That Last Week

Carlie and Cody



Susan, Scott, and Mary



Chefs Javiar and Paul




Carlie



Cody and Carlie



Cody, Paul, Javiar, Carlie



Not your usual sea gulls, terns, I think.



Beautiful beach



Friday was beautiful



Sunday was a great beach day


The men




The ladies.

We were invited to a fish fry last Wednesday. These folks from Missouri fish together a lot and get together to cook the fish too. I brought brownies. All the food and fish was wonderful. It was a nice sunny day.

We finally started having beautiful sunny days, and hardly a breeze. It was so nice that Wii bowling at Javiar's on Sunday turned into a big cook out. Dave and Beth and JJ, the Mary, Randy and Cody Angel, Gayland and Rhonda. Scott and Patty and son, Shawn and Sandy and Jessica. It ended with Carlie winning a long game of PIG

Shooting, Games and Music

These are my keen new shoes, they have ample toe room and have molded to my feet shape. I love them.




Shirley and Kathy setting up for Mexican Train a dominoes game


I totally love this lighting fixture over the stove, butterflies, dragon flies and tinsly fixtures send a lot of light down on the stove top. Looking for this everywhere. Dee is going to ask the owner for me. I am thinking the whimsy is perfect for the lake.




On Monday night's we go to Dee and Tom's house and either play Poker or Mexican Train. It is fun and their rental is really nice and new, with some odd features, like no lights in the dining room. Other than the quirks, excellent home. It has huge screened in porches, there is a hanging bed on one end. It is high as the house in on piers.



On Saturday we took Susan, Javiar, Beth and Dave to the Moose Club in Aransas Pass and the guys participated in a shooting contest. Javiar did real well.

On Sunday we went to Beth and Dave's house to watch the football games and eat. She made a venison and New Mexico chilie dish. The Munoz's were there too. Around 6:30 we all went to the Tarpon Ice House for a benefit event that Cody Angel was playing. He had the same two older men on drums and guitar, as he had last time we saw him. He also had Mike Mulligan from Austin who sings wonderfully and plays the harmonica and harp (Jew's Harp?) He was excellent and has a super voice. Here is a link: http://www.myspace.com/mikemilliganandthealtarboyz

So we were really loving the music, Cody was sounding good when after about 4 songs, it started to rain, no it started to pour. Did I mention that this was an outside event? There was a roof over the stage and where we were setting, but this was a windy tropical rain and it was wet everywhere. Pretty soon folks were standing in water near the stage. They had to stop playing once the stage was all wet. Really windy and rainy. The roofs leaked like crazy. Too sad, we went home.

Finally A Bullseye

We have had a bad week for Mexican food. I have been waiting almost a whole year to go back to Pepito's in Aransas Pass, across the ferry. I loved the food there, it was special and inventive and just what I like. We went there on Monday night and it was all changed. Someone must have stolen their chef. It was just boring everyday, Mexican. They had a few different sauces for enchiladas, like spinach, cucumber. Didn't do it for us.

Then we have been hearing about the VFW taco night. They raised the price to $6.50 each, and it was just make your own taco salad. Ok, but nothing to recommend, and not special at all.

Last night we were sitting around the Gaff with the gang talking about where to go for dinner. Ended up going to LaPlaya, Mexican, just down from the Gaff. We have always heard it was excellent, but it hadn't been open much in the winter and we didn't have a car, so not so easy for us. Sean ordered the guacamole appetizer, which was by far the best I have ever had. Dave ordered the cheese dip, which he got to mix himself, you get little bowls of meat, onion, tomato, etc. Also very, very good.

I ordered the crab meat enchiladas and Paul the beef fajitas, both were excellent. It is on our list of restaurants that we like here in Port Aransas.

It is rainy and dreary today, but not cold. I hear big surf but it isn't

Pictoral Evidence of Red Neck Activity

Cody Angel singing in the Gaff "patio" area


J and Buddy dancing out behind the Gaff


J on the left, new friend, Buddy


Adjusting the electric cords for the Belt Sanders



The black cat won this heat



The race track
Next Saturday the Gaff is having Chicken Bingo. Use your imagination on that one.

