Ellie the Flower Girl at Last

Ellie, age 9 has always wanted to be a flower girl. She has made this known to all. Finally, her uncle asked her to be a flower girl. She pronounced that this was her dream come true! Her little brother, Everson was the ring bearer. Don't they make a cute pair ! Picture was taken before leaving home for the wedding, so Ellie didn't have on her headpiece and Everson didn't have his boutonniere. I'm so glad that Ellie finally got her wish!

Together for Christmas

Here's Will and his little sister, Katie

Katie asked Santa for this!

Will, Erik, Ellie, Katie, Emma

Katie, Will and Everson

Ellie telling the story

For the first time in 5 years, my two children and their families were able to get together for Christmas here in Texas. Sam and Angie with their two children, Will and Katie arrived here last Tuesday. So, needless to say, I have been very busy with them as well as my Texas family. Seven grandchildren in all, under one roof, along with 4 adults. Things have been going very well, and the kids are really enjoying each other tremendously.

Christmas Eve we had a nice dinner, and my daughter-in-laws family as well as some close friends came over. We had a great time! We had a Mexican and Italian combination of foods! It was very interesting. We had a wonderful evening of visiting, eating, and exchanging some gifts. The best part of the evening was the skit the kids put on about the birth of Christ. Ellie did a terrific job as an angel telling the story, in her own Ellie way, while the other kids acted out their parts! I was able to capture a picture of her above. All the other 6 grandchildren had parts including little Elisha who was a shepherd. Of course, he had his own spin on it as well.

This was Sam and his family's first visit to Texas. They felt it was about time we all could be together for this holiday. It has been very hard for them to travel long distances because of Will's health. We are happily looking forward to Will being off all treatment for Leukemia on February 8th.

Unfortunately, their trip down here was not without a lot of stress. First there was the big snowstorm that hit the east coast, and they were in the thick of it. Also, during the trip down here, Will developed a fever. This can be very serious because with his counts being low, due to the Chemo, he is susceptible to getting an infection. As soon as his fever reaches 101 +, he must be taken to a hospital. Luckily they were passing through a major area in Mississippi with a Children's Hospital where there were Oncology doctors on hand. Upon examination, they discovered he had an ear infection and treated him with antibiotics and wrote him a prescription for more antibiotics and sent them on their way. By the time they arrived here, he seemed fine and has been having a great time playing with his cousin, Everson who is just a few months older.

The weather was great for the first 2 days they were here, in the 70's. Christmas Eve day brought some snow flurries and cold windy weather. Yesterday and today it's been in the 50's and sunny, so that's good enough for us New Yorkers!

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Christmas Decorations Miniaturized

There is always something you forget to bring when packing to go on a trip. I had a small Adirondack tree (really cute) and some other decorations from home I meant to bring with us but unfortunately they were left behind. Not wanting to spend a lot of money, I was able to come up with a very small tree that fits on my kitchen counter and a one piece nativity set, as well as a couple other things. Since I do have some Adirondack lamps and other things already, our home is at least somewhat decorated. It is such a challenge when you are in such a small space. After taking this pic of our tree (don't laugh), I found a small tree topper and Deja gave me some more small ornaments to use, so it actually looks better than the picture.

Notice next to the sofa, the large water bottle. The water here in San Angelo doesn't taste all that good, and I don't even like to make coffee with it. It is safe to drink, it just doesn't taste good. There are places all over town where you can fill up water jugs. Only cost 1.25 to fill up the 5 gallon jug. So, it has become part of our living room decor, something I can live with!

I have various gifts hidden everywhere in this small space. The kids are in and out, and I don't want them to see anything. It will be nice seeing them open presents this year and being able to give them gifts instead of gift cards.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone from our little house to yours!!

The Man's Shop!!

Pictured above are a couple of stores here in San Angelo. Their names speak for themselves. I don't have any interest in shopping there, but Al seems to think they are pretty cool. One is sorta like a hardware store and the other is more of a clothing store.

