Something for Everyone

 

How could I pass up this little sticker on some female's car?? Do you think they might also be a member of the NRA? I don't even want to think about it. I'm really sorry I missed checking out the license plate. Since this was on a military base it could be from almost anywhere. I'll keep an eye out for this car and maybe I can even see who it belongs to.

We are having marvelous late spring/early summer weather. I sure hope we don't get a surprise cold snap and I REALLY hope this does not mean it will just keep getting hotter and hotter until next winter!

Blessings today,

gk

Random Captures at WFSC

There is always something going on at the Warrior and Family Support Center. These are a few things I saw there last Thursday....

Tops In Blue

The Air Force performing group stopped by to share some songs. They were really great. These folks are from all different departments of the AF and they try out to be in this group. The chosen few then work together for a year traveling all around the world entertaining folks in the military. After the year they go back to their regular jobs.

Python Boots

I could NOT pass up these boots! They are something else, even here in Texas. Just for the record she is from the Midwest and not Texas. 8^) I'm told the foot portion is made from python. Wow.

On to my weaving class.....here are Tim, Rabe, who is also called Kia, and Brenda. 

Tim Weaving

Rabe/Kia weaving

Brenda Weaving

All three of them did a great job and went home with a nice basket!

Brenda with her basket

Rabe and Tim with their baskets

Brenda's son-in-law was injured and she is here helping out her daughter who has two little ones.

Tim's son was profoundly injured by a bomb and they will be here for a while. Some people stay as long as two years!

I hope basket class gives them a bit of a respite!

Blessings,

gk

Patti's House

Saturday I attended a wedding shower held at my friend Patti's house. I find homes where people have added their own personal touches and choices to be the most interesting of all. Sure, the HGTV perfect places are beautiful but they don't have the personality or interest for me that real people's homes do. Patti's home has personality plus!

Isn't this a wonderful silhouette of plants? I love the graphic quality it has. All those pots are carefully selected McCoy pottery.
http://www.mccoypottery.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCoy_%28pottery%29

Patti has kept to strict parameters forming a cohesive grouping.

McCoy planters

Now for a really cool lamp shade covered in buttons. It casts a warm glow and bring up memories of my mom sewing and all that entails. Even if you didn't have a mom that sewed it still makes you think of home and hearth.

Button lamp

 

And then another sort of light altogether, a really modern one that is fascinating to me. I love ultra modern things as well as the old nostalgic things. Apparently Patti does too!

 

 

Neat light fixture

Family photos hang on the wall under this light and nearby are these wonderful shoes sitting on a shelf. I'm not sure who wore them. It's fun to imagine a new mom proudly slipping them on to her baby's little feet.

Oriental jacket

There's a photo nearby showing Patti's mom in this jacket which makes the whole vignette that much more meaningful. What a neat memory to keep. Here's a detail of the couched silver thread sewn onto the fabric. What a massive amount of needlework in this piece!

Detail of couched thread

Best of all Patti has a very eclectic taste in art and she has lots of original art all over her house. Here are two selections that show just how varied her choices are.

More traditional

More modern

 

I know these things don't look like they should be all in the same house but Patti makes it all work nicely together. I'm so happy to have a friend like Patti!

Blessings,

gk

House Hunting Highlights

It's no secret that we've been out looking at houses. We cannot buy anything because we don't have orders yet but the realtor says it's good to get a feel for different areas. And the realtor is a really nice lady that I am enjoying getting to know. And the houses! How can they look SO good in photos and in the description and then be SO different in reality?? Making houses look and sound good in listings must be a highly honed art form!!

Here are some interesting items I've seen in houses so far.....some I love and some just made me laugh.....

Maybe not

First this chandelier. While I'm thinking "That would HAVE to go" the realtor is saying "I love that chandelier". To each his own. This was centered between grand staircases on each side. We concluded that the chains are actually plastic. Oh my! Maybe in a Moroccan room.....

Want it!

 There were some pretty neat items in this next house.


