Is this Tigger or a Cow?

Allen, Melanie and I went to eat lunch on Sunday at La Hacienda de Los Barrios http://www.lhdlb.com/. Dawling, it waz fabulus! I had the Classic Enchilada Assortment Plate-WOW.... is all I have gotta say! We enjoyed being together for Mel's Birthday Lunch.

Oh, yea, does this look like Tigger or a Cow to you? I loved watching a fellow, they had hired for tips, to make anything from a dancing ballerina to Pluto! In fact after he made one Pluto, he had to make four more! Needless to say, he was good-real good!

But tell me, what do you think - Tigger or Cow?

Christmas Homes Tour

Melanie & I went to the King William Homes Tour on Saturday. It was the most beautiful day, and some of the most beautiful homes to tour. We sat down half way thru the tour and enjoyed a cup of coffee and that wonderful granola bar from Twin Sisters. It was a perfect day in every way!

Twin Sisters

Happy Birthday to Melanie, Happy Birthday to Melanie,

Happy Birthday to Melanie, Happy Birthday to you!

Went to San Antonio this weekend to visit Melanie for her birthday-which is December 4th. But....

first things first...EAT! We tried to go here a couple of weeks ago, but missed the lunch time cut-off, but this time we made it to Twin Sisters (located at 124 Broadway), and it really hit the spot! Gotta' go to this little cafe/bakery....it is definately way cool! Before we left, we took one of the desserts home in preparation of the home tour tomorrow. The two special choices for the day: Lemon Pound Cake and Granola Bar. We had never seen that kind of choice for dessert-so-we got 2 to go! Very good...we were glad we tried them!

Check it out when you go to SA.... www.hotx.com/twinsister

Necklace....Bracelet....Earrings

How can I pick the one to start my jewelry shop? I have been a little sluggish in placing my jewelry on the RJ's Jewelry Shop link, but PLEASE bear with me! I am getting there!

Contact me if you have questions! I do have all my jewelry on Kodak Gallery. Or contact me at rosajosies@yahoo.com - I have lots of pictures!

I love the cold weather!

Because I know not far behind, I will see my camilla and christmas cactus bloom! The camilla was planted by the previous home owner (thanks Molly!), and the christmas cactus was my Aunt Susie's (thanks for giving it to me Mom!) They are so beautiful right now.....

.....did I say I love the cold weather!

There's more than deer huntin' to do....

Deer Hunting is so much more than sitting in the stand! Sometimes it calls for a little action on the ground. Friday, November 24th was a cool crisp morning, with a bit too much fog. We enjoyed our time in the "High Stand", watching all the beautiful bucks and does eating the corn. I must say we have done much more watching than shooting for the last 10 years!

But later that day, it warmed up quite a bit-as is most usual in South Texas.....but on our way back to camp, after taking care of some projects, stretched out across the road, sunning, was a VERY LARGE RATTLESNAKE. Well, Poncho "Allen" Cook got out of the Bronco, pulled his trusty pistol, which is a single-action 44 Magnum with a 7-1/2" barrell, loaded with snake shot, and took care of this quail-eating machine.

In total we saw 3 of these same size rattlers this weekend. I say it was 3 too many!

For The Love of A Sister!

I love it when my sister, Debbie e-mails me....."Can you make a bracelet & earrings to match this necklace?'' Well, of course I can! With a little help from my friend, Nancy. I "put together" this set for Debbie to take to Las Vegas in December! Most of the beads came from Peru, and the red coral came from a shop in San Antonio. They always say the hunt is more fun than the kill. I am here to tell you that is the truth!

A Celebration of Life!