Not too much going on here. Trying to get a little Christmas Shopping done. The weather has been great these last couple of days. Sunny and in the 70's. Everyone here is doing fine also. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Sam, Angie, Will and Katie in about 1 week. It will be a fun time with 7 kids and 4 adults under one roof. Al and I will be there also, but we can retreat to our little home on wheels if it gets too noisy. Also, if the weather is good the kids will be playing outside a lot.

We plan to leave here sometime after Christmas, we are not sure what day yet. We aren't sure where we are going yet either, but a little further south, possibly San Antonio then the Corpus Christi area.

Brrrr, It's Cold Here in Texas!!!!!

It's been rather cool here in Texas! I'm told it's not the norm even this time of year, but it has been going on for too long, without much change in sight. We get breaks of sunshine and the temp actually went up to 70 or so yesterday. Got down in the 20's at night and has remained cold all day today in the 30's. I know we shouldn't complain, because our friends and family back home are having even colder weather and snow to deal with. Al was complaining today to Ellie, 9 and she looked at him and said, "Well, what do you want, it is winter after all!"

We are still enjoying ourselves here in spite of the weather. It's nice and toasty in our RV. Also, it's so nice not to have to get up and go to work everyday, especially in a snow storm! That, in and of itself, is something to be really thankful for.

It's nice visiting with Doug, Deja and the kids and we are looking forward to Sam and Angie and their kids coming out here for Christmas. This is the first time in 5 years we will be together for Christmas! We will miss seeing Al's kids and their kids, though! We usually get together with all of them for a couple of hours on Christmas Day and it's always so much fun seeing what Santa brings the kids & their excitement over the whole thing.

Well, it's time to get dinner on the table so I'll sign off for now!

The Chuckwagon

As I mentioned in my last blog, My Daughter-in-law's parents, Trish and Tom have a chuckwagon, which they had set up at the "Christmas at Old Fort Concho" event. The chuckwagon was used in earlier times in the old west. Most of us have seen these in western movies and tv shows. The name of their camp was "Bertie Belle Camp" after Tom's mom. He has a picture of her hanging up on the front of the chuckwagon. I'm sure she is smiling down on them!

Tom designed and built his chuckwagon himself. I'm no expert, but to me it looks very authentic. He and his wife, Trish have been in cooking contests with other chuckwagon owners. There is a chuckwagon association they belong to and there are strict rules they must follow. The food is furnished to them and they are told what to cook. They can win cash prizes. But, it's not really about that. For them it's the friendships they've made and the "love of the sport".

At the event this past weekend, they were more on their own. They had homemade chicken soup, beans and rice (a southern favorite), and biscuits with homemade jams and jellies. Also popcorn and candies for the kids.

Next weekend they will be in the downtown area again for another event.

Tom also built and designed a jail on wheels and named it "Lonesome Dove." The kids all seemed to love this. It is now set up in my son's yard and is for sale in case anyone is interested!

Christmas at Old Fort Concho

This has been a fasinating experience for us. Every year in San Angelo, they celebrate Christmas at Old Fort Concho. It is a wonderful display of how people lived back in the old days. There were Confederate and Yankee soldiers dressed in period clothing, American Indians and many people were selling their crafts as well. Teepee and tents were set up all around the place. There was even a 19th century soldiers baseball game where children ages 6-12 could learn to play the way they did back then. Our daughter-in-laws parents, Trish and Tom had a Chuckwagon (pictured above) from which they were cooking and giving away free hot cocoa, coffee, soup and biscuits. Ummm good! There is something about food cooked outdoors that is so wonderful.

We will be writing more about the Chuckwagon in our next blog.

We went to the Nutcracker performance last night and it was great! The kids were outstanding in their performances!

Last night before we went to bed, we noticed there was no water coming out of our tap. We looked at the outside thermometer and noticed it was 31 degrees. Just enough to freeze up the outside hose we had hooked up. Luckily, we had water in our fresh water tank and managed fine until the next morning when the temp went back up. Yesterday, it was about 20 degrees colder here than back home in NY. The cold spell will soon be over as it will be in the 60's tomorrow and the next 10 days look pretty good.

WHAT I WOKE UP TO.........SNOW!!!!!

