Merry Christmas from Texas

Winter in Texas

Quick catchup:

Our lake level is low...we see islands now that weren't there before. Birds are migrating left and right and the trees have even changed colors.

We spent a delightful Thanksgiving at our house with our Texas family of friends.

Business has been slower than usual and we are seeing our share of local restaurants going out of business here in Marble Falls. Amy and Kimberley are able to handle the store on their own now, so we have been free to travel!! We love going to Goliad to visit Joe and Donna and we have even put merchandise in a store there to test the market.

Great weekend in Goliad

Amy watched Patina for us for the weekend so that we could go visit Joe and Donna in Goliad. Joe and Donna have moved into their new home and we got to participate in some interior painting - we had a great time.

We are going back on Wednesday to put some of our merchandise into a shop on the Goliad square (Soho) run by Suzi and Newton. Goliad is a beautiful town and the Kehoes new RV park in 2010 (or sooner) will be a great addition. We are also opening a Christmas store (Patina Too) on Main Street in Marble Falls and will start merchandising that store next week. Never a dull moment here!

Joe, Donna and Max halfway through the painting project

Winter is coming....

Great White Hunter

My brother-in-law, Bruce, stopped by on his way home. He lives in Ft. Myers, Florida and was driving through Texas on his way back from New Mexico. Bruce bagged an elk in New Mexico yesterday. The visit was very short, but he promised to return soon with my sister, Monica, in tow (pun intended).

Stefan flew back to Minnesota last week to officially graduate from culinary school

Our houseguest, Stefan, returned from his trip to Minnesota on Monday evening just in time to have dinner at Tamale King with our friends, Joe and Donna. Joe and Donna closed up the resort in Wisconsin and stopped by to visit for a few days on their way to Goliad, Texas for the winter. They have purchased 11 acres to build an RV park and they even got a new house in the deal.

On Tuesday, Stefan saved the day when he took over dinner preparation for me. We had Tur-Duc-Hen (stuffed duck inside a chicken inside a turkey), Cajun stuffing and roasted garlic asparagus. I think we just invented a new reality cooking show "Save this Dinner!".