Christmas with Haime and Lois...

People CRACK ME UP!

Seriously, every once in a while, stop whatever you are doing and take some time to "people watch." This is a particularly excellent time of year for the people watching activity. Personally, I HATE shopping in "enclosed" malls, especially anytime there is any possibility of ginormous crowds of "bargain hunters." However, these are some of the best places to sit, enjoy a beverage and just watch the show! YES, I know, I have too much time on my hands, this however is a planned activity, not just something you can "fall into." Regardless, it's just one of the perks of retirement...don't hate!

First, the scenery is exquisite! GIANT trees, great music, festive decor and the temperature inside is perfect! Then there are the costumes...these cannot be overlooked (even if you tried). Sometimes the "costumes" are the best part of the show. Who knew "screaming" purple "skinny jeans" were latest fashion rage for twenty-something men...the things you learn. The interplay between the characters is always interesting. Especially if you are as lucky as I am and have voices in your head that only you can hear. (The voices really like to people watch...its just REALLY good that no one else can hear them)...just saying!

Now, lest you think that the holidays are just one long leisure-filled day after another for us, let me assure you that they are actually long "project-filled," sleep deprived weeks. For the last few years, I've made more and more of the gifts I give. My gifts vary from baked goods to furniture to hand stitched creations. Now, its not unusual for me to wait until the last minute to start on these Christmas projects, (maybe I need a little bit of stress in my life in order to perform at near peak...whatever!) Anyway, that was the case again this year...I actually felt like I was ahead of the normal curve because I knew exactly what projects I was going to do for each person. I started "working" on the first one in early November. Unfortunately, I did not realize the amount of time any of the projects would take, because I was a first-timer for most of them. That is, while I had done similar projects, for most, I had never done another exact "first run" of the specific project I had planned. Here are the end products...


The first thing I actually completed was a two-sided art easel for Carter. The fun part (for me...I'm a bit of a nerd) is that the only three things that I had to purchase were the chalkboard paint, the "wipe board" and the roll of craft paper. (OK, so I did also purchase some chalk and markers and dry erase markers and a couple of erasers, but well, you know). I had made a much earlier version (for Carter's daddy, when he was about 3), but this one was much more detailed...complete with chalk rail!

While I'm listing my projects in the order that they were completed, it does not mean that I started one, finished it then moved on. Instead, after completing Carter's easel, I had the remaining projects all going at the same time and in various stages of completion...I certainly didn't want to get bored working on just one thing!

The next completion was for Reece, two Adirondack chairs. I was a little bit worried about this particular project. Reece can be finicky. We were talking about some friends that he had come over to his house and they had bar-b-cued and visited and had a great time and I had mentioned something to him about my needing to build him some outdoor furniture, as I had done for Chip and Mallory a few years ago. Well, he went into one of his "no, I don't want you to build anything for me, I don't have the room for it", (he lives on a 100 acre piece of property), blah, blah, blah! Well, I built the chairs for him anyway and...yep, he LOVED them! His first two comments were: "Wow, these are so comfortable" and "They even have room for wide butts!" I think he had visions of more comfortable entertaining around the "Q" and having a place to sit-n-sip.

I was happy with the chairs and Reece is correct, I did make them a little larger than normal. My sons are big guys, (each over 6'3"), and I wanted to ensure that the chairs would be comfortable for them. The hardest part about building the chairs was, unfortunately finding suitable lumber. I say unfortunately because it's just ridiculous that the selections of boards for sale are of such poor quality. Each chair took about four 10' boards and I looked through and rejected about twenty boards to find just one that I could use. Maybe I was just buying this type of lumber during the wrong season but the pricing certainly did not reflect "out of season over-stocks."