After a week of hearing we may get snow, I woke up this morning and looked out the window and lo and behold, a white blanket of that white stuff covered the ground! It was nasty and raw out there, as the wind was blowing and snow was coming down. Not the kind of snow you want on Christmas, but a nasty raw type of snow that is not at all pleasant to be out in! Actually it's good in one respect because I will get to experience all the seasons this way. I have always said that's what I like about the Northeast........the change of seasons. At least here, winter is a very short season.

Last night I went to the Nutcracker dress rehersal! Since you can't take pictures at the actual performance, I thought maybe I would be able to get some pictures at the dress rehearsal as they allow you to take pics, but you can't use a flash. It was almost impossible to get any good pics as even though the stage was lighted, most of the pics are a bit blurry. Also, hard to tell who is who. When these beautiful young ladies came out on the stage, I didn't realize at first that this was Emma's group, but finally spotted her in the back row. The scene was called snow. It is pictured above. Very graceful, and she looked beautiful. I am unable to tell you from the pic which one is her. This is her first time on stage doing Pointe. Ellie was a mouse, and the stage was fairly dark, so I was unable to get a picture. It was very cute though. Erik played a party boy in the opening scene and was up there for quite a while. I was able to get a few pics of him on the stage. It appears he is quite a good little actor! Anyway, I guess I need a better camera, or a lesson or two in photography! I didn't stay for the whole thing as I'm going back tonight with Al for the opening night performance. It will be more enjoyable not having the camera with me.

Snow Predicted Today here in Texas

It's been raining cats and dogs since last night. So, we're just hanging out in our little house. Actually, Al is still sleeping. He wasn't feeling well during the night. Hopefully, it's nothing serious, and I'm hoping it's not contagious.

Snow is predicted for later this afternoon. I think it will be a non-event to a native of upstate NYer, though. It is going to be 40 degrees and will be snow mixed with rain. Who knows, it may not even happen. Ideal weather conditions here would be to have just enough snow to fall during the night on Christmas eve to just cover the ground and make everything white, then melt off the next day and be 70 degrees.

Not too much to write about until after this coming weekend. We will have a lot going on here. Deja's dad and his wife are coming to see the kids in their Nutcracker performances this coming weekend. We are planning on going to opening night on Friday night. While all this is going on they are having a big event here in San Angelo, "Christmas at Old Fort Concho 2009." Al and I are hoping to go there sometime over the weekend. Doug and Deja and the kids always miss this because they are so busy with the Nutcracker Performances. We might be able to take Everson with us when we go. It is an anual event and supposed to be really nice. Deja's mom Trisha and her husband Tom will have a chuckwagon set up at this event. I will definately have to get some pics of it. I guess that means, I have something interesting to blog about after the weekend. Hopefully, I can get some pics of the kids in their costumes. We can't take pics during their performances though.

Well, Al is up and I think he's feeling better. Bye for now!

Erik is 11 Yrs Old Today

Today was Erik's birthday and he had a little party with some of his friends and siblings. Instead of getting gifts for himself, he requested that everyone bring a Christmas gift for kids who live at an orphanage in Mexico.

As these kids get older, for their birthday they choose a charity and ask their friends to bring toys for less priviledged children.

It was a fun party, and the kids made their own pizza's and had a scavenger hunt. They showed up at my RV asking if I knew what a traveling fork was? I guess they must have had it figured out before they got here.

San Angelo, TX & Grandchildren

The 5 E's - Erik, Elisha, Emma, Ellie & Everson

Ellie and Erik (Grandpa Tom built this Western style traveling jail)

This is Everson

Emma the beautiy (12 yrs old)

We arrived here on Sunday afternoon. Special attraction here are the five E's: Emma, Erik, Ellie, Everson, and Elisha. After not seeing them for a long time, it was so great catching up on things with all of them as well as Doug and Deja, their parents. The kids have certainly grown and Emma at 5' 3 1/2" is about as tall as I am. We have been busy getting things set up here, as we plan to be here until after Christmas. We are set up in their yard and have found it is quite convenient.

