Winter?

The seasons seem to change rapidly around here. Yesterday it was a hot sunny summer day and we were sitting by the pool. Today it's cold and windy and rainy, and everyone is cocooning.

Since we're interested in birds and enjoy watching the colorful species that frequent the Rio Grande Valley, and especially Bentsent Palm, some of our friends thought we would enjoy a DVD they had of a movie called "The Big Year." We watched it tonight while we drank our hot chocolate and congratulated ourselves on being warm and dry inside. Despite starring Steve Martin and Jack Black, it really isn't terribly funny, but it does have some sweet moments, and the bird sightings and outdoor scenes are appealing.

Today is my sister-in-law Kathy's 65th birthday. When I called tonight, she was celebrating with daughter Stephanie and granddaughter Aria. They were watching a movie too, but they were watching "The Help." Now that's a movie I'd really like to see. Jeff took his mom out for dinner on the town last night, to a restaurant where his best friend is the executive chef. Michelle and Steph got her beads for her toe bracelet. That was a new one for me: I've heard of ankle bracelets, but not toe bracelets.
We went out shopping today. Our first stop was at a carpet and flooring place to look for an area rug to put under the dining table in our new coach. They didn't have anything the right size, so next we stopped at Home Depot. They had one rug that was okay and could be special ordered in about the size we need, but we'd like to do more looking around.

We went to Burlington Coat Factory to exchange the jacket Ken bought last week for a medium so he'd have enough room to wear his fleece under it. While we were there I spotted a lightweight black Columbia jacket that fit me. In my seemingly neverending quest for a comforter or spread, we picked up a queen bedspread with shams, but when we put it on the bed, it was huge, so that will have to go back.

We went next to Bed, Bath & Beyond to look for towels. We wanted something quick drying and not too large and found just the thing--Pure Performance microfiber towels. We'll see how they work out.

By this time we were hungry and it was suppertime. Ken had been wanting to go to the newly opened Ghenghis Grill, so that's what we did. The atmosphere was very loud, and the food wasn't as good as we remembered from our earlier experiences in Tyler and the Dallas area, but we did get our tummies full--and no dishes to do when we got home.