Monday, June 30, 2025

Back in the lower 48

Our trip to Alaska was amazing, but I'm whooped, y'all. After a delay in Denver last night, we didn't pull into our driveway until almost 2:00 am. But I'm in lake house mode for the upcoming fabulous 4th holiday weekend with the girls and their SO, so no time to lounge about and chill. Because I opted to have clothes laundered aboard the cruise ship, I only had a hill of them to wash today versus the usual mountain. This morning I took the dogs to be groomed, made a cleaners run for the husband, gassed up the car and then loaded it with boxes I packed pre-cruise to bring yet more decor to the lake house. Whew!


The views from the plane while flying over Canada and Alaska were amazing. Truly. It's yet another example of God's creative energies, this diverse planet He created for us to enjoy.


I'm happy to be home, but I gotta admit I miss the beautiful Alaskan vistas and cooler temps we left behind. Plus watching the float planes. I was so intrigued by them throughout our time up north. All in all, we had a memorable trip with our friends Paul and Robin. Stay tuned for some Alaska posts when I can get around to it. The scenery was stunning and we saw a lot more wildlife on this itinerary that took us farther north than our first Alaskan cruise back in 2014 with the girls. 

 

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Ready to explore beyond the shore

Finally, y'all. I took delivery of our boat when I was at the lake last week and I'm thrilled. Oh sure, it's over a month later than what the sales guys promised us on this custom build. But whatever. I'll finally be able to break out my captain's hat for some cruising.


Since our last lake house had a boat cradle, I was unsure about storing it in the slings that are more common at this new place. Local boaters swear by them, but they just seem so flimsy to me in comparison to a solid boat cradle. And so in addition to having the boat delivery guys fill 'er up with ethanol free gas en route to launch her, I had them help me get our patriotic red, white and blue tritoon safely docked. We hoisted it out of the water and then I got a lesson in how to attach the cover to keep it clean until we can get back up there for a fun-in-the-sun 4th on the water.

 
 

Tomorrow, before the crack of dawn, we kick off our eleven day land and cruise tour vacation to the last frontier. So be prepared for a slew of Alaska posts when I get home.

 

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Feathered trespassers

Our terriers have always been avid squirrel hunters. At the lake, it appears they have shifted their focus to waterfowl, namely ducks and herons. And when I say they, I really mean little white dog Finn. He becomes highly incensed when a duck or heron dares to land in our yard. That also extends to the dock/boathouse, and is the reason I had to ring up our fence company to create a dock gate to keep the dogs off it.

As you can see in the video above, Finn will bark his fool head off even if the critters are in neighboring yards. It seems he considers the whole southern shore of our golf community as his, so the trespassers are given immediate and often ongoing notice that they need to clear out. FYI, our large yellow dock storage closet will FINALLY get painted gray this week to match the trex decking.


I'm happy to report that our new lake house built-ins for the living room and office were finally completed. Now I just need to finish transporting shelf "pretties" up there to get it decorated. One thing I did get done on my most recent trip was putting out some red, white and blue July 4th decor. I forgot to take pics of it all, but here's a bit of what I did.

 



Forget ducks in a row, y'all. I was on the back porch one afternoon and spied this row of geese bobbing across the water. A gaggle of geese! I believe it was a family group consisting of a mated pair and their almost grown goslings. Though I've seen lots of ducks on/around our property, this is the first time I've documented some geese. 



Saturday, June 14, 2025

More lake updates

After an almost six hour drive this morning, I'm back home in the hill country to celebrate father's day with my husband and his dad. Then I'll be a busy bee the next couple days, prepping to leave on our Alaskan trip at the crack of dawn Wednesday. I still enjoy traveling, but loathe the process of getting there as I've aged. Even in business or first class, y'all, so that says something about how much I don't like air travel.


Over the course of the last week, I got curtains plus some other things hung on the lake house walls thanks to Tom. Unfortunately, designer Gina didn't order the correct rod length for the master bedroom, so that's the only room that still needs to go up. I really like how these curtains blend into the trim/walls, creating a nice frame for the view rather than competing with or obscuring it.