One little guy, Everson, 5 yrs. old has been enjoying our little house tremendously. From the time we get up and he sees there is life in our place until night time, he likes hanging out at our place. He has just been busy taking it all in, and it's something very different to him, as he was so young when he moved and hasn't gotten to spend as much time with us as the others. He likes everything about our little house, including taking naps on our bed, making sandwiches in our kitchen, and cuddling. He said to me the other day, "Do you know what I like best about your trailer, Grandma? What I like best is you and Poppy!" We are so happy to have this special time to spend with him and all the kids. It has always been a long time between visits.

The three oldest Emma, 12, Erik , almost 11, and Ellie, 9 have been very busy getting ready for there performances in the Nutcracker. Both Emma and Ellie have been studing Ballet and Emma has been in the Nutcracker every year since they moved here. This is Emma's first year of doing Pointe, which makes it extra exciting for her. For the past 2 years, Ellie and Erik also have parts. Ellie will be a mouse in Act 1 and Erik will be a Party Boy and a Gingerbread kid. I am told it is quite a performance and Al and I have really good seats for opening night.

Elisha is just 2 yrs old, so he doesn't know us too well yet. In spite of that, we managed to get a few cuddles from him.

Al has been busy working on the electric hook-up and figuring out the solar. We are trying to use the solar as much as possible and only use their electric when necessary. We had some issues with the solar yesterday, so Al is investigating it today. It is great that we are able to use a combination of different kinds of power for various things. We can put the refrigerator and the hot water heater on gas or electric plus some of our lights work off the 12volt system, so we can manage pretty well in most situations. We try to be conservative with our energy as much as possible without sacrifing comfort.

Hope you aren't bored with a Grandma's rants, but I know some people are curious how things are going here for their family in Texas. Things seem to be going very well !!

Kerrville-Schreiner Park, Kerrville, TX

We left New Orleans area on Thursday. We spent last night in Baytown, TX in an RV Spot at a Cracker Barrell Restaurant. After having dinner there, we asked the manager if we could stay in their lot overnight. It was very well lit and had security cameras. We slept good until about 5am, when their dumpsters were then unloaded. We couldn't get back to sleep, so we decided to get up and stopped for breakfast at one of Al's new favorites, Waffle-House. It seemed good to get an early start. as we knew Houston would be really bad at rush hour. It was worse than anticipated because of heavy rain, plus the freeway was closed due to an accident so we were forced onto another route. Luckily we had the GPS, which I don't use all the time, because Al doesn't like that Lady. He says she overexplains everything, and he doesn't like her voice. We got the idea to nickname her from some friends of ours. He decided to name her May B. because she may be right or she may be wrong. Sometimes you need to have a sense of humor, especially when traveling. Luckily, today she was right-on, and she took us right where we needed to go and back onto Route 10. Thanks, May!


It is slightly more stressful when you are pulling that 38' beast down the highway, and no one wants you in front of them. At one point we were almost hit by an eighteen-wheeler. Another truck driver cut him off and he started into our lane, and we had no where to go. Luckily, he acted quickly and an accident was avoided, whew! Finally, around 8am after going through the worst driving conditions, we stopped in a Supermarket parking lot to take a rest. We both decided a nap was in order and we slept for over an hour. That is one big advantage of taking our house with us!


We found a nice RV park owned by the city of Kerrville. They charge reasonable rates, and have pull through sites with all utilities. We are planning on staying here until Sunday and will then head to San Angelo, TX to visit my son, Doug and his family. We plan to be there until after Christmas. It will be really nice seeing them as it's been a long time. I'm sure the kids have gotten taller since we last saw them! I can't wait!!!

We Love New Orleans!!!!

Well, finally we made it back to New Orleans for a whole day. We had a great time! We left the campground around 9 am and didn't return home until 7pm. We took the Ferry over again. It drops you off by the Riverwalk Mall.

