November Recap

Happy Black Friday or not, depending if you buy into all of the hype.  We are not indulging this year.  The Canadian dollar is too much in the tank to make it worthwhile.  I'm more inclined to shop on Small Business Saturday.  Want to check out a few of the local establishments.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving Feast here in Chimney Park Resort.  I think it was the best yet.  The only downside to a communal dinner is the lack of leftovers the next day.  Boo hoo, no turkey sandwiches for us.

Wayne and I are all settled into routines for the winter months.  We are walking and biking to improve our fitness levels and general health.  Wayne bought a new bike rack, so we can transport the bikes to the trails.  Can't wait to give it a try.  I am walking the perimeter of the park each week day morning with my friend Judith.  We are starting small and building our way up.  One lap equals half a mile.  Goes quicker and easier when you have someone to talk to.  lol  I have to set my alarm to get out of bed.  So far so good.

The park recognized all the veterans with an honour guard and dinner on Veteran's Day (Remembrance Day)  Supper was a shrimp boil with shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes.  It was delicious. A new taste sensation for Wayne and I.  Thank you Chimney Park.
















I have been busy quilting.  When in Kansas, I bought a few small kits.  I have finished a table topper for Christmas.  It is a circular mat with holly leaves and berries around the edge.  The berries are small red button.  I'm very pleased with it.

Wayne and I are responsible for the Sunday evening ice cream.  Despite a few supply issues, all is going well.  Especially like the butter pecan flavour.  Yum!

The Ladies Who Lunch Bunch are back in action.  A varied group of us go out for lunch once a month.  We had our first lunch at Cheddars Restaurant.  It was a lot of fun.  Especially when my table ate an appetizer meant for another table.  Oh well sh..t happens.

The weather has been warm and fairly humid.  Wayne and I have been swimming more this month than the entire last season.  Hope the trend keeps up.

Wayne snapped this photo of a sugar cane field fire.  The farmers light the cane on fire to make the harvest easier.  The fire flares up very high and burns hot and quickly.

To finish off, I thought I would show you the butterflies hovering around my flower pot.  This is an Ixora.  The butterflies seem to love it.

Fall 2015 - Day 9: Home in Mission, Texas

Yeah we made it.  Wasn't  sure this morning.  Wayne turned on the TV as we were getting ready for breakfast.  A huge storm was headed our way with a tornado watch and flash flood warnings.  Yuch.
We checked the radar and realized that we would be driving away from the problems.  So we skipped breakfast and headed out.  About 15 minutes later the emergency radio system kicked in with weather warnings.  Aach we have only ever heard this system doing tests on the radio.  I only recognized a few of the places and we were well away from those areas.

We had a few sprinkles and a fairly grey day, but no problems.

Opening the trailer went very smoothly.  The slides slid, water ran but didn't leak and the propane flowed to the stove and lit easily.  It is very hot and humid - so unpacking was a sweaty deal.  We have all the buckets inside, bed is made, dusting and vacuuming done.  Pizza is ordered.

Tomorrow, buckets will get unpacked and I will start my routine of washing all the dishes and pots.  Will also need to get groceries.

Let the winter fun begin.

Fall 2015 - Day 8: Hallettsville, Texas

Well, here we are - 17 miles closer to Mission than yesterday.  Yeah, it's a little weird.

When I was planning our trip, we wanted to tour Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner.  So it seemed like a good idea to book 2 nights in the area.  Unfortunately the brewery is closed to tours because of renovations.  But the store and tasting area are still open.  Ok then let's do it.

Sippin Shiner Bock at 10:30 in the morning

Lots of Shiner loot

More souvenirs

I think this is the original copper kettle.

Mural showing early days of the brewery

We wandered the countryside for a little while and after lunch we checked into the new hotel.  It's the oldest hotel we have stayed in this trip.  It is very clean and comfortable.

We went to Los Cabos, a local Mexican restaurant.  It was delicious.  Now back relaxing.

Tomorrow we get home to Chimney Resort.

Fall 2015 - Day 7: Schulenburg, Texas

Another beautiful day and successful drive.  Today we meandered through north central Texas.  My favourite part of this route is no big cities.  Just small town Texas.  Yee hah!

Took no photos today, but we did see some curious things.  First armadillo of the winter.  It was dead at the side of the road.  Pretty much the only way I have seen them.  There is one that lives in our park but it keeps a pretty low profile.

We narrowly missed a turtle wandering across the highway.  Hope he made it to the other side.  Texas so far has been very green with water in ditches, ponds and rivers.  There is some flooding from the heavy rains last week, but the roads have all been fine.

We also saw the usual cows, goats and horses.  Tiny little horses about 3 feet tall seem to be fairly popular.  I have seen several of these horse farms during our trip.

