Concert and Beach Trip

So the majority of the week was business as usual. I did make it up to W's school to visit the book fair. I also scheduled an exterminator visit since the bugs are moving in and there are fire ant mounds again.  Worthy of mentioning, Chuck and I completed our CHL class and range qualification. It's more stream lined than the NC version, and done mostly online. All the paperwork is in. Yay!

On Friday, we went to a concert in downtown Houston at the SPA (Society for the Performing Arts). We saw Christina and Michelle Naughton. They are twin piano players, and played pieces at the same piano and also dueling piano style. It was very good- we all enjoyed it.  We've already chosen some other performances we'd  like to see in the next season.

At Worthram hall

With my girl

pianos- duh

Saturday, after the traditional donut run, we headed to Surfside Beach. We've been researching different beaches in the Houston area and decided on Surfside. The weather was beautiful. Low 80's and clear. The sea breeze was very strong, so we did have to fight the wind a bit, but we all had a good time. The tide line had a wall of seaweed- sargassum specifically. It was not a problem for the kids, Butter found it to be a safe haven from the tide and Chuck wasn't  bothered by it. Me? I wasn't crazy about it, but of the 4 of us, I like the whole beach idea the least, so I mostly hung out by the Jeep while the others frolicked. 

I do like that you can drive onto the beach and park wherever. The best part was no lugging stuff from the car- it's just all there. The sand was nice, and the beach itself wasn't very crowded. There were lots of rental houses there, too, and  we talked about doing that next time. Butter liked her first beach trip even though she wasn't very fond of the water. All was well until the surf came at her, then she bolted up the sargassum bank until it receded again. Silly Bulldog.   After about an hour and a half of frolicking we headed over to Sharkies, a little burger joint right off the beach. They had outdoor seating and Butter was welcomed with a dish of water and lots of petting from the staff. Five stars in my book right there. We had beer or sodas (depending on age) and jalapeño poppers and burgers. It was decent food, friendly staff and other visitors, too.  Then we headed back to Cypress. 

Jeep on the beach

Noooo, not the water!

2 foot tall wall of Sargassum

Here and the chair is where I spent my time

Frolicking kids

Daddy saved me from the water! 

Happy Bulldog

This is about as far as I got 

 

Stephen Austin Monument on the drive down

Road trip with my girls

My beach pass. Woot!

Isn't he adorable? 

This week is looking pretty standard but we're all looking forward to the long Memorial day weekend coming up!

Limes Are Scarce

I really like tequila. I usually drink margaritas. My favorite recipe is with fresh limes. Limes are scarce. Really-there was a news story where drug cartels are now in the business of hijacking lime shipments and ransoming them back. Limes. Really? The ones at the grocery store are getting punier and punier, so I decided I needed a new way to drink my tequila. OK, besides just straight up drinking it. Anyway, here is my solution for when I don't feel like juicing the mini-limes. ?Drug cartels?

The Limes are Scarce
3oz tequila
2oz cranberry cocktail
2oz Orange Juice
1oz peach schnapps

It's sweet and fruity and would be good frozen, too. It also turns out a nice happy coral color.

I was at the local Spec's (soooo much wine, beer and liquor) and struck up a conversation about tequila with the rep. He told me the best tequila is 100% blue agave. That's what I'm drinking now. It's really good andI chose the one with a pretty bottle.

Aha Toro Tequila

In related news, the new keg is tapped and while awaiting return for deposit the empty keg is sitting out in the living room. Enter Bo. He knows there's beer in there- even if it's just a couple drops. So he licks the keg. And licks. And licks. 

Empty Shiner Bock Keg

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. No plans, both kids spent the night at different friends houses. Correction, I plan to sleep in. Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's!

Catch up!

Whew!! It's been busy here in Houston the last couple of weeks. After the last installment we had visitors -not the scary outer-space kind- the friends form Boston kind! That's right the Cohens came down April 19th- 24th. It was so great to see them! We took them to some of our favorite restaurants and they explored Houston on their own some, too. The Easter Armadillo visited the girls and we dyed eggs. It was sad to see them go but the Herrin Hacienda had to quickly ready itself for the next guests- my parents! Mimi and Beep-Beep drove down from North Carolina to check out the new homestead in person. We fed them well, introduced our new friends and took them to a crawfish festival. Mimi even wore her cowboy boots! They were here from April 24th-29th. Chuck and I celebrated our 17 year anniversary while there were here- we all went to Taste of Texas. So yummy!

With all that going on, plus the regular stuff it's hard to keep track of what happened when so here's a random brain dump of whats been going on… and then some follow up pictures.

Tomball Crawfish Festival- very small, Chuck like the crawfish OK, I had beer and fried pickle and Chuck bought a chair that should be delivered tomorrow.

W got 2 tortoises. They're redfoots- should be 8-10 pounds when fully grown. They're supposed to be females, and are about 3 months old. Their names are Shelly and Gloria. When they're a year they can live outside here especially in the summer, but for now they're in W's room.

Chuck finally finished off the keg of Shiner Bock and we hooked up the Dos Equis Amber 1/6 barrel this evening. A big thank you to all that helped drain that Shiner keg, and a big hugs to Matthew Cohen from Chuck for getting the coordinating Dos Equis Amber tap handle.

Mom and Dad helped me plant some more in the back yard. I've added a kiwi, a pomegranate, 3 more hibiscus and 4 more foxtail ferns. I also discovered that I have a bumper crop of volunteer passion flowers! I always wanted to plant them in NC but you have to get the one that are cold hardy. Here I have them as weeds! I'm letting some of them grow now that I know what they are, but left unattended they would totally take over my garden.

I've been getting a few cherry tomatoes and even picked 5 blueberries the other day. Then zucchini is not far behind and there are a few peppers forming. It's crazy how much earlier things are here.

Our shower is done! Glass and all. I also added a bench with guest linens, a Mickey curtain and some Mickey art to W's bathroom.

Sewing was on hold while the visitors were here since the sewing room is the guest room. I have since finished some mothers day gifts that are currently on their way to NC. No pictures- its a surprise!

Best margarita recipe- 1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice, 2 oz blue agave tequila, 1 oz grand marnier, 1/2 oz light agave nectar.

The girls have 4 weeks of school left.

Chuck's parents are visiting soon and taking the kids back to NC for an extended visit.

And now assorted supporting photos.

Not the haul we're accustomed to- but ours.

Fresh margarita! The ice cubes are Texas shaped! 

Gloria and Shelly enjoying a banana slice

W's bath

Best weed ever

Tapping the Dos Equis- see the awesome tap handle?

Ok, now that we're back to a normal schedule, I'll try not to lag behind again.