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| Cool Barn outside of Ingram, TX |
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| Guadalupe River |
Ended up staying in the TX Hill Country a little longer than planned due to the unusual winter weather hitting TX in February. In fact, we are still here! But what a great place to be stuck. Beautiful scenery, exotic wildlife, rich German heritage, interesting history, a good mix of TX cowboy and yuppy, great friends, and lots and lots of card playing! We've learned to play Pitch, 99, Mexican Train (dominoes), but mostly we've played our fave: Pennies from Heaven. Got caught up on some good books while here, too. (Elijah, The Christmas Sweater, This Womans Worth, Leaving Yesterday, Traveling Light, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, The Believer, Ragamuffin Gospel, to name a few) And went to a few good movies. Love the wildlife in this area, Guadalupe River, the hills, bluffs, the beautiful Live Oaks, and the styles of the homes. So many are built from the native sandstone or limestone. They look great and most have a name. I'm thinking it may be time to name our camper. Any ideas?
12-4-10: David and I walked the backroad this morning after breakfast and saw wild turkeys up close and personal. Counted about 34 – didn't have camera. They were pretty! A couple of them seemed to be warning the rest about us. The males had their tails fanned out.
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| David getting a hand massage at Belk |
Went to lunch and then shopping with friends. They were giving hand massages at Belk's. So David got one. (see pic) He wasn't planning to. In fact, he told me “no way”. But when the lady got through with mine, she told him “hold your hands out”. And it was all over.
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| Sarah, Me, and Dee at the Rim |
12-7-10: Went to Bourne (pronounced Bernie) and The Rim in San Antone today with Dee and Sarah. Love Bourne! Cute little town.
12-9-10: Sarah, Dee, and I hit the resale shops today. Kerrville/Ingram have the best resale shops. About 13 or so. And most benefit a good cause.
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| Rocky in his new boots |
Rocky rec'd his boots in the mail today. There are lots of sand or grass burrs here that will stop a doggie in his tracks while walking. He is so cute in those boots. Doesn't have a problem with us putting them on him. And they stay on really well. But when he first started walking in them, he'd kick his legs up really high and looked like a spider walking in them. But then he got used to them and had his prance on!
12-10-10: Saw a huge flock of turkeys across Johnson Creek this evening in the middle of a huge herd of Axis – with the big buck grazing with them. Pretty sight!
12-12-10: Went to FBC Ingram today and really liked it. Good preaching and music! Bible study in the beautiful little Chapel of the Hills at the rv park tonite.
12-14-10: When Rocky and I went to feed the horses and donkeys today, we stopped to enjoy the view over Johnson Creek. And IN Johnson Creek – huge black catfish!!
12-17-10: Pennies marathon with Dee and Sarah. Dee's last day with us.
12-18-10: Did something I haven't done in 20-something years (since we used to have to fight over cabbage patch dolls and ninja turtles for our kids!)– got up and left at 5:30 a.m. to go to Belk's to try to win a $5000 gift card!! Got a $5 one. Sigh.
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| Tom, Dee, and Tzu heading out |
Tom and Dee left today and took Rocky's little friend Tzu Tzu. Hope to see them again in Maine this summer.
12-19-10: Sarah gave me some pants she had that she said are too big for her in the butt. ???????!!!! sigh. David took 3 shots of me (unrelated to big butt pants story) for the Christmas gift swap here at the rv park. Got some of you to vote on the one to use. See pix for the winner.
12-21-10: Sarah and I went to Llano, TX today to the Walls Outlet and the world famous (well, state famous) Cooper's BBQ. Neither of us liked the BBQ. Vinegary bbq sauce. Meat was no comparison to Big Jake's in Texarkana or Pig In Pig Out in Wichita. But the drive over there was awesome. Beautiful hills!! We went to Enchanted Rock State Park on the way back just to take a gander. Wow!!
12-22-10: Jerri and George arrived today. They will stay a month here with us. David and I went to see True Grit tonite. Then came home and watched the John Wayne version. We think we like the new one better!
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| Playing 99 |
12-23-10: I took Jerri resale shopping today. Most of the resale shops were having ½ price sales. Half price of next to nothing. Not bad. That was fun. Had an outdoor get together nextdoor with Wayne and Barb – our new Canadian friends. Then they taught us to play 99. Met Peggy Sue and Katie, from Michigan. New card peeps!
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| Christmas Eve Party at JCRV |
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| Tom won it |
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| Wayne stole it |
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| Ron ended up with it -- Ron and Sherry |
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| George, Jerri, Becky,David and Rocky |
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| Jerri, Becky, and Rocky |
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| Becky and David |
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| Sarah, Tom, and Becky |
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| Sarah and Becky (notice pic on mantle) |
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| Mr. Ken and Becky |
12-24-10: Jerri and George went with David and me to the Christmas Eve service at FBC Ingram. Music was great! A husband/wife team sang “Mary, Did You Know”-- so beautiful. Went to the RV Park gift swap. It was a Chinese gift exchange and my pic got stolen as many times as it could. All the men seemed to want it! (maybe that's cause it did have some great peanuts with it. I guess you could say that gift was full of nuts.)