Al, being the kid he is just had to ride the streetcar. We decided to get an all day pass ($5) and that way we could get on and off the streetcar as many times as you wish. It is not only intended as a tourist thing, it is also the main transportation for many people who live in N.O. to get back and forth from work and school. Since there can be a lot of walking involved, it was a big help in getting from point A to point B. We still did a lot of walking as the Streetcars only ride along the perimiter of the French Quarter. We thought it was pretty cute when the driver announced at one stop, "Cafe Du Monde". I guess he knows where most people go when they get off that stop. LOL

We visited the St. Louis Cathederal pictured above. It is so beautiful and hard to imagine anyone building anything like that today. We took a horse and buggy ride and it was very enjoyable. We got a lot of history of the French Quarter. Actually though, it was a mule not a horse as the city only allows them to use mules. There were several different vendors offering you rides, so we had a chance to pick who we wanted. We were told at a tourist center to bargin with them for the price, but we didn't think $12 each was bad so we didn't bother.

We had lunch at a place that was recommended by a few different people called "The Gumbo Shop." Al loves cajun food which is surpising since he is usually doesn't like spicy food. Anyway, he likes gumbo and since they were rated no. 1 for their Gumbo, this is where we went. The food was very good there.

After lunch we decided to go out to the Garden district where there are beautiful homes and gardens. We took the streetcar that goes out that way. It was about 1 & 1/2 hrs. out there and back. More of the people going out that way appeared to be locals rather than tourists. There were even school kids riding it. I think I would be nervous, it they were my grandkids. Some of these kids were young.

I suppose many of the tourists would take these expensive tours to go out there, but My Al, just loved the streetcar, and for him this was far better than any tour we could have taken. At one point we sat up front so he could watch the driver and see how everything worked. At the end of the day, he even thanked me for letting him ride the streetcar. I guess he's just a kid at heart!

I could go on and on, but it is just a city that is so alive! You feel energized just being there. Anything goes, and nothing surprises you. We saw a man dressed up like a cowboy, and painted with silver paint from head to toe. Musicians were performing on the streets everywhere you go. I am told if you go there in the evening there is much more to see.

Before taking streetcar back to the ferry, we had to stop at "Cafe du Monde" for one more visit! Then we hopped on a streetcar that took us back toward the Ferry.

We are planning on going back with our truck and driving through the 9th ward which was hit the heaviest when the levy's broke. This is where Brad Pitt and others are helping to rebuild.

Thursday am we leave here and are heading toward Texas.

Cheap Seafood Anyone!

It's interesting what goes on in towns across our country. I have often thought it would be fun to hang out in different places and just observe different things that go on there. Things you don't see at home, but is common place where you are visiting.

There is a little makeship strip mall of flea market type booths in very close proximity of the entrance to the park we are staying at here in Westwego, LA. We had been by it many times, and I hardly noticed. Yesterday, Al said lets go see what that is about. So we stopped and there were 15 to 20 different vendors selling shrimp, oysters, crawfish and rattlesnake meat and other types of seafood. They call out to you with their sales pitches as you walk by. We had just bought a bag of frozen shrimp at Sam's Club, so we weren't in the market for any. It appears to be very fresh, right off the boat. $2.50 to $3.50 pr. lb depending on size.

We didn't have our camera, so we stopped by this morning and took a few pictures. Not great pics, but you can get an idea.

Chillin in New Orleans

Well, we haven't been back to the Big Easy yet as we have been hanging out here in this beautiful place and taking in the great sunny weather. We plan to be here for at least another 5 or 6 days and would like to spend one whole day in New Orleans taking in the French Quarter.

One reason we haven't been back yet, is because we have had a problem with our hot water heater. Al has figured out the problem and needs to order a part. We do still have hot water, it just doesn't work on gas, and we can only use it on electric. So, we got a late start again today and decided to go another day. I don't really want to go Saturday or Sunday either, as we don't like crowds. Are you starting to get the impression we are not tourists?! Well, actually we don't feel like we are. We are just making ourselves at home wherever we go. Yesterday, we went to Sam's Club and WalMarts. It seems like they are nearby wherever you go. We stocked up on things we needed and had to be creative as to where to put everything. It can be a challenge. Anyway our cupboards and fridge are now well stocked.


When we leave here, we plan to head toward San Angelo, TX where my son, Doug and his family live. We wanted to be there by early December to see the kids in their Nutcracker performances and that is the weekend after Thanksgiving. So, we figured it might be a good idea to go a little early and we can all be together for Thanksgiving.


