June Birthdays 2021

In the past, our traditional June birthday/Father's day celebration for the family has always involved attending a baseball game at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock.  The Round Rock Express is the farm team for the Texas Rangers.  From time to time, we would get lucky and have pleasant weather. Usually... not. After all, June in Texas is HOT!

 Once the new stadium for the Rangers was built in Arlington, any thought of sitting and sweating through a game at Dell Diamond was quickly replaced with the excitement of possibly watching baseball in an air conditioned environment. Therefore, Scott started the long process of emailing family members to get a head count for ticket purchases. Unfortunately, since the past 18 months have been unexpectedly insane, this year our June birthday celebration just didn't quite work out as planned

For various reasons, getting everyone together to celebrate at one time just didn't work out. So, the twins and Jamie celebrated at the end of May with a trip to I-Flight and a small party at Dairy Queen. Ron and Scott celebrated with lunch and cake at Leslie's house, followed by a Ranger's game. And, Sophie celebrated her birthday with friends at a trampoline park and a family get together the weekend afterwards.  Family members attended the celebrations they could. 

Samantha and Sophia's Dairy Queen birthday celebration:

Leslie and her girls drove down from Ft. Worth and stayed the night at our place. She took her girls to the I-Flight facility and spent a few hours watching some of the girls in the wind tunnel. A couple of them chickened out and they shall remain nameless. Ron and I opted to just meet up with the birthday girls at Dairy Queen. 

Sophia and Sophie enjoying DQ treats and eats.

Jamie and Sophia

The twins, Ryan and Ron, along with Leslie and Gwen

Maggie, far left, with Samantha, Sophia,
a friends and Sophie

Ron and Scott's celebration at Globe Life Field for a Ranger's game:

Okay; I'll be honest. I think I was more excited about the Rangers game than anyone else! Everyone but the Searls-Glenn branch made it. We met at Leslie and G's house for lunch, cake and ice cream, then headed to the ball park. I was so excited when I saw my best friend from college, Madonna, taking tickets at the gate! I had to run down and get a picture with her. The game was so much fun and the ball park is amazing. The Rangers didn't win; but, everyone had a really good time.

G doing an imitation of Stevie Wonder with
Rebecca and Maggie.

Sophie and Leslie

Molly and Scott

Gwen with her college friend, Madonna

The family, with Ron behind the camera.

Sophie's birthday celebration with the family after her trampoline party with friends:

Sophie sort of hemmed and hawed when asked what she wanted to do for her birthday. She is a much more social person than Maggie; and, I could tell she really didn't want to do the typical family thing. After submitting her to intensive interrogation, we finally figured out that she just wanted to eat McDonalds for lunch, and have a few friends over for a sleep over. With COVID the way it is; that wasn't going to happen. She finally settled on inviting some friends to meet her at the local trampoline park. Then, as a family, we got together for cake and ice cream at their house in Ft. Worth. That stupid game that Uncle Scott bought her was SUCH a big hit! I wish the twins could have been there. They love playing games and would have gotten a kick out of seeing Aunt Molly and Uncle Scott playing Mall Madness.

G and Ron watching TV instead
of playing games... typical.

Rebecca and Maggie

Scott, Molly, and Sophie

Leslie

Sophie

Uncle Scott broke tradition! Instead of
his usually bag-o-money, he got
Sophie a Mall Madness game. I
think it is mostly because he 
enjoyed playing when the girls got 
an original one, years ago!

Leslie with one of the original Mall Madness games.

I have always been so appreciative of having our adult kids live fairly close to us; all are within a 2 1/2 hour drive. We have been able to spend most holidays and birthday celebrations together. Sadly, as the grandchildren grow older and become much busier, we don't seem to get together as often. Of course, the pandemic has made things even more difficult. That makes the moments we do share even more precious. 

Spring Things 2021

The biggest problem with waiting so long to update the blog is senior brain fog. If it wasn't for Facebook, I probably wouldn't have a clue what happened; or, when it happened. I really need to be better about posting!

Anyway, here is what I do remember: 

The wildflowers were amazing this year. We had so many beautiful patches! Each time I see them, I think of Mom and Dad's first few years in Texas. They loved roaming the Hill Country looking for wildflower patches.