How can you put a lifetime of memories out on just one table? Or celebrate on just one occasion? Well the Hoelscher and extended family members, tried to on November 18th, 2006, when they hosted a Celebration of Life Party for 4 very special people. This is their Granny and Grandpa, Uncle and Aunt, Great Aunt and/or Great Uncle. Music played, friends and family came and went, food was served and speeches were made. This was a time to honor Edwin & Glenora Hoelscher and Alton & Willie Mae Koehl. They have lived lives full of family, friends, work and play. It was a surprise party, and they looked like they really enjoyed all the fuss made over them-every single minute of it! I snapped one big picture of the family, and then the table which held some of the things that has meant most to them. On one side there was Willie Mae's accordian and Alton's hard hat he wore while working the gravel pit in Columbus, Texas. And then on the other side of the table, we see Grandpa's (Edwin's) Texaco & MG Feed Caps, and his Sunday-Go-To-Meetin' Black Hat. Granny (Glenora) was represented here as well, with the sun bonnet she wears while working with the plants that she loves. She is really admired for her talent for gardening!

Congratulations to 4 people who may think they don't have much - but in fact are so, so rich, because they have so many people who love and care about them!

Voted Best Bakery In San Antonio

Happiness lies, first of all, in health.
G.W. Curtis, Lotus-Eating: Trenton

The first weekend in November, I went to San Antonio to visit Melanie. (I missed her!) About 3 pm we were starving to death, from all that shopping! Melanie had a great idea for lunch. I love out of the way, one of a kind places like this! http://www.josephs-storehouse.net

We ate the only soup of the day that was left (it was late for lunch) & divided a HUGE sandwich. Oh, and she also ordered a salad. This was way too much food for the both of us! Here are the items we ordered, and you MUST try them:
Fresh Spinach Salad (Fresh leafy spinach & freshstrawberries topped with toasted almonds & homemade Poppy Seed Dressing),
Jalepano Pimento Cheese Sandwich (Tradition with a twist! Grated cheddar, jack cheese, jalapeños, pimentos, mayo, lettuce & tomato served on whole grain bread)
and we each had a cup of delicious soup -
Spinach & Wild Rice!
We had such a great time together. We always do.
God must surely love me - to give a daughter like you to me! Thanks for loving me so much!

Can You Say Banana Pudding?

Every holiday or special event, I am asked to make MY Banana Pudding! First, let me say-THANK YOU FOR ASKING! I love to make it, but just so you know, it is not my original creation. I have my ex-director, Faye Christopher, to thank for that, but.....it is MINE now and everyone loves it (not counting my Dad who will always love the old-fashion kind....cookin' the puddin' for 2 hours...?##@&*##? & with all that beautiful merange on top), but back to MY Banana Pudding. It is just about the best dessert (not counting Baked Alaska now!). But just in case you want to try MY recipe, here it is:

Banana Pudding

1 large box Instant Vanilla Pudding

3 cups cold Milk

8 Bananas, sliced

1-2 boxes Vanilla Wafers

1-8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 t. vanilla

1-8 oz. Cool Whip

1-8 oz. Creamy Cool Whip

Mix the instant pudding with milk as directed on box. Mix in softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk & vanilla (mixture may appear lumpy, but don't worry 'bout it). Blend in the 8-oz Cool Whip.

Line the vanilla wafers & bananas at least 3 times in the bowl, alternating with the pudding mixture (just like the old fashion kind of course!). Top with the Creamy Cool Whip.

Keep refrigerated. Enjoy!

It will knock your socks off-no kidding! I have pictures to prove it!

Christmas Coral!

I am thinking of Christmas as I put big, bright red coral in my line of Christmas Jewelry...I think it is a beautiful Christmas coral!...color!

I have used it much in my jewelry last month, and now this month in anticipation of my pre-Christmas Shows! I was invited to participate in the St. Anne's Society Craft Fair at St. John Vianney's Catholic Church on November 15th. Yes! If it sells (along with it's matching necklace), and if not ... to market to market it goes! It just might show up on my RJ's Jewelry Shop Link......Check it out after the 15th!

These are the moments that mean the most!

Last year I went to Orange Texas to sell my jewelry at the Third Annual Art in the Park. It was just a little over a month since Hurricane Rita had come thru and tore the people of Orange's world apart. But they came out and tried to enjoy a day of shopping; trying to get past the sorrows they had experienced the last month. On that day, a loving daughter named Margaret Light, came into my booth and purchased a necklace, made of Owyhee Jasper, to give her mother for Christmas.

