There is not a day that goes by that I don't take a moment and say "Thank you God for our life". We are fortunate to have this wonderful life and for all our friends and family.
We have sure met some wonderful folks along the way in our travels.
When we took off for the Pacific Northwest last year, Ralph competed in several cowboy shooting competitions. We met these folks at one of the weekend competitions. We hit it off and joined them for another weekend competition before we left California. I wrote about these character's in our 2014 Christmas Letter. We all just hit it off and have kept in touch.
This past fall, Steve and Elizabeth left California and bought a home just north of Bandera, TX. I have talked in many of my past blog entries about the town of Bandera. It is a "Cowboy Town" and it is officially known as the "Cowboy Capital of the World". The town constantly celebrates the "Cowboy Way".
This past Friday evening, we all got together for dinner at the "OST" and that stands for the "Old Spanish Trail". Blocked by Ralph's cowboy hat is Sandi and other side is Elizabeth, Steve and Russ. Russ and Sandi came to Bandera to look for a home and before they left they placed a contract one here in town. We are very excited for them and have our fingers crossed that their contract is accepted.
We have always appreciated spending part of the winter on the Herbert Ranch. Loy and I have had a fun time working out with her Wii Fitness Exercise Game Video. We both get a good workout. Loy is a lot of fun to work out with and I enjoy my time with her.
Her husband Hoppy is quite a character and could easily be in a Louis L'Amour book. I think he was born 150 years too late. Besides ranching, he also competes in Cowboy Action Shooting.
Loy and Hoppy's 2 year old grandson Dallas was having his birthday Saturday. Dallas and his parents Wes and Megan live in San Angelo, TX. about 3 hours away.
Hoppy had a list of chores to do and I did not want Loy to drive by herself knowing she would be coming home in the dark, so I went along.
On the way up we stopped at our Weight Watchers meeting.We could not stay for the meeting but we did weigh in. I lost 5 lbs! The bike riding and working out with Loy on the Wii Fitness is paying off! I am down 8.4 lbs. and broke out of the 200's, now 195.4. Just 40 more pounds to go! I am so glad I went back to WW, I just could not do it on my own. I also love my WW app that is on my iPhone because it helps me stay on track.
We headed up to San Angelo. The ride was pretty and I enjoyed seeing fields of cotton and many ranches along the way.
Years before selling our farm, Ralph and I came to Texas one winter. We were traveling through a town in our beloved old Dodge Truck and Lance Truck Camper. We saw all this white stuff on the shoulder of the road. We realized it was cotton that came off the cotton plants as it was being harvested. We pulled over and grabbed a handful. It was just neat to see and hold because this was new to Ralph and I.
The bales of cotton are huge! Hope from the pictures you can tell how big they are.
On the way up, Loy stopped at Plumley's Country Store in Junction, TX. It is another unique store that you find in the old west towns of Texas. I did not think to get pictures, so I grabbed these off their website.
Plumley's has a variety of pecans even some with flavors. They have homemade fudge, pecan pies and pralines. There is a soda and ice cream bar along with a coffee bar with cappuccino's, lattes and frappes.
They also sell several flavors of Amish popcorn, jams, jellies, dip mixes, jar goodies of sauces, bread and butter pickles, okra, olives and the list can go on and on. With the exception of the popcorn, all these goodies including the pecans are made in Texas.
I bought a bag of pecans and a decorative burlap sac of Amish popcorn. When empty I will use it as a wall decoration. I can have popcorn on Weight Watchers!
We arrived at Wes and Megan's home in Wall, TX. just on the outskirts of San Angelo. In its "hey day", the town of San Angelo like my western towns, was a lawless cow town filled with brothel's, saloon's and gambling halls. The town buildings are of the old west design.
The birthday party and dinner did not start til 5 p.m. so it was nice to relax and visit. Will is Loy and Hoppy's oldest son and he along with is wife Sam and their children were there for the weekend. They live 4 hours away near Ft. Worth. Wes was out coaching his son's softball game and was due home shortly.
Ralph and I met Will and Wes along with their wives and children two Thanksgiving's ago. We had a blast with them. It was one of my fondest Thanksgiving's. After dinner, we all got into playing board games and that was a hoot. They are very successful fellas. Loy and Hoppy are very proud of their children as they should be. They did a great job.