We got our COVID-19 vaccinations! After months of isolation, not seeing the kids or grandkids, virtual church, grocery pick up orders, tele-doc appointments, and way too many drives in the country, we were so excited about the possibility of restored freedoms!

The Gutierrez girls BOTH were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at school. Luckily, each inductee was permitted 2 guests (due to COVID) so, newly vaccinated Ron and I were able to attend.

The twins continued to participate in virtual school, while Ryan taught from home and Jamie worked from home. The girls were both awarded recognition certificates by their teacher. I'm so thankful the school tried to include their virtual students in every aspect of education. 

I became the former teacher of a published author! One of my favorite families has been the Miller family. Coach Miller is the PE teacher at Skipcha, his wife, Tawnya is a speech therapist for the district, and I had the pleasure of teaching both Brooke and Blake. Wonderful kids, super talented, kind, thoughtful, Christian people. Brooke wrote a novel and had it published!!! I was so excited to buy it when it was available! I had to have Ron take my picture while I was wearing the ONLY Skipcha school shirt I have left!

Mother's Day involved Facebook messages, phone calls, sweet gifts, pretty flowers, and yummy food. Ron gave me flowers that promptly died, well before I even got a picture of them. Ryan gave me a Pioneer Woman knife block, along with a humorous story about how he bought me a whisk when he was a kid and swore to NEVER buy me anything for the kitchen again. (I honestly don't even remember that!) 

                   

      

Scott gave me the BEST GIFT EVER!! A real Rangers jersey and dinner at Dead Fish Grill. Their shrimp tacos are simply the best!

                                         

    

Leslie gave me a beautiful humming bird feeder for my micro back yard. And, I bought myself some pretties, for the same micro back yard. 

Sometime during the spring, Ron and I were able to go to a Ranger's game and watch our adopted boys, Odor and Gallo, play before they got traded to the New York Yankees. The seats were great! They were the season ticket seats that belong to Scott's captain. He sold the seats they weren't using to fellow fire fighters. 

                                                  

Another major spring event occurred when I finally gave up my little flip phone and joined the smart phone generation. *sigh* I held out as long as I could. 

                             

All in all, we had a beautiful, peaceful, and happy spring.

Quilting Frame Will Travel

When I first bought my quilting machine, we were living in Killeen. My parents were alive at that time, and encouraged me to buy the longarm quilter. Mom had been quilting for years and had started paying professional quilters to get her tops quilted. She still hand quilted some of her work; but, mostly the ones that she had put a lot of applique' work into. Unfortunately, she had stacks and stacks of tops that needed quilting.  She told me she would split the price of the machine with me if I would quilt all of her tops for her.  It was a win-win deal for both of us!

Mom and Dad had a free standing garage, which had been used as a wood working shop. They hadn't done any wood working in years, so it had turned into a huge storage room for Dad's carving tools. Basically, a big mess of a room. They offered the shop to me, so the family helped me cleaned it up, paint it, and replace the garage door with french doors. It was perfect; at the time. 

Eventually, Ron and I got tired of living on a cactus and cedar farm, and decided to move to Temple. Luckily, we ended up buying a house that had a room large enough to accommodate a 14ft. quilting frame. So, all of my quilting items were moved to Temple. And... it was perfect again. 

When we retired and sold the house in Temple, Scott offered his garage to use as a quilting room. Once again, Ron and I painted, carpeted, and fixed up yet another room for the quilter. We were using Scott's house as a home base while we lived in the 5th wheel, so it was the perfect solution at the time... again.

Life happens, plans change, and we move on... this time back to Temple. We left the quilter at Scott's and it was okay. But, I soon discovered it was actually inconvenient. When the quilting machine is at the same location as my sewing equipment, I can quilt as I go. Meaning, I can assemble a piece, and immediately quilt it. Thus, only requiring a few hours at a time standing behind the quilter. With the quilter in another location, I was driving over to Scott's with numerous pieces to quilt and coming home with a back ache, sore feet, and grumpy because I was exhausted. I decided I needed to have everything in one place. Unfortunately, none of the rooms in the town house would accommodate the quilting frame.