This year I went back to Orange Texas to sell my jewelry at the Fourth Annual Art in the Park. Just before the sky completely broke loose with rain, in comes a woman pushing a little lady - it was Margaret and her mother! She said, "Mother wanted to come and show you she was wearing your necklace!" She looked at me and said, "I love to reach up and touch it. It feels good to touch!"

I did not know what to say....but thank you! And I ask this...."What could be more beautiful than that?"

Memories of Grandma's Beets....

Every year my Grandmother canned just a few pints of beets. I was the blessed recipient of one of them! I could not wait to twist that cap off and devour those deliciously sweet/sour red chunks of pickled beets! Well, just recently my mother came to visit and what did she bring to little ol' me? A small brown paper bag of fresh okra from her garden, and a pint of her pickled beets! The next day I boiled the okra, sprinkled a bit of freshly ground pepper on top, and proceeded to polish them off! Oh yes, and I added a few chunks of those wonderful beets to my plate! Sound like an unlikely pair? Perhaps. The point is, this made me remember one thing I miss most in this world.....no, not those wonderful home-made pickled beets; but my Granny Schultz. I loved my Granny so much....thanks Mom - for helping me remember!

Allen, the Chef and the Chicken

Allen, John & I attended the Culinary Demonstration & Galley Tour on Friday, September 15th. The Head Maitre D' Luigi Moretti, and Executive Chef, Josef Stummer (below), were the speakers and comedians! They kept us rolling in our seats. The two demonstrated some wonderful dishes; including an Apple Strudel, vienna style, in which the chef used the tablecloth to roll the strudel dough. There was a cookbook for sale, of course. Chef Josef exclaimed, "The cookbook is free, but my autograph will cost $28!" We all laughed, and promptly went thru the galley for the tour. Afterwards, Allen & I got in line to get the free cookbook. When we got to the chef for his authograph, he asked Allen, "Who is the cook in your family?" Allen said, "I am!" The chef took off his hat, plunked it on top of Allen's head, and handed him the rubber chicken. I was waiting for that golden photo opportunity....and here is the results!

Lobster Tail + Baked Alaska = Heaven

We sat down at our tables on the last "formal night" not knowing what delights were in store for us this evening! It was ALL Alaska tonight, so we ordered the lobster - of course! Nickolai extracted each one of them carefully out of their shells (for me)......as I remember Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman - I could see my lobster tail flying across the table landing on Barbara's lap! They were grilled to perfection and extravagantly delicious....but then the lights were turned down low, and viola, the Parade of the Baked Alaska began! They came flaming by - carried by the waiters! I now have a new "favorite" dessert. Just once in your lifetime you MUST try Baked Alaska! I believe I died and went to dessert heaven after eating this! But first, Nickolai, the assistant waiter, came and drizzled the desired amount of warm chocolate sauce right on top! One last shot of our head waiter, David, from South Africa and his assistant, Nickolai, from Romania. They were at our beckon call each and every night. This cruise gave us the lasting memory of a dining fantasy that came to life!

The Salmon Capital of the World - Ketchikan, Alaska

If I could live in any of the ports we visited, Ketchikan would most likely be the candidate, as it is such a quaint, beautiful little town; nestled in the side of the mountains. There were many little houses trailing up the steep roads. We weren't here but for the morning, so we had to pack it in fast.
The name Ketchikan comes from a Tlingit (one of the groups of American Indian people living in Alaska) phrase meaning "eagle with spread-out wings" which refers to a waterfall near town. While the rest of the state focused on gold in the early days, Ketchikan developed its timber and fishing industry-thus why it's called "The Salmon Capital of the World".

Tracy Arm, Alaska

In recent geological times, within the last 400 years, a glacier sat at the mouth of Tracy Arm depositing large amounts of gravel & rock. This produced a recessional bar seen at low tides. The ebb flood of water into Tracy Arm has carved a narrow opening through which we navigated on this day, September 13, 2006, on the Dawn Princess. Once inside the bar, the water depths increased rapidly to over 1,000 ft.

