New Year's Eve

We had a (relatively) quiet New Year's Eve celebration at Jan and Steve's. We could hear the fireworks outside. They started last week and have built to a crescendo as the midnight hour approached.

Joannie and CE

Many of our friends went to one or both of the square dance New Year's parties. Jan and Steve's friends are not square dancers, so we gathered at their Texas room for a delicious dinner and cards. At 11:00 p.m. we watched the ball drop in Times Square and called it an early evening so Jean could get home before the rush of revelers were on the highway. (Also so us old folks could retire early!) We had a great time. Read more!

Christmas Dinner With Friends

We had a great gathering today at Hardy and Judy's house. Our group expanded. We had all the regulars plus Bob and La Done and Randy. We are very thankful for all our friends. They are our RGV family.

Hors d'Oeuvres

Pat, La Done, Judy (you can almost see her), Sandy, Lee, Jean, Joannie, and Jan

Hardy, CE, Bob, Bob, and Steve

Guys hanging out on the enclosed porch. Randy and John on the right.

Hearth warmly decorated for Christmas

Tiramisu and pies for dessert

Convivial group

Tables and more tables: always room for one more

Did I mention that Jean brought the fixings for beer floats?

This is my first experience with making one of my favorite desserts, tiramisu. It was definitely a hit.

After dinner some of us went for a walk around the neighborhood. Bob Wills, Bob Boyink, and Sandy walked around the Bobolink loop. Jean, La Done, Ken and I walked around more before heading back in. After some of the folks left, the rest of us played cards. It was a really nice get together. Thanks to Hardy and Judy for opening up their home and to all the cooks for the delicious food.

We finally got around to taking some photos of our Christmas decorations.

On the entertainment center (more cards were hanging up above)

Festive flowers from Terri Read more!

New Kid on the Block

We always like to see something new on our walks around Green Gate Grove. One of our neighbors has a pig menagerie and a sense of humor. Now a flying pig has joined the family! Read more!

Town Band Christmas Concert

We had great fun at the Town Band Christmas concert, and we think the band members did too. Our favorite piece was Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride. We don't see much in the way of white Christmases around here, so this is a good way to get into the holiday spirit. We got great seats, mainly because we thought the concert started at 7, but it actually started at 7:30! Read more!

Happy Birthday to Sam!

Sam is celebrating his ninth birthday today. We called this morning to sing Happy Birthday to him. He had a cool Minecraft cake.



We went to the Riverside Club this afternoon to socialize with our square dancing friends and to celebrate Tim and Gayle's 46th anniversary.


Tim and Gayle


Hardy and Judy

Hardy ordered the deluxe nachos and even shared some with us.

This evening was the annual golf cart Christmas parade. Some residents went all out to celebrate the season. Everyone called out a cheery "Merry Christmas!" as they passed.

Earlier today we spotted this updated sleigh.

Read more!

Red Letter Day

We paid $1.99 per gallon for diesel fuel at HEB this morning. We started 2015 paying $2.83, which was already quite low for diesel. Only once before, in February of 2009, have we paid less: $1.91 per gallon. We are grateful for the extra cash in our pockets and in the pockets of other American drivers.

But we are also mindful of the many workers unemployed by the drop in oil prices. And we recognize that low fuel prices don't motivate consumers to cut back on driving or to buy fuel conservative vehicles, so more CO2 enters the atmosphere. Read more!

Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park aka World Birding Center Headquarters

We went to breakfast with our friends this morning at Rosie's. We were missing Steve because he was off fishing at South Padre Island. After breakfast and lots of coffee and chatting, we headed to the state park for our first visit of the year.

We hiked out to the hawk tower to check out the (former) resaca. All that is left to show where once there was a lovely resaca with a dependable population of water birds is a small marshy area. The rest is completely overgrown with vegetation.

We saw plenty of familiar birds. The green jays greeted us on our way into the park with their raucous cries. We also saw doves, a cardinal, a hawk circling overhead, a pair of Great Kiskadees, a chachalaca, and some little brown birds.

It was very peaceful in the park. I'm so glad we've made it back. Read more!

ISS Overhead

We turned on the local news tonight. A lot of the report was focused on the mass shooting in San Bernardino. Most of what we heard was forgettable, but one bit of information was a treasure. The International Space Station was going to be traversing the sky at 6:13 p.m. That's just as darkness is falling. We were instructed to look to the south southwest and that it would peak at around 72 degrees, nearly overhead. I set my alarm, and when the time came, I put on my jacket and climbed the rear ladder so that I could be at rooftop height for the event.

Then suddenly, there it was, bright and clear, tracing a path across an otherwise blank sky. The stars were not yet visible, so it was very easy to pick out. I thought about the horrible news of wars and violence and human suffering, but the space station represents to me the triumph of the human spirit as we reach for the stars. In a special way the ISS symbolizes our capacity for cooperation among nations and peaceful exploration of our universe.

And I also thought about a TV special about life on the ISS and the more mundane aspects (how do toilets work in weightlessness?). As usual, humanity and all our ventures are a mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous. Isn't it wonderful that we can reach for the stars--and also laugh at ourselves? Read more!