Tea, Anyone?

It's been weeks, but I haven't been able to get all my thoughts posted.  November turned out to be a busier month than I imagined!  But this one I wanted to share.  Merrilee worked so hard on it and it really was delightful to be the object of her gift of hospitality.

As you can see, I was invited to dine at the Sweet Pea Tealand International Tea House.  (Sweet Pea is one of of my nicknames for her.)

This darling little tea house is run by a charming young lady who is both waitress and cook.  Apparently it's a popular place.  I had to share my dining room with other patrons who had arrived before I did.

After ordering my meal (It's more than just a tea room!  The menu offers various beverages, entrees, salads, and desserts!), I was treated to sumptuous food in generous portions.

Service was excellent, and my waitress was attentive and prompt in responding to all my requests!  You just can't beat "service with a smile"!

As the sole critic of this fine establishment, I feel obliged to give it five stars and a very high recommendation!  Reservations are suggested, as seating is limited.

Few More Photos From My Trip

Here are a few more pics to enjoy.  It was a great trip and I already miss the relaxing atmosphere and the daily beauty of the scenery.  I can't wait to go back again!

 Looking back on the trail we hiked in The Big Bend National Park

Paige has chickens and they lay about one egg a day.  She probably had close to 40 eggs in the fridge by the time I left.  The rooster made sure we woke up on time every morning (and then some...).

 Cactus in Paige's back yard

 Sunset in Paige's back yard

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner of lamb shanks, potatoes, broccoli, and wine.  Lovely!

The last day I was there we went to The McDonald observatory.  We took a tour of the facility and went inside two of the domes.  It was very interesting and quite a pleasure for this astronomy hobbiest!

Like any vacation, it's always nice to come home to the ones you left behind.

But I'm still looking forward to going back again.  Maybe I'll need another break this spring.  Thanks for the great time, Paige!  Love you!

Texas for Thanksgiving!

I'm trippin' for Thanksgivin'!

My dear family had their turkey and stuffing on Saturday before I left to visit my sister in Southwestern Texas for the week.  She lives in the Chihuahuan Desert and this is my first time out here.  Paige and I have been having a such a nice time relaxing, sight-seeing, and checking out a couple trails here and there.  We visited the Chihuanhuan Desert Research Institute on Monday and hiked one of the trails there, then walked through the botanical gardens and the cactus greenhouse.  I have other photos on another camera, which I'll share once I get back home, but these are some I'm able to upload right now.

The first night I was here, I had the pleasure of seeing the full moon rise over the desert.  Wow, it is big country!

Yesterday we took a road trip down to Big Bend National Park and drove around a bit to see inside the basin. 

Then we headed back out to the Grapevine Hills trail.  Our hike led us through some pretty flat, easy terrain, then up the "hill" to Balanced Rock.  It wasn't so much hill as it was the side of a rocky mountain.  Paige has a lot more experience hiking this stuff (something about spending the majority of my hours at home teaching school to my children that limits my desert trail hiking opportunities...), so she found it to be a very easy hike.  I had a few thrills here and there with being up so high, but as long as I stayed behind her, I was okay.  It was a great trail, because it wasn't so long that we couldn't do anything else the same day, and it had plenty of variation in the views and difficulty so that it was interesting and very photographic.  I had a great time!

 Standing by a tall ocatillo cactus on the side of the 6.5 mile gravel road leading to the trail head.

At the top, in front of Balanced Rock.  I don't look too much worse for the wear!

 Looking back down toward the trail, from about 1/4 of the way down the "hill".

The view through the Balanced Rock, looking southward toward Mexico.

After our hike, we drove around the west side of the park to look at the view near another trail, but decided it was too long to give us time for dinner.  I did get to see two very fast road runners crossing the road, of course.  They were too fast, and I was too slow, to get their photos.  Then the "check engine" light came on in her car which was good for a thrill.  However, there was no problem with the engine temperature or anything else we could find, so she topped off the oil and we went to dinner.  The Starlight Theater restaurant served a delightful meal--superb chips and guacamole--and the country-fried antelope with Shiner Bock beer gravy was excellent!  Next time I'm going for the pork medallions in chipotle reduction.  Mmmmm.

We got home at a reasonable hour, and only had to drive over one dead javalina on the highway.  Those are nasty animals when they're alive, and they're a couple degrees nastier when they're dead.  Ick.

Now we're hanging out after a breakfast of home-grown chicken eggs, country ham, toast, and figs.  I could get used to this....

And a big thank you to Ringo, for letting me use his laptop.

God's Schoolroom

Today is one of those days when God confirms my choice to school my kids at home. I love those moments! As we were heading out on our way to Friday Classes, already a little late, I spotted a just-born calf being cleaned up by its momma. I turned the car around, caught the farmer just as he was coming to haul the calf away, and asked him if he'd mind if the kids got out of the car to see it. I didn't want to stress the momma if the farmer didn't think it would be okay. He said it was fine, so we all got to see the baby, watch the momma clean him up, and even pet his sticky, wet curly hair. It was a priceless moment!
So even if we were a little late for Spanish class, we had a wonderful lesson in God's creative hand.
I love these moments!
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Fort Night

I've neglected the kids quite a bit for the past couple days as I've been on the computer doing paperwork for our adoption.  I've accomplished a lot, but feel pretty bad about making them eat lunch without me and read their own bedtime stories at night.  So last night I tried to make up for it a bit.  I think I got some extra Mommy Points, so hopefully that will cover my deficit and I'll come out even in their eyes.

Since Jay was out of town, I knew I could let them get away with a little more noise and a late night if things got rowdy.  So I made the kids a "fort", as we used to call them when I was little, and let them spend the night in it.  It was just your run-of-the-mill sheets over some furniture fort.  Nothing fancy.  But they loved it.  It's not something I usually allow, mostly because we are always using the space they're in, but also because I'm all too aware of one particular child's difficulty in maintaining self control.  His behavior often results in something getting broken or destroyed, then I get mad, and finally all the fun gets canceled and everyone goes away unhappy.  I have learned to pick my battles carefully, and setting up forts in our house just isn't one of those things I enjoy.  But last night I made the fort.

They thoroughly loved it, everyone went to sleep immediately, and I felt a little less like a rotten Momma.  And although the one particular child had ruined his half by morning, I would say it was a success.  I think we might allow a few more forts in the future.

Kitty Klinic

I walked into the girls' room unannounced one day a few weeks ago, just to check on a very quiet Katie Mei.  She rarely misbehaves, but I was curious so I took a peek.  This is what I found.

 Very thorough ear exam going on here.

 Mom, you're interrupting my work.

 Hmmm.  Let's see.  Could be wax buildup.

 Better check the other ear.  Flip over, cat!

She took good notes, and probably had to write him a referral for a specialist.  This exam went on for about half an hour.  Poor kitty.

The end.

Pizza!

Two happy kids got their free pizzas from the Pizza Hut Book It! program today. They each read 32 chapters in their Bibles last month. Good job, kids!
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