While Tom was there, I also got him to help me put the final iron bed together. Of course, he made short work of something I struggled with for a solid thirty minutes before giving up last month. It was nice to get that queen bed in place and made up so the room is now ready for decor on the walls. 

I came up with a fabulously fishy idea for the lake house's dining room. On the long wall with the buffet and lamps, I found a mirror shape that resembles a pond. On opposite sides of the lamps, I'll add a collection of silver and ceramic fish as a nod to movement and playfulness. You can see a few examples of the fish I have to hang in the pic above. At the lake I used some heavy duty glue and picture wire to create hanging loops on the backs of all the smaller silver fish. Once the glue has fully cured when I get back to the lake, Tom will help me hang all thirteen fish.

Then on the blank wall opposite the buffet, I'll be adding some more fish to further play into my theme. I found this lovely 27" vintage Limoges fish platter (above) that I'm having framed. Around it I'll display the set of Limoges fish plates I found on eBay that compliment the platter. I can't wait to see the dining room come alive with personality via my fishy decorating scheme.

 

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Freaky fog & fuzzy tarantulas

I started purging pictures on my phone and ran across several I decided to share with y'all. Still in the throes of menopausal brain, it totally escaped me that I booked us on a boat tour during our visit to the lake house last month to meet up with the law student and her boyfriend. Here's the scoop. Our boat delivery date came and went on May 15 with no boat in sight. Surprise, surprise... in my best Gomer Pyle voice. You're old if you understand that TV reference, lol. Anyhoo, what our boat salesman promised in terms of timing for our custom pontoon boat is not how it has played out. It appears we were boat chumps, believing it could be built in six weeks for sure. Not a problem. They usually arrive in a month, but we're positive it will be here in six weeks. They always get here early. We believed 'em, hook, line and sinker. Sorry, couldn't resist.


In reality, it has stretched into a ten week wait for delivery of our much-anticipated  boat. But the end is in sight, y'all. We've got confirmation the build was finally finished and transported to the local boat dealership where we purchased it. Barring more thunderstorms tomorrow, we'll be getting our pontoon into its berth at our boathouse. 


Last time I was at the lake, we had fog several mornings. It was particularly eerie as it settled over the water and limited visibility. Speaking of creepy, I discovered a tarantula on our back porch at the hill country house last week. Thankfully, I located it before little white dog stumbled upon the hairy-legged troublemaker. Unwilling to get too close to the trespasser, I grabbed my big broom and swept him out into the yard so it could scuttle out of sight.

Typically, one of the first things I do when I get to the lake house is plug in the golf cart to charge up the battery. Did I mention I refused to put the basic, boring member numbers on the side of our cart? The ugly sort you can get at Home Depot in this super dated typewriter font. I couldn't resist ordering a set of numbers in a fun shade of blue and got them affixed on my last trip so I could cruise through the 'hood in accordance with golf club member by-laws. 

And finally, the husband and I bought a standard fridge for the laundry room to hold drinks and ice cream. There's no way to keep various waters, sodas and adult beverages in the main kitchen fridge because they take up all of the space we need for food when we're entertaining. That's one advantage to having a larger laundry room - no need to put the fridge in the garage so it has to work overtime in the Texas heat to keep our beverages nice and cold.


Monday, June 9, 2025

Sundays in the south

Last week I was getting caught up on my latest summer Bible study lesson in anticipation of attending our neighborhood church at the lake yesterday. It's such a warm and welcoming place with excellent sermons. But oh the irony, y'all. For a long time I bemoaned the fact that so many churches today are filled with modern praise music, and I was not a fan. Growing up in the Baptist church meant singing from the hymn book, not that "rock 'n roll band" stuff. However, I finally caved several years ago and started listening to Air1. What a revelation. This worship music station now gets more play time in my car than anything else, and I often find myself singing along to the songs. Tapping the steering wheel and bobbing my head. Or breaking down in tears when God uses the lyrics to touch my heart. So what does our lake neighborhood church sing... the old Baptist hymns I grew up with. Now I get the best of both worlds, and I'm thrilled. The oldies at church and the newbies in my car or on the Air1 app. What a blessing. God continues to use all of the avenues at His disposal to reach me with His truths. Amen!

