FRIENDSGIVING: PART II

Wednesday afternoon, after we finished our tour of the Georgetown square, the guys headed off to check out Zodi'x Cigar Lounge , which was right near our hotel. It has a members-only room hidden behind a bookcase, but they let these out-of-towners in with the purchase of 25-dollars-worth of cigars, and gave them a free beer. Talk about happy boys! Meanwhile, Paula and I opted to check out the hike & bike trail behind our hotel.

Feeling self-righteous about all the steps we had got in that day, we then treated ourselves to afternoon tea, and a little sumthin' sweet to share, back at the hotel. Yummy!

One reason this adventure morphed from a day trip into an overnighter was that, not only would all the fun shops be closed on Thursday,  the main restaurant we wanted to try there would be too. If you live anywhere near the Texas Hill Country, you are probably familiar with Monument Cafe in Georgetown (the peach fried pies!), but did you know they've also opened a Mexican restaurant called El Monumento? So that's where we headed for dinner.

I had an amazing Torta Cubana (not Mexican, I know) but after seeing, and hearing, Paula's reaction to the Chile Relleno she'd read rave reviews about, I wished I'd said...

"I'll have what she's having!"

Back at the hotel we enjoyed spending some time around the patio fire pit, reminiscing about the many fun adventures we've had together in the last 40-some-odd years, before heading off to bed.

On Thanksgiving day we had reservations at Gumbo's, in a gorgeous old building on the town square.

 

There were several different main course options, but we all went with the beef tenderloin. Good choice!

Goat Cheese Salad and Melt-In-Your-Mouth Rolls

The Cajun Cornbread Dressing Was To Die For

We ended our Friendsgiving adventure at the movie theater, also right next to our hotel, seeing a really fun movie (one of our favorite things to do together) called Knives Out. Does it get any better?

Why yes, it does! Ordinarily I'm pretty sad when we part, knowing it could be months before we see each other in person again, although the daily texting really helps. This time, however, I had something special to look forward to --  Little Goobs coming over for a sleepover and a Mimi-Papa-Christmas Adventure. Yes, he did head straight for his "Explorer" outfit as soon as he heard me say that word, but this time I managed to convince him that it wasn't really necessary...

FRIENDSGIVING: PART I

Our BFFs have one son, and he always spends Thanksgiving day with his wife's big family, then has a second celebration with Paula and Tim a day or two later. Last year, since both our kids were going to be with their in-laws as well, we decided to meet the Sanford's for lunch at the beautiful Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, which is just about midway between our home and theirs. We had so much fun that we decided to do the same thing again this year. 

 
But then, just a couple of days before Thanksgiving, my hubby casually commented "You know, Georgetown is also midway between us and the Sanfords." Next thing we knew, not only did we have reservations for Thanksgiving lunch in Georgetown, we also had rooms at the lovely Sheraton conference center, and plans to head up there a day ahead, when all the fun shops on the square would actually be open. Turns out, conference centers don't have any conferences going on during the holidays, so not only were we offered a great rate for our rooms, we practically had the place to ourselves!

We met them just in time for lunch at 600 Degrees Pizzaria, then the guys and gals split up to wander the square.  We'd only been in one or two shops when we came upon this place.

Craft Beer and Outfitters in one location? Weird, huh? No, brilliant! When I peered through the window, guess what I found?

Our hubbies! Happy as could be, and in no hurry for us to finish up our shopping.

Can you imagine a better place than this...

in which to watch your all-time favorite Christmas movie every year?

Apparently poppies are a big deal in Georgetown, since we saw them mentioned everywhere, and on everything.

It seems they host a poppy festival here every year, so that must mean there are poppy fields around here somewhere, right? I was so sad that we were never in France when the poppies were in bloom. Wouldn't it be a hoot to discover they've been blooming right here, in my own backyard, all this time?

to be continued...

WARP SPEED AHEAD

Time goes so slowly here in Texas during the hot months. You start to think they will never end. But then you get your first cold weather, sometime in late October, and suddenly it's warp speed ahead! When I started having doctor appointments and stuff I needed to keep track of spilling into the new year, I realized it was time to high-tail it to Target to get a new agenda for 2020. On our way there we stopped at Costco to pick up a few things, and that's where I spotted this.

I gave it a quick flip through. saw that there was actually room in there to do some sketching and journaling alongside the calendar stuff, and thought "Hey! Maybe this will help me get back into those daily sunrise habits that led me to blogging in the first place -- the ones that have kind of fizzled away over the years. Plus, it will save me a trip to Target!" So I bought it.

It wasn't until I got it home, and gave it a closer look, that I realized it was actually a "mindfulness" journal, all about learning to be present in the moment, instead of constantly focusing on what's ahead -- something else I used to be much better at.

In order to help us along the path of learning to stay present in the moment, they have a rotating set of tools, such as coloring exercises...

breathing exercises...

 art exercises...

 journaling exercises...

and more!

It got me to thinkin', maybe this little journal and I were meant to find each other.

GONE TOO SOON

We almost had it -- enough fall color to impress our northern relatives who arrive next week, and who are forever going on about their dang maples when they come to visit!

But then, this dang arctic blast came barreling through our little town like a runaway locomotive, and took most of our newly-turned leaves with it!

It just isn't fair...

Goober's First REAL Halloween

Our little Calvin is finally catching on to Halloween. Not only did he get to visit the pumpkin patch with Mimi and Papa, carve pumpkins with Mama and Dada, and do some fun Halloween activities at his preschool, but he also got to go trick-or-treating with his neighborhood gang (and all their parents, of course)!

Dr. Calvin, The Veterinarian

Meanwhile, Mimi and Papa held the fort down at home, taking care of Little Rowan, and handing out candy to all the ghosts and ghouls.

Not sure who enjoyed it most!
 

IT'S FINALLY FALL Y'ALL

Although, in typical Texas fashion, we more or less jumped straight from sweltering summer to freezing winter temps without much of a transition. But, there were a few brief moments...

It was nice while it lasted, but now it's 32 degrees out, and our little kiddos are going to be trick-or-treating Minnesota-style tonight, with big heavy jackets completely covering their cute little costumes!

THE PUMPKIN PATCH ADVENTURE

As soon as I mention the word "adventure", our Calvin immediately heads over to the costume pegs and starts pulling on his explorer outfit. And, whenever he does this, he leaves a trail of formerly grumpy old people, who are suddenly grinning their heads off, wherever he goes! Which is exactly what happened when we took him on a Pumpkin Patch Adventure this weekend.

He should have been pretty grumpy himself, seeing as we were told we'd have a 45 minute wait to get a table at Wimberley Cafe. But, when I took him exploring around the square, we discovered a brand new candy store -- one with blueberry lollipops, his favorite! He was still only halfway through it when he finally got his grilled cheese sandwich.

From there we headed to the big Methodist church on the edge of town, which hosts a tiny little pumpkin patch each year. No big bouncy houses or slides, but just right for a little explorer who's not too crazy about crowds and noise.

He found a big pumpkin for him and Dada to carve, and a little tiny pumpkin that ought to be just about right for his baby sister Rowan.

Plus there were some fun games, just right for someone his size.

All in all, I'd say it was the perfect pumpkin patch adventure!