weddings – The Hermits' Rest

Victorious in Victoria, Texas

It’s a victory, all right. Figuring out how to have some fun when our day wasn’t what we expected was hard, but we did it. And we two hermits who aren’t good in crowds or loud places made it just fine, and were able to share in the happiness of Kathleen as her daughter got married. Yay!

Lee came up with the idea to go to the local zoo today, and I found a birding spot nearby. That gave us a nice way to fill the early part of the day. The Texas Zoo is in a large park next to a very large cemetery complex. It’s not very big and is a bit of a mess with many empty exhibits, but the animals all seemed well cared for and healthy.

Many animals there are rescues or natives. I always enjoy the natives, especially the river otters, javelinas, and birds.

We had the best time watching the water birds being fed, while a young boy asked the zookeeper many excellent questions about the birds. What an educational experience! And the pelican and spoonbill were hilarious with their fish. (Lee crops his photos to be short but wide, which explains the look.)

The spoonbill is about to catch a fish. It’s just to the right of the tree

I’m glad Lee brought the good camera with him, because he got some great shots of a fox, coyote, red wolf, and jaguar.

We didn’t have as much luck at the birding place, as it was midday and brutally hot. There were Couch’s Kingbirds and Great Kiskadees, though, so I knew I was in south Texas.

We got dressed for the wedding and headed back to the venue. It was still stifling hot, but just the ceremony was outdoors, so no one got sick or anything. We enjoyed talking to a few family members we knew…well, pretty much the only ones we knew that will talk to us.

Yes, I was there. No Lee photos since he took them all.

It was a beautiful wedding and the decorations they worked so hard on came out great! Now, remember I’m old and don’t attend many weddings, but I was surprised to see that there were “beer boys” in the wedding party, passing out beers as they came down the aisle.

They played it up very well, and many attendees took beers from them. Apparently I’d have known all about this if I went on Tik Tok (or went to more Texas Western-themed weddings).

The “doorway “ the wedding party walked through.

Everyone else was lovely and I got all teary-eyed as the bride walked down the aisle escorted by her stepdad. That was my highlight.

Since I can’t share that photo, here’s Kathleen looking fantastic watching her daughter.

Afterward, Lee spent some time in the car relaxing and I went out to look at birds a couple of times, because we’re hermits and a little weird. It was fun enjoying the young kids playing, young adults acting their age (so much beer), and older folks beaming at each other with pride. I’m so glad it went well, at least up until we left. Who knows…

That was another victory for us. We wanted our family who live with us to have a great “parents of the bride” experience, and it looks like they did.

Now we can go to Goliad State Park tomorrow, at least briefly!

Pivot! Or Making the Best of Things

There was a plan for today, but it didn’t work out very well. One part of the plan was to get more work done on the porch. That didn’t happen because the lead guy had a sick child to take care of. Family always has to come first! The wood isn’t going anywhere and will be here next week.

I did find a young garden spider. They look so different at this stage.

The other part of the plan was to go to Goliad State Park in the RV so we could both camp and attend a family wedding. We got ready in time but of course the Seneca decided it didn’t want to go. The rear slide wouldn’t go in. Again. These are finicky machines.

I was not thrilled since I’d run around all morning getting everything fed and watered, loaded things up…and boom. Not moving. Time to pivot.

I quickly canceled the camping reservation and at least got some money back, then booked hotel rooms in Victoria, much closer to the wedding venue anyway. This ends up costing less thanks to points. We loaded our bags in the car and headed out, down the familiar roads to southern Texas. Tempers did not flare and panic did not occur.

We passed mounds and mounds of McCartney roses on the sides of the highway.

Tonight was the rehearsal and we were kindly invited to it along with the wedding party and other family. I got to help a little bit with decorating while Lee went back to the car because he didn’t like the music. Oh, Lee. He pivoted in his own way.

We did have a nice time exploring Tin Spur Ranch, which is a tasteful and rustic place with ponds and a nice setting for an outdoor or indoor wedding. The bride made a good choice!

In addition to attractiveness, the setting was perfect for many birds, including Bobwhite Quail and two kinds of whistling ducks (as if one kind isn’t plenty, but the Fulvous one has blue legs!). There were also many unusual flycatchers, including the Brown Crested, which is migrating still.

There were 40 birds heard and seen in the late afternoon. I bet mornings there are spectacular!

So everything turned out fine. Lee even ate dinner and talked to some of his family! (You didn’t think it was my relatives getting married, did you? The only relative whose wedding I was ever invited to was my dad and Flo. so any family weddings I attend have been on the spousal side. I digress, in a self-pitying manner.

We will probably see a sight before the actual wedding tomorrow and maybe see Goliad on Sunday. Yes. We know there will be Memorial Day traffic. We aren’t going down any interstates.

No matter what, we’ll be flexible, because we’re learning to pivot without panic.

More Travel to Exotic Locations

Oh, just kidding. I’m in the greater Bryan/College Station area, right here in Tejas. After a most frustrating work day (interrupted by seeing Anita for coffee at the fine new local coffee shop, which was good), I took off, once again.

The reason for traveling was the wedding of my former neighbor, Kayla. Actually, she got married with only parents around last October, so this was for the rest of their families. Cathy, Kayla’s mom, is who Sara and I went to high school football games with for years.

Other than the wedding being 1.5 hours late, it was very sweet with many touches of humor. I enjoyed chatting with some of the groom’s family at dinner, too. I am glad I went. Everyone was so friendly and seemed so happy. Awww.

Bonus: the little Baptist church had really comfy pews, for which I complimented the minister, who sat next to me. That gave him a chuckle. (Some other guy performed the ceremony.

Flower girl and ring bearer were siblings. Note I didn’t show their faces.

The other bonus of heading all the way over here (45 minutes, not far) is that I got to visit my friends Lynn and Don. We watched Young Sheldon (funny) and I played with their cats. One licked my hair.

This one, Beans, wanted more petting. She was a fine kitty.

I like cats, just at other people’s houses, you see. Anyway, I’m safely in a big mesquite bed and looking forward to breakfast with the friends tomorrow. That’s cheered me up!

Quick Knitting Update

Yes, I’m still knitting, but I’ve been working a lot in my usual “spare” time, so it’s going slowly.

I finished the first set of dishcloths for my podcast sponsor, but have run into one of my worst challenges: I hate mailing things. But, it’s going out next week for sure.

This is the basket weave one. I already gave her the grandma’s favorite one.

My sister mentioned that I hadn’t knitted her any dishcloths in years. I thought she wasn’t impressed with my knitting, so it hadn’t occurred to me. She also felt that the ones I make for others are too tightly woven. So, I made her blue and white ones on big needles. The colors match her good china. Hope they get a lot of use!

My pretty wrap is still moving along. I only have ten inches left of the entrelac part. I will work on it this week unless I get a new sponsor. My next recipient wants to pick colors in person. There are still lots of colors left!

Lee and I toasted with these cool glasses!

And hey, I did go to that Zoom wedding this afternoon! It was so nice to see two of my oldest friends, who are still best buddies, support each other at the event. I’m just SO happy Gail found the right guy for her. Love is grand.

Zoom wedding attire is fancy on top, casual on the bottom.

Hope you have a fun Sunday. Mine is just getting started it seems.