LET'S SWAP!

One of the things I have always loved most about Austin, and our own little town just southwest of it, is that they are filled with creative people who actually care about our planet and the legacy we are leaving our children and grandchildren to deal with. So, imagine our glee when daughter Alexis introduced us to this amazing place in Austin just last week -- a place called Austin Creative Reuse.

As the sign in the window explains, it's a place where all my fellow creatives can take those piles of artsy supplies they no longer use and that are taking up much needed space, then come home with a basket full of stuff they actually will use, for a fraction of it's original price -- stuff that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill.  And, they've got so much more than just paints and brushes. Why, they've got buttons and beads...

yarn and needles...

fabric and embroidery supplies...

not to mention all these pencils, markers, crayons and stamps!

And, to top it all off, there's a section in back where you can purchase all that you can cram into one of those big orange buckets for just five bucks!

But, that's not the only way people around here are putting their creative minds to good use.  A few weeks back, Austin artist and Lucky Star Art Camp instructor Heidi Miller Lowell came up with the idea of doing a clothing swap at art camp this year. She had a bunch of nice clothes she could no longer wear, and was looking for things in a different size, so she suggested that anyone who wanted to participate should bring a few things that were still in good shape, but no longer loved, and then take home a few new-to-them items they could get excited about.  It was kind of a last minute suggestion, so only a few participated (daughter Lex being one of them) but those who did had a blast, and a whole lot more will be participating next year. Think I'll be taking those cowboy hats and boots I never wear anymore, and which take up sooooo much space in my wee little closet!

Then, to top it all off, we just heard that our new favorite hangout,  Cactus Coffee Shop here in Wimberley -- owned and run by a single mom with three little ones -- is hosting a toy swap this Sunday at 1:30. Is that brilliant, or what? Just bring in a few toys that are still in good shape but no longer being played with, and take home a few new-to-them toys just in time for Christmas! So much easier than the laborious garage sales my neighbors and I used to set up and host when our kids were small, where we stayed up half the night pricing things, and sitting outside in bad weather the whole weekend, and ended up doing pretty much the very same thing, just swapping one neighbor's goods for another!

Genius, no? Wonder what they will think of next!

HOW NOT TO SPEND YOUR HOLIDAYS

Wouldn't you know. The only mail I had waiting for me when I got back from art camp was a jury summons! I reported to the courthouse over in San Marcos yesterday morning, we sat there for a couple of hours doing absolutely nothing, then they sent us home and told us to come back today. Never had that happen before. Fingers crossed that I don't get selected. This is not how I want to spend the holiday season. For one thing, it would totally wreck that super schedule I spent so much time working on!

I decided to be sweet and make the bed before I left.

I might be a tad jealous that he's all warm and snuggly, while I have to head out for the frigid drive to San Marcos when it's only 29 F out!

IF YOU CAN'T BE WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE...

I cackled out loud when a cute video about "Friendsgiving" popped up on Facebook recently. When we were living overseas, we celebrated many, many of these make-do holidays, where your friends and neighbors became your family, and you threw yourself into making the holidays special with more passion than ever before, so that your kids would never feel that they were missing out on everything good by being so far away. It worked. So well, in fact, that we ended up missing those holidays when we moved back home!

Ever since we bought this Hill Country house, and all our parents passed away, we've had very quiet Christmases and Thanksgivings here with just the four of us, celebrating with our Dallas family sometime in mid-December. Then it became the six of us. Then seven with the addition of Little Goober. Then suddenly both sets of in-laws and some siblings were close by and deserved equal time. So, since we'd all be together multiple times in the coming weeks, and since our BFFs are always alone on Thanksgiving Day, we told the kids "Go spend lots of quality time with your in-laws over Thanksgiving, 'cause we have plans for a Lanford Friendsgiving Adventure!"

Yes, that's a real live longhorn that lady just climbed up on!

We met up here, at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort near Bastrop, which is just about midway between our home and theirs in College Station.  We were just there for the day, and expected the place to be kind of dead this time of year, but that was not the case! Instead, it was jam-packed with lots of large family groups who decided to take their celebrations on the road. And what a great place to do it!

We went on-line to make lunch reservations well in advance, opting out of the huge holiday brunch buffet being held in the ballroom, and the fine dining steakhouse which, I think, only serves dinner. Instead we chose their Firewheel Cafe for 11:00. Then, around 9:30 on the morning of, we got a call from the hotel saying that particular restaurant was closing at 11, but if we came earlier we could have breakfast there. Well, that wouldn't work since by then, we just barely had time enough to get there at 11! So, instead, they switched us to their bar restaurant, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Not only was the food simple and delicious, it was actually quiet enough to have a real conversation!

Miss Paula and I split their version of a Bacon Jam Burger, and I have to say, I'd have a hard time choosing which is better, theirs or Hays City's! After lunch the guys and gals split up -- the gals to go exploring, they guys to find the perfect spot to smoke a cigar. Remember how, just recently, we had several hard freezes in a row, with temps dropping into the 20s at night? Well, this week we had this...

kids floating in the Lazy River, with gorgeous fall colors in the background. Only in Texas, right?

The River Runs Through It

The Favored Method Of Transportation Around Here

 

 

 Loved the carved totem pole on the porch of one of several golf shops/bars/cafe's on the property.

It was the perfect place to smoke a cigar. In fact, they even sell them inside!

