CALVIN AND THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT ADVENTURE

 
Our daughter and grandson came and spent some time with us last week, while her hubby was away at his big annual hackers' convention in Vegas. While here, we decided that perhaps Calvin was finally old enough to go on some real adventures with Mimi and Papa. First up? Aquarena Springs! Well, what used to be Aquarena Springs. Back in the day there were glass bottom boat rides where you would see mermaids and swimming pigs, but by the time Lex arrived at college there in San Marcos, it had fallen onto hard times and was in serious disrepair. Luckily, Texas State University saved the day by purchasing it and turning it into an educational facility -- renamed The Meadows Center -- where the public can still take boat rides and visit their little aquarium. Alas, the mermaids and swimming pigs are a thing of the past, but there is still plenty of fun to be had!

"A tree tunnel!", Calvin yelled.

The former hotel, in the background, now houses offices, classrooms, and the aquarium.

Abandoned Bits Being Reclaimed By Vegetation

A Most Unusual Fish That Swam Beneath Us

It was so fascinating to me, to actually see the water boiling up out of the ground, here at the beginning, the actual source filling all the aquifers for miles around. The basic 25-minute tour was just about perfect for our toddler, though there is a longer one for those who want to learn more.

We followed this up with lunch at Ivar's River Pub, which also fell on hard times and was closed for a long time, but finally reopened this summer.

Then there was this...

followed by this.

All in all, I'd say it was a mighty fine adventure!

COLOR-MAD FRIDA: TAKE TWO

Well, I thought I'd be done with Frida by now, but more quality Goober-time means less quality creative-time. It's a trade-off I'm more than happy to make, however!

The hand-painted background on Frida I took about five seconds...

while the torn-and-pasted background on Frida II felt like it took five years.

Since I only have room on my little art table for one crate of paper scraps at a time, I'm working my way through the project one color at a time. First the blues, then the greens and yellows.

Painted Bird I

Collaged Bird I

Painted Bird II

Collaged Bird II

Now all that's left is to fill in her dress and flower, as I've decided to leave all the black and flesh-tones painted. For now I must put it all away, 'cause, guess who's coming over to play?!!
 

CALVIN'S TEA PARTIES

Toddlers are funny. You do something one time, and suddenly it's a tradition, and has to be done the exact same way, every single time they come to your house. Until, just as suddenly, it's not, and they are on to something else.

Right now it's tea parties, thanks to his special Curious George tea set that Papa brought home for him. A few of Annie's Cheddar Bunnies are kept in a special metal tea tin, and they like to hop, hop, hop right into his mouth. Then there is diluted cranberry-blood orange tea, which rarely makes it as far as his mouth. Oh, and don't forget to pound the heck out of some ice cubes, to make tiny slivers that will fit in his wee little cups. Not that he'd ever let you forget one single step of this important ritual!

This week was the first time he ever insisted on bringing all his cars and trains to the tea party, and he arranged them in that perfect semi-circle all on his own!

I love these little rituals, and plan to enjoy them to the max, for as long as they last!

DESIGNATED DAYS AND HUBBY'S ADVENTURES

I used to make fun of people like this -- the ones who did certain things or ate certain foods on certain days of the week. Now I am one, and I don't even know how it happened! I guess it started with The Muses and our Tuesday morning get-togethers at the coffee shop, which were usually followed by trips to the library and grocery store, while I was there in town. So, Tuesday became errand day. Then, when our first grandbaby came along, Papa John and I offered to bring lunch over and play with the baby once a week for the first couple of months, so Lex could relax or catch up on things she needed to do. We enjoyed those weekly visits so much they just never came to an end, so Thursdays became "Goober Day".  Fridays became Hubby's and my "Date Day", Wednesday became appointment day, weekends were filled with adventures and family time, and lest I end up with no time whatsoever to do art or any of the things I personally wanted to do, I finally declared Monday to be Stay Home And Get Shit Done Day! Most times I don't even bother to get dressed on Mondays (a subtle reminder not to ask me to go anywhere or do anything) and putter around in my nighty, going happily from one project to another, with generous reading breaks in between.

