Friday, August 12, 2016

OUR FIRST OFFICIAL GIG

Babysitting gig, that is. A couple of weeks ago one of our daughter's best gal pals invited her to go to this -- the best event ever for a new mom's first night out. Then, shortly after the tickets were purchased, hubby Nate got an out-of-town assignment for the week of the event. Woohoo! Oops, I mean aaawww, too bad. Back up team to the rescue!

If it makes you feel any better Nate, I did bring these goodies, spotted at my favorite consignment store, to little Cal. Of course, it might be a while before he grows into them.


Yeah, I thought you'd appreciate those!


There was much dancing and singing with Mima, and some very deep discussions with Papa John.



Lucky for us, Little Goober has no problem at all with taking an occasional bottle when The Source is not available, and was out like a light by 9:00.


Actually, he tried to doze off even before that, be we woke him up so he'd sleep well for Mama (and so we could play with him some more). Fortunately, she came home not too long after I put him to sleep in the bedroom, since I have not yet conquered that new mom/grandmom compulsion to stand there watching him sleep, just to make sure he's still breathing.

It might take a while.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

THE NEXT LANFORD ADVENTURE?

Where's the tuba?
I didn't have much time for exploring New Braunfels while I was taking my 3-day class. I was pooped by the end of our workday, and still had a long drive home, so I didn't linger. Still, I did manage to discover a few interesting spots on my lunch breaks, which might be worth going back for -- places I'm pretty sure our good friends Paula and Tim might enjoy exploring with us. After all, it was their invitation to go rafting with them here in this very town about 40 years ago, followed by dinner at the Grist Mill and dancing at Gruene Hall, which spawned this Hill Country addiction of mine in the first place!

I actually made a trial run over to New Braunfels the day before my class started, since I'm bad with directions but also technology-adverse. Great combination, right? Mainly I just wanted to see how long it would take during rush hour, and figure out where the special parking lot was that we were supposed to use, since street parking is limited to two hours. It was well worth the trip since, though I accidentally overshot my mark on San Antonio street, it led me to rediscover a great place to have lunch called Cravings, which a friend once told us about. Then, on the first day of class, a whole group of us wandered across the street to an amazing place called Gourmage, which specializes in the three main food groups -- cheese, chocolates and wine -- and where I had the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich, made with Manchego cheese, prosciutto, and fig preserves. Orgasmic! Just don't go there when you are running short on time. Fortunately, our instructor was with us, so we didn't get into trouble for our tardy return to the classroom.


The next morning I arrived to find a wonderful farmers' market setting up directly behind the gallery where our class was meeting. Since I am ever the early bird, I had time to wander around a bit.

That booth on the left had chocolate croissants! Wonder if they had any almond?




I had brought along a PB&J that day, not wanting to waste anymore time in a too-slow restaurant, but after spotting the gyros and kielbasa vendors that morning, I decided to ditch the sandwich from home and listen to some Oompah music instead, whilst enjoying one of these!


On the last day, a Sunday, I finally went out to do some serious exploring, only to find many of the shops closed, including my primary destination, Henne Hardware. I just can't understand them doing that in a tourist town, since that's their busiest time! Luckily, this little bakery was open...


and from there I spotted this awesome little toy store...


and a place called McAdoo's Seafood Company, which I've been hearing good things about.

Loved the Cajun music that was wafting from their courtyard dining area!
Yep, I'm thinking this could be an ideal location for a bit more splorin' and adventurin', only I'm thinking we should probably wait until the temperature drops just a tad. Just can't take these triple digits anymore!

Monday, August 8, 2016

COLOR-MAD MONDAY: MY NEW ADDICTION

Well, I didn't even complete the first little apple project in my Paper Paintings workshop this week, much less the second toucan project I was most excited about. One thing I did accomplish however, was getting a great start on my future stash of uniquely color-mad hand-painted papers! 

My Workstation
A Classmate's Projects
Some Of My Instructor's Work, Done On Pilot's Altitude Charts
My Red Stash, Minus What Was Used On My Apple
Glittery Golds

Let me just say, not only was Elizabeth St. Hilaire a great instructor and so much fun to be around, the New Braunfels Art League has an amazing gallery and instructional facility, and you really ought to take advantage of that, if you live anywhere in the vicinity!

My Aqua Stash, Waiting To Be Torn And Glued On The Background Of My Apple



Now where on earth do I put it all? Where will I stash my stash?