Thirsty Mule Winery

Here are some pics of a fun winery we visited last week - Thirsty Mule.

It was about 20 minutes or so from the property in Burnet - Highlands. We bought two $5 tastings and got a free glass of wine each for signing up for the wine club.

The winemaker's blend and the tempranillo were our favorites, and it didn't take much arm twisting from the friendly man in the tasting room to convince us to join the wine club.  So that's five wine clubs we are members of now and we promised we would only join 3 at a time!

 All this time we've been into wine, I never realized I was storing it wrong - the cork needs to stay wet inside of the bottle so it won't shrink, allowing air to get in and ruin the wine. 

They had a cute selection of wine-related gifts - we didn't buy anything but it was fun to look.  It was a fun way to spend an hour or so just after leaving Highlands.  Next time I'm going to ask my sister and brother-in-law if they would like to meet us there.

It seems like more and more we are gravitating towards these small wineries that are low key.  The big estates that have beautiful architecture, events, and scenery are fun, but these laid-back ones are great for an afternoon spent in jeans and tennies.

Gina

Wednesday Menu #1

Wednesday - Turkey Soup, rolls (using Thanksgiving turkey, frozen veg, and rice)
Thursday - Green Chile Quesadillas, salad
Friday - Crockpot Lima beans with Christmas ham bone (I'll prob add carrots to this)
Saturday - Dad grills
Sunday - Dr. Martin's Mix (they can easily make this)
Monday - Tamales with Chili (prepped on Friday, put in freezer), salad
Tuesday - Pork Roast (placed into crockpot frozen), mashed potatoes, peas

The list gets written on a page that looks like this:

Rustown Menu

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday – Dad grills

Sunday – Mom figures it out

Monday

Tuesday

“People who love to eat are good people. 

 But, people who cook are the best.”

-Mom

Mostly the people at my house do not check the menus - I make them out for my own convenience.  And I worry that mealtimes might become a stressful event if and when I change shifts at work.  But we'll just cross that bridge when we get there, I guess. And since it's Wednesday, its time for me to shop!

Gina

What the week holds, and Eagle Scout

Bubbie worked diligently towards getting all of the requirements done for his Eagle badge and we are 99.9% sure he is completely finished.

His project, creating a basketball/foursquare court at the church

 Hubby made conference calls, ran paperwork to various places for signatures, left messages, patiently explained things.  At one point I asked "Isn't everyone pulling for this young man who has worked hard to complete everything we asked of him?"  Getting everyone on the same page before the deadline was an exercise in frustration, but we think he has met all of the requirements and now we wait to hear.  This week school starts back up, I am working my regular hours, and Hubby goes back to work.  I have a long list of things to do around the house as well. The Girl takes another CPA exam this week, so please send good vibes her way.  And rumor has it that Firstborn will be moving into his new digs.  I think a happy hour for Hubby and I is in order, too.

What does your week look like?

Gina

5 thing Friday - cards, more traffic!, The Girl, Christmas fun and games, nails

Our Christmas cards this year were so last minute.  I had Scout take a quick pic of he and his brothers, used a pic of The Girl and Teddy at the tree farm, and fished around for this pic of Hubby and I this summer.  Then I had them printed at Walgreen's for about $10. 

On the daily, Hubby complains about the traffic in Austin.  No matter what time of day, if there is sun out, there is traffic.  To get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time, you either have to leave home before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Pictured above is the very full feeder road running alongside an equally full 183. I did so much shopping on Amazon for gifts this year - totally worth my sanity.

The Thursday before Christmas I took gifts to my mother, helped clean her sewing room, changed out sheets and quilts on her bed, and enjoyed a lunch out.  She got teary a couple of times. I think the holidays are tough on the elderly for so many reasons.  She barely participates any more and giving her gifts gives her a side order of guilt.

 Her shirt says "Santa, Stop Judging"

The Girl and Teddy were here about 5 days. I wish Houston was not so far away and I bet she does, too.  We are discussing whether it would be a good idea for us to keep Teddy over the busy season.  I hate that for her, as Teddy is therapeutic for her after a long day.  But I also hate thinking of him alone in a quiet apartment for hours and days on end.

On Christmas morning we all slept in and took our time opening gifts.  Then we had a breakfast casserole and sangria.  Mostly people lay around the rest of the day and did whatever they wanted to.

We played a few games here and there, but not all 6 of us together.  Next year, we need to get some kind of thing going - contests, prizes, special apps - to lure people in from the couch.

