Chapter Two...

It's official...

...seems really hard to believe, I thought I'd teach forever.

But...

the state requirements were met and the opportunity kinda fell in my lap.

So, after giving everything a lot of thought, I grabbed the "brass ring."

I decided to stop teaching.

These beautiful flowers were sent by my sweet family for my reception...just thought I'd share.

Aren't they breathtaking?

I was so touched when they were delivered to my classroom.

And, when I read their messages, the tears began.

So, now, when people ask me what I do...I can officially say,

I'm retired...

for now!

Do you have one of these?

My husband and I are empty nesters and we're about to move from our current home.
We are trying to get it in tip top shape to sell, so that would include the ususal:
cleaning, removing clutter, and painting.
Without thinking, I almost wipe this clean, thinking that it's just a dirty spot. 

Do you know what it is?

If you guessed some type of measurement, you'd be correct.
It's a record of our boy's height as they were growing up.

It was a ritual.

The boys would walk by and say, "Dad, you better measure me, I think I grew!"

How can I Windex this all away?

I'm thinking we need to take it with us...replacing a door frame isn't too hard, right?

Camping...

I'm so not a camper...I like spending time outdoors, but I want to be able to take a warm shower, get clean, and sleep comfortably at the end of the day.

My puppy is kinda like me...she doesn't like camping either.

We're both a couple of "softies".

Texas Hill Country...

We trek up and over to the hill country a few times each year and each season brings such natural beauty...it's just amazing.

Here are a few shots.

Enjoy!

As the sun was setting, we met a couple new friends.

Can you say, "Aww..."

It was a good day.

I'm not a violent person...

I'm not violent, but sometimes I just wanna rip off some heads!

I know, yuck...but it was the appropriate thing to do,

I promise.

These were the menu for the Crawfish Festival in Llano, Texas last weekend.

Have you ever eaten them before?

Well, there's not much meat in one, so you have to work on a bunch to get your fill. Luckily each person was given a BIG scoop of them - so much in fact that your plate was o.v.e.r.f.l.o.w.i.n.g with these little gems.

I know you're dying to ask...

yes,  you have to pull off their heads; then peel the rest of them like shrimp.

Honestly, it wasn't too bad, in fact it was easy.

And, they were really good.

Really.

The plate was also served with corn, potatoes, and bread.

Yum.

Do you see the red spices on the corn and potatoes?

Yep, that's gotta be red pepper because these babies were H O T!

Thank goodness for the bread - it was a "fire-putter-outter" for my burning mouth.

You'd think I'd stop eating it, right?

Nope.

Ate every bite of potato, corn, and the very last crawfish.

You know what they say...

When life hands you a bunch of lemons...

...make some lemon cookies!

Here's a recipe I ran across on Pinterest.

I tried them and they were yummy!

Vignettes...

It's fun to make little vignettes, isn't it?

Especially when you use treasured items.