An eventful day...

Meet the Garcia family we're helping build a house for. Today was the parents', Javier & Lisa, 14th wedding anniversary. In case you can't tell Lisa from her kids, she's the one in the GAP sweatshirt (we all want to know how, with 5 kids, she can still look about 12!)

The first photo on the right is the before photo - plain slab the house will be built on. The next is Javier & his sons putting the finishing touches on the first wall. It was such a big day for the family they took the kids out of school for an hour so they could watch the first wall go up.

The next photo is it going up. The crew actually got 2 more of the walls up with the fourth ready to go up as soon as the inside walls being constructed in the warehouse are done.

The other two photos are the warehouse, an old wool & mohair building. It's claim to fame is that when it was completed way back in who knows when, Lawrence Welk and his band came to perform at the dedication. (Maybe the reason the interior walls didn't quite get finished today was the crew were over there dancing to long ago echoes...)

The magnificent 20...

There we are - the magnificent 20. In the next 3 weeks we'll be framing up a Habitat home for a family of 7 in Mason, Texas. It's to be another "green" home, super insulated and energy efficient. The home we built last year, all electric for heating and air conditioning with solar hot water, continues to cost the home owner less than $20 a month in electric. (In NY state I think even our base charge is more than that.) The home this year is to be slightly larger but it's still anticipated that the electric will be low.

Our leaders, Karen & Dave from Minnesota, fell in love with Mason and bought a winter home (this is their yard we're sitting in) here after last year's build. It is a wonderful community to work for plus, as Mary says, they feed you well.

Speaking of feeding, thought you'd like this sign on a mobile catfish fry...

Spring daffodils...

Alice, my mother, says hi to all, especially those of you battling the spring snows up north. The first of her daffodils are in bloom here in Texas and the days are warm (the shirt is more for protection from the sun than for warmth). Lest you feel jealous, just remember she'll be inside hiding from the heat most of the summer when it's our turn to be outside enjoying our gardens.

The garden centers have signs up promoting sales of "Onions & Taters" (I bet you thought tater tots came from potatoes...)

Can you guess we're in Texas...

1. Barbeque... Guess the photo says it all.

2. Lampasas - one of Texas' many beautiful courthouses. We enjoyed a not-so-light lunch of schnitzel & spaetzle across the street at Eve's German Restaurant. German? Yes, this area had a huge number of German settlers. Can you imagine what an adjustment they made going from lush, green Germany to Texas?

3. San Saba, the pecan capital of the world. Pecan groves (not mesquite) on the horizon; big sky, blue sky, no clouds; flat, straight road; windy (the flag is photo 2 is not straight out on its own accord).

Moving west...

One last happy hour with Joe and next door neighbors, Delores & Jerry, and the ugly duck. The duck is a teetotaler having seen what happened to his mates - three ducklings much uglier than him.

An early breakfast at Oscars - their hot cakes aren't much to write home about but they serve the best bowl of oatmeal I've ever eaten in a restaurant. Comes with sides of brown sugar, raisins and heated milk served by waitresses with black smocks, black skirts and black shoes. (When was the last time you saw wait staff dressed like that? Should Riley's take note?)

Then it was the long drive across southern Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana & into Texas. Boring, boring, boring! Whoops, almost Texas - boring! The most interesting thing I made note of was the Do It Yourself Home Exterminator. Termites, cockroaches, ticks, chiggers, alligators, water moccasins, rattlesnakes, coral snakes... need I go on? It may be 2 below in NY but aside from a tick or two you can forget about the others.

Tonight we're in Livingston, Texas having driven by the Big Thicket National Preserve (last photo - I doubt even a Do-It-Yourselfer would be tempted to explore there). Just had dinner at a GREAT Mexican restaurant recommended by our hotel guy. Glad we chose his pick over the other one in town whose motto is "Mexican food served fresh when you order!" Say what?

A pleasant day in Florida...

You all may think we came to Pensacola just to visit Joe but, in truth, that wasn't the only reason. John's dreams/memories of Brian's Oyster Poboys also had something to do with it. Those poboys still exist, they're still the best, and they're still worth the trip but then so is coming to visit Joe. And, while Joe has yet to go commercial, he makes the best crabcakes going. Guess he's "banking" that little talent in case he gets bored in his retirement. Before any of you ask about tar balls on the beaches, I thought I'd enclose a picture of what it looked like today here in Florida - pure white sand that's pretty as a picture. We hope the coast further west is fairing well too.

Wondering what kind of van we're driving? After a stop in NJ at a body shop (that will go unnamed) and a "once over" by person or persons (who will also go unnamed), we are also wondering. Please weigh in on what type of customized vehicle you think it is...

Before, after & in between...

First there was happy hour in New York; today it was happy hour in Florida. For some reason Joe seems reluctant to join us in NY this time of year. Go figure...

By the way, it was wise to leave NJ yesterday as they had 3 inches of snow on the ground this morning with more expected. The van would NOT have been happy.

In between NY & Florida you have Cowpens, S. Carolina. According to Wikipedia (the fount of all knowledge and/or misinformation and/or entertainment): "Brigadier General Daniel Morgan won the Battle of Cowpens, a decisive Revolutionary War victory, here over British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton on January 17, 1781. It is considered one of the most memerably victories of Daniel Morgan." The breakfasts at Mike's Cafe in Cowpens are also "memerably". Among other things, you can have an egg & livermush sandwich (perhaps only George would appreciate that) or you have a 99 cent side order of "gravy over food" (appealing to ???). We settled for eggs and biscuits (where has our sense of adventure gone?!).

On the run again...

What's this? Bare ground? Welcome to NC? And isn't that Vicki (hidden behind Aiden, her living fur coat - makes certain cats we know look downright puny) & George? Where are John & Judy & NJ?

Okay, we're wimps. The van is a wimp. The weathermen are relentless with their predictions. Threats of freezing rain & snow for NJ. So.... we quickly packed (again - is there any other way?) and headed south. And, walla, here we are several hours later enjoying 50 degree weather and more good company. The men are also enjoying a bit of liquid refreshment. (I'm beginning to think that by tomorrow "a bit" will have a broader meaning...)

Cheers!

Some people make boats, some people twittle their thumbs. Cousin John (that's cousin John being hugged by Judy, his wife of 48 years) "plays" with wood (and probably Judy from the looks of it) in his spare time. His latest project - the beautiful bar that Butch, Frank & John seem to have taken over. He made it from wood from their property plus a little black walnut from a friend's property. Laminated together are black walnut, butternut, maple, hictory, white ash, yellow birch, red oak, beech, cherry, then curved into a semi-circle and also curved from the floor to the bar. Of course, if you have a bar one has to have bar stools, also laminated, also curved, with swivel seats made of a piece of black walnut crotch wood (I'm given to understand that's choice wood) and legs of red oak and black walnut.

John's next project is already in the works. Stay turned...

Stow-aways

New blog, new vehicle, new trip...

Sad to wave goodbye to Tillie, the old VW, but we're ready for a little pampering - heat, quiet (John can now hear me when I speak to him; not sure he's adjusting well to that), a port-a-potty (the company motto printed on the shipping box was "extend the adventure" - I packed the kaopectate just in case...), and a little more elbow room. Somehow, Bertha (the cat with her foot in her mouth) and Gus think they can stow away. Sorry guys.

Keeping with what seems to be a tradition, we left NY hurriedly a day early because of approaching snows. Word from the tundra... smart move. Smart too because we get to enjoy cousin John & Judy's hospitality for an extra day. However, we did miss out on one delicious home cooked Indian meal - Debby & Susan take note: we're expecting a rain check (not a snow check) for that meal!