LUCKY STAR: DAY 1

The first year I went to Lucky Star I drove the most direct route, which takes you down the back roads through little towns like Sisterdale and Comfort. Very scenic, but somewhat lacking when it comes to places to make a pit stop or grab a bite to eat. Since then I've decided it's worth my time to go a little bit out of the way, in order to make a stop in Fredericksburg -- one of the most picturesque towns in the Texas Hill Country. I must have been there 20 or 30 times in my life, but always stopped and parked as soon as I got on Main St., walked a couple of blocks down one side of the street, then came back down the other side -- just like all the other tourists! Lately though, I've been hearing rumors...about what might lie beyond those first two blocks. Like this shop called Farm Haus...

and one across the street called Timeless Menagerie.

I swear, between Hubby heading off to Minnesota and Canada for a two week consulting job, and prepping for Lucky Star and the Great Sudanese Adventure, Christmas has barely crossed my mind this year. But it only took one minute inside Farm Haus...

to have me yearning to go home and start decoratin'! Speaking of which, check out the Christmas decorations that were going up in the Fredericksburg Marketplatz while I was there.

Now that is one gi-nor-mous Weihnachtspyramide, is it not?

I arrived at Lucky Star late afternoon, and met up with my two friends from Wimberley -- LaNell and Susan -- whom I had persuaded to join me this year,with little to no effort! Another friend was going to come as well, and be my roomie, but she ended up having to drop out. I told them I would be happy to room with a stranger, as long as I was in one of the units that connects to my other friends. I kept waiting and waiting for someone to arrive, but no one ever did, so guess who got a room all to herself? ME, that's who!

Just love these color-mad Pendleton blankets. I really think I need some of these for when the whole family is here for the holidays, and some of them end up on air mattresses.

When I ran into our fearless leader later on, she apologized for my being in a room by myself. I think she was a bit taken aback when I threw my arms around her and said "Are you kidding? This is the best thing ever!" No more waking up at 4:30 AM, and having to just lay there staring at the ceiling to keep from waking the others. Plus, I'm a major introvert. When I wanted people time, all I had to do was step out onto the porch I shared with friends in all the surrounding units. When I wanted down time, I'd go back inside and work on one of my projects, which I happily spread out from one end of the room to the other. Woohoo!

 
Not long after that is was time for the first of many simply scrumptious meals to come, and then we were off to the ballroom to hear our keynote speaker -- Austin writer/maker/doer Bernadette Noll.

Bernadette (left) with Lucky Star founder Lisa Hamlin

Bernadette is a return-guest from Lucky Star's opening year. This year she spoke about making time for creativity, but it was her first talk that really struck a chord with me -- the one about establishing, and keeping, a tribe of creative friends who spur you on to do so much more than you could ever do on your own. Don't know what I would do without my Muses!

Then, to end the evening as we always do at Lucky Star, the musical stylings of every camper's favorite fireside songstress, Miss Mandy Rowden!

It was a very good day!

P.S. Speaking of the Great Sudanese Adventure -- we've got immunizations, we've got visas, and as of about midnight last night, after mucho angst and effort on the part of my poor hubby, we finally have tickets! I guess we're really gonna do this thing!

MARKET PEOPLE

If you love people-watching even half as much as I do, there is no better place to be than a farmers' market.

Finally finishing up the projects from week two of my Farmers' Market "food & art" class...

and feeling kinda sad that week three will be the last.
 

MY WALKING BUDDIES

Here are just a few of the reasons that walking laps around my driveway, just as the sun is coming up, beats a treadmill all to pieces.

First of all there are these zany squirrels that are always running amok around here. Yeah, they steal all the bird seed, and can burn your house down if they get in the attic and chew on your wiring. But I must admit, they do keep me entertained!

Then there's this gang of young bucks that's been hanging out in the hood lately. I went years with only the rarest glimpse of a buck, but this summer I've seen them on a regular basis. I have no idea why.

I love taking note of what is starting to bloom or fade, and just who is paying it a visit.

There are all kinds of birds out at that time of day, but they must have much better hearing than the other critters, because they always manage to flit away before I can get close enough to nab a good shot. Haven't managed to get pics of our fox family either, but I am ever hopeful.