Originally, I wanted to trade my long frame in on a shorter one. Sadly, the company only takes trades on machines; not frames. So, I listed it on their long arm forum as a possible equal trade for a shorter table. I wasn't surprised to find that most people were like me; wanting to trade a long table for a shorter one. I talked to Scott, who is the smartest person I know, about possibly hiring a welder to cut down my existing frame. His main concern was the fact that part of the frame is steel and part is aluminum, which evidently requires specialized welding equipment. Most of the guys he knows through the fire department aren't able to actually do that type of welding. 

One day I was driving home from Scott's place and noticed a sign on a fence near his house. It advertised a mobile welding service. I decided to call the number and see if the guy could help me out. At first, he couldn't figure out what the heck I was talking about, but was more than willing to look at the frame. Long story short, he said it wouldn't be a problem. So after some trial and error, schedule conflicts, etc... the frame was cut down to 10 ft. and I was able to move it to the town house!

The first thing I had to do was switch the guest bedroom and master bedroom. So, the twin bunks for the grands were moved into the corner of the master bedroom. 

Next, I had to move my the cabinet that Dad made for my mother's sewing room to the town house in Temple. It went into the master bedroom to store notions, threads, books, tools, etc.  

After that, I had to deal with the shelves and shelves of fabric in boxes that had been stored at Scott's garage. All of that needed to be moved over as well. I put most of it on shelves in the master bedroom, and the remainder in shelves inside the guest bedroom closet. 

Some of the fabric is stored in large, Rubbermaid containers that I keep under the quilting frame or under my bed in the guest room. 

Once all of the fabric was moved, and the welder worked his magic on the frame, we got it moved over as well. It fits perfectly in front of the two windows in the room, providing oodles of natural light. 

The best thing about putting the long arm in the master bedroom is the location of the bathroom!! Just steps away from my work station.  I am now a much happier quilter because once again... the room is perfect!

                                 

As I close out this post, I have to thank my family for being so patient with me. We all thought our moving days ended when Ron retired from the Army. Little did I know that my gypsy blood would bubble up and cause so many moves by choice. Honestly, I hope this is our last move for a very, very long time. But, who knows what life will bring or where this crazy quilting machine will end up next!

 

Snowmagedon 2021

As if this year hasn't been insane enough, Mother Nature decided to play a nasty trick on Texas and delivered a butt load of Canadian weather. It started out with a simple cold front that moved in around Valentine's Day. We had a smattering of snow; which closed schools and other nonessential businesses because Texas just isn't equipped to handle snow on roads.  But, what usually falls in the morning and melts by afternoon, quadrupled in amount and lasted for much longer! We ended up with a week of snow and ice, coupled with a failed power grid throughout Texas. Many, many people had to leave their homes and find shelter with friends or in warming stations. Hotels were filled to capacity; but, they too lost power and water! Homes and businesses had water pipes burst, which created flooding in many structures. Some schools has entire floors that were damaged, forcing schools to close yet again. 

Ron and I were greatly blessed. We never lost power, we didn't lose water, and our internet and phone service was adequate. Unfortunately, Leslie's family in Ft. Worth, had rolling power outages and ended up taking refuge in the smallest room in their house because it was the easiest one to keep warm. Rebecca said it really effected hospital personnel getting to and from work. She even volunteered to stay on site to help out. Seth hunkered down in his apartment after Ron did a quick supply drop off for him. Scott was able to continue getting to work by using our truck. I honestly think that massive thing would drive through a hurricane! Molly rode out the storm, working from home. And, luckiest of all, Jamie and Ryan got stranded at Disney in Florida because all flights into Texas were canceled.  In short, we came through with minimal inconveniences.

The community was really hit hard. As I mentioned, hospital personnel had trouble just getting to work. A friend of mine is an administrator at Scott and White. She sent out a public request for anyone with 4 wheel drive to volunteer to pick up medical personnel and transport them to the hospital. Scott said most fire fighters have trucks, etc. so they weren't hit as hard. But, his station was a flooded mess due to busted water pipes! They ended up taking their equipment and trucks to another station until the damage could be repaired.  Supply lines to grocery stores were impacted greatly! The shelves, which had finally started filling up after the initial COVID scarcity, were once again bare. Ron went in search of milk one day and ended up paying over $7 for a gallon at Natural Grocer's! 

Below are some of the pictures I took from either the front or back door of the town house. 

After our initial frosting of snow, the ice fell. It coated EVERYTHING!

The ice covered the sides of houses and cars, as well as the ground.

