Selfies and a Squeeze Box

Ah-chooo! The Hill Country is springing out all over the place!  Still some chilly days (yay), but lots of Redbuds and Bradford Pears are popping.

flower button bouquet -- Wanda's buttons

Donna snapped this pic of us

the newest Goff planker -- 2 yr old James

Jerri didn't know her pbone case matched her shirt

David and Charlie and Charlie's new poodle

Vickey, Charlie, and Shannon -- they all look just alike

So wonderful having "old" friends and new here at JCRV!.  We've enjoyed our 5th winter here and hope to see our peeps down the road.

Surprise, Mr. Ken!

2-19-14:  Tonite before cards, the whole rv park showed up at the clubhouse to show our appreciation for one of our fave people in the world!  Ken's sister is visiting from CA and he thought everyone was getting together to meet her.  Well, that was great, too.  But it was all about him this time!

Speech!

He does so much for every one of us.  And our dogs!  Lizzy and Cooper literally wake up each morning and fall into high alert mode as they wait for Mr. Ken to come by on his golf cart with doggie treats. Rocky is a treat snob, so tonite we gave him a bag of Rocky's treats so Rocky can warm up to him. (Rocky is more of a Tom's boy because Tom gave him french fries a couple of years ago and he has never forgotten that)

Ken and his sis, Elaine

We also gave him some waterproof matches because for 5 years he has kept me and my cards and crafts peeps warm in that clubhouse by making sure we have a cozy fire in the fireplace! Love Mr. Ken!

selfie

And David and I never miss an opp for a selfie at events!  

Sarah picking out beads and buttons for her frame

getting started

2-20-14:  Sarah and Melinda invited me to lead a craft class for their group at the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library in Kerrville.  We did the deco frames and had a blast.  Those ladies were so creative and fun!  I got some great ideas from them for my next frames!

creative juices flowing!

Laura, the library director and me - selfie, of course

Laura squeezed in some time to make a frame for herself

Bonnie taking pix for the newspaper

Finished products!

Really had fun!  And I guess I must've looked like a crafter -- or a teacher -- because when I walked in the front door the lady at the desk looked at me and said "1st floor".

selfie in front of Geunther's - I was aiming for the sign above us

David and I left the library and went to meet the Creekers at Geunther's in Comfort.  Sadly, our besties - Jerri and George - didn't get to join us cuz they have the bug.  Ick!  Missed them!

Sue and Phil Pinch from Wisconsin

Bill and BJ from Oregon

Ken from JCRV and his sis, Elaine from California

yikes, another selfie

chillin to some doowop music after a yummy German supper

Leanne from Minnesota

selfie with The Moonlites as they serenaded us at Geunther's

had to snap their pic thru a window behind our table

It was great evening with friends.  And I think we were all on the same page about bedtime when all 19 or so of us left at the band's break!  About 8:00ish.

cool, old, deserted structure 

2-21-14:  Another very special date day.  Man, the hubs can sure plan 'em!  We headed down 783 to Harper on our way to Llano to see the eagles nest I've been watching on Facebook.  Our first stop was to take a pic of the great little home from the past on 783.  Glad we stopped because at this point David realized he'd left his camera card at home (found out a couple of weeks later he had one in the truck the whole time, but I digress).  So we changed our route a bit to stop at the Walgreen's in Fredricksburg to get one.  Can't go see the eagles without David's camera and all its parts!

As we neared Harper we saw a huge Road Runner -- well, I saw it.  Then we saw a good sized exotic animal ranch.  This one was seemingly for buying and selling.  Usually, the exotics on the hunting ranches are not as close to the road as these were. After stopping in Harper at one of my fave resale shops, we cont'd on to see the nest.

one of the fledglings decided to pop up

The nest was in a pecan tree very close to the road.  It was on a road just outside of Llano. We stayed there about an hour or so just watching the show.  Nature never ceases to amaze me.

looking around to check airspace

he so wants to fly away

he hovered over the nest for quite awhile

looked as big as an adult eagle

he would tippy toe a little ways out on a limb

then he'd settle back into the nest

that was a good workout

then his sibling reared his/her head

now whatcha wanna play?

the nest with both babies peaking around

and check out the sky

my photographer

mom stayed on a tree a little ways behind the nest tree

What a great treat!

Crested Caracara

member of tropical falcon family

pretty common in TX

huge black and white wingspan when it flew off

When we left the eagles, I thought I spotted an Osprey in a Live Oak.  Ok, I know it would be unusual to see Osprey around here.  But I have seen a few posted on fb that have been spotted in the hill country.  David got some great pix of this beautiful bird and then identified it as a Crested Caracara once we got home.  Glad we got to see something we'd never seen. Always exciting!

Llano River near Castell, TX

We took a scenic route home from Llano.  We crossed over the Llano River at Castell, drove SLOWLY through the open range on 152, saw some pretty diverse geological areas, jammed to some bluegrass in the truck, drove through Hilda and Doss, and got to see our first green pastures this winter!

