SHHHH...I'VE GOT A SECRET!

I still can't believe that it took us almost ten years to find out that the best place to get a burger anywhere around here, is actually at a little barbecue joint!

Unfortunately, you can only get this Blue Plate Special on Thursdays, and you'll have to fight all the members of the Sheriff's department and the Fire & Rescue Team to get a parking spot or a table, which is why I've dragged my feet about sharing this little secret.

But then I started feeling guilty for tryin' to keep it all to myself.

Every single bite of this char-grilled delight is a time-traveler's journey back to the char-broiler joints and backyard barbecues of my youth. I must warn you, however, to get there early. They open at 11:00, and when they're gone, they're gone! 

Just remember. Mum's the word!

BARCELONA 5: PUTTING ON A NEW FACE

 On our fifth day in Barcelona, we enjoyed another yummy breakfast at Escriba, then strolled all the way down Las Ramblas to see the "New, Improved" harbor area, and to catch a glimpse of the Mediterranean. Apparently, when they got the news that the Olympics were coming to town, as well as a steady stream of oceanliners, they decided that they needed to greet their visitors with a more pristine face. So warehouses and fishing villages were replaced by a fancy-schmancy shopping mall and aquarium.  Cuz, that's why people travel, right? To go see and do and eat the same kind of things they can see and do and eat right in their own backyard?

We only stepped inside the mall to get directions to the tower entrance for the cable car ride that would send us sailing over the water to Montjuïc. Unfortunately, the directions weren't clear, and we ended up going waaay far out of our way, and circling right back to where we started!

Montjuïc is the flat-topped hill in the distance.

We did spot one thing at the mall, however, that you wouldn't see back home. This!

Is that not the strangest, most beautiful "Santa" ever? And why were kids still visiting him on January 2nd? Well, I did a little research when we got home, and discovered that in Catalonia, toys are not delivered by Santa Claus, they come from the gift-bearing Magi, and not until the 12th day of Christmas, or Epiphany. Still haven't figured out why the Magi would need elves and reindeer though.

We explored the El Born area on the way back to our hotel.

We'd hoped to lunch at this place, the high point of a friends visit to Barcelona. Alas, not open for lunch!

If you recall, I mentioned earlier that we don't go to museums as a rule. However, there were a few in Barcelona which we would gladly have broken the rule for, had we more time. One was the Jamón Experience, where you get to do tastings! Then there was a chocolate museum, as well as this one, which you should probably hit first, in case it gives you the munchies!

We definitely put some steps on the ol' fitbit that day, and absolutely crashed when we finally made it back to the hotel. Later that evening we returned to one of the first restaurants we'd tried here -- Set De Gòtic...

however, instead of selecting the tried and true, we got brave and ordered the tapas "tasting menu", leaving all the choices up to them.

And, we're ever so glad we did!

P.S. Have I mentioned how much we enjoyed the wines in Barcelona? I am not a drinker. Never have been. I pretend to sip at a glass of wine with my friends, but the only time I have ever felt compelled to finish a glass, was the first time I tasted the dry rosés of Provence. Luckily, unlike here in Texas, these were on most every menu there. Plus, Hubby is turning into a huge fan of the Spanish reds!

WHO HATES STICKY FINGERS?

I do, that's who! Which is why I've never done much with collage. However, I was so enamored with the way the "geadooma" page in my travel journal turned out -- the one where I used tiny pieces of torn paper to create the color-mad sari-like garments, called tobes, which all the Sudanese women wear -- that I just couldn't resist dabbling in a bit more paper play. This was the result.

BODYHACKING

My daughter and her hubby volunteered at BodyHacking Con in Austin this weekend. What is BodyHacking you ask? (I know I did!) It's the internal and external things we do to change or improve our bodies -- everything from tatoos and piercings to bionics. My first thought was "Poo on that, who needs it?", but then I discovered that I too am a BodyHacker. I became one as soon as I strapped on my first Fitbit a couple of years ago.

While there, Lexi posted this photo:

Little Goober Attends His First Con!

Hubby's reply? "Her body has definitely been hacked!" I guess I haven't seen a side view of her in a while, because I was like "Whoa! When did that happen?" Little Goober ain't so little anymore!

Speaking of Little Goober, one of our favorite shops in Barcelona had the cutest little color-mad kiddo hats I've ever seen, and we couldn't resist bringing a couple home with us, one of which was an orange striped jester hood with a long pointy tip -- perfect if Little Goober were to attend a Renaissance Festival with his geeky parents.

As soon as they got home with the hats, Lex and Nate sent us these:

NOT the Goober we intended them for...but...still pretty cute, dontcha think?

FILLING IN THE LUCKY STAR GAP

Susan (left) and Rena

It is really, really hard to go an entire year between visits to Lucky Star Art Camp. Seriously! So, a few months ago, some of the campers in the Greater Austin Metropolis came up with a way to fill in the gap. They decided to get together once a month for a pot luck lunch and some artsy fun, rotating from one house to another. They call it a Lucky Makers Meet-Up. I missed out on the first two due to travel and what have you, but when I heard that the next one was to be held right here in Wimberley, hosted by my friends LaNell and Susan, well, you'd better believe I was the first to sign up!

Susan's house sits above the still-beautiful Blanco River, despite its loss of all the majestic cypress trees that used to hide those cliffs from view. In fact, her house took on five feet of water in the epic Memorial Day Flood, when the water actually topped those cliffs for the first time in history, and had to be completely redone. It made my heart happy to see that their lives were finally falling back into place. They lost so many treasures, but she did a great job finding these new/old mid-century treasures on Craig's List. Eat your heart out Alexis Lane!

Who, besides me, had something like this in their bedroom back in the 60s?

Of course, ours wasn't nearly this cool! Sister Gus and I gave up a gorgeous antique canopy bed that we had to share, so we could have separate twin beds that we arranged like this, with a square table built by our dad. 

Anyhoo, if there's one thing Susan has plenty of, it's nice, smooth river rock! So, what better project than to paint some of those rocks?

Our hosts fixed taco soup and the most amazing broccoli cornbread for lunch...

LaNell reminds me so much of my sister Gus, I do a double-take each time I see her!

and Miss Rena, who drove all the way down from Temple just to join us, brought these!

Oh. My.

It was a very good day!

So, if any you former Lucky Star gals live anywhere close to Austin, or if you have signed up for next November and want to meet some of your soon-to-be-best-pals ahead of time, I suggest that you ask Miss Tricia to add you to the Lucky Makers Meet Up facebook group, so you don't miss out on hearing about any of the upcoming gatherings!

And, if you haven't yet been to Lucky Star? Well, you just don't know what you're missin'!