A Michael Martin Murphy Christmas

We are still trying to catch up our blog from last year and we are almost up to Christmas, 2013. One of the highlights of Christmas last year was a trip to Bass Hall in Ft. Worth to see the Michael Martin Murphy Christmas concert.  We went with Bubba and Shirley and Kip and Vicki and the show was amazing. Of course, the surroundings within Bass Hall is something to see in itself.

We enjoyed some good food at Razzoos and a walk through Sundance Square before the concert.  If you ever get a chance to see MMM in concert, do it!

Halloween 2013

The grand kids got all dressed up for Halloween last year.  We had a good assortment of characters. Taylor was Maverick from the old movie Top Gun.  He loves those jets!  Presley decided to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, which she has seen about a zillion times.  Jane and Jack went with the poultry theme.  Jane was a beautiful, colorful peacock and Jack was a soft cuddly chicken. Leighton was the cutest little Indian maiden!  All the parents decided to go as parents!

A Little Bit of Texas

Jeremy and Annie live in Denver, Colorado so we don't get to see them and Jane and Jack as much as the other kids.  Last fall, Jeremy and Annie took some time off for some quiet rest without the kiddos.  Annie's parents kept them for a few days while they spent some time near Austin.  They found a great little resort on the lake, or at least what's left of it, and just enjoyed some down time.

We were invited to spend an evening with them, had dinner, visited and caught up on everything.  Thanks for including us in your short vacation.

A Crooked Little Trail

Our little town is fortunate to have had some progressive leaders when it comes to parks and recreation. Over the years there have been a number of individuals and organizations that have recognized the need for these types of improvements.  Many people worked tirelessly obtaining grants, securing sponsorship and raising money for these projects.

As a result Hamilton now enjoys a linear park and trail system that reaches from one side of the town to the other.  Along this hiking/biking trail there is creek that leads to the new sports complex containing two baseball fields, a softball field and a soccer field.  It is the walking trail that we enjoy the most, if you call walking enjoyable!  Beverly uses it the most and it is sure nice to have a good place to walk.

Occasionally we will have a very energetic, young dog that likes to go with us.  We don't own him, have no idea who his owner might be, but he loves to go and run.  He shows up, runs ahead of us and then will stop and wait for us and later disappears and we never see him again.  Evidently he knows his way home.

The Guinea Whisperer, Now Retired

Beverly's brother, John has been working at the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant for a lot of years, first as an electrician and then a foreman.  Last July he retired after getting up at 3:30 a.m. or so nearly everyday. It was a big decision but with no regrets, I'm sure.  A big fish fry and retirement party was held at his place in Stephenville last summer and then he settled in to a life of leisure.

He generally keeps a flock of guineas to keep down grasshoppers.  Last fall we went by to see his latest project, the restoration of an early model Toyota Land Cruiser.  He has owned several and wanted to find an early year model to restore.  While we were there he showed us his guinea flock.  He raised them from chicks and they must think he's their mother because they follow him around everywhere he goes.  It was very entertaining to watch them. We call him the guinea whisperer!

He has been working on getting the engine re-worked, seats repaired and putting a lift on it.  He told us recently that the engine is ready and he will paint it soon.  Should look great!

Unfortunately we did a terrible job taking pictures at the retirement party, so we had no pictures of John!

Bucket List: See Lion King. Check

After all the years that Lion King has been on Broadway and touring around the country, we finally got to see it.  Jennifer and Toby gave Beverly tickets for her birthday and last fall we went to see it at the Dallas Music Hall.  Several other couples and their children, including one of Presley's best friends, also attended. It was everything we had heard it would be and more!  Jennifer, Toby, Taylor, Presley, Beverly and I thoroughly loved it.  Of course, no pictures were allowed inside but I must say the costumes were amazing.

We made a day of it, watching the musical and afterwards Toby took us on a tour of downtown Dallas.  It had been years since we had been by Dealy Plaza where John F. Kennedy was killed. Since they were about to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that horrible event, it was nice to go by and think about the history we were seeing.

If you ever get a chance to see Lion King, do it.  You will not regret it.

Having a little fun at Saltgrass Steakhouse before the musical.

It was well worth the trip and we hope we'll be able to have this type of fun with all the grandkids!

Old Friends

Some things, you have to believe happen for a reason.  You know the kind of moment I'm talking about? It's like there's a voice somewhere in your head or maybe from above telling you "Go ahead. Do it. You won't be sorry!".  So it was with Beverly about two years ago when she was looking through some of her high school class reunion papers. She had gone to a few of her reunions and still is interested in knowing what's going on.

For years, every Halloween Beverly would tell me that it was Glyneth's birthday. She would wonder where she was and what she was doing.  But, it wasn't until she came across her email address that she decided to email who once was her best friend.  They had lost contact with each other after school and had, as often happens, gone their separate ways.  They really had not seen or talked to each other in almost 40 years.

The result of that email has been wonderful.  Beverly and Glyneth have now rekindled that friendship and lets just say I'm glad we have unlimited texting and phone plans!  They have been able to catch up on so much and have come to realize that they are indeed best friends forever! They can talk for hours, laughing and giggling like, well, high school girls!

Their friendship reminds me of some of the lyrics to one of my favorite Willie Nelson and Roger Miller songs, Old Friends.

"Lord when all my work is done, Bless my life and grant me one, old friend, yes old friend".  Oh, I wish that for all of us.