Author Archives: Lynn

Winter Celebrations

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Johnna and I get into the spirit early with a trip to the Nutcracker Market in Houston where one can find just about anything Christmas! Since I didn’t actually need anything, I think I did pretty well to come home with just a fun Holiday Tee shirt. Johnna found a beautiful snowman-sporting wreath for their front door and some very tasty fudge. Ho, Ho, Ho…..it is indeed Christmas time…well, close enough.
Happy Birthday Brian! We all go out for a fun Mexican dinner then celebrate the occasion with candles (not the relighting kind) on a West Virginia pound cake. Saving the real bash for 2020 – the big 40! We hang at their place for a great Thanksgiving dinner that includes all the classic dishes and “help” get the Christmas decorating started. Now I am really feeling the spirit.
Hill Country Texas Christmas wine trail, it is a great road trip with Brian and Johnna and we find a couple nice wines along the way.
Cookies…lots of cookies. Carol is in town and Johnna graciously allows us to take over her kitchen. The must haves, chocolate chip and peanut butter blossoms. Add to that a pumpkin sugar cookie, no bake orange balls, and gingerbread plus some of Carol’s specialties; raspberry bars, fudge, date pinwheels, and florentines. The freezer is packed with holiday goodness after a bit of taste testing! Oh yeah!

A Birthday!

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“Twenty one for the third time”, I like that perspective, Johnna! Well, 63 is ok too and it brings me two chances to celebrate. My early celebration, a day at Long’s Park then dinner at Harvest in Lancaster with Kent, Mike, Tracy, Willa and Carol. Thanks guys, for a great day. Take two, hanging out with Brian and Johnna then a seafood dinner at Floyd’s in Houston. Birthday cake included those relighting candles (wonder who was responsible for that, Brian!). Another wonderful day. Thanks to the Texas kids too!

Can’t miss a chance for a grandbaby fix

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It has been three months since Mike and Tracy and Willa spent time with us in Canada. Pictures and video calls give us a peek at the big milestones but Willa is changing so fast we are thrilled for a chance to check in in person. Tracy’s Film Challenge efforts take them to Reading PA just stone’s throw from the Wasik clan so we head east to meet up and catch up. It is a chance to meet our 4-month-old great niece, Harlow too. A double little person fix! Harlow is ado¬¬¬rable and a huge reminder that Willa is not a baby any more. She was sooo close to walking on her own back in July and now takes off without hesitation in pursuit of whatever is out of reach. She has mastered the most important words, No and Yes and shoe (if you love to walk you gotta have shoes). Add to that a growing vocabulary of baby sign language and she can pretty much make her needs known. She’s getting a handle on letting her emotions be known too. It is amazing to watch this whole little person emerge.
It was a low key couple days just sharing everyday things: lots of walking, playground time with slides and swings, crunchy leaves and rocks to climb on, some coloring, a bit or reading….. We enjoyed every minute. It makes my heart soar to watch these two wonderful, loving, young people parenting.

Wiener dog races

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Hilarious.  It is more like simultaneous wandering.  The gates fly open to release the hounds and they run in circles, rub noses, sniff everything, and generally do just about anything except move toward the finish line.  Owners sit at the finish line and encourage at the top of their lungs but a dachshund goes where a dachshund goes.  Heats end with owners scurrying around the race track gathering up their wayward charges.  All this plus craft booths, food trucks, butterfly releases, and a scare crow competition at the Jasper, Texas Butterfly Festival.  

Lake time

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Eagles chatter and soar from their perches high in the pines right here in camp.  Monarch butterflies tumble in the gusty lake breezes.  The fish are even biting, a least a few of them.  

Back on the road

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Finally, it is Fall in Texas.  Daytime highs are now in the 70s and 80s and overnights in the 50s and 60s.  About perfect.  We have settled into a site at Lake Rayburn and hope to do some fishing.  We will let you know how the fishing pans out.

Ok, all is back to “normal”

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The Focus is back to its old self – shinny bright red and hail dent free.  We picked it up September 26.

We picked up the motorhome yesterday, October 3.   We still have some reorganizing to do but it is nice to be back in our own bed!

The trip home with the motorhome was somewhat eventful since they failed to secure the turbocharger output line properly.  About halfway to our campsite it blew off and the motorhome immediately lost most of it’s power.  Luckily it was a quick fix, and we were back on the road. Fortunately, it did not happen in the mayhem that is Houston traffic, we were north on the two-lane interstate with a handy exit.

The annoying part: everyone took MUCH longer than they promised!!!

The fun part: we got to stay at Brian and Johnna’s the last 10 days of our homeless period.  We did some cooking, some puttering around the house and yard, and spent an evening at the Fort Bend Fair that included some usual finds: funnels cakes, turkey legs and some of those twisty potato chips and one activity entirely new to us, mutton bust’n.  If you ever get a chance don’t miss it.  The event features little kids (a max weight of 55 pounds) clinging to the back of a sheep as they are released into the arena.  Longest ride is the winner.  Rodeo clowns scoop the kids up about as soon as they hit the dirt and raise them on their shoulders to wave to the crowd.  Some look thrilled at the experience and some not so much.  Expressions range from broad, proud smiles to teary eyes.  Maybe it has something to do with whether they have to pour dirt out of your helmet and facemask?!  

We checked out Brazos Bend State park.  Yep, they still have alligators.  We drove through San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge just to scope it out.  We are set to volunteer there starting in November.  It is about an hour from Rosenberg so we hope to be able to spend some of our off time with the kids.