An Olio, of Sorts

In this entry, I'm just going to touch on a variety of things. In doing so, I'm going to experiment with a little different format.

On the state of marriage after 40+ years

Donna and I were watching television the other night. Donna was enjoying a glass of wine. I don't know how many glasses she had enjoyed by this time -- I simply don't have enough fingers and toes to keep count.

Suddenly, in a very loving and rather seductive voice, I heard Donna purr, "I love you so very much."

"Great," I thought to myself. "Perhaps I'll get lucky tonight."

So I turned to my loving wife and asked, "Is that you or the wine talking?"

Smiling, Donna replied, "It's me . . .  talking to the wine."

San Angelo weather

Rain moved in last Thursday evening. It rained all day the following Friday. We received about 1.25 inches in all. Snow moved into the northern areas of the Concho Valley. Lubbock received almost a foot of the white powder.

Obligatory animal pictures

You know I have to include a picture or two of animals when I can.

This beautiful girl and her friends were grazing at Spring Creek out on Lake Nasworthy recently. She appears to be posing. The deer out there are pretty tame, as you can see from her standing calmly next to the road as I stopped for this picture.

This small buck was standing in front of the church in RCW. Because of the shadows, its hard to see his antlers, but he appears to be posing as well. Our deer are not as tame as those at Spring Creek, and he bolted away right after I snapped this shot.

I looked out the window a few days ago and noticed these turkeys scampering across our back yard.

What's happening at Rio Concho West (RCW)?

We've enjoyed living at RCW the past 2½ years, but we've tended to keep our distance for the most part. We still travel quite a bit, so we haven't really gotten involved in too much that goes on out here. But lately, we find ourselves becoming more and more involved in the community.

Donna has started playing Bingo on Saturday afternoons at the clubhouse. She has even gotten me to go a couple of times. Boy, now that is a sign you're getting old. Playing Bingo with a bunch of old folks is really a challenge. No one can hear. Add to that, everyone tries to talk at the same time. And the caller reads numbers backwards and upside down and so forth. My first time playing, the caller found a few bottles of wine in the fridge one day and everything really went down hill from there. 

On top of all the confusion, I didn't win a single game.

We attended a "come and go" party last week. We had nice refreshments, complete with egg nog and such. At the end of the party, our director announced that he is leaving after 27 years of employment there. No mention of where he is going or who is set to replace him. I wonder what the future holds for RCW.

Fall colors in West Texas

On our recent trip, I was pleasantly surprised at the fall colors in the hills as we approached Kerrville. Upon returning home, I took a walk through our neighborhood and snapped the pictures below. Now, by New England and even northeast Texas standards, our trees may not be that colorful, but I'm happy to see whatever color we can muster out here.

This beautifully shaped tree is just up the street from us. It would lose its leaves entirely just a few days later, mostly thanks to some very high winds.

This street is in the older section of RCW, so the trees here are more mature. There is good shade here for a walk on a hot summer day.

Most of our trees are some variation of oak, and their leaves usually turn a rusty brown in the fall. The large tree on the right, however, has yellowish leaves. Contrast it with the trees farther down the street.

And here's a smaller tree with a yellowish/orange tint.

And here's a rather nice contrast of colors, from green to yellow to rust. There's a nice little house for sale there if you are interested.

And here is another nice little contrast of colors, this time in one of the newer areas of RCW.

Put this in the "Now I've Seen Everything" file

After eating lunch atop the Tower of the Americas on our recent trip, Donna and I climbed aboard the bus to return to the hotel. As we settled into our seats, we looked out the window and saw the vehicle below parked near the bus.

I'll let you try to figure this one out for a moment.

Finally, the vehicle pulled away, and I was able to snap the photo below.

Most of us have seen a stretch limo somewhere along the roads, but have you ever seen a stretch Hummer? So, in the top picture, we have a hot tub in the bed of the Hummer.

I can die happy now.