I love working with wood. I also love seeing what others build and I love trying to figure-out how they did what they did. One of the things I have admired for years are the cutting boards that are built out of various species of hardwood. The colors and different grains are, in my opinion, works of art when put together for these cutting boards. So, this year I decided I was going to build one for each of the "boys." I used maple, red oak, "purple curly heart" and something called jaraboa (I think that's what it was called. I will tell you that it was such a hard wood that it caused my table saw to shut itself off because of the heat generated when I was ripping it!) Now, I'm fudging a little bit here. The cutting boards are really not completed yet. They are actually pretty much complete but I'm not satisfied with the sanding jobs and during the planing, (Thanks Lige for the use of your planer, it was a lifesaver!) some of the "curly-purple-heart" wood got some pits in it that I haven't been able to completely sand out so I took the boards back after the guys opened them.

This project actually cause a bit of drama! My dear sons did not believe me when I told them that I had made them...oh the heartbreak of being doubted by the one's you love! (Just kidding, it was really pretty funny watching their faces!) Of course, being the good (half)German that I am, I cannot let things go to waste so I also built a couple of trivets from some of the left-overs:

I think they turned out pretty well. I kept the one on the right for myself and the one on the left is on its way to my "sista" in California, I hope she likes it!

pic is larger than the others so you can see the shirt details

My final completion was a t-shirt quilt for Chip. A couple of years ago, I designed and help sew and quilt an A&M themed quilt for Reece but I had not done a quilt for Chip. Then I saw a t-shirt quilt that reminded me that I had always liked the design so I asked Mallory to save Chip's old A&M t-shirts for me rather than tossing them or putting them in a garage sale. Here is the result.

When I say it was the last project completed, I mean I finally called it quits at 2:00ish AM on Christmas morning! I had the quilt put together and it could have been called done a couple of weeks prior to Christmas but I decided to "quilt" around some of the designs in the t-shirts or, where the design was a little higher than center, I "quilted" some Aggieism or some other appropriate phrase into the square...Chip LOVED it! It was awesome seeing him discover some of these "old friends" that he hadn't seen since he as in college.

This year, I went a bit overboard. Haime and I have made it a Christmas tradition to give baked goodies to some of our neighbors. This year, we delivered a dozen to our closest (in proximity) neighbors. The goodies included apple bread, pumpkin/pecan bread, and 4-5 varieties of cookies. We also included some for other family and friends...I baked over 20 loaves of bread and honestly lost count of the cookies. They are always a hit and we enjoy doing it.

Did I mention that we also hosted a couple of Christmas dinner parties? Well, it should be no surprise to any of you that I love to entertain, in fact, I might have mentioned it once or twice. We had one small party with about 10 for dinner a couple of weeks before Christmas then our annual Christmas lunch with my mom, sisters and brothers-in-law and my nieces and nephews. This year, there were 18 of us. Next up is a Chick-Fil-A Bowl Game watching party...Gig 'em!

We sincerely hope all of you have as blessed a Christmas season as we are (it's not over yet...)

TTFN, 

Lois

Just Gotta Rant Sometimes...

All of us have at least a couple of pet peeves...right?  You know, those irritating little actions or habits or "tics" that we are bombarded with that tend to send us from "smiling happy camper" to "murderous maniac" in under a nano-second. (OK, maybe you don't have the same reaction to your "pet peeves" but let me share one or two of mine that honestly make me "bat-crap-crazy").

The first one, I'd call "Don't confuse me with the facts, I've already made up my mind..." This one sends me into bat-crap-crazy in a flash. When I was younger and working around a variety of people, I often found myself in the trap of trying to educate the "ignorant" individuals who exhibited this behavior. What I found was that regardless of the documented research, incontrovertible evidence, and irrefutable facts, these individuals held to their preconceived erroneous beliefs as they would their own skin. Today, since I don't have to "bite my tongue" and am not concerned with keeping a job to earn a paycheck, I tend to simply turn a walk away from the source of my ire. Unfortunately, when "flight" is not possible, the other option in my "fight or flight" reflex comes into play.

While my "fight" tends to be verbal, I've also learned that the individuals that prove to be the source of my major pet peeve also pull me into a second pet peeve: "Entering into a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent." These two are probably related. If one is clinging to ignorance, clearly they are incapable of logically defending an argument...therefore, this one is primarily on me.

