Anna Horton

Almost forgot this one. Was driving my usual way, cutting down Hunter Road to where it intersects with Gruene Rd. Right at the front door of Gruene Hall, usually cut down tot he right use the new "Not so Low" Low water bridge, check the river and head on towards downtown New Braunfels. I live here and I get to do this daily, as a result I tend to get a bit testy with the touristas. They are usually nice & they are very necessary to our economy but they don't realize that this is a street not a pedestrian zone. Forgive me, I digress, the place was jumpin'. There were people everywhere, busses, trams, cars and people all over the place.

If I had only remembered we would have attended

http://www.gruenemusicandwinefest.org

If you can snag a ticket - get over there!

Great day in New Braunfels, ran some errands, went to lunch at Mozies in Gruene. A friend and I dropped in to Mozies on Today a little after noon. Pleasantly busy, but not crowded, we were lucky enough to snag the table near the front door. From there we could watch all the tourista action at Gruene Hall and around the shops. This is a really great location - a sliver of a building, about the width of two bowling lanes but longer. The interior is industrial Loft meets Texas Hill Country. Comfortable chairs, Good old fashioned, full bar and backbar, lots of windows, ameable bartender and waitstaff finish the picture. They also air condition the heck out of it. Something only a person from South Texas can truly appreciate

Mozies has a varied menu with emphasis on what I could only call pub food, red meat, great fries, sliders and hot dogs. All of which can be washed down with their good selection of beers and wine, a list of sweet Martini's for the young & daring or great iced tea. I ordered the only vegetarian item on the menu - a "Grown-Up Grilled Cheese" sandwich. A good combination of gouda, fresh spinach & tomatoes on great bread. Well prepared and served with crisp shoestring fries it was a very satisfying lunch or dinner.

The service was attentive without being overbearing, people watching is great, food more than expected - all this and they even offered us a roadie cup for our tea. WoW! All within walking distance of the Guad.

I have been out of the loop for a while, working and not working. Reading a lot and showing houses. This past weekend in Comal County TX was exciting. For the past 20 months or so, we have been in a record setting drought and record setting summer of heat. More day of triple digit heat than South Texas has ever experienced in recorded history. The heat broke a couple of weeks ago. The drought, while not broken, was severely dented this weekend. It was nice to have a day of Sturm and Dunder. The rain and darkness were a welcome change from the dead white heat of this past summer.

Unfortunately when the rain hits around here, it tends to come in big bunches. We had 6 -9 inches is a very short amount of time. Not a record by any means but a nice start. I guess I should confess here that I am a weather freak. In college, I had a choice between geology and meteorology. I chose the one taught by the late Dr. John Freeman, director of the Gulf Coast Storm Research Center. Learned to identify clouds,, weather patterns, all sorts of stuff that has now been replaced by better knowledge from satilites and all kinds of radar. I also remember when Dan Rather was on Channel 11 in Houston showing us the crude radar from the old airport in Galveston, where he had holed up for Hurrican Carla. It was a fuzzy black and white picture but there really was an eye in the center of it. I believe it was the very first time a picture of a hurrican had ever been broadcast live. Yes, I am THAT old.

Hubby and I went out Sunday just to check on friends who live on the Guadalupe and Comal - Comal was a nasty looking ugly brown mess below where the Dry Comal joind it. The Tube Chute, the dam and the tuber bypass were all one ugly brown milk chocolate flow. Up on Hinman island the water was calmer and an odd reddish hue. Over at what used to be the Low Water crossing at Gruene - the bridge was doing it's job and well above the flow. At least the green slimy moss from the long hot summer was washed away. Yay, Fall!

Nothing much to say except that we need to enjoy each and every day as it comes. I took the boys to the park last week, we walked, we sniffed, we got chased by the geese. It was a good day.

I highly reccommend that if you can, take a walk in your park. Wherever it takes you, it's the getting there that's important.

On the way home from San Antonio today, I took a side trip to look for inspiration at the Antique Rose Emporium. In the early 1980's owner Doug Shoup could be found out in the cow pastures around Independence, TX "RoseRustling" or liberating the old fashioned roses growing around there.His business has thrived and in addition to the absolutely beautiful location in Independence & a large mailorder business, he opened a place between Rolling Oaks Mall and Bracken north of San Antonio.

Since I was looking for inspiration, I expected color but it seems I was a bit early. As you can see, most of the color available was in the pottery. Not much is blooming yet but you can feel it gathering strength and beginning to swell towards spring. While I couldn't afford any of these glorious pots, I did buy some prostrate Rosemary, a Copper Canyon Daisy and something called "Dot Grass" for my yard - NONE of which the deer are going to eat.

Hey, it's spring - a time of HOPE - in all aspects of life.

I intend to enjoy all of it.