We have been very busy, having the van down here is just excellent. Paul keeps saying, "this was such a great idea!" We hit the ground running in the am and get home after dark. Buddy and J just got here on Thursday, so we took them to our favorite breakfast spot on Saturday, then Carlie's basketball game. Then it was belt sander races at the Gaff, then we listened to Cody, he was playing in the patio. We had a great time, I wasn't even drinking and I only remember we got home after dark. Oh, right, we went to Susan's Aunt Sudie's condo and I made chicken and chilies, Carlie had 3 other 14 year old girls with her. Lots of fun and giggles. Sunday was similar except we started with church, grilled Kogels and went to Bernie's.

Today I have a Yoga strength class, which means weights I am told. We are going to check out skeet shooting at the Moose in Aransas Pass, and dinner at Pepitos with Susan and Javiar. Except things are always changing, but that is the plan. Somehow, I am keeping up, and sleeping pretty good at night.

Bad thunder storm on Saturday night, woke up with the rig shaking in the wind. No hail or tornadoes. They needed the rain.

Andrea and Ryan had 3 foot of snow this weekend in South bend, as of Sunday am.

I took some video of Cody Angel singing at the Gaff, and the races, but keep leaving the camera in the car. Will post it soon. And I forgot my phone when we left on Sunday, wanted to call me girls. Will get on that, the phone is here somewhere.

Mid Week Action

Brave campers, right next to the surf



Doll baby Lane


Look, he has eyes open, he looks like Mark

Last night we went to Cody's for dinner. I had all you can eat shrimp, excellent. Paul had chicken strips that were also great. We were talking at Bernie's to one of the best chef's in town, he said they can't beat Cody's prime rib for $15 on Thursday nights. And he sends his own friends there when the wait is too long at his restaurant.

I went to my first yoga class this morning. Got a donut, shopped. Tonight is Carlie's first basketball game, then Port A Rockers are playing at Bernie's. Lots of fun.

On Wednesday Paul went with a group of guy friends to the bar at the yacht club. It was nice and had great snacks. An old guy organized it, he had ten martinis in the the time that Paul was there, maybe two hours.

Andrea and Ryan's Children

Julia the snow bunny


Charlie playing his first computer game and dad,Ryan,


Grandpa and Julia


Breakfast of Champions


Charlie with a happy meal


Julia and Grandpa looking at pictures


Loving the computer game

Andrea put some new pics on her blog and I stole them all.

Happy New Year 2011

I remember when I was young, I figured out how old I would be in the year 2000, yes, I did higher math back then. And sadly, saw that I would be much too old to have fun on that far away celebration. Now I can't remember the fun quotient of that New Years Eve, but I can say that I had a lot of fun on the 2011 NYE.

It's a good thing I am writing this down for posterity, as the memories are short and dim. Javiar and Susan had a house party, Beth and Dave, brother Scott and son Seth, church people, JJ and Carlie. I wish I had pics to jog my memory, forgot my camera, still tired from not sleeping well and our many long trips. I sleep great one night, badly two nights. I either need more walks on the beach or more booze. I like walks better. So annoying, anyway, great food and friends and perhaps football on the screen. We left about 9:30 and I slept great.

On New Years day I wanted to get some breakfast that someone else would cook and clean up after, and as luck would have it, the rec hall wasn't open for breakfast until 11 am. We jumped in the handy green van and headed for the Island Cafe, with great pancakes and breakfast taquitos. They were closed so we tried Frankie's and got right in. Excellent food, blueberry pancakes, really fresh and tasty scrambled eggs, and lots of friendly people. Then I thought we should stop and see what was going on at the Munoz home.

They had the black eyed peas with ham hocks going and were working on the cabbage. It is a southern tradition to have black eyed peas, corn bread and cabbage for good luck in the new year, and a Gaff tradition to have a black eyed pea cook off on New Years Day.

Smelled great. Paul and I had mimosas and tasted the beans. Yummy. Eventually we went to the IGA and bought fried chicken and beer. Watched football and got to the Gaff. Big crowd and at least 18 entries in the cook off. Susan took second place with her pot of beans, it was excellent.

We met some old friends and new friends and had fun, it was sunny and 60s, with 20 mph winds, not bad really. Went back to the house, watched football, Javiar and Carlie fried the sand bass they had caught with Scott and Seth, it was really good. And we finished off the evening with a short glass of Disaronno, and Wii bowling. Very memorable day, we left for breakfast and never went home. Oh, we did run home for the brownies after the Gaff.