Pet peeve number 3: If you're not going to drive at or above the posted speed limit, don't drive in the left lane! I returned from a trip to Dallas a couple of days ago. Dallas is about 5 hours from my home, so, it's quite a trek.  If you've been a consistent reader of this blog, you might remember my discussing a recent toll road near us. The speed limit thereon is 85 mph. You might also remember that I confessed to having no problem driving at (or sometimes over) the posted limit. My "bat-crap-crazy" reaction here stems for the fact that too many drivers on that road (and on others) do not drive at the posted limit and also tend do drive under the limit IN THE LEFT LANE! Whenever I find myself screeching on my brakes so as to avoid "rear-ending" them, I really wish for one of those police speakers so I can remind them to MOVE OVER!!!

OK, peeve number 4 (last one...for now): I like to entertain. I recently overheard part of a conversation whereby one person was complaining that they rarely entertain because it is just too much work. I disagree...I love to entertain and the preparations are part of the fun. So, you might ask, what is the problem? The problem is that while I love to entertain and try to anticipate what food, drinks etc that my guests will enjoy, "bat-crap-crazy" stems from my invited guests not responding to my request for an RSVP. If you've ever been to one of my "functions," you know that there is food and drink "aplenty" and it is more than chips and dips and a couple of beers. Entertaining is expensive, it seems to me that it's only courteous to inform the host whether or not they should expect you...but maybe that's just me.

As I reread this rant, I realize that each of the peeves identified are really my problem. The ignorant people who irritate me are themselves, blissful in their ignorance. The slow drivers are probably enjoying their "drive in the country" while having extensive discussions with the voices that only they can hear; and my non-responding invitees are probably so busy in their day-to-day lives that they simply forget to respond, they probably are the ones most in need of one of my "get-togethers." So, while I'd like to take the high road and tell you that I'll change and that these irritants will become like so many others, "water off of a duck's back," I hate to lie. I know me well enough to know that these will be with me until my final gasping breath...let's just hope that my last breath is not the result of a lethal injection administered as a result of a murderous rage that was perpetrated by someones final sentiments: "Don't confuse me with the facts, I've already made up my mind."

TTFN,

Lois

Traditions, Traditionally Speaking, The Mettle of which We Are Made...

I watch very little television, but yesterday, I saw a rebroadcast of a "documentary" about what makes the South different/special. I had seen the program a few years ago and found it entertaining so I decided I'd watch it again.  One of the first things up for debate, and this program, entitled: "You don't know Dixie," discussed it, is whether or not Texas is part of "the South." Being a proud, native Texan, I can tell you that in my humble opinion, Texas is not a part of any region, rather, Texas is it's own region. That said, there are some common "Texas Traditions" shared by those in other parts of the South. For example, we learn from the cradle to respect our elders, we have manners, we like to laugh (even at ourselves). We go to church on Sunday and during the fall, we attended services in college football stadiums on Saturdays, (personally, I attend Saturday services at Kyle Field Cathedral). 

Kyle Field Cathedral

Speaking of Kyle Field Cathedral, my personal connection to strong traditions is further reinforced by my maroon-blooded connection to Texas A&M. Being an Aggie means that you have a deep and profound connection with something greater than yourself. This quote sums it up: "From the outside, you can't understand it and from the inside, you can't explain it." Our school song, The Spirit of Aggieland, identifies it by: "There is a Spirit, can ne'er be told..." For me, a third generation Aggie, the Aggie traditions were an integral part of my upbringing. The traits of honor, loyalty, honesty, charity and generosity with which my parents raised us, are part of what it means to be an Aggie. For most of my life, our football team didn't give us the opportunities to brag about success so we also learned good sportsmanship. Another tradition, tied to football, (and other competitive areas) is the idea that "we may not win every game, but we never give up." In fact, perhaps being the punchline of so many jokes has helped to forge Aggies, worldwide to build the amazing network of brothers and sisters that we are today. 

Speaking of Traditions, it would be a huge oversight for me to neglect some of our other family traditions, especially in light of the coming holiday season. Halloween is coming up and Haime and I have a great tradition. We host several neighbors, (most of us have no more children at home) to a "trick or treat on the driveway." We enjoy wine and beer and snacks while we wait for the children/ghouls and goblins to come asking for treats. It's a lot of fun and a great way to catch up with what's happening in the neighborhood.

Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite holiday. (I am honestly overwhelmed, at times by the enormity of the blessings that God has brought to me and I love the shared "Day to give thanks"). Our traditions have changed over the years. When I was a child, my family would celebrate our Thanksgiving dinner in either College Station or in Austin. You see, I had an uncle who lived in College Station, and an aunt in Austin and Texas A&M would play tu every year on Thanksgiving. We'd gather the family in which ever town the game was to be played so those interested in attending the game could join us for lunch prior to kick-off, (I told you that my blood is maroon ). Now, we typically gather at my mom's house for lunch. Most of my sisters and their family's attend but with such a large family, there are usually some that can't make it and they are truly missed.

So, in thinking about "Traditions" as they apply to us as a family or a country, I believe it is our "Traditions" that make us who we are. It is those shared customs, beliefs, codes of conduct, or family traditions that bind us together as a people. OK, so much for my "philosophical" postings, I promise, the next one will be more amusing...

ttfn, 

    Lois

"The Ending of an Era, the Turning of a Page..."

My aunt Alice died last week. Actually, she is my great-aunt, the widow of my grandfather's brother, Joe. Unfortunately, Aunt Alice has been in declining health for a while and was unable to attend our family reunion a couple of weeks ago. Aunt Alice was one of the most patient, soft-spoken and genuinely nice ladies I have known. She was a devoted wife and mother, talented seamstress, quilter and baker. Mostly, though, she had a way of quietly making you feel that she was very happy to see you, even as a child, I remember thinking Aunt Alice was one of the great adults. She had three daughters and they each seem to have inherited some of Aunt Alice's best traits.

With her passing, my grandfather's generation has come to an end. That makes my mother's generation the "elders" in our family. WOW!

As the family has gotten back together for the rosary and the funeral, conversations have naturally come around to the fact that so much of our family's history is gone. There are too few recorded stories of what life was like for my grandfather's siblings and their parents and their aunts and uncles as they grew up and lived their lives. My great-grandparents actually immigrated to Texas but there are no recorded thoughts or experiences that they shared with their respective families as they crossed the Atlantic. We all agreed, of course, that it is important that we take action to preserve what little we do know, I hope it happens. I think its important for us to have knowledge about where we come from, to help us understand what has gone into making us the people we are today.

I read something the other day that someone had written about Texans and what makes Texans the special people that we are. The author attributed it to being "forged in a hotter fire." Well, having spent most of my 50+ summers in South Central Texas, I can tell you that it certainly feels like we spend time in hot fires, but I can proudly tell you that my family of (fairly recent) immigrants to this great state, represent some of the finest people I have ever met. I love each of them and am blessed to be a member of this (crazy) group. 

To the grandparents (including all of the "great-grands), parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters who have gone home, we are certain the welcome you gave Aunt Alice when she crossed through the Gates was filled with love and laughter. We miss you all and love you still.

TTFN

Lois

"We are Family..."

Yesterday, I celebrated another anniversary of the day I was born. I have always enjoyed my birthday. Starting with my parents, my celebrations have always been about having fun and enjoying my day with the people I love, doing things I love. This year was another such celebration.

My mother's father with his siblings and his parents.

My grandparents on their wedding day.

My mother's paternal family gets together every two years for a reunion. This year, it fell on my birthday...woohoo! The reunion hosts change every year, following a specific pattern. That is, it follows succeeding birth order of my Grandpa's siblings. This year, it fell to my mom's siblings. My mother, (and Haime and I and one of my sisters and her husband), are still members of the same parish that my grandparents were members of (and actually where they were married). So, like good German-Catholics, (no not all Germans are Lutheran, LOL!) we rented the parish hall for the reunion. (Hmmmm...just a thought here, for those of you who, like me were raised on a healthy dose of "Catholic-guilt," do you think it stems from being of German descent and not following Martin Luther? just a thought...) ANYWAY...as with all of our parties, we had tons of food and as each family arrived, the food table only became more and more laden...(at one point, I thought I heard creaking...). 