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| Gus, Laura Lee, and Laura's 2nd head |
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| Ouchieee! |
12-25-10: Well, Christmas Day isn't the same without family. But we are surrounded by wonderful friends here at Johnson Creek. So it was a great 2nd. Wonderful to have my longtime friend Jerri and her husband George here with us. Made Christmas special.
12-29-10: Kathy P, thinking of and praying for you and your kids. And will be for many days to come. Love ya, dear friend.
12-30-10: Went to Enchanted Rock with J and G. Had planned on doing some hiking. But everyone else in the Hill Country planned it, too. It was so full that we couldn't even get into the state park. So, we just introduced Jerri and George to the shops at Fredricksburg. Cute little town loaded with German history and the Admiral Nimitz museum. David and I visited that museum last year and loved it. I'm not much of a museum fan, but even I enjoyed that one. Highly recommend a visit if you get down this way.
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| Jerri, Jackie, and Becky on NYE |
12-31-10: New Year's Eve party at the rv park clubhouse. And kareoke! I tried it for the first time. I sang Delta Dawn. The oddest thing happened though. Before I could get up to sing, a lot of the folks left! Go figure.
1-3-11: David played golf at Lady Bird in Fredricksburg today with David C. So Jerri and I rode along and picked up Ann and Joyce and hit the shops again at Fred. Cold, blustery day. Starting to feel a little like winter.
1-5-11: Took Rocky's steroid prescription to Walmart today for a refill. I didn't even know they'd refill doggie drugs! And, not only that, but his is on the $4 list. Yay! Made a batch of Brooke's hand cream. That stuff is wonderful. (let me know if you'd like the recipe). Gave some jars to a few of the ladies here at JCRV. Brooke, their husbands really like it, too!! Sat in front of the fireplace at the clubhouse tonight and made a lap blanket. Yep, I'm officially old. Lap blanket. As Crystal says, it's one of those blankets you cut and tie in knots and claim you “made it”. Cranford and Kathey G, praying for you and your family tonite and will continue to do so!
1-11-11: David and I took J and G on the “Hunt drive” today. Saw antelope, female elk, and something really big. Looked like a gazelle, but was much bigger than ones we see in the zoo. So I'm not sure. So many exotic animals in this part of TX. Never know what you might see! Tried to send a text (stole your idea Linda W) at 1:11 on 1-11-11. But at the time I hit send, I lost phone service. So it went through a little late. Sigh.
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| Before |
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| After |
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| Mega Panties |
1-12-11: Took Sarah for cataract surgery. And tonite she was whipping us at Pennies.( lots of “pointage”). That surgery worked way too well for her! She looked great in the surgery cap! (see pic). Everyone, and I mean dang near everyone, here at the rv park is sick with the Juniper (cedar) allergies. Except me! Can't believe I haven't had it. I think the flu shots have helped with my allergies, too. A couple of conservationists around here told Jackie and Dave to eat 5 Juniper berries per day to fight off the allergies. So tonite our card peeps got to talking to Tom, JCRV owner, about that and he confirmed that that's the story. So he went out and picked a limb full of the purple berries. We passed them around the card table and each tried one. Some of us ate 2. I didn't think they were too bad. Not good, but not bad. Jerri said they tasted like a Christmas tree.
1-13-11: Must be allergice to Juniper berries. Now I have the crud like everyone else. Learned to use a neti pot.
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| Jerri, Becky, Sarah on Sarah's birthday in Fred |
1-15-11: Jerri and I enjoyed Sarah's bday with her today. Took her to Trade Days in Fredricksburg and cheesecake afterwards. Saw camels at the refuge in Fred.
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| David and Bec at Camp Verde |
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| George, Jerri, Becky, David at Camp Verde |
1-17-11: Took J and G to Camp Verde (interesting history there to google) and Bandera. Cute and old western town. Cowboy Capital? Went to a couple of resale shops.
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| Bec and Jerri and the Chickmobile |
Got a pic by the chicken pimpmobile. And coughed, sneezed, and blew our noses all the way.
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| A different kind of Apple Store |
Went on to Medina (supposedly where Madalyn O'Hare met an unfortunate end) and stopped at an Apple Store. They didn't have the know-how to update my iphone. But they sure had some delicious and HUGE apple pies, which Jerri purchased.
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| View near Lost Maples |
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| View near Lost Maples |
Went over to Lost Maples State Park and ate Jerri's pie. That is a beautiful area. Not sure I'd want to camp there, but I'll def want to go back and try some of the hiking. Came back on hwy 16 which is very scenic. Saw some kangaroos in a pasture!! Actually, prob Wallabies. Either way, totally unexpected and cute!
