As Time Goes By

On Monday, Phil, Yvonne and I went to the Premium Outlet Mall in Mercedes. We had one of these in Washington State, too. They are upscale outlet malls. We don't actually shop at most of the stores there, but we do go to the Kitchen Collection store -- which is like a candy store to me -- to pick up a few things that we need, and to check out the new kitchen gadgets.



We do have to stop at Wilson's Leather, though, and sniff around. Man, nothing smells like real leather...mmmmm

Tuesday we had a Ladies Luncheon up at the clubhouse.



We had a pretty good turnout, I thought. It's so much fun sampling everyone's dishes. I made a crab salad and a beautiful cherry glazed chocolate torte.



One lady brought some spaghetti squash. I had never tried it but decided to taste it and I fell in love. Now if I can just find out who made it and see if she'll share the recipe! After the ladies luncheon I went to the Activities Committee meeting. We decided to do some fun things for the month of February that I'm excited about.

Wednesday we went to the river with Yvonne and Chloe. Phil and I had planned on having a picnic lunch down there, but we ended up being tied up much of the day, so we couldn't go until late afternoon. Yvonne had stopped by and she thought she remembered how to get there so we asked her to go along.



Isn't she pretty?

It is so peaceful down there. Chloe likes it a lot also.



Friday I cleaned house and cooked for the pot luck cookout. I made calico beans and a lemon pound cake. I had to call my friend Bernadine in Washington state to get the bean recipe and boy, was I glad I did! Everyone loved them and I brought home an empty crock pot. The cake was well liked also. It was the first time that I had tried that recipe, and it is definitely a keeper.



Our friends, Orville and Jan Kuran, came up from La Feria to join us for dinner. We showed them around the community and around the facilities. They seemed to like the place very much.



Saturday I went for the bird walk over at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State park. You go with a guide and other bird watchers to try and spot as many different birds as you can. I've never tried bird watching before. It was a lot of fun. We saw thirty-five species, some of which I'd never heard. The bird walk lasts about two and a half hours.



There are seven kiskadees in the trees. I saw a cute javelina also.



One of my favorite views in the park:



Whiskers enjoyed doing some bird watching also.



Today was our friend Dale's birthday, so we all met at her house for happy hour. I baked some cupcakes, and Bonnie brought some margaritas....yum!



Movies this week: An American Carol a parody about Michael Moore, and
Sex and The City, a chick flick, but a good one. :)

Books: Judge and Jury by James Patterson, and The Cat Who Sniffed Glue by Lilian Jackson Braun