My grandfather had 11 siblings. The eldest, Anna died in infancy. As we began to talk about each of the other siblings (our grandparents, aunts and uncles), it was interesting to me that Anna died more than a century before some of her brothers and sisters. (Yes, I know she died as an infant but imagine what happened during that span of years for her remaining sibs...Anna died in the 1890s and the last of her sibs died in 2001!) As I look through some of the old family photos, I just can't help but be amazed in the changes that took place during the life-span of these wonderful people. They saw incredible advances in technology and in industry, they saw war, famine, drought, peace, celebrations of life, and prosperity. They were raised as farmers who learned the value of hard work and of caring for the land; and they became caring, thoughtful, loving adults who never lost their values of God, family, and hard work. AND, they passed these traits on to succeeding generations...

We opened the reunion with a candle lighting ceremony to honor those who have gone to our Father's home. Here is Kathy who is lighting a candle to represent her dad...the youngest of the siblings.

Mary Louise, Joan and Mary Ann

Cole, Debbie, Dana and Eric

  Frank, Leonard, Joe and David

The "first cousins" that made the reunion this year.

Frank, Lance and Denise

Our youngest attendee

Cole, Gene, Annette, Joan
Frank and Leonard

            

Joan, Annette, Fr. Dennis and Ruth                                              Joan, Sarah and Kathy

Tom (walking in the background) Mike, Eric and Ruth

Unfortunately, most of us were too busy "gabbing" and catching up to remember to take pictures so I'm not able to share pics of all the attendees. I promise to do better at the next reunion, I can only confess that I was having a wonderful time exchanging stories, (one of my favorite things to do), and visiting with some of the most interesting people on the planet. Thanks everyone who attended and we missed those of you who were not able to attend, we hope to see you in 2015.

TTFN

Lois

"The Stars at Night, are Big and Bright, (clap, clap, clap, clap)...

Haime was kidnapped...by me! Well, whats a girl to do when she suffers from wanderlust and her guy is really very content to stay glued to his favorite chair and/or putter around the house? Really, it called for DESPERATE measures and, well, I took them. 

Perhaps I should start at the beginning...

Haime had a birthday coming up and I had been planning a surprise for him for several months preceding the anniversary of his birth (or landing...stay tuned for that theory...).  Well, that's not quite the beginning, I should actually start by telling you that Haime loves astronomy. In fact, chances are, if you happen to stop by our house anytime during the day, you are likely to find him watching some "outer-space" related show on the science channel. He can discuss such things as black holes: do they exist or don't they?; planetary orbits: their relative shape, spin patterns and accompanying moons; the asteroid belt; and he has definite opinions on such things as: Is there other life out there? (I have an opinion on why he is interested in that particular one...)

OK, so my plan was to take Haime to Marfa, Texas, to view the "mystery lights," then to the McDonald Observatory for a "twilight program" followed by a "star party." There were just a couple of things that had me concerned about my plans...how the heck was I going to get Haime to agree to drive 6+ hours to the middle of nowhere and would the weather cooperate? 

If you are familiar with Texas, specifically west Texas, you understand what I mean by driving to the middle of nowhere...If you are not familiar with Texas, let me attempt to illustrate. First, close your eyes and picture your current town or city. Now, imagine that you get into your car and start driving west. Within an hour, you are in "the country." There are no towns or houses, or buildings of any kind. The only signs of civilization you see are the asphalt paved road on which you are driving and about every 90-100 miles, there will be a place to stop and get gas and a sandwich or a highway rest stop where you can answer "nature's call." Now, imagine that with each passing hour, the terrain becomes flatter and more desert like until the only "trees" you see are mesquites and some types of cactus. Finally, imagine doing this drive for about six hours...welcome to the middle of nowhere, aka west Texas. 

