Ongoing lake house search

A couple weeks before the wedding, we were able to squeeze in a little lake house hunting up near DFW. Our law student daughter and her boyfriend the med school student were able to join us Saturday so we could check out several houses together. Just an hour or so drive for them, we know they'd undoubtedly enjoy a place to getaway and kick back for some lake time starting this spring. 

Our VRBO had some lovely sunset views, which the kids enjoyed. We asked our real estate agent to set up showings at five different homes, and it was a mixed lot. Our favorite house was a lovely brand new construction. But it was also the one that had some of the shallowest water. Y'all know I gotta be able to get my boat in and out of the lift, even in a drought, so that was scratched off the consideration list. The house with the best water and breezes was one of the older options, with an odd layout, and I'm not looking to do any remodeling.

We revisited a totally updated house with pretty good water we had seen before. But the lake retaining wall looks dicey in a couple spots. So until the husband gets somebody out there to give us a ballpark figure on replacing those sections, it's a pass for now. And thus the lake house looking will continue into the new year until we find the right place for us.

 

Wedding wind up

Last week I sat down and completed thank you notes that contained tips for the 70 vendors that worked the older daughter's wedding this weekend, from the furniture deliverers and florists to the band and bartenders. I was tempted to put them in a lock box, but opted to just hand it off to planner Lauren to let her wrangle passing them out to the appropriate folks. Be warned... there will be intermittent wedding posts headed your way soon.

I had been praying about the wedding weekend for quite a while, knowing I'd be so excited for this new chapter in our older daughter's life while also sad at the fact that my precious mother wouldn't be there with us to celebrate. Our gracious Lord held me close, keeping me focused on the joy of this blessed occasion. I got the wobbly chin a few times when emotion swamped me, but I was able to remain in the moment and recall all that I was gaining instead of the one person so many of us were missing. The cardinals I regularly spy on our property remind me Linda Ruth is ever in my heart and only a memory away.

Pumpkin & Santa swap

Y'all know I'm not the least bit bothered by the fact that Christmas decor makes its appearance ever earlier each year. Granted, the Christmas decor showing up in Hobby Lobby right after the fourth of July is just a tad too early for me. And yet I'm thrilled every year when halloween happens because I know November 1st ushers in all things Christmas at most places. 

This week I spent a solid couple of hours carefully wrapping up all of my pretty fall pumpkins and such that have been on display since the week of Labor Day in order to make room for the most wonderful time of the year decor - SANTA! This year I carefully undecorated the pencil tree I purchased back when the law school daughter was still in high school. Then I used all of those same santa ornaments to put together an incredibly convenient Balsam Hill corner tree I found on sale for half price earlier this year. It was so incredibly easy to decorate that I may never go back to using a regular tree again. I'll try to snap some pics now that santa claus has come to our house, but I've gotta get past the wedding and Thanksgiving first.

November volunteering

This month at my first Saturday volunteering gig with the girls in a local group residential home, we got to do some reading and a craft activity. 

The book was about Humpty Dumpty, how he had to summon the courage to face his fear after he fell off the wall. This is an important life lesson for any age. It's not the falls that define us, but rather our ability to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back at it. 

This month I got the girls reusable cold brew cups so they could create some fun drinks. I also gathered up a few snacks to go along with it. Our leader brought along a pack of Thanksgiving cards. She encouraged the girls to write a heartfelt note to someone special in their lives, thanking them in this month of gratefulness where we enumerate our blessings that come from our Heavenly Father. 

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to God and praise His name.  Psalm 100:4

Last Colorado post

The evening following our Pike's Peak excursion, we enjoyed dinner while snow softly fell at the resort. The cocktail hour included an up-close look at several birds of prey from the falconry experience they offer to guests, which was really interesting. 

When I went to work out at the fitness facility, I enjoyed a brisk walk that included some frosty views along the way, not to mention while on the elliptical machine.

The next morning I enjoyed a spa visit and some down time to work on my Bible study lesson. That afternoon when the husband wrapped up his meetings, we went on an open jeep tour through garden of the gods.  