First, I wanted to take this rug home with me. The colors were captivating. I'm glad they have it on the wall and not the floor. It'll stay beautiful!

Love it!

And then there was this Frank Lloyd Wright inspired chair. There was a poster of Frank Lloyd Wright on the wall above it  just in case you didn't get the connection. I do like the simplicity of Wright's designs. Sigh.

Welcome

These folks obviously need to watch some HGTV. They'd find out about staging and making everything impersonal so the buyers can imagine themselves in the place. 

Relaxing

 They're cute and made me smile but neither made me want to buy the house. I confess the staging of the places does make more difference than you might imagine. And it's fun to look in the garage and see the humongous pile of 'stuff' taken OUT of the house. If we all sold about 9/10 of our 'stuff' we could have houses that look like those on HGTV!!! 

Lastly, here's most of the back yard of a house we LOVED. At this stage of the game a tiny back yard looks ideal. No mowing!! 8^) And all those feeders had birds and squirrels in masses. The cats would be in ecstasy and it would keep us entertained as well. 8^)

Love this home!

Usually Bob and I have a hard time agreeing on the ideal house but we both liked this one a lot. We'll see if it's still around when we can actually make an offer. More sighs....

Blessings,

gk

Random Photos

It is February, still winter, and it is 82 degrees here today. It feels like the end of spring already. The trees are leafing out, flowers are starting to bloom. The animals surely must wonder what's up! Here are some photos I took at the Warrior and Family Support Center (They really need to come up with a less cumbersome name for that place!) after basket weaving class finished and I was walking to my car.

RED

 

 

Who doesn't love such vivid red? These roses are always eye catching.

Yellow and Orange

Of course, I can never pass up these colors!! Isn't it neat how the buds are little bubbles that pop open into a multi-shaped flower?

Bottlebrush

 

 

I know this guy. It makes me think of the one I planted by our house in Florida. It's supposed to be a slow grower and that one grew taller than our house eaves in spite of me constantly pruning it back. The hummingbirds loved visiting that bush.

And then there was this bush with purple flowers........

Bees were swarming over it

Many shades of purple

More purple

What I cannot share with you is the wonderful smell from these flowers. No wonder the bees were swarming all over. It isn't a strong smell, just a really nice fragrance as you pass by. Mmmmmm!

And lastly there was a bug on the purple. I never pass up a bug for Ellen. Surely NO ONE loves bugs as much as this girl. I've never figured it out. I just go with it.....

There you go girlie!

All in all I'd say this makes for a pretty good day!

Blessings,

gk

Bunco and RCL-Woo Hoo!!

Last night was our monthly Bunco gathering. It's a fun group and I try to never miss the meeting. Typically, I pay little attention to the actual game. I'm there to visit and have a good time. Like any gambling game there are few winners so I figure my money to play is just an investment in a good time. And that's exactly what I got last night.

This group likes to have a theme and last night's theme was RODEO. Even though I'm from Muleshoe, TX I don't own rodeo clothes like boots and cowboy hats. I thought about just going in regular clothes, which is fine, but then I hit on the idea of being a rodeo clown. Yes!! Easy to do!

Right, Center, Left

I need to add, though, that the Right, Center, Left game came after Bunco. RCL is an investment of $3.00. And you got it.....I still talk right through the whole affair. But much to my surprise I WON!!! That was a big surprise to me for sure. And now I have $69 to enjoy coming months of Bunco and RCL fun. Yea!!

I won, I won!!!

Blessings,
gk

Fiesta Coming Soon!

Today the Spouse's Club of Fort Sam Houston had a luncheon at the Alamo Cafe and two ladies came from the Fiesta Commission to tell us a little about Fiesta history and upcoming events. Why all this TEN days of madness? Well, it's mostly for charity....and for FUN! (I forgot to mention that RODEO is also about charity, too. They give away scholarships!)

Getting an Early Start!