So, as you probably guessed, I had to start warming Haime up to this adventure, without ruining the surprise...not easy! I started telling him that he was going to LOVE his birthday present from me. Then, I'd tell him that we were going somewhere for his birthday that he was going to LOVE! Of course, I had to do this intermittently, several times a week (over the course of a couple of months...). Finally, his birthday came and we were off...he only knew where to go from my directions to him while he drove. Of course he had a few guesses as we began our journey but, he never got close. Finally, we stopped at one of the aforementioned rest-stops, about 4 hours into our trek. There was a state map posted on a board there and he checked it for the "you are here" star and finally guessed our destination...when you're in the middle of nowhere, it's easier to guess where you're going because there are very few things worth seeing there...

So, after driving a couple more hours, (and nearly running out of gas), we finally made it to our first stop: Marfa, Texas (population~1980 (+ other worldly visitors?)). If you "google" Marfa, you'll find that some are calling it the "Austin of west Texas" for it's relatively new draw of artsy-types. However, artists aside, there is not a lot to draw you to Marfa. It's located between the Big Bend national park and the Fort Davis mountains. Haime and I are there, however to see the "Marfa Mystery Lights." (key eerie music).

As I said, Haime loves astronomy and likes to debate the existence of life on other planets (or whether they are living among us). These "mystery lights" are right up his alley. There have been stories about these lights since the 19th century. The lights are often see along a stretch of highway 67, just east of Marfa. They are often described as being basketball-sized lights that tend to "pulsate" and change colors (white, red, blue, orange and yellow). They are usually seen just above the horizon and seem to move toward and away from the observers. They sometimes dart about and sometimes seem to converge then separate. The debate is non-ending when attempting to discover what the lights really are. Some suggest they are the souls of Indians killed by white settlers, others suggest the lights are "swamp gas" (be clear, there are NO SWAMPS within 750 miles). Now, confession time: I have seen the lights. About 20 years ago, for Spring Break, I took my sons on a trip to Big Bend with my parents. When we left the park, we decided to go north to Marfa to see the lights. At that time, there was no "viewing station" like the one pictured just above on the left. You simply pulled off of the highway where other cars were parked. The lights we saw that night we mostly red and orange and white. They behaved very much like what I described above. It was actually pretty cool. 

The pictures here, however are shown to contrast what we hoped to see (and what I saw then) and what we actually saw. Unfortunately, it was completely cloudy and rainy and we didn't see anything other than cars coming down from a ridge south of Marfa. We did meet some very interesting people there who were also looking for the lights. One man had grown up in the area and also described the lights, just as I had seen them myself. Haime was not convinced. 

Now, lest you think that our trip was a total bust, let me tell you it was not! We found the most amazing hotel, the El Paisano. The hotel is nothing short of GRAND! We felt like we had just entered into a "time warp" (considering that some believe the lights are UFOs checking out a landing spot, maybe we were right). Everything about the architecture, the decor, the staff, and the quite elegance made us feel welcomed. 

view from our room. looking down
and right from our balcony.

The El Paisano's claim to fame comes from the 1956 movie "Giant." Most of the scenes from the movie, depicting the "Benedict Ranch, Reata" were shot in and around Marfa. While they were on location, the movie's stars stayed at El Paisano.   

Our room was large and the french doors led to a beautiful covered balcony which looked out onto the courtyard. The large, beautiful fountain, which was centered in the courtyard simply added to the relaxing and pampering atmosphere. 

The only part of the hotel that was not "Grand" was the bathroom...think cruise ship bathroom...it was actually comical. We had a wonderful time.

The next morning, we headed to Fort Davis, specifically the Indian Lodge state park. En route, we stopped for lunch at Fort Davis. We toured the grounds which include some historically accurate, restored buildings as well as some parts of the fort that have yet to be restored. What amazed us both was the extremes in the accommodations for the officers, especially the commanding officer, and the enlisted men. It was like comparing a log cabin to the White House. 

The town of Fort Davis was very cute. One thing we remarked on was the fact that even though it is a very small town, (more accurately a "village?"), there was obviously a pride there. The streets, buildings, stores, hotels, businesses, etc were all clean and the "keepers" very friendly and eager to help. It was clear that they were happy that we were there and wanted to ensure we enjoyed ourselves.  Both pictures above are of the same place. Haime especially liked it because he said it reminded him of a place