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| Bec at LBJ Ranch |
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| Becky watching the sausage process at LBJ |
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| David and Becky at LBJ |
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| David and Becky |
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| LBJ fella |
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| LBJ's Amphibias Car |
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| Mr. President |
1-20-11: We took J and G to the LBJ Ranch today. Cold, drizzly day. But still a great trip. The working farm is really neat. They strictly do things as they would've been done back in the day. Like when LBJ was a baby or earlier. They had more of the TX Whitehouse open this year. So it was a little different for David and me, too. Saw buffalo, black buck antelope, ostrich, axis, longhorns (with LBJ carved into their horns). Beautiful ranch. Love the story of how LBJ used to drive that amphibias car! You might google it.
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| Pinky (Santa) and June |
1-22-11: Said our “byes” to Jerri and George. They are heading west today. June and Pinky drove over from San Antonio to have lunch with us and visit. It's always fun to see Santa! (Pinky was Santa last year at the S. A. rv park where David and I spent Christmas '09). Played Pennies with Peggy Sue and Katie tonite for their last night. Sure gonna miss all our card peeps!
1-27-11: David and I tried to update my iphone today and lost ALL info. Contacts, notes, pix. So if you haven't emailed me your phone number, address, etc, plz do that. I'm trying to rebuild.
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| Pat, Vi, and Sarah at the Alexandra's |
1-28-11: Went to Alexandra's Tea Room today with Pat (from PA, soon to be TX), Vianne (from NE), and Sarah. Cute little place. Fun and quaint. And yummy! Beautiful big stuffed birds mounted all over. I can't remember the name of the tea I had. But it was good. Tonite is Pat's last night with us. Heading to see her new granddaughter!
1-31-11: Supposed to leave Johnson Creek tomorrow. But David noticed much of TX is in for a major winter storm this week. So we decided to stay one more week. Tonite we had “gustage” (wind gusts) up to 58 mph. I was scared for about 30 minutes. But then I fell back to sleep.
2-1-11: Cooooold here this morning and still gusting. Still better off than most of the USA. Most of TX for that matter. DFW closed the airport today. Billy and Marsha (our new Amarillo friends) told me it was “spittin snow” here earlier today. Pat said we have “snowage”.
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| Pat playing Panties |
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| Vi on Panties nite |
2-2-11: Still cold as all get out. Wind gusts 50-60 mph, 10 degrees. Water frozen. Pumps on some campers frozen. Ice on INSIDE of windows. But --- we are warm, safe, and still loving this lifestyle. Wouldn't trade it! (Spittin snow again.)
2-3-11: Fun fact: At noon today I looked at the temps on my phone. It was the same temperature in Texarkana, TX (where Gus lives) as it was in Rock Rapids, IA (where Laura lives). That in itself is quite unusual. But the difference was, it was snowing in...........Texarkana!!! Not Rock Rapids. David and I went over to some of the shops at Ingram Loop this afternoon. Got kinda tickled at a closed sign hanging in the window of a belt buckle shop. Only instead of saying “closed” it said “shut”.
2-4-11: Not so fun fact: next week winter weather is supposed to hit TX again, so we are staying at Johnson Creek yet one more week. I'm so ready to roll, but at least we do have a wonderful place to stay. We've been so blessed to have awesome friends here from last year and new ones we've met this year. It's truly kind of like being with family. Saying bye is the hard part.
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| Sunset Cemetery near Ingram |
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| Dowdy Children Granves |
2-8-11: One of the interesting pieces of history for this area is about the Dowdy children. Google that story. Lots of dispute over “whodunnit”.... American Indians got credit for it. But most of the locals here seem to think that's not so. David and I went to see their graves at the Sunset Cemetary.
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| Johnson Creek |
Then took the beautiful drive over to Bandera again. Ate at Brick's (which is awesome if you are ever there). Saw lots of antelope, whitetails, bighorn sheep (not quite as big as the ones in northern states), and buffalo. The oaks in that area are majestic but many are plagued with “oak wilt”. The locals say they'd like to think it's Spanish Moss, but no. Looks kinda cool this time of year. But they say that in the summer, the branches that have it look dead. Got a pic today of the controversial huge Kerrville cross. Hopefully, next year when we are here, it'll be open to walk up to it.
2-9-11: Ice on the ground this morning and snow falling. Wind gusts rocking the camper. 17 degrees and wind chill 1. Ice on inside of windows again. Still not nearly as bad as most of TX, OK, and all of AR!
If all goes well with the weather, we will leave here on Feb 14th and try a couple of state parks in TX. Then we'll go spend a few days in Texarkana before heading on up to Petit Jean in AR for Jakeb's wedding.
Now it's time for you to wake up and look a the pix! Let me hear from ya!
Much Love,
Ehemann & Frau Reisendens