And, of course, there's always the view, and getting to see the sun come up from behind those hills.

Did I mention those crazy-ass squirrels?

A PERFECT SUNDAY

Sunday we woke up to much cooler temps than you would normally find in Texas during August. It seemed like the perfect day for an adventure.

The morning simply insisted upon outdoor dining, so hubby took me to a little place called Russell's Bakery and Coffee Bar, which he had discovered in Austin. The banana-pecan pancakes were pret-ty yummy!

From there we headed over to the old Mueller Airport area, which has been transformed into an idyllic version of an old fashioned, walkable neighborhood -- complete with green housing options, a lovely lake...

a fabulous children's museum called the Thinkery...

and an old airplane hangar/community pavilion, where a nice little farmers' market is held each weekend.

 
Can you imagine being the mother of small children, and having all that within walking distance to your home? You wouldn't believe all that was available at that little farmers market.

Alas, the only thing I didn't find much of was, well, vegetables! Unless you were looking for okra. That, they had!

Which is why I ended up having to stop by HEB on the way home to get what I needed for our dinner -- a meal I had seen demonstrated in Junelle Jacobsen's Farmers' Market art class, and which I was dying to reproduce, even though their seasons in Idaho or Minnesota don't exactly gibe with ours down here in Texas.

Roasted fresh asparagus and grilled romaine, both drizzled with a homemade vinaigrette,  fresh corn that was microwaved in its husk (which then easily slipped away, taking all those pesky silks with it) then finished off on the grill, and grilled trout topped with fresh cherry salsa.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, talk about delicious!

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL

I once read a book that was all about the taste of place, or gout de terroir -- being able to tell where something was grown or produced simply by its taste, such as the grapes used in a particular wine. In this book I learned that, to the French, having taste buds that are refined enough to discern these flavors is so very important, they start training their children from a very early age.  How? By serving them real food, for one thing -- three course, made from scratch lunches in school cafeterias, with time enough to relax and enjoy them. Also, by doing little blind taste tests with them, helping them to recognize sensations such as salty, sweet, and sour, and where those flavors are triggered in their mouths. Thus it came as no big surprise to me that, when we visited some of the wonderful covered markets in Provence, we found many, many families shopping en masse, with all the kids in tow.

School children head to the fish market in Marseilles

What did surprise me was how much these kids actually seemed to enjoy it.

Well, some more than others.

It was almost as if they actually preferred going on these Saturday morning excursions to vegging out on the sofa with some sugary cereal while watching cartoons or playing video games! Even more amazing? I didn't witness one single child having a total meltdown in any of the farmers' markets -- over not being allowed to buy whatever packaged, processed, chemical-laden crap the TV ads had convinced him he really, really needed, and which someone had placed right where he was sure to see it.

Hmmmm...why do you suppose that is?

TO MARKET, TO MARKET

 

PIGGING OUT

Our friend Sherri is in marketing, and one of her clients happens to be Hye Meadow Winery, midway between Johnson City and Fredericksburg.

Sherri guides Outdoor Couple and Dear Hubby through a wine tasting.

Thanks to her, we got invited to something we had never experienced before -- a pig roast, celebrating the winery's first anniversary!

Heading to the Party Pavilion, Behind the Tasting Room

Well, actually, it turned out to be a Pig & Lamb Roast. Double Yum! I was picturing a big hole dug in the ground, with the pig buried under layers of coal. But, unbeknownst to me, they now have portable roasting boxes, sized to fit the animal you want to roast. They even come with instructions!

We arrived just in time to see them open up one of the boxes and flip the pig.

The Crispy Side

There was a time when seeing this would have grossed me out big time. I was one of those people who bought most of her meat boneless, in nice, sterile cryovac packages, not wanting to be reminded of the animal from which it came. But years of working with The Bountiful Sprout and our local farmers and producers, and reading about the disgusting conditions in which those poor cryovac animals are raised, has changed my attitude completely. Now I think it is critical that we are all aware of where our food comes from, and that we care about how those animals were treated while they were alive.

I gave thanks to these two animals, and to the people who raised them, with every juicy mouthful!

So, if you ever find yourself on that road between Johnson City and Fredericksburg, you really oughtta stop in at Hye Meadow Winery. It comes...