Before the crowd of friends got there, Loy and I had time to go to Eggemeyer's General Store in old town San Angelo.
I am not sure I can describe this place. I am not a "shopper" (except for grocery shopping because I love food), but I like unique and unusual stores that you don't see everywhere. The Eggemeyer's pride themselves in offering their customers the best and most unusual merchandise possible. Their mercantile totals 10,000 square feet. Besides jewelry, cards, candles, decor and furnishings, you see things in there, you don't normally see in other stores.
Beautiful antiques adorn the walls. Oh how I would have loved to take a little ride on this "trusty steed".
Wondering around Eggemeyer's, it was like going back in time. They describe it as an upscale, down-home store. Many years ago the Eggemeyer's who were once cotton farmers, collected and restored old display cases, cabinets and seed bins as a hobby. They retrieved many of these furnishings from old General Stores. They decided to open up a unique type General Store and now their beautiful vintage cases hold nice merchandise.
The Wine Bar has a 3" marble top and it is just stunning. They had wine tastings while we were there. Next to this area was a well stocked gourmet kitchen center that had specialty coffees and foods including mustard's, jams, jellies, sauces and other goodies. Some food items were on display for us to taste and yes I did taste! Notice the giant whisk hanging over the bar.
Each day they serve a different specialty coffee to their customers to sample. They also hold cooking classes in their commercial kitchen.
Eggemeyer's are also known for their spiral sliced honey-glazed hams which they ship all over the U.S.
I was like a kid in a candy store looking at all the neat kitchen gadgets. I did manage to find something I could not live with out. It is a combination potato masher with a ricer. So hopefully my mashed potatoes no longer will come out like glue, they will be light and fluffy.
Throughout the stores they have antiques displayed. Wow, it brought back childhood memories, I can remember peddling one of these peddle cars.
Hanging from the ceiling were several airplanes along with 46 beautiful hanging brass light fixtures. The building was built in 1911 and still has its original and very ornate tin ceiling. Model trains run on two levels of tracks that are suspended from the ceiling.
Well here are one of the most delicious foods I know, it's homemade fudge and candies. Each piece was a work of art! I am so motivated in losing weight, that this was easy for me to pass up. I know I will be able to enjoy a piece eventually on down the road.
AH HA! Coming around the corner I caught Loy "Red Handed"! Wait til I show our Weight Watcher's leader this picture of Loy buying candy. Loy tried to tell me it was for her son's. Yeah, okay.
Enclosed in a glass case was this beautiful piece, it sure caught my eye. A team of horses getting ready to be hitched up.
What a beautiful pot belly stove. It was a work of art. There was no information on display. I should have asked the history on it.
While driving out of San Angelo, I saw this mural that was painted on the side of a building. It was of Old Town San Angelo and it depicts the changing of the times.
We arrived back at her son's home. Wes is in the medical field and he and his wife Megan built a modern style home. Their kitchen, dining and family room is an open floor plan. They have an island in their kitchen and it is surrounded by bar stools. Wes was going to grill all the bratwurst and dogs outside, but since it was a drizzly day so he opted to cook inside.
I sat on one of the bar stools and watched Wes as he put on his apron and the utensils started flying. He chopped up onions, made meat sauce, grated cheese, through kraut in the pot and rolled out the brats and dogs. Just like in deli's when you see the cook with a long pan of links, rolling the spatula across the dogs in one swoop turning them a quarter turn, let them cook and running the spatula along them for another quarter turn.
I felt like I was on a cooking show, watching a chef at work. I was impressed with his culinary skills with the flipper and he finally told me he use to work in a restaurant during his school days.
2 year old Dallas is into Dinosaurs and mom Megan made this awesome Dinosaur cake. She also made dinosaur eggs for the kids. I don't know what happened, but for some reason I did not get anymore pictures of the birthday party. Shame on me! It was a full house with family and friends and a good time was had by all.
I did well with all the tempting goodies that were calling my name! I am allowed to have brats, dogs, chips and even ice cream and cake. The sweets though would have cost me a lot of "Points" so I passed. I fixed my plate with moderate portions and sat in one of their two big screen TV rooms not stepping into the kitchen anymore. It worked! "Out of sight, out of mind".
Loy and I arrived back at the ranch after midnight. I was a fun day!
So until next time............Happy Trails!.............
