In an effort to entice me to pay way too much for a ticket and go way too far to see George Strait,  Better Half presented an article from one of our monthly magazines…he was counting on me saying, once I read it, okay,let's go...
 
He counted right...Dang! He knows me well...
 
The concert was pretty spectacular…George Strait’s first concert of his going away, I’m retiring tour. We started with him around 1986, with one of his first ever concerts in Natchitoches, LA and sort of wanted to finish with him with this last tour starting in Lubbock, TX.  We never took the time or made the effort to see him in between…Our guestimation of time between these two concerts -- 27 years! 

Are we great fans or just sentimental let me see him before he retires forever fans?

Every hotel, every bed and breakfast, everywhere we might lay our head was full to the brim...

But one...the Woodrow B&B, located directly across the street from the venue--Texas Tech.  They just had a cancellation...yeah, we'll take it...

Woodrow House B&B...A three story B&B designed to be a B&B…This is the first time we have stayed at a  B&B designed to be a B&B…most are old houses, converted into a few bed
rooms with added baths…

With 10 guest suites…we were in Granny’s Attic on the 3rd floor. As we ascended the stairs and judging the light brown, well used and pretty spotted up carpet, I thought, Oh dang! A mistake…wrong was I!  Granny's Attic is a beautiful room with a small sitting area filled with interesting stuff…It had that nice clean smell, you  know the one—not too much clorox—with just a touch of floral…

Okay, room's good...time's a wastin'...we've got to get to the concert...

The next morning, (oh, by the way--the concert was wonderful) we went down, from the third floor, to breakfast...

This B&B is very pretty.  She has many beautiful pieces...The breakfast table was very inviting with the breakfast adequate and very relaxing...A help yourself buffet with the usual stuff...some sort of casserole, a sweet bread, orange juice, coffee...you know the drill...

The owner and family live on site.  

I’d give this B&B a B, Better Half would grade it an A+100.  He loved it, or maybe he just loved the homemade cookies awaiting each guest at the entrance foyer...a very nice touch that really set the tone.
 
I’m going to share the real reason I committed to go way too far and spend way too much…in my next visit with you...

Stay tuned...

Okie Dokie...let's continue to the downstairs...

I don't know...how about breakfast? 
How about this is the way I would love to have breakfast most days...

The dining room table...
This gal creates her table just as all of us should create our table...
Let's look a little closer...

It's a bird!  It's a plane! Nope--none of that...
It's softened butter, all beautiful, in lovely butter dishes made to look like flowers!
Oh yeah, and by the way...it's real butter, too! 

The humming birds are in disguise...they are really salt and pepper shakers!

After experiencing these eye treats, I whispered to Better Half it doesn't matter to me what she brings us for breakfast.  Heck, surely I thought, she just can't be a good cook, too...
Really, she makes lovely homemade cards, creates beautiful necklaces and earrings...
It would just be wrong if she were a good cook, too...

Talents have not been dispersed equally on our planet...She is a good cook!
The food was amazing...

I love this place...I'll end with pictures of the living area...

Yeah, I know.  Christmas is over, but Merry Christmas anyway.

Better Half and I stayed in Vicksburg, MS alot of years ago...I don't remember much about the trip; however, we decided to stay here this past holiday season, while visiting family members.

Because we wanted to try something a little different, because it was Christmas and because I knew a bed and breakfast place would be all dressed up for Christmas,
bed and breakfast place here we come!

After a little research, I came up with Belle of the Bends...

We were not disappointed with our choice...
lots of Christmas, lots of homey atmosphere, lots of wonderful conversation
with owners who obviously love their job...
Just a great place to stay...

Our bedroom was more than I had hoped for...plenty of room, well decorated, very clean--that's a very big deal for me--and just extremely interesting...
From this room, we could walk out on a landing of sorts...onto this balcony, housing this porch swing especially designed for Better Half and me...

After touring our room, touring the landing, and touring the balcony...
hey, I think this is going to be a great stay!

Tune in...Breakfast is next...

The weather person said it was going to be cold yesterday morning...I'm good with that...I like cold...However; the weather person had no idea it was going to snow here in Dallas, here at the RV Park...neither did I...When I awoke, about 6:00, looked out the window of our sweet little home away from home, I was surprised!  I expressed my surprise by screaming Better Half, get in here!

The view from our RV...

The Recipe: A little snow, my mixing bowl and Better Half...

A working man's snow man...Notice the bolts, nuts and screws...Pretty fun, huh?

Around the world in 80 days...OK, not really...How about from here to Californina and back in 30 days...

Now that I've been home, I have reflected even more on our 30 day trip and all the stops...

On our way home, we stayed awhile at Lake Tahoe...

Now...you know the drill...Better Half suggests we take a short leisurely bicycle ride and six hours later, we are back where we started.  In a way, that's good in another way it's not good.  In the good way, here's some of the beauty I saw...

Lake Tahoe is 'lined' with wooden docks 'all locked up' preventing a pitiful bicycle rider from walking out to the end for a better view...

We had a wonderful ride...this lake is very beautiful...

I just received this very funny email from Better Half...it was a forward...tongue and cheek, obviously...

As we progress into 2013, I want to thank all , for your educational e-mails over the past year.  I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.

~I can no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, nor let the waitress put
lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.

~I can't sit down on a hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.

~I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one
pastime while driving alone is picking one's nose.

~Eating a little snack  sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of Trans fats I have consumed over the years.