Back home in NY, our grandson, Will has been in Albany Medical Center with a bacterial infection. It is hard being away when things like this happen. I spoke to Sam tonight and it looks like they caught it early and he is doing much better. Hopefully, he will be able to go home in a day or 2.


I'll report back when we finally get back to seeing the sites in New Orleans.

Bayou Segnette State Park, Near New Orleans

We arrived at this campground yesterday. Hurricane Ida turned into a tropical storm, so we decided it was finally safe to travel . This is a really nice state park and campground. Plus it's close to everything. The campsites are large and can acommodate large rigs. Notice the trees in the picture that I took just outside our patio. All the roots are showing. I had never seen this before. Most in the park seem to be this way. We were told that this park also suffered a great deal of damage from Katrina and many trees were lost here as well.

We were advised to take the Algier's Ferry into New Orleans instead of driving there. It is free to ride the ferry and it drops you off in the French Quarter. We decided to just go for a couple of hours today, as we got a late start. We drove to the ferry, and it was only a five minute boat ride over to New Orleans. We decided to go to the famous Cafe Du Monde in try their coffee and beignets! They were wonderful and now Al insists on going back there again tomorrow. Cafe Du Monde is the original coffee shop in New Orleans and has been opened since 1862. Many people told us we must go there and we are glad we listened to them.

Tomorrow we plan to do a little more touring. We didn't see that much today, but we sure did do a lot of walking. I'll post again in a couple of days when we have spent more time in New Orleans.

Dodging A Hurricane

Because we have wheels on our house, we decided we would get out of Dodge for a few days! Due to all the warnings on TV regarding Hurricane Ida, and the warnings for widespread flooding, we decided New Orleans could wait a few more days. It may turn out to be of little consequence, but who needs to take the risk. So we traveled north to a place that is 80 miles north of New Orleans.


We were looking in our Passport America book(1/2 price camping) and a place was listed off Exit 61 of Interstate 55. It had an interesting name, but we decided to check it out anyway as it was only 2 miles off the highway and our discounted price was only $10. The name of the place was "The Garden Prayer Center and Campground". When we arrived, it looked to be deserted and I felt like it was a little spooky. We did see a couple of run-down trailers and one had a truck out front. We rode by and a guy came out and talked to us. He had a little bity trailer and through the door I could see a huge TV screen. He told us to just go ahead and pick a site. As you come in there is a locked box, so put your money in there, as it is the honor system. He said they only get a couple of campers at a time this time of year. After some discussion, we decided the campsites were more than adequate for our needs, a place to hang out for a couple of days, when the weather isn't good. Later, after we parked the guy came by and chatted with us. He says the campground is owned by a church and they use it for Church functions and rent it out to other groups as well. They also rent out sites to RVer's who are just driving through. I guess he helps keep up the grounds for them as he was driving a tractor mower when he came by.


Since we have a sewer connection at this place, I'll be able to catch up on laundry while here! Now, doesn't that sound exciting?! Well, anyway, it sure beats having to go to work tomorrow!!

Fontainebleau State Park, LA

We are now staying at Fontainebleau State Park, LA. This park is on the shores of Lake Pontchatrain across from New Orleans. We are less than 50 miles from New Orleans. We could easily drive from here to New Orleans for a day trip, but decided we would want to visit New Orleans for more than just a day, so on Sunday we are moving from here to another State park much closer to the city. We have just been relaxing and taking in the area. Lake Pontchatrain is a very pretty lake and from the beach we can see the huge bridge (largest in the world) that spans over it to New Orleans. It is so far away, though that I was unable to capture it in any pictures. The bridge is 28 miles long.

This State park was badly damaged during the hurricane. Buildings were demolished and many, many trees were lost. It has now been rebuilt and over 5000 new trees were planted. It is a very pretty park, but I am told it is not the same as it used to be.

The weather has been great. Yesterday it reached 80 and today was in the 70's and sunny. It cools down nicely in the evening and even gets kinda cold at night (we like that). We are still trying to get used to this, but so far.....we sure are enjoying it!!