Tuesday, December 24, 2019

AZ Nancy Bragging + No Cooking...


Bragging first...   


Super Senior International Pickleball Association was 

formed in 2016 to promote Pickleball among our very
 active senior (60+) population in this country and internationally.


"SSIPA is excited to announce our 2019 
point winners. These awards are presented to the 
top ten-point leaders in men's & women's age groups."

CONGRATULATIONS on finishing in the top ten in your
 age group women's 80+ for 2019.  (I was #5 out of 10)

Your awards will be shipped to you soon... 

Got it... A large pickleball travel backpack and a
Christine McGrath paddle. I've had my
paddle for 4 years so I'll give this one a try.
I have a beautiful bag so this one may get
donated to another player...
Several friends stopped by with home made treats,

And son Eric & daughter-in-law Susan
had Whole Foods

prepare a magnificent all cooked meal
with all the trimmings + shrimp and antipasto

and a great chocolate "roll" cake...  Which we sampled first.
Merry Christmas family & friends wherever you
are.  We are in AZ until Jan 11, then back to Houston...


Thursday, December 19, 2019

Rerun Houston TX (part 3)

Taking advantage of 60 degree days
in Houston - "Hoofing it"...

We walked due south (from our hotel) on Main Street
for about 1 mile thru Old Braeswood (est. 1926),

enjoying the beautiful stately mansions...This is
definitely how the other half lives.  And these
huge black oak trees gracefully show their age too.

Couldn't resist the "lion gate".  And, it was for sale, but
Don decided he preferred living in AZ.

I loved the mansion with the red door.

Brays Bayou - A Bayou is a body of water typically
found in flat low-lying section of a stream that diverts from
it's main channel.

A great place to wander - 33.8 miles of paved
walking running & bike trail - with or without a dog!!!

Only 1 mile from the hotel, we arrived at Brays Bayou
Park.  We've been there twice now

to get a little exercise and find a geocache or two.

Flower of the Day - Flamingo Flower

Or you may know them as Anthurium.
They sure love the humid climate here in TX.
We prefers the hot dry air, and  sure know
where to find that!!!  See you soon AZ.

Monday, December 16, 2019

Rerun Houston TX (Part 2)


Time to venture out... no Doctor appointments today
Dec 14, 2019


Always time to stop and admire the flowers under
the fabulous black oaks...






This huge sundial was calibrated
correctly just on the other side of the waterfall shown
in the above video.

Our adventure for today was the Houston Museum
of Natural Science.  What a Gem.  We spent about 4 hours
here and could have spent at least 2 more.
The Planetarium Theatre was showing a movie
"Passport to the Universe" narrated by Tom Hanks"
so we couldn't not see that.
We just sat back with heads resting so we could
enjoy the cosmos fly by all around us.  WOW!!!

As we entered the Mineral & Gemstone Gallery
we couldn't believe the size and shape and colors from
around the world.
This obviously took us back to our stomping
grounds in CA

and, this piece from the Cos Mine near
Nevada City was definitely a beauty... as were
the following 3 items.
























Read this before you look at the stunning Peacock
in the next picture.  Worth a double click to enlarge....

















Then there were rooms full of unbelievable gemstones.
It would take me days to sort thru
all the photos I took of the stones & jewelry.

Time to head outside and look for a geocache.

While Don searched around, I took a closer look
at Samuel Houston, a very colorful character as he
was described on the marker.  


He was born in VA 3/2/1793 and died 7/26/1863 in
Huntsville TX.  He was an American soldier and politician.
In 1835 he was a major general in the Texas Army and in 1836
was made commander-in-chief of that force, the same year
that he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
He served as the 1st and 3rd president of the
Republic of Texas and was one of the first 2 individuals to
represent Texas in the the U.S. Senate.

While strolling along the beautiful reflecting pool
we came upon the Pioneer Monument which
was dedicated on 8/30/1936, the 100th
anniversary of the founding of Houston.

I thought this Ciarna Moschata -
 domestic Muscovy duck was pretty interesting
too.  What do you think?  Every feather 

perfectly outlined.

AHHHHH.   And finally I was able to get a good
photo of the 2 flags flying outside our living room
window.  I only took 57 pics, but I finally got it right!!!!
I know, it wounds like I'm becoming a Texas kind of 
gal....well, there's a reason for that.  My paternal grandfather 
Eugene Worrell Cureton (and his twin sister Eugenia) were
 born in Frio County TX in 1877...

which is only 233 miles SW from Houston...


OMG, I almost forgot about Faberge

Needs no words...

The "Eggs".  Only  69 were created (between 1887 and
1979).   Diamond Trellis created in 1892
for Alexander the III of Russia for his wife...


Dec 16th, we took a stroll to check out
the Texas Children's Hospital in search of a
unique geocache.   

Don had to answer some
questions, so we carefully checked it out.








Thursday, December 12, 2019

Rerun Houston TX

The morning after the craft show we were on our
way to Houston again...


United Airlines ready to leave Phoenix.

On.y 2 hours later...

Home away from home for the next 30 days... or so!!!

Our mini suite also includes a 2-queen master bedroom
 with another 55" TV (his and hers).  Way to go.


To view the video below, full screen, double click on video,
then the "full screen" square in the lower right.  To pause
the video to read some of my lengthy descriptions, press
the space bar or type the letter k, or use the pause/play icons.
To get back to the blog, press "esc".





Once again, just a few of my favorites...




Granddaughter Cassie, you'd look great on
stage in a pair of these...

Tissue paper pom toms on an 8 ft Xmas Tree
made everyone smile as they passed by.... till next time






Another Mixed Bag: Ruby + Flowers and other things...

Can you believe this weather for the Sacramento CA area in late JUNE???  Time to head outside. There were interesting vapor trails in a beau...