~I can't touch any woman's handbag for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public toilet.

~I must send my special thanks for the email about rat poo in the glue on envelopes  because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.  ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

~I can't have a drink in a bar because I fear I'll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with my kidneys gone.

~I can't eat at KFC because  their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.

~I can't use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like  a water buffalo on a hot day.

~Thanks to you I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

~Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

 ~I no longer buy  fuel without taking someone along to watch the car, so a serial killer  doesn't crawl in my back seat when I'm filling up.

~I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of
cancer.

~And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring me for life.

~I no longer go to the cinema because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.

~I no longer go to shopping centers because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

~And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a huge phone bill with calls to Jamaica,  Uganda, Singapore and Uzbekistan ..

~Thanks to you I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my bottom.

~And thanks to your great advice I can't ever pick up a coin dropped in the parking lot  because it was probably placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend  over.

~I can't do any gardening because I'm afraid I'll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.

~If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from
120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbors ex mother-in-law's second
husband's cousin's best friend's beautician!

Oh, and by the way...A German scientist from  Argentina, after a lengthy study, has discovered
that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mails with their hand on the mouse.

Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late.

P. S. I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet..

NOW YOU HAVE YOURSELF A  VERY GOOD DAY.

I've made just a couple of New Year's resolutions...
Because I'm careful to keep all I've made in the past, I make each gingerly...

That whole gee I resolve to exercise at least three times a week has become an albatross around my neck; however, energy and feel good is at an all time high...

The whole diet thing resolved last year has magically dissolved 30 unwanted pounds and has resulted in a new wardrobe...maybe not so good for my budget; however, very good for the friend who owns a beautiful little clothing boutique...

Oh yes, those resolutions...difficult to make, difficult to keep...

After careful consideration and thought, I am resolving, for 2013, to try to make this blog a better one...this should include not blogging just cause I'm real busy. Perhaps I'll blog like I work...every day for a few minutes a day...(remember, I'm semi-retired?)

I'm also going to enroll in a few  continuing ed classes...maybe excel and photography...the whole photography thing will definitely help with the blog...hummmm....

I am also going to end each blog entry with something wonderful and positive and uplifting...just you watch...

What are your resolutions for 2013?  I would love to know...

I just added--to the right of this blog and above the archives--the ability for you to receive an email from me letting you know everytime I update this site...please consider signing up and I'll keep you updated.

My wish for each of you...a safe, happy and healthly 2013. 

I am going to strive for self improvement this year...wish me luck...

Something magical happens when you have the following combination...
One man plus one man plus one piece of farm equipment plus ME
telling Better Half I need those old bird houses taken down...

Okay...we've got the bad bird house...

Just for the heck of it, add a truck (preferably a 4x4) and a few observers...
(beautiful daughter in law and sweet little grand daughter)

...wrap that chain around that pole!

Notice the metal around the pole...we did that years ago to keep snakes from
having our little birds for dinner...

The boys made short work of this job!  They took down two old houses...

Son in law is contemplating a bon fire for New Year's Eve...
wonder if he could use this piece of wood for the fire...

I am very unsure of the correct pronunciation of this restaurant; however, I am very sure of how totally wonderful and fabulously delicious the food is...

The place is a little odd--maybe better described as quirky--almost as if it doesn't want any more business than it has...it didn't have alot for lunch, for sure...Better Half heard about it, from a friend, and after looking and looking and looking, we found it...in an area I wouldn't have thought a restaurant should have been...Any way, because I am on the ever ending diet, I had a cup of soup...Better Half had a sandwich...

It sells olive oil, too!

I grade this place A+100...Food was fabulous and service wonderful...With just enough quirkiness to make it just right!

Better Half and I continued our travels and headed to several different areas of our country...I would like to tell you about them and share pictures with you and I do plan to do that soon; however, I must skip to an event most important to our family--Wonderful Son-in-Law's Change of Command Ceremony.

Now--if you are like me, you know nothing about a Change of Command Ceremony--before Son-In-Law, I knew very little about the military, in general.  In one million years, I would have never guessed Beautiful Daughter would marry a soldier...but marry him she did...to our delight, I might add... 

      A change of command is a military tradition that represents a formal  transfer of authority and responsibility
      for a unit from one commanding officer to another. The passing of colors,  standards,  or ensigns from an
      outgoing commander to an incoming commander ensures the unit--and its soldiers--is never without
      official leadership.

Wonderful Son-In-Law relinquished command of his unit to another.  This happened just last week.  We were honored to be able to experience this beautiful time honored tradition.  The  reverence and respect the men of his unit displayed at the ceremony was awe inspiring.

Having served with these brave young men, for a full year, in Logar Province, Afghanistan, Wonderful Son-In-Law was presented the flag that flew over his command station.  Logar is about 35 miles southeast of Kabul.  The flag was weathered and faded from the Afghan climate.

While he fought for our freedoms across the waters, Beautiful Daughter also served with much valor on the home front with army wife duties too numerous to mention. 

These two have made us very proud...   

I am afraid few Americans realize the sacrifices these young men and women are making in this war, the longest in American  history.
 

She works hard, he works hard, all these men work hard...fine, great folks...

We are awful proud of our boy and are pleased to have him part of the family...

I'm going to suggest--the next time you see one of our heroes, let him/her know how much you appreciate their service to us and our country...God Bless America.

Happy Birthday, Captain!  We love you and have a wonderful day...