It was a bit brisk, even though I was dressed appropriately. Thankfully the tour company provided a wool blanket for my legs. And I wisely brought along several sets of hand warmers to ward off the shivers. 

We saw this handsome mule deer just chillin' in the grass on our tour as we drove away from the resort. We later spied a herd of bighorn sheep, completely ignoring all of the tourists snapping pics of them. 

On Colorado time

My four days in Colorado for the annual retreat were fabulous, mainly because I got to enjoy some genuinely autumnal temps. Plus some of the fall foliage was still turning, even though we missed the annual aspen display as they were already absent of leaves in anticipation of winter.

The day we arrived was in the mid 60s. But later that evening, a cold front blew through and it got cold. As a matter of fact, it was so cold that when I rode up to Pike's Peak on the cog railway the next morning, we were treated to snow flurries as we climbed higher in elevation.

By the time we reached the summit, snow was already accumulating and we couldn't see much. Thankfully, I had checked the weather forecast and come prepared with a cashmere sweater, boots, Lands End coat, scarf, gloves and a hat. Visibility was mostly nonexistent at the visitor's center, so I indulged in a cup of chai tea after trekking around outside to check out what might have been seen in terms of the view.

On the ride back to the station, the clouds cleared for a bit and I was able to snap some very mediocre pics through the windows. With temps in the teens, my original thought of lowering the window for a sharper view was quickly discarded.  

Annual fall retreat with the husband

Every fall, the husband's company hosts a strategic planning retreat for the corporate officers as well as board members, and spouses are included. In the past we've been to several different islands on the southeast coast. A few years it was held at a ranch. Last year we trekked to the southern Blue Ridge area of Virginia. And this year we traveled to Colorado.

I've gotta say, I was really looking forward to Colorado because I knew it would actually look and feel like autumn up there. I was able to pack some sweaters and enjoy wearing them without running the AC. We left Texas in the 80s for 60s in Colorado, and then the temps really took a nosedive the next day. Our accommodations were lovely and it was a breath of cool mountain air, literally. We had someone come stay with Finn and Pepper to house and dog sit, so I was able to really relax and enjoy the beautiful setting and amenities. 

 

 

 

Lizard patrol

Our terriers are ever so resourceful. If they can't find any deer or squirrels to chase, they move on to even smaller critters. Lizards, in particular, have been their target lately. Our resident lizards like to use the pool fencing as their highway, of sorts, to get from the yard onto the patio in pursuit of a buggy meal. Now it's a death road for the unlucky ones.

Since master hunter Finn the Fierce discovered the lizard path, he's always on the lookout for them. As you can see below, he's quite vocal when he locates one. Most of the time the lizards are wily enough to freeze and wait him out in order to make an escape. However, a couple times they've gotten caught and paid the price. We've had to toss a few lifeless lizards over the side fence after Finn was finished with them. This usually involves bribing our great cairn hunter with a treat to make him drop his victim. If a zombie lizard apocalypse ever happens, y'all, I'm all set with my terrier protection.

Footwear and a wedding dress

Even though the temps aren't really fall-like these days, it's just too late in the year to be wearing sandals. Mostly. And so I hauled out the stepladder to do the biannual shoe swap last week. I took all of my spring/summer shoes off the shelves and gave them a good dust. Then I brought down all of the boxes stacked above my hanging clothes to place the fall/winter footwear on the shelves. Now I'm ready for cooler temps if they ever decide to show up and stick around.

In other clothes news, I went to Austin on Monday to attend the final wedding dress fitting for the CPA daughter. The alterations ladies did an excellent job and it looked beautiful on her. The bride-to-be had her hair done by the wedding day stylist once again to be certain of the look she wants with the veil on her big day. After leaving the bridal salon, we had a working lunch with the wedding planner. Who knew there were so many last minute details to nail down?! Things like seating charts, signage, shuttle buses and the big wedding day timeline we'll all be following, just to name a few. The stationer was a busy lady, with the menu taking a lot of time to perfect. First we had to confirm all of the final food selects with the caterer. Next it was all about the look. Font type and size, plus regular, bold, italics, all caps, all lowercase, etc. Then we contemplated spacing. Good news is we got it all figured out after multiple mock-ups and it looks fabulous.