The Girl gave me some nail supplies since she knows I have been stressing the condition of my hands.  I'm going to keep them polished so they will look better, start back up on the biotin, and treat them gently.

Happy last Friday of the year! 

Gina

Fun times with Carol

Just before Christmas, a friend and I had a mini Girl's Weekend. She picked me up on Friday and we headed to San Antonio to see Billy Joel in concert - such a great show!  Three hours long and 32 of his songs, not to mention a rendition of Highway to Hell by his roadie as BJ playing electric guitar.  We didn't get to bed until midnight and I slept until 8:30 which never happens.

The next morning, her sister picked us up for breakfast and took us here.   As you can see it was very busy - we actually got there at the perfect time, because by the time we left there was a line out the door.

 

We had the BEST Mexican breakfast - I had the barbacoa, scrambled eggs, home fries, and homemade tortillas.  So good!

The place was even more decorated than it usually is. So many tiny colored lights everywhere, not to mention sparkly ornaments and greenery.  

The two of them spent less than $10 apiece on goodies.  Me? I spent around $28.  I took a big box back to my peeps.

Hubby and I went to La Margarita years ago and I remembered the candied orange halves - they were still there.  Along with so many other wonderful things.  Empanadas, coconut patties, pralines, pink cake, pecan and coconut cookies.

After breakfast we headed to Dripping Springs for the wine pick-up party at Sidecar. 

We settled in at a table out front to listen to live music and chat.  Around 3 p.m., we decided we better high tail it to Burnet - we had another pick-up party to attend at Torr Na Loch.

We got there in time to find it packed it was cold outside, so no one was really hanging out on the patio.  We did a short tasting and tried some BBQ turkey meatballs, and some chocolate crinkle cookies, but the main star of our show was this white wine sangria.  They flavored it with rosemary sprigs and cranberries and it was delightful.

We got home around 6, popped some chicken in the oven and socialized until 9 p.m. at which point we were ready to call it a day, as she had to drive back to Houston the next day and I had to work.  But it was all worth it for fun Girl time!

Gina

Yesterday

Sunday was a special day at our house for more than the obvious reason.

The baby turned 18.  We all sat at the table, talking with him about what it means to be adult - all the can's and can'ts.  Can't order a Happy Meal anymore, but can serve in the military, vote, go to jail. Can buy cigarettes.  Can drop out of school legally.  Can get a tattoo.  Can get married without parental consent.  Adulthood isn't all it's cracked up to be, so I'm hoping Bubbie has had a solid foundation. But, scary times, I tell ya!  This week he gets his driver's license (finally!!), I am working an extra two days, Hubby is taking a much needed break from work, The Girl and Teddy head back to Houston, I have my last physical therapy appointment, and we may head to Highlands for a day away.  I'm not sad to see 2016 go and am looking forward to the new year being awesome. 
What does your week look like?

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Grayson Reed!

Gina

Two quick crafts (aka tacky homemades)

I was really off my crafty game this Christmas season - I just could never quite get motivated to start.  However, I did promise a friend I would make tacky homemades. 

Here was my inspiration:

A burlap cross on reclaimed wood by simpleandsage on Etsy.  I had so much wood in the garage I could use for this, but I got started on it too late.  Plus the garage is a disaster, so there was nowhere to work!  I ended up buying a shabby'd plaque at Michaels, and some ribbon.

 I also made that tiny trees ornament.  Equally easy!

I bought a big clear plastic ornament (this one has their family's initial on it) and some faux snow from Michael's, and some mini trees from the Dollar Spot at Tarjay.

The clear glass ones are pretty, but not practical if you have small children who might like to shake the snow in the ornament!  This one had a nice big opening, too.

 I wanted to place three trees (for 3 kiddos) in there, but I made one slightly taller by gluing on a couple of buttons to the base.

Then I carefully put a blob of hot glue on the base of each tree and gently lowered it into the ornament.  I have to say, that was the trickiest part of the whole craft!  A long pair of hemostats would have helped, but I just used some skinny sewing scissors.

I wish I could have found a tiny fox to put in there!

I filled the bottom with the faux snow and even sprinkled in some silver glitter, which mostly ended up below the snow.  Then I replaced the ornament top and tied on a turquoise ribbon.  It was fun and both of the crafts together took not even a whole hour.  But next year I will start sooner and up my crafty game!  I am going to spend the next few days just trying to live in the moment and not think about how it might be different next year.  The house is clean, the gifts are wrapped, food is prepped...let Christmas begin!

Gina