My Ecstasy

Halfway through August. Apparently time really does fly when you are having fun. Not that I have been having barrels of it, but I have learned to have fun with the small pleasures life offers.

I recently read something that had me reflecting. A survey showed that people are happiest with experiences in life rather than things.

What I remember and cherish most are my experiences with my family, nature, friends, neighbors, exploring, etc. Those times I have acquired something material..a new house, new car, new outfit, etc. the happiness lasts until the "newness" wears off and then it's just another...thing. Not that certain things don't enable me to have those experiences. Without my camera (a thing) I wouldn't able to document my experiences. Without my car I wouldn't be able to take trips that enable me my experiences. Hmmmm...I guess maybe things and experiences are interchangeable.

Anyway.........

Last week or so ago Skye and I were coming home from the shop when Skye requested we take a detour through the Old Manor Cemetery. Sometimes she has out of the ordinary requests, but I was game. It was a super hot day so we didn't get out of the car and walk around - only drove slowly through reading and looking at the stones that were on the edge of the drive path. I told her we would go back when it got a little cooler and check out the cemetery a little more thoroughly. I noticed some really old looking headstones on the edge of the woods in the back of the cemetery that looked intriguing.

When we left the cemetery we took a side road I wanted to check out. As we traveled down the road through the canopy of trees this huge house appeared at the end of it. It looked unkempt and vacant so we drove around to the driveway on the side of it. There was a modern car in the driveway so we opted not to get out and nose around....

A morning walk with Toby and Bo in the park.....

Afternoon dips in the pool on a hot day.....

A VERY HOT, but BEAUTIFUL afternoon at the skate park....

How can this be comfortable?.....

Poppa.....

I typically only get snapshots of sunsets but this particular shot was taken of  the sunrise on the way to my friends house one morning....

This old man is seen everywhere in Manor. He sets up his little "traveling band" and plays his guitar solo in front of various establishments. And no, it's not worth the stop to listen, but it is entertaining to say the least....

Oh, and last but not least we finally got our GRIDLOCK TATTOO website launched. Check it out here. I'm really proud of hubby's work. He is an excellent artist with exceptional skills in dealing with people. If you stop in to read my blog and you are ever in the area - or know someone who is/will be please stop by and say hi or better yet get a tattoo! :-)

Business and Pleasure

I guess we all have been missing our day trips this summer. Even my homebody daughter has made comments that indicate she misses our outings.

I surely was overdue a change in routine so I decided we would mix a little pleasure with business. On our agenda for the week was to head to the smaller towns East of us to pass out flyers, business cards, and to generally get our name out, so I pulled my resources together and found some interesting sights to check out along the way.

Our first stop was the  Wendish Museum in Serbin, Texas. It was certainly nothing to call home about - unless you are a Texas history buff - but they had simple but yet very informative and interesting visual displays. The older folks running the place were friendly and helpful also....

LOVE these painted eggs

This room reminded me of my deceased grandparents antique decor

Next, we crossed the graveyard to the Lutheran Church. It was blazing-ass hot but we still enjoyed looking at the old gravestones....

I was glad the church was nice and cool when we reached it because I was beyond weak from the extreme heat. (105 degrees to be exact...and that's without heat index)

Being raised up in the church I often wonder what my un-indoctrinated children think about them upon entering. I have so many memories linked to churches and my kids are probably just like..."um, yeah so it's just this huge, ornate building with a bunch of crosses."...

This is a building that was used as a church, school, and meeting room in the 1800's by the Wends. I was the only one who felt the desire to walk the 100 ft in the heat to take a gander at it. Toby and Skye roosted on a bench underneath a shade tree....

Next we headed a few miles east to Giddings, Texas. We have been through Giddings several times on our way to Houston but never have carved out the time to stop and visit.

We checked out the old Union Station Transportation Museum...

Next, we walked across the street to Blast From The Past. It was interesting place. I also learned something new while I was there. I never knew where the band REO Speedwagon got their name from - not that I ever really thought about it - but apparently it was a firetruck...

Apparently this dog, Ben, is an important animal friend of the shop....

We also walked out of there with $15 worth of yummy fudge.

On the way home we saw smoke in the distance. We kept our eyes on it as we drove closer to the source. It was a car on fire and rights as we drove by it it exploded. I think that was the highlight of Skye's day. She talked about that dang car exploding all the way home....

It was a successful day in both business and pleasure.

July Passing By

Aside from my birthday, the month of July slipped by without me hardly even noticing. The memory maker within myself did manage to capture a few stolen moments throughout the month...

Nothing beats a Texas sunset and I happen to be lucky enough to have a great view of them each and every evening right in my own backyard. Not long ago we had entertained the thought of moving closer into the city. Every house we looked at  had nice views of it's neighbors windows and roof tops. I couldn't bear to part with my sunset and sky views so here we stay...for now....

Not a sunset, but nice cloud formation

I finally finished a crocheted afghan I had worked on for a few months....

We put some red in Skye's hair..per her request....

Mixing a little pleasure with business at Central Texas Harley Davidson.....

These mannequin's in the fixture store appealed to the funky side of me.....

The Boss....

Goodbye July...