Date Day is actually movie day. We love going to see all the newest movies as soon as they come out, and the best thing about being retired is being able to go on a Friday, during the day, to avoid the weekend crowds. Ever since the big new theater in Kyle opened, we've been going there, followed by lunch at Garcia's or Hays City or Mama Fu's. We do, however, have very different taste when it comes to films, one loving action films and the other preferring one involving an actual plot or story, so we take turns picking what to see. This week it was Hubby's turn to make the plans. Luckily, he chose a film based on a YA dystopian book series, so there was something in it for both of us. However, I suspected something more was afoot when he insisted that we go to the theater in San Marcos instead of Kyle. Why? He just felt like doing "something different." He also wanted to go to an afternoon showing instead of an early one.  Hmmmmm.

When he drove right past his favorite BBQ joint afterwards, I knew he had something up his sleeve, and this was it -- Patio Dolcetto.

Wine. Craft Beer. Tapas. Patio.

Now that's what I call a date!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS IN WIMBERLEY

Click the link below to read about our first Christmas here at Seasonality.

FLASHBACK

 

THE SHADY LLAMA SNAFU

When we heard there was to be a postcard-signing event, encouraging people to get out and vote for Beto in the upcoming election, and that it was to be held at Wimberley's newest wine and beer garden, The Shady Llama, the Muses all agreed. We simply had to participate, and we'd bring our hubbies too! 

They asked that we bring some postcard stamps with us to the event, and one Muse who knew she wouldn't be able to make it gave me about a hundred of her old ones, then I went out and bought a bunch more to top them up to the current rate, and added in all my old regular mail stamps as well.

When we arrived on Friday evening, we looked all around, but didn't see any large groups of people who looked like they were set up to work. So we went up to the bartender to ask her where they would be seated.

She looked at us kinda funny, then said "That Beto group? The one that was here last night?" DOH! 

So there we sat, with a purse full of stamps, and nothing to put them on. At least, she told us, they had a really good turn out. On Thursday. Ah well. When life hands you lemons...

Comfy Chairs Situated For Sunset Viewing

The Fire Pit

Not A Sandbox, A Gravel Box

The Swinging Bridge

Various food trucks park here on a rotating basis.

And yes, they do have llamas here! Unfortunately, by the time I got around to taking some photos, they must have headed back to the barn for the night. This is such a great, family-friendly place, I'm sure we will be bringing the kids and Little Goobster here before long. Maybe when it's just a tad cooler .

Fortunately for me, one of the Muses had picked up an extra pile of Beto postcards to take home with her, and we were able to crank them out and use up all those stamps at our weekly coffee meet-up yesterday!

P.S. Here's a funny factoid. When I decided on the title for this post, I looked up the word snafu, to make sure I was using it correctly. Did you know it's actually a military acronym which stands for "situation normal, all effed up"? How appropriate!

SYNCHRONICITY STRIKES AGAIN

Sometime last week, and I know not why, this amazing little book popped up in my Facebook feed.

OK, perhaps I do know why. You see, I have always adored color-mad folk art. In fact, some years back, when friend High School Debbie first introduced me to on-line art classes, I went straight out and bought a big new mixed media journal which I promised myself would be filled with just that kind of art someday. I tore out and printed up lots of examples of what I hoped to do but, due to lack of skills, supplies and experience, my first two attempts failed miserably, and I haven't touched that journal since.

Round One

So, when I saw this tiny little project-based instruction book, I didn't even pause to think about it. I just went straight to the Amazon link and clicked "BUY"! Two days later, thanks to Amazon Prime, it was in my mailbox, and I've been busy as a little bee ever since. There are 16 different projects inspired by different cultures and countries. Each starts with a basic line sketch for you to copy, then gives you help on choosing your color palette, suggestions concerning which supplies to use and, finally,  ideas on how to add the finishing touches.

I started with Frida, of course.

I chose to do two of the same sketches, side by side, because I wanted to try one their way...

finishing it off with lots of fun patterns and doodling, using various pens and markers.

But, for the second one, I think I'm going to try finishing it off with little bits and pieces from my hand-painted paper stash. We'll see how it goes. Or maybe you won't. Guess it depends on the outcome.

Oh yeah! Back to synchronicity. When I pulled that old journal down, to finally start working in it again, I discovered this stash of beloved examples which I had pulled from various magazines or found online.

See the one peeking out over there on the far right? The one that's been hidden away on my shelf for years and years now? You'll never guess who painted it.

Heather Galler! The very same woman who wrote this book!

Well, I guess it's true. Sometimes the door opens before you're ready to walk through it. Which is why I am ever so grateful that I was given a second chance.