The reason we have stopped at Schulenburg is to visit Spoetzl Brewery in nearby Shiner.  Shiner beer is very popular in Texas.  It is made in the European style - clean and crisp.  When we planned our route south Spoetzl was offering tours of the facilities.  But they are doing renos and the brewery is closed to visitors for a couple of weeks.  However the tasting room and gift shop are open.  Hey that's the important part.  We have been on several brewery tours and I think the process is pretty much the same for all.  Beer and t shirts - that's what we want.

ttfn

Fall 2015 - Days 3 to 6: We're not in Kansas Anymore

No we are now in Texas, Denison to be exact.

We spent three lovely days visiting our friends, Judith and Dennis at their home in Bennington, Kansas.

We thought Kansas would be like Saskatchewan but it's not as flat.

We passed many fields of sorghum.  It is used to make ethanol alcohol and animal feed.  We had never seen this plant before.

Sorghum field

Our visit included lots of delicious food and a day of seeing some of the sights.  We went to the tiny town of Lucas.  It is a town filled with grass roots art and artists both past and present.  Our first stop was at the unique home of a Mr. Dinsmore.  He built this home called "The Garden of Eden".  From the very beginning it was meant as a tourist attraction.  Very interesting.

Adam

Eve and Serpent 

Mr.Dinsmore and his second wife Maria

Mr. Dinsmore was 81 when he married for the second time.  Maria was in her early twenties. They had two children in addition to the three he had with his first wife.

Mr. Dinsmore was a civil war soldier and one of his sons was a soldier in both Korea and Vietnam - one hundred years later. Dinsmore's children with Maria were in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest children born from a civil war soldier.

Most of the Lucas citizens were not fans of the artwork in the yard.  The house is totally surrounded with cement sculptures including a crypt containing the body of the first Mrs. Dinsmore.

The second art installation we went to see was the Lucas Public Washroom.  Yes washroom.  Lucas applied for a government grant to build a public loo but were turned down.  They then applied for a grant to create an art piece and were approved.  They chose to build a grass roots art installation that also functions as a bathroom. It is very whimsical and fun.

Ladies room

Men's room

Just a small sampling of the amazing mosaics.  The facilities also won second place in a National contest of the best public bathrooms.

Today, we bid farewell to Judith and Dennis, but only for a short time as they will be at Chimney Resort in a little bit.  We are now comfortably ensconced in our hotel.  Yet another nice one - in Denison, Texas.  Tomorrow Schulenberg.

Fall 2015 - Day Two: St. Charles, Missouri

Today we ventured off the interstate.  As most of you are aware, I hate the highways through large cities.  This morning as I was idly glancing over a map of Indiana, I noticed that we could take a local highway and bypass Indianapolis.  Hurrah!!  It was a lovely drive and we saw a bit of small town America.

Several of the small towns had some amazing architecture.  My pics aren't that great but you get the idea.

Back to the freeway:

 No traffic here. lol

Roses still blooming at rest stop just into Illinois

 Tonight we lay our heads to rest in Missouri.

Tomorrow up early heading for Kansas to visit Judith and Dennis.  It will be great to see them.

Fall 2015 - Day One: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Great Travel Day!  Not too cold or hot and no snow.  Already this winter is surpassing last.

We left Kathy's house this morning at oh dark hundred. (actually 6:30 am) and arrived at the Hyatt Place Hotel at 2pm.  There was one car ahead of us at the Customs Booth.  We cross from Sarnia to Port Huron via the Blue Water Bridge.  You can never gauge how long the delay will be from one crossing to the next.

Blue Water Bridge

View from bridge

We wandered down the street to have supper at The Crock and Cleaver.  It is rated number 7 of the top 10 Fort Wayne restaurants by Tripadvisor.  It was a great choice.  Delicious food including a very tasty salad bar, super service and a nice ambiance.

Tomorrow we head to St. Charles, Missouri which is a suburb of St. Louis.

For now, I am going to stretch out on our huge couch and relax.

ttfn

What Did We Do This Summer?

Fun started as soon as we arrived home.  Dad was busy when we were away.

Our very own brood of chickens.

We spent time with family

... and friends

We crafted and built things.

Garden box

Knit Amy and Jovana shawls.  Photos of Amy's didn't turn out. Hers is green.

We went on field trips.

Filming of Murdoch Mysteries TV Show

Blue Jays Game in Toronto

Culinary Walking Tour in Elora

Day at the Welland Canal

Ship entering one of the locks.

Rural Romp

Alpaca Farm

We also enjoyed our summer home - Riverbend Park.

Wayne won the 50/50 draw at one of the bbq nights.

It was a fun filled season.  I have only covered the tip of the ice berg with this post.  We spent time with many more friends and relatives.  However, I am not very good at remembering to take pictures.

This morning a few flurries of ick (snow) fell.  That's our cue to get out of Dodge.  We are busy packing up and getting ready to leave bright and early Thursday.  Feel free to follow our travels via this blog.  What adventures will we have this winter?