Then we all met back up at the lodge's ice cream parlor/cafe for dessert, to complete our celebration.

Best thing about these amazing friends of ours? It's that, whenever we are with them, we somehow forget that forty years have passed, and transform into the same crazy, fun-loving goof-balls that we were when first we met. Now, that's something to be thankful for!

A DOABLE HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN

Midland, TX Christmases

I love the holidays. I really do. Some were harder than others, but I have loved them all. However,  trying to do them the way my mom and older sisters used to do them has always sent me into a dither. I was the Scrooge who pestered them until they finally agreed that we didn't really need to keep buying gifts for every single person in the family, so we started drawing names. Then a couple of years ago, we switched from doing that to doing a fun version of a white elephant exchange, where you're allowed to steal someone else's gift. It makes for some riotous fun, and I'm pretty sure no one really misses shopping for three siblings and their spouses, and all their offspring's spouses and kids.

Indonesian Christmases

At our house we've developed our own traditions over the years, adjusting them periodically according to our current situation and life stage. For instance, we always liked putting in a really goofy B-grade movie on Christmas Eve, after the littles were snug in their beds. We also prefer staying in the same house together, even if it means air mattresses on the floor. And, oddly enough, we all enjoy our stockings more than our gifts. The sleeping in the same house tradition will probably not work, now that the kids both have spouse's families to consider, but that stocking thing will never change, as long as my hubby has any say in the matter. He's the one who spends the entire year shopping for special goodies to go in them! In fact, when it became obvious that our house was full to overflowing with stuff we didn't need or use, he and I made a pact to forgo giving each other gifts and just do stockings, plus one special trip or adventure we can share. I really can't remember any of the gifts I received last year, but let me tell you, I remember that trip to Cuba in fine detail, and always will!

Tuba Christmases

But, even with all this paring down, I still came off of celebrating my late October birthday, Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, and spending five days at Lucky Star Art Camp, feeling this horrible sense of panic. The holidays hadn't even started and I felt I was already so far behind, I could never possibly catch up! And, I continued to feel that way until we'd made it through New Years and the two January birthdays.

Wimberley Christmases

Last year, at the end of the season, I finally said enough is enough. I refuse to feel this way ever again, but I also refuse to start planning or shopping or stressing before my birthday. Two months are more than enough to devote to this celebration! So, I made a list of everything I felt was critical to a happy holiday season, divided it up into doable batches over the weeks between my birthday on 10/28 and Hubby's on 1/1, and said "That's it! I will do no more!" Plus, I made sure that the final week, other than vital food prep, will be devoted to sitting in front of the fireplace drinking hot cocoa and other fun stuff!

Handmade Christmases

When I got home from camp a week ago, and started to feel that old sense of panic set in, I remembered to pull out that list, and immediately I felt calmer. It may need some tweaking now and then, but so far the things on the list have been quite doable. Last week's agenda was to order pies for Thanksgiving (more about that later) shop for our white elephant gifts, research our Apres-Christmas adventure, and get a few toys to donate. This week it will be to plan the food for my side of the family, who will be coming here for an early celebration on the 16th, and purchase one main gift each for my immediate family. I can do this!

Final Christmases

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: TAKING A LEAP AND FINDING ONE'S TRIBES

Today we are flashing back to a few of my important "firsts",  which took all of the bravery I could muster, but ended up paying off in a really BIG way! 

My Very First Blog Post

 My First Attendance At A Women's Conference: Story Circle Network

 My First Trip To Lucky Star Art Camp: Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

LUCKY STAR II: EVERYTHING FROM HO-DOWN TO RAP

On Saturdays at Lucky Star we just have one morning class, and the afternoon is free for anything from horseback riding and archery to massages or exploring the local hangouts. Lex took a Shibori (indigo dying) class which she absolutely loved!

Can't wait to see Little Calvin and his dad in their matching tie-dyed pants!

While she was doing that, Kathy and I went off to learn how to make our own watercolor paints, with Austin artist Heidi Miller Lowell.  Soooooo much fun!

We each got to mix and name several colors of our own, but we made enough to share with everyone else.

Loved it that Wimberley friend LaNell was in all but one of my classes this year!

Thanks to the sharing plan, this is what I got to bring home with me. WooHoo!

And then it was time for our final pow wow, where we have our closing speaker (who knew that fellow camper Camille used to be a stunt rider in movies like Young Guns II and City Slickers?), performances by the Girl Guitar and Glee Club groups, and last but not least, the Lucky Star Market, where people like daughter Lexi can sell their wares!

Our Glee Club medley went from spiritual...

to R-E-S-P-E-C-T...

to wondering "What's Goin' On?"...

to a girl turning to me to say "Oh My God Becky, look at that butt!"... (yes, our sweet demure Kerry actually does know all the words to Sir Mix-A-Lot's anthem to big butts)

to a bit of Ho-Down...

where Daddy sang base, and Mama sang tenor. A beautiful segue, wouldn't you agree? I also love the way these photos mirror our personalities so well, with Alexis preferring to sing quietly in back, Kathy belting it out front and center, and me always somewhere in the middle.

Guess I should have taken a photo of Lexi's market booth when she first set it up. After that, it was always too crowded to get a good shot. Not a bad problem to have, right? Instead I'll share this picture of the organizers' daughters, selling their slime kits.

Here's hoping that Lucky Star is still around when it's their turn to blossom into the women they were truly meant to be!