I've already started planning our meals for the July 4th holiday weekend, creating my menu and shopping list. In the meantime, while I'm solo at the lake getting things done in advance of our next family gathering, I'll be hitting up our local blue plate special diner for some homecooked meals. It's a total hole in the wall, but those ladies in the kitchen know how to whip up some classics like salisbury steak or chicken and dressing. I've gotta say their fresh rolls and cornbread are worth every single naughty carb. No doubt the dogs and I will be logging some serious miles on our morning walks to burn off these meals I can't wait to enjoy.

 

 

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Back to my happy place

The lake house prep continues, three months and counting. I received a call from the design shop recently that our custom curtains were made and ready for install. With that in the hopper, I texted the builder of our lake house that we hired to make a few changes for us. According to him, the new office and living room built-ins as well as office doors should be finished by mid-week. All that leaves is for his painting crew to color match the boathouse decking so they can paint the storage room on the dock once they're able to squeeze this last item into their schedule.

So the good news is I'll get to work in another trip up to the lake house before we depart on our Alaskan cruise later this month. I've got several bags of July 4th decor I need to put out. Plus I need to hire the curtain hanger to place more artwork on the walls. Which means I've got to get another load of pics and paintings up there in the back of my SUV. The trick is packing it carefully so that nothing shifts mid-trip and lands in the area where our dogs ride.

Last time I was at the lake, I posted some miscellaneous items we no longer need on our community interest board as giveaways. And let me tell ya, some of those ladies in our 'hood hopped on the freebies like ducks on a junebug. I made the newbie mistake of listing my phone number so folks could call or text to claim the items. And thus I learned my lesson, receiving texts for hours after the items were claimed. And so the next time I just posted I was putting a mirror on the front porch for anybody who wanted to come fetch it. Sure enough, it was gone in less than an hour and I noticed increased golf cart traffic slowly rolling past our home for a few hours after that, the freebie buzzards circling to see if it was still there. I don't know why I found this so entertaining, but I sincerely did.

 

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Platinum anniversary celebration

Thanks to my sister-in-law, who is an extraordinary hostess and party planner, our nearest and dearest celebrated my in-law's 70th wedding anniversary on Saturday. We were able to gather about fifty close friends and family to share in the joy of honoring this great union that has weathered the ups and downs of life with love and devotion. It's a true testament to their commitment as well as patience, and I was so happy to be able to mark this special day with them. We love you, Nena and Poppy. Cheers to 70 years, and counting!



We were thrilled that our girls drove in from Dallas and Austin to spend the day with their precious grandparents. It was wonderful to see them, and we were able to plot our next family gathering at the lake house for the July 4th weekend. We can hardly wait!

 

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Bullet point Sunday

I'm too lazy to type up complete sentences and paragraphs today, so here I go with the bullet points.

  • lake winds can be fierce, at times
  • bought a polywood dining set for the dock lounge area
  • it's heavier than what I was finding locally 
  • ran metal cable through the whole set and secured to dock posts with lock, just in case a storm blows in while we're gone
  • husband's office at the lake got a new door
  • he doesn't mind clutter, but it makes me crazy
  • if I can't see it, then it doesn't exist... self-preservation for the win!

  • lots of rain lately, about 6" in our hill country hood
  • rain = wonderful; humidity = fuzzy hair all week
  • it's obvious where the water collects on our 5 acres
  • hope it washed away our resident coral snakes that slither up occasionally
  • long handled shovels are my weapon of choice for snake beheadings
  • it's obvious how high the water got in our extra little side yard for visiting dogs per the debris line in the pic

 
  • as seen on the miscellaneous aisle in the grocery store nearest our lake house
  • serves as a reminder that they've got the last minute anglers covered
  • Yum and Shadalicious... really?
  • file this away under just in case we need an emergency lure or two