomenal...as we walked up they were just finishing up Mr. Bojangles. A favorite of mine. And this shot is another favorite:

We browsed through a few stores

And did a little bit of shopping

We stayed one night and headed back home the next morning. I love to cook, but once in a while it's a real treat to not have to:

It's almost a 9 hour drive. There was a time when we could drive straight through and only stop for fuel, but those days are gone. Now we have to get out every 3 hours or so and trot around a little. I feel like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz when we fold ourselves out of the truck. LOL. Down the road we were craving some good catfish so I did a little research on my phone and we gambled on this place in San Angelo:

I guess it's kind of a sports bar, but it had great ambiance and it was quiet

And the food was so good! Our catfish was outstanding. I ordered a delicious sweet potato hash and DH had the best fries with his. Definitely a place we'll revisit!

One day down. One day back. Another speedy trip and one we wish we hadn't had to make, but I'm so glad we were able to hug Sue's neck. We have so many wonderful memories of these special friends. 

The 2nd Week in December

 On Thursday I made a trip to Lubbock to finish up some Christmas shopping. 

I left the house at 6:00 a.m. and pulled back into the ranch at 8:30 p.m. It's a 2 hr 45  minute drive to Lubbock and I made 12 stops during the day. Our family is growing and I needed 3 new Christmas stockings. 2 bank stops to close out my mom's accounts. A few stops searching for something to wear to another funeral. Sigh. A stop to pick up a few groceries. And then various stops to knock out the rest of my list. To say I was pooped is an understatement. When I got home, DH was putting on the last of the venison on the dehydrator for jerky 

so I helped him scrub the kitchen. We love the jerky he makes every year, but it makes a huge mess. In past years he's gotten some big deer, but he really hunts for the meat. Then it was all I could do to take a shower and fall into bed. I am not a shopper. It just wears me out. 

On Saturday night we had a Christmas party to attend, but we were home by 9. There were about 40 people and they were in other rooms when I snapped this picture. I love their kitchen - I told our friend it was a great dancing kitchen - perfect spot to waltz around that big island.

I love Christmas, but it was rough last year and I think I'm trying to compensate this year. I missed decorating last year and it felt good to dig through all the boxes in the shed the day after Thanksgiving. I made the little gingerbread valance 30 years ago and it, along with the ristra of chili ornaments I made, has graced every kitchen window  at Christmas since then. 

I only decorate 1 tree, but I add the tall, thin lighted trees from Hobby Lobby to all the other rooms. 

I started some Christmas baking:

And I finished a few more Lined Drawstring bags:

Nothing feels rushed this year, but 4 days are already spoken for this week, 3 of them unexpectedly, so I needed to shuffle a few things around. Nothing a little prayer over a hot mug of tea won't fix.

Spinach Dip

 We've been making this dip for probably 20 years. 

We usually make it over the holidays and I've taken it to potluck functions. It's just on the back of the Knorr Vegetable Mix package, but it's definitely a family favorite so I wanted to reference it here so it would be easily accessible for the kids. 

                                           

Spinach Dip

I package Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach (thawed, drained, and squeezed dry)

1 can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

16 oz. sour cream

1 C mayo

*Combine the sour cream and mayo. Stir in the spinach. Mix in the Knorr vegetable mix, water chestnuts, and green onions. Chill. Serve with crackers and vegetables.

A Few Stitches

 I don't know what happened to November...or the rest of the year for that matter. And here we with our feet planted in December. It just makes me laugh because I have heard that time passes quickly if you're having fun so apparently we are having the time of our lives. LOL. 

Alas, all of this fun hasn't allowed me much time to sew. Not a complaint - just an observation. I only worked on and finished one quilt in November, but it's a gift so I'll show it after Christmas. But I did pick up 2 quilts from Jackie 2 weeks ago

 and I spent a little time stitching the binding to the fronts:

 So I've got something to bind during the month of December and with these longer evenings, that's always a welcome project.  The WNFR (Wrangler National Finals Rodeo) began last night. That's 10 nights of something we enjoy watching although we record it each night and watch the previous night's performance the following evening so we can watch earlier and not have to stay up so late. Our eyes begin to close by 8:30.

 So if you need me after the sun goes down, I'll be curled up on the sofa. Watching the WNFR. With Skeet. Next to DH. Sipping hot tea. Binding a quilt. It's a good way to close out the day.