Great day with a great man!

original sign from the furniture store

2-22-14:  Went to Comfort today with Dawn and Connie.  Wendy spent some time with me telling me a little history of their "new" building.  So interesting.  Wish I'd had David and his camera with me.  In fact, I would've been happy to have had my iphone camera, too.  But I'd left my "precious" at home, so Dawn let me take pix with hers.

hooks that held chairs to conserve space

the owners of the furniture store had a Hollywood set designer paint flowers on the walls which are still there

love the floor in the sun porch

doors to the former loading dock -- wysteria painted on the wall above

German piece of furniture left from the store

Thanks, Wendy, for the tour and the info!  What a great piece of Comfort history!

selfie with Cliff

2-23-14:  Some of us went to Billy Gene's tonite for supper.  The above pic may have been Cliff's first selfie.
Get used to it, Cliffers!

Shirlene and Jack

Ron appointed Cliff "sheriff" of JCRV.

Enjoyed evening and the company.  (still waiting on J and G to get well!)

another selfie with Cliff during the accordian concert

We be jamming off up in Cliff's camper

2-24-14:  Cliff treated us to a concert this afternoon.  The man can flat out play the squeeze box!!! But don't ever call it that where he can hear ya!  He plays some beautiful classical and pop tunes!

JCRV's Jester

caught him thru the window

Rocky's new friend --- and kinfolk -- Jade from MN

beautiful day to be lending a little help to a friend - Ron & Kyle

am I getting mooned?

2-26-14:

Lotta Love!

I just love Valentine's week!  Hearts and hugs and kisses and candy!!  Oh, and occassionally a broken tooth.

my dentist, Dr. Sondra Slater, and her assistant,  looked like a minions!

see?

2-13-14:  David and I tried the Ridge cafe the other day for breakfast.  Really good spot.  But after I finished it felt like something was stuck to my tooth.  Maybe a potato skin?  When I couldn't get it off, I took a look and realized half my tooth was gone!  Thankfully, no pain whatsoever.  Connie recommended her Kerrville dentist to me and she took care of me!  We actually had a good time!  After she finished working on me she said, "this was really fun today!" I told her she needs to get out more.

This could so be my card to David

but instead I got him a bag full of sweets with mushy words on them

David flashing me

My Valentine

2-14-14:  Man am I lucky!  My valentine is not only sweet and handsome, but he plans the most exciting adventures!  Today David, Rocky, and I  explored new places in the hill country!

Guadalupe River as we went through Hunt, TX

more of the Guadalupe

interesting ironwork at a hill country ranch 

one of the beautiful views on 187 south of Lost Maples Natural Area

Hwy 187 northwest of Utopia TX. Site of Old Taylor School, founded by settlers in 1883.

this view is one reason we love the TX Hill Country so

Mac and Ernie's

David has been trying to get us to this spot to eat for a couple of years.  One winter they were closed for remodeling.  Another winter, we just couldn't manage to hit the few days per week they are open.  Finally made it today and enjoyed a yummy burger.  This was the first place shown on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

saw about 12 or so of these coyotes strung up on a ranch fence

Medina Lake is drying up

Drove on over to Medina Lake to see what toll the 3 year TX drought has had on it. Wow!!

Medina Lake was impounded in 1911 and was filled to capacity in 1919. Water from the lake provides drinking water and is also used to irrigate farm and ranch land southwest of San Antonio.

dam

lake levels have always fluctuated dramatically in times of drought and heavy rains. In 2002 almost a year's worth of rain fell in the area in less than a week. 
Twelve feet of water plunged over the spillway and the lake rose within inches of the top of the dam.

(I read in the Texarkana paper a few days later, that there are efforts underway to open the dam back up for foot traffic)

pretty sad

Lots of homes and businesses around the lake are simply boarded up.

the lake bed looks like a prairie - with canyons

David took this picture of the Medina River as it crosses Hwy 16 north of Medina. The clear, spring-fed stream is quite a contrast to the dry lake bed.

What a wonderful, educational day with my man!

Tom looks great in his apron!

Connie and Myrna

Tonite JCRV had a lovely Valentine's Dinner for all of us.  Connie, Lisa, and Myrna outdid themselves as usual!  The food and decos were so good!  And many of the JCRV guys helped cook, serve, and clean up!

They do spoil us here!

BJ, Bill, George, Jerri, me, David

Perkins and Hoots

My Valentine and me

George and Jerri -- love that we get to spend special occasions with them!

my bestie and me

Kyle and Vickey (from Kansas) won the 1st place thong! Or is it a pollen mask?

After our lovely dinner, 3 couples participated in the annul Newlywed Game.  David and I won this 2 years ago, so we spent much of our day today trying to remember questions and trying to guess new questions!  We were ready!!  However, Connie came up with some great questions that we did not anticipate!  So we got 2nd place.  Which equals next-to-last.  At least we beat Jerri and George (who got 2nd place last year)  For our prize we rec'd a box of Valentine's candy and my own picture that has been on the fireplace mantel winter after winter. Tom quickly reclaimed it, however.

Fun February and we still have more Feb days to go!  

Hugs and Kisses,

Honey, Sweetie, and Sweetakins