Even our down spout, froze solid with the small amount of run off we had when the initial snow started to melt.

Most plants were encased in ice. By the time everything thawed, so many were broken and destroyed.

After the ice fell, we started getting our second round of snow. 

Of course, the ice hadn't melted so the snow just covered it.

By evening, the snow had blown into the back patio.

It completely covered Boomer's toilet.

Ron and I were fairly well stocked, as far as groceries went. 
We have learned that we need to develop a taste for powdered milk.
$7.00 a gallon is just insane!

Through it all, friends and neighbors helped one another as much as they could. Facebook became the main form of communication about where food and water could be found. Fire stations, police stations, schools, and various businesses passed out food and water daily.  Ranchers in our area even got to work cutting wood and hauling trailer loads to specific lots in towns for free pick up by people with fireplaces. As I record this in August, it seems a little less nightmarish because of how Texans came together to help each other. 

The whole mess eventually melted after a week or so. Unfortunately, the damage recovery is still taking place. Many homes were ruined when foundations cracked, pipes burst, pools split, and flooding destroyed possessions. Our lawmakers are still debating who is to blame for the power grid failing; and, what can be done about it. 

One thing I know for certain; Texans are hardy folks. We learn from mistakes and prepare for the unexpected to become the new normal. As for my own family, they have all revisited their emergency supplies, food and water storage, and made some big ticket purchases like generators. But honestly, we all hope to never see a winter storm like that one again!

How Scott and Molly Met

 There is so much I could say in this post. I could write paragraphs about what an odd duck Scott has always been; but, that would take up way too much space. I'll try to condense it by saying that Scott was the one child that I worried and fretted over growing old and alone. He never really dated much while in high school. He has had only one girlfriend that I know of; and, we never even met her because they dated when he lived in Arizona. He is the one child that drew more from my gene pool than Ron's. He is a gifted wood worker, smart to the point of freakishness, compassionate, service oriented, dependable, opinionated, loyal, and the biggest slob I know. As he aged, he grew more and more accustomed to being on his own. He never had plans to marry. He never wanted children. As he often said, "Getting married just means I have to share my stuff. And, I don't want to share my stuff."

All of that started to change about a year and a half ago. 

Ron and I were living in the 5th wheel behind Scott's house. We had managed to take 2 trips in our RV and were looking forward to more. Unfortunately, Ron started having more health issues and it looked like we were going to be doing less and less traveling. Whenever we were home, Scott's social life consisted of golfing with guys from the fire department. Going to Trivia Night with guys from the fire department. Attending the bachelor parties and weddings for guys in the fire department. Playing softball on the fire department team. Or, attending meetings with the other members of the fire fighters' association. 

One day, he popped his head in our door and said he was meeting a friend for dinner. Odd.  If he wanted to get food from a restaurant, he would tell us he was running in to pick it up and asked if we wanted any. Soon, he was talking about going to movies or other places with his "friend." Eventually, he told me that he was dating a girl that was a friend of a friend. His story was a little poorly thought through. He said this friend of a friend had seen a picture of him in he Lederhosen and made a comment about it on Facebook. First of all, Scott is NEVER on Facebook. But, I let it slide. Eventually, he got tangled up in his story and admitted, "I lied. I met her online. I didn't want anyone to know because there are so many weirdos out there. And, I didn't want anyone trying to fix me up." When I asked him what made him decide to start dating, he said that the wife of one of his co-workers asked him if he ever felt alone. He said he was actually okay with being alone; but, he had never really been with someone and didn't really know if it would be better. (Like I said, he is an odd duck.)

Anyway, eventually we were introduced to Molly; the "friend." They came by the Expo Center when Leslie and I were set up at a Sami Show. Leslie's girls, Maggie and Sophie, were there and got to meet her as well. As they walked away, Sophie said, "Yep. They are in love."  

Sophie must have been a little more intuitive than the rest of us. We didn't see it right away. Molly is a city girl. Scott likes isolation. Molly is an only child. Scott has a large family. Molly is not outdoorsy. Scott loves it. But, for all their differences, they compliment one another. I've watched them grow closer and come to care deeply for one another. It has been a joy to this worrier of a mother's heart. We are thankful that Molly has brought out a side of Scott that was hidden. He is happier, sillier, harder working, more future minded, and a more rounded individual. Maybe even less of an odd duck that he was before. 