What made this part of the cruise so, so beautiful was the tremendously steep fjord walls, hanging valleys, many waterfalls and how the rocks of the mountain glistened like they were newely polished, but really, had been done by the the glacier that pushed thru here so many hundreds of years before. The color of an iceburg, like the one above, only comes from a glacier; such as the one hanging between the mountain peeks in the picture below. The ice of a glacier never melts, giving it that beautiful "cornflower" color.....
This is what we saw as we entered Tracy Arm....we had no idea what we were about to see....no, not even a dream could have given us a clue of such breathtaking beauty!

Red Onion Saloon .....est.1898

Skagway's most exclusive bordello....
Opened for business serving alcohol on the first floor while the upper floor satisfied more than the prospector's thirst. The brothel consisted of 10-10x10 cubicles, or cribs. Each had a hole in the floor which connected to the cash register in the bar by means of a copper tube. In order to keep track of which girls were busy, the bartender kept ten dolls on the back bar, one for each girl in each of the 10 cribs. When a girl was with a customer, her doll was laid on its back. When she sent her money down the tube, the doll was returned to the upright position signaling she was ready for business.
Allen enjoyed a glass of Alaskan Smoked Porter and I a glass of Cline Syrah! It was a FUN stop with alot of action upstairs. No...the bordello is closed; only tours telling of what once was!

Skagway....Garden City of Alaska

.....our second port of call. We traced the route thousands of gold rushers used on their way to the Klondike looking for gold via the White Pass route. We rode the White Pass and Yukon Railroad! It climbs from sea level to almost 3,000 feet in just 20 miles! Because the curves are quite tight only a narrow gauge railroad could be used. Building the 110 miles of track was quite a challenge, beginning May 29, 1898; it required cliff hanging, thirty-five thousand men and 450 tons of explosives. Work on the tunnel at mile 16 took place in the dead of winter with heavy snow and temperatures as low as 60 below! It cost approximately $10 million dollars to build and was completed July 29, 1900. One hundred thousand men & women headed north, but only 30 or 40 thousand actually reached the gold fields of the Klondike. Four thousand or so prospectors found the gold, but only a few hundred actually became rich. Now that is what I call persistence!

Juneau

....our first port of call. Juneau is the capital of the 49th state of the United States. It is the only capital you cannot reach by land, only by water or air! It was beautifully crisp (56 degrees) and cool upon our arrival. The clouds hung onto the mountains like a blanket. The tiny boat harbor was like a picture....

Space Needle

The Space Needle was built for the World's Fair held in Seattle in 1962.
The sky opened up, raining very large drops down upon our heads that morning; but on the way to the ship, it stopped..... and the skies slowly began to clear.
We boarded the Dawn Princess; and as we traveled out to sea, thru the Puget Sound, we went out onto our balcony and I started clicking away.....The sky was just beautiful! I love these pictures of the city, the space needle and those ominous skies.
Alaska here we come!

Pike Place Market

Look at these fresh vegetables! Be-u-tee-full! Fresh seafood and a "fish-throwin" show to boot!
This is Seattle's jewel of a farmer's market - Pike Place Market. Fresh flowers were everywhere!
Take a look: www.pikeplacemarket.org. This was a dream come true for a girl born way south of the home of THE ORIGINAL Starbucks......Let's just say I caught a bad case of "sensory" overload!
.....And this was the very first day of our Alaskan Cruise Adventure!

Labor Day and Ice Cream

What could be more American? Yummmm...............

On Top of Old Baldy

......it is not covered with snow.....
...but a hill of rocks! All who reach the top of Old Baldy, are to bring a rock to put on the pile of rocks at the very top. Mel made it to the top first! You just wouldn't believe the view! On the way back down, a fellow "mountain climber" took a picture of the three of us-Barbara, Melanie and I. Look at the Frio River in the background...the emerald green water-it doesn't get more beautiful in Texas!