American by birth, Southern by the grace of God.
Louis Grizzard, a great American
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's choice ~ not chance ~ that determines your destiny.
Jean Nidetch

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Saturday, March 28, 2009

Green trees and pink bikes.

The trees around the campground are finally getting very green. It looks much better. We have about the biggest trees in the area and they get watered frequently. One day next week we will be moving the camper to another site. We have been looking at the sites at the end of the rows because they are much bigger and have more grass and Palm Trees. Most of these sites are taken by folks who leave their campers here year-round and probably live within a few hours drive. Some others are reserved years in advance, year after year, by the same people. There is one site we liked and the people are leaving around April 1 and returning in September. They travel around during this away time. We are going to move on their site when they leave and will be able to stay there til we leave in July. I'll get some pictures of it tomorrow. I like it because it is near the pool and across from the park area.
Our site looks better with the green tree and a little green grass...

We like to ride bikes around the park and there are a few hills that were hard to get up easily with my gimpy knees. I found this electric bike on WalMart.com and had been reading the reviews put there by customers who purchased it. The price was reduced by $100 (now it is back up to regular price) so it was a very good deal. We ordered it and it arrived the first week in March. It was easy to assemble but there was a problem with a short in the controller box. We called up the manufacturer, Currie Technologies, and they sent us a new controller for free (it's under warranty). It works fine now and I can ride all over the park with no problem. It will go 15 miles on a charge, at up to 15 mph. I go very slow because I am afraid to go too fast! And Sam has no problem keeping up on his regular bike.

Black and Pink!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Butterfly Charm Dangle

Another "Crafty" Idea.....

the Butterfly Charm Dangle


Monday, March 23, 2009

More beadwork...

My favorite colors........Purple and Turquoise.


And these cute Italian charms that I found at this terrific website, A Z Charms and Links.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Chocolate

My favorite chocolate fix........Texas Brownies





I'm trying this one on Sunday:

CROCKPOT CHOCOLATE MESS -

This fabulous, decadent chocolate pudding cake is made in your crockpot.
Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 7 hours.

Ingredients:
·1 pkg. two layer chocolate cake mix
·3 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
·4 eggs
·1 cup water
·2 cups sour cream
·3/4 cup vegetable oil
·3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
·1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
Preparation:
Spray a 4 quart crockpot with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and pudding mix. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the water, then add the sour cream and oil and beat until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into crockpot. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until top springs back when touched very lightly with finger. 8-10 servings

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Nayyyyyyyyyybors......

Just down the road............





This one don't talk much.


Tex'ass

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

"Crafty" Me....

I found some pretty glass beads and decided to try my hand at making some bracelets. I had seen a couple of the ladies around the campground and got to talking to them. They used Memory Wire so no clasps were needed and they can be one-size-fits-all. It worked out pretty good and I will probably make some more when I get some more beads.

These are all glass beads. The white ones are Mother-of-Pearl and the silver scallops are good, heavy silver....not junk stuff.

My favorites are the large ovals on the red and gold bracelet. They look like little street maps on the inside.







NPS Uniform.....

Looks pretty good.

All the parts of Sam's uniforms finally arrived. He's had the pants, belts, boots and hats for a few weeks but the shirts just arrived this week. Guess it takes quite a while for them to sew S. Shepard on the front and attach the patches to the sleeves! And the coat he ordered while it was 40 degrees outside still has not arrived....(now that it's in the 80's)....guess he'll be saving that for next winter, if it ever comes in.
Tough job, but somebody's got to do it!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

He came back!!!!


The Vermilion Flycatcher............

And my pictures are better than the one I got online. He was sitting on the satellite dish just outside the side window. He stayed there about 2 minutes and I was able to get several shots with the zoom lens. Probably the prettiest bird I've ever seen!

So cute....looking right at me!



A masked bandito!

Vermilion Flycatcher

Amazing..the one I spotted looked just like this...brilliantly red!


Vermilion Flycatcher.............What a beauty! He landed on the spare tire cover just outside my rear window. My computer table is there and I was facing the window when he just flew up there and sat for about 30 seconds. I was in the process of grabbing the camera but didn't get it ready in time for the shot. I borrowed these pics from the web. He was just beautiful. I'm going outside later to look for more. Here's what my book says about them -

  • In southern Texas, the Vermilion Flycatcher is conspicuous and tame, often nesting near houses and farmyards. The bright colors of the male have earned it the Mexican name brasita de fuego, "little coal of fire."

  • During mating season, the male will often present his female of choice with a brilliant colored insect, such as a butterfly.