Molly and Scott are now married (post about the wedding to follow) and starting a life together. Ron and I are so happy for them. Welcome to the family, Molly. And thank you... I no longer worry about Scott becoming a hermit and dying all alone in an isolated cabin in the mountains of Colorado.

Yes; It Does Snow in Texas

 On Saturday, January 9th, Ron came down from the loft in the townhouse to tell me that the evening weather forecast for Sunday was predicting a wintery mix with an accumulation of up to 8 inches. I stopped reading long enough to look at him and ask, "Did you make sure your phone wasn't set for South Dakota?" (He is known to somehow or another mess up the settings on his "smart" phone. He gave me his assurance that we were, indeed, going to have snow. I simply said, what I always say when I hear an odd weather forecast for our area, "I'll believe it when I see it."  Well,  I saw it!

Sunday's snowfall started out light and steadily grew into what we are calling The Blizzard of 2021. In our area of Texas, it only snows enough for any accumulation every 10-12 years. As a matter of fact, last year, we went up to Ft. Worth and loaded Leslie's family into the truck then drove 2 1/2 hours to Witchita Falls just to play in the snow. Sadly, Leslie's family didn't get any accumulation in Ft. Worth from the Blizzard. But, Gatesville and Waco, where Rebecca and Seth live, both got about 6 inches. Leander, where Ryan, Jamie and the twins live, got 4 inches. Killeen, where Scott and Molly live got about 4 inches. And, we got between 4 and 6 inches; depending on which side of the trees you stand. 

Facebook exploded with pictures of friends and their families building snowmen, making snow angels, and eating snow cones or snow cream. Ron and I huddles warm and cozy in our little home; watching with wonder and amazement as our crazy Texas town became a winter wonderland. Lucky for us, our dog, Boomer, hates the snow and was perfectly happy to stay warm and dry inside. 

I knew I had to record this crazy weather event on the blog. After all, snow storms only comes around every 10 years or so. The first few pictures were taken early Sunday morning when the wintry mix began. We were surprised that it started to stick to the ground; but, thankful that the roads were staying clear. Boomer was content to watch from the front porch. 

After about an hour, I stopped reading again and glanced out the window. I was shocked that the rain had disappeared from the wintry mix and we had actual snowfall that was starting to stick to the edges of the road. The sky looked so much like what we were used to seeing during snow storms we had when we lived in Germany!

About the time that the real snow started falling, friends were posting pictures of their families making snowmen. I figured I would make one and post as well. Mine was only about 6 inches tall and sat on the top of a fence post. I don't think there is an actual height requirement to be called a snowman. And, since I couldn't find any coal for his eyes, I just stuck a couple of chocolate chips in there. A few sprigs of Rosemary made perfect little arms.

By mid afternoon, the Blizzard had officially hit. The trees had been blocking the snowfall, which was blowing in from the North. But now, even the dry spots on the south side of them were starting to fill with snow. The streets and sidewalks were covered and traffic had slowed greatly. Mostly, it was people trying to get home from work before dark. Because this is Texas, everything started shutting down. City offices and schools in the surrounding areas all canceled business hours for Monday. 

The first few pictures were taken from the front porch. We have a school and a cornfield across the road from the townhouse. There were a few brave people that actually went out and walked around in the snow. But, honestly, I don't think very many people have boots or jackets to wear in this kind of weather! A friend of mine put gallon ziplock bags over her daughter's feet just so she could play in the snow. 

I decided to go upstairs and take a couple of pictures from the windows on the front and the back of the house.  I thought I could get some pretty good shots because you can normally see much farther away. Unfortunately, there was so much snow falling that visibility was not what it normally is. Needless to say, no one around here owns a snow shovel, so side walks and drive ways stayed snow covered. My neighbor next door was out with his grandchildren. He was using a broom to try to sweep it off his drive. He gave up after a while. I don't think he needed to really worry about it. After all, it would melt the next day.

 

So, the Great Blizzard of 2021 has come and is now quickly melting. By Monday afternoon, roads were dry, side walks were clear, traffic picked up, and the only snow left was what was hiding in the shade of buildings. I normally hate snow; but, I actually don't mind snow storms in Texas. After all, they are here today and gone tomorrow.