Fiesta is right up there with the Rose Parade in that they start planning for the next year before last year's is done. There are over 231 events to attend in the ten days of Fiesta!! Here are the ladies giving their presentation....and I'm pretty sure San Antonio, along with Mexican restaurants everywhere, keep the company in business that makes that banner hanging behind them!

Fiesta presentation

Check out the 'medals' on the lapel. Only the beginning of hundreds that will appear in April. In the photo is a former Fiesta Queen and a crown for us to try. Guess who the first volunteer was to put that crown on? You got it!! That sucker is heavy!!

Any chance to reign!

 Our spouse's club is really nice. One of the ladies painted cascarones for us to take home. http://www.ehow.com/how_4505763_make-cascarone.html  What a nice keepsake for military families to remember their time in San Antonio when they move on to the next duty station.

Hand painted cascarones

Bluebonnet cascarone

 And the best for the very last.....CHOCOLATE for dessert. YUM!!!

Doesn't get any better! 8^)

Blessings,

gk

Lili

I've just guessed about the spelling but it's short for Lillian if I remember correctly. And last year I knit a sweater for a yet to be born baby. We did not know if it would be a boy or girl so I tried to knit with colors that any child could enjoy and most decidedly not 'baby' colors. Today I got to see the sweater _on_ the baby! It gave me great joy to see her wrapped in the warmth of my stitches......

The Sweater

The Baby

She even laughed!

She's a bit blurry there because she was wiggling a bit but what a cutie. Made my day!!

Blessings,
gk

Last of the Rodeo

 I have been busy, busy this week. First the luncheon and then looking at houses to possibly buy. House shopping is tricky business and totally a new deal this go-round. No more of 'we can live here a couple of years'. Now it's 'Will I be happy here for years to come?!' Whoa!!! But I digress....first let's finish up this rodeo!

Here are the Montagnos (Bob's deputy at METC and his spouse) with Ron Benton. Ron was a winner of some rodeo thing in years past and I crassly asked if I could get a photo of the belt buckle. Belt buckles are a big deal for cowboys and in the stores, I kid you not, there are waist high mirrors so you can see how they look when you have them on!

Ron Benton and the Montagnos

It's all about the buckle!

Cowgirls

Cowboys

 Even the bathrooms were coordinated to the occasion!









After the bull riding event it was time to set up for the evening's 'entertainment' which this night was a concert put on by Luke Bryan. I don't keep up with this stuff but a couple of ladies working for Bob declared that he is 'hot'. You decide.

Set up for concert

Since it was military night they put chairs down close for many Wounded Warriors who are being treated at facilities in San Antonio. I say the noise...er.....sound level made this a dubious honor at best! BTW, that stage rotated throughout the performance.

Luke Bryan himself

Stars all around

At this point Bob had been sitting with his fingers in his ears for a while so we decided to call it a night and enjoy the music from afar.....really afar, like from home! So, all in all, a great first rodeo for Bob and a fun night visiting with others in our box and those who dropped by. And we still have the blanket, too!

Blessings,
gk

Ultimate Rodeo Experience

Okay, the bronc' bustin' was pretty exciting but the bull ridin' has to be the ultimate in rodeo! Those bulls can really twist around. The pictures are a little blurry because of low light and the animals just really moved FAST. This guy was out of the gate and on the ground in all of 3 seconds!

Out of the gate

...thousand one

...thousand two

...thousand three

It takes WAY longer for them to get all situated than it does for the actual ride! And those clowns there? They are no joke. They are a very integral part of the show. Those guys really know their stuff and they get right in there and make sure no one gets hurt all the while entertaining the crowd with corny jokes and antics. Here's a clown at work protecting a rider until he can get out of the arena.....

Clown on the Job

This guy managed to stay on through the buzzer but it was still measured in seconds. And here you can see that even if you stay on getting _off_ is a challenge to yet overcome!

The Ride Begins

Tricky Dismount

 

 

 

                        I've concluded that all of this is pretty tricky business!

Blessings,
gk