Another butterfly picture from Enchanted Rock in the Texas hill country.

We're trying to get as much Christmas decorating done before Candy Days so that my mom can enjoy it when she comes and also because I won't be in the Christmas decorating "mode" for three whole days during all the candy making.  I can hardly wait for Thursday to get here. . . that's when everyone arrives and the chocolatiers go into action.

Thought for the day:  Put "Eat Chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.
         From "The Rules of Chocolate" -  author unknown.

Lost Maples State Park in Texas Hill Country

Another view of the creek we crossed time and time again in the Lost Maples State Park. Although it looks peaceful enough, there were signs warning hikers that if it started raining they should seek higher ground immediately.  Evidently this area is quite susceptable to flash flooding, and I sure wouldn't want to be on one of these rough hikes when the water started RUSHING through there.

Yesterday, after the kids left we got all the sheets washed and changed in the guest bedrooms, and finished up the outside lights and placed just a few Christmas decorations around the house.  More to follow . . . much more.  Then we rested the remainder of the day, and we needed it too.  At one point Mike was actually snoring in his recliner.

I hope everyone had a marvelous Thanksgiving.  I know we did.  Busy, but so much fun. We sort of took the opportunity to take family portrait type pictures while everyone was dressed for Thanksgiving lunch. Here's our clan.

L to R: Trin, Mike, me, Darin and Jackie

And here's a couple of my beautiful grandaughter helping me make the home made noodles in the kithen. She is such a delight.

Trin stirring the eggs into the flour for noodles.

Trin trying to roll out the noodle dough. We got flour everywhere.

My husband and son got all the Christmas decorations down from the attic and started hanging the outside lights Friday while Jackie and I got the Christmas tree all decorated.  Then Saturday was Mike's birthday so we mixed a little celebrating of that in with hanging the rest of the outside lights. 

May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes 'n Gravy,
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize,
May your thanksgiving dinner
Stay off of your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Road to Roaring River State Park              Photo & enhancement by Chris Duffy

Well, BUMMER !!!  I took the time yesterday to go over to the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve about 5 miles from my house so I could get some good fall color pictures.  I took about 35 pictures as I took my mile and a half walk and then another 10 on the way home from the park.   But when I was downloading them to my computer . . . I'm not sure what happened.  Only 5 of the park got downloaded, and those 5 are ones I took as I neared the car on the parking lot.  Not very exciting. All of the pictures I took on the way home are there, just not the ones I made the trip for.  I think I took some pretty good shots of the creek that runs through the park; it wasn't just a trickle.  Because of all the rain we've had lately it was running full and swift.  But, alas, I'll never know just how good they were, because they are nowhere to be found on either the memory card or my hard drive. 

The only possibly explanation I can think of is that I may have pulled the card out of the reader before it was through writing them all to my hard drive.  And I have learned that it does write them to my hard drive in reverse order, so that's why the last pictures I took are there but not the good ones from the park.  Oh, well, we live and learn. 

Road to Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas

Shame on me!  I was so busy today that I didn't take the time to get a picture of some of the georgous colors that have now shown up in the trees here in Texas.  It seems like it happened over night.  When I went to work on Thursday, I noticed all kinds of color that I hadn't noticed just the day before.  I got a lot done on my "to do" list today, but since I didn't take the camera with me, I'll have to use this picture from last year's Arkansas "sister trip" to illustrate the colorful fall leaves.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get out with my camera. 

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Thought for the day:  Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.   Author unknown.

Sculpture of Boy picking at his foot

I had to laugh when I saw this statue.  I mean, it's beautifully done; it's lifelike, anatomically correct, the proportions are perfect, but it's a boy picking at his feet. . . . just not the usual subject matter for a sculpture.

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I just finished "The Wedding" by Nicholas Sparks, and I really enjoyed it.  Although I got a little teary in spots, it wasn't nearly as tear-jerking as "The Notebook" was.  That one I had to occasionally put down just so my body could have a rest from all the boo-hooing.  And if you knew me, you'd know that when I cry it takes AT LEAST a couple of hours for my face to return to normal. . . . bright red nose, puffy red eyes . . . I mean I am a sight when I've been crying, so I have really been able to enjoy this book without looking like a wretch. 

Thought for the Day:  Yesterday is history and tomorrow's a mystery. 
                                 Author unknown

Speaking of Parrots . . . my daughter-in-law sent me this and I thought it was very cute.

A young man named Jake received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. Jake tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary. Finally, Jake was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back.

Jake shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. Jake, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute. Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, Jake quickly opened the door to the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto Jake's outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior." Jake was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued ........... "May I ask what the turkey did?"

Parrot in the lobby of the Hyatt Grand Cypress Hotel in Orlando

This parrot spends his days in the lobby of a hotel.  Actually there were three of them and they each had their own spot.  They each had a beautiful brass ring as their "home", complete with water and food receptacles, a wooden perch and colorful wooden blocks suspended on ropes. . . I guess that's their toys.  I thought it was amazing because the birds are not chained to their spots.  They stay there and climb on the brass rings and wooden blocks like it's a jungle-gym. . . remember those?  And they use their beak as an extra hand (or should I say foot). This guy was the more animated of the parrots so he got more of my camera time.

House in King William District in San Antonio, TX

Yet another house in the King William District in San Antonio, but I think this is probably my favorite home there. . . but then I'm a sucker for stone houses, especially when they have stone & wrought iron fences.  The only thing I could think of that would make this picture any better is if the flowers just behind the fence were more prominant and colorful.  Maybe if we'd been there in spring. 

Close Up of fence and gate

Here's a close up of that wonderful fence.  Look at the detail work on the wrought iron. I just love it!  I also know I'll never live in a house with a fence like this . . . unless it's an institution.