Good ending to a good week!

On Sunday, we all got together at Andrea's for the August birthdays.  We met the newest member of the family...her new puppy Leo.  Leo was a lost doggie wandering around McKinney and was taken in by a friend of Andrea's who already has a couple of dogs. So Andrea decided to adopt him...he is really a sweet dog and has landed in a very nice home...she will really do him right!!!  He is probably a mix; one of Andrea's friends saw his picture on her FB and thought he looked like a Pharoah Hound  (I thought they were saying "feral" hound) !  Having never heard of this breed I had to look it up and sure
enough...there is such a breed and he really does look like a small version!!

Then yesterday, we went to the movie with both grands... a final summer event for us with them....saw "Cowboys and Aliens"!  A scifi movie with Harrison Ford and Daniel Crag so what is there not to like!  Then out to a late lunch at Cotton Patch.  Kathleen had to go to band practice but Colin came home with us and spent the night.

Today, Trinity Valley Quilter's Guild  met this morning.  We didn't have a speaker today; instead we had "Christmas in July", whereby a few of us demonstrated various activities to the rest of the members.  I had decided to show how to put together several Christmas Cards, using fabric and other techniques.  Here's a couple of the Zentangle cards I demo'd.

 

After I got home, Colin's mom had come out to get him and we all had lunch together.

So...Friday finished the week off very enjoyably!!!!  If it would only cool down, life would be perfect!!!!!!!!!

The way we like a Texas winter!

Frog Fact # 17: As a defense mechanism, horned frogs can double in size to look like a spiny balloon!



Today, the temperature was in the low 70's!  This is what we like in a Texas winter!!  It is supposed to be the same tomorrow.  Today, we went into Fort Worth and spent some time with the grands.  Their mom had to work but they had the day off....between semesters.  So we watched some of their Christmas movies.."Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" and a Star Trek movie while we had lunch. 

Then we stopped off at the library, got some new books; went by the "Y"..they are adding on a lot of new space to the "Y" so working out is a bit of a challenge with all the machines, etc. being moved around!

Andrea had given a proposal for a house in McKinney...we are going to head up there this coming weekend to see it.   It is a garden home in a new area; I am very excited for her!!  Looking forward to seeing it!

Trip pics

More pics from the ferry Kennicott....because the weather was so cooperative, we were able to get down some narrow channels for some beautiful scenery-looking and because the ferries are somewhat smaller than the cruise ships, some of the areas we traveled were too narrow for the larger ships.

Beautiful sky and clouds going down the channel to Pelican...a small fishing village...one of many that can only be reached by boat or biplane.

Forty five years ago when we lived in Anchorage, we took a day trip into Prince William Sound from Whittier to see glaciers, etc. This is a rookery picture that we took then.

As we came into Whittier on the Kennicott, we passed the same rookery area! It looks pretty much the same....to think, some of those birds there are the descendants of the birds we saw 45 years ago!!

Talked to daughter in California who is moving back to Texas in a couple of weeks. She is shipping her belongings and driving back by herself so the dad decided to fly out and meet her half wayish in Las Vegas and drive the rest of the way back with her. They will have a great time...some intense bonding time!!! And...Saturday we will be helping our grandson celebrate his 12th birthday...growing up way too fast!! Our granddaughter is in her high school marching band, plays the French horn. Last Friday night we went to the football game to watch the band perform...brings back such memories when our girls were in their high school marching bands!

Summer has come with a vengance!!!

I just finished reading Andrea's latest adventure in California. What an entertaining writer she is!

School is now officially out for most everyone in the area which means the "Y" where we go to workout will be enundated with small fry!! And yes, I was right...fortunately they were all pretty much contained to the pool area while we were there today.

Dick and I picked up the grands on their last day; the Intermediate School went relatively calmly, but the ninth grade center took quite a bit longer...the high school was getting out at the same time and the eager teens were raring to go!! We finally got away and went to Steak and Shake for our usual last day of school celebration lunch, then to our house...the grandson is ahead on our on going chess matches. I will need to practice up!! The kids spent the night, watched the first "Ghostbusters" movie which all of us had seen but still a fun movie.

Very proud of the kids...both made straight A's; granddaughter ran for and was voted in as the Sophomore class Historian for next year. They had a swimmeet the week before and both did best time in all of their events. K. will be coming out to mow some day this week; she seems to really like doing it...C. is a little jealous, I think, at least for the money!! But we told him his time will come. We have it figured out that by the time both are too busy to do it, the little guy across the street who is three will be old enough to take ovet the mowing!!!

I finished my first "wheels" project and have it hanging on the wall with #2. My next in the series is to be using the technique of collage...but that is kind of what I have been doing with the other two....proving that it is all related. I am also working on an exchange quilt....springtime..my person that I am sending to is in Norway, so I am using Texas wildflower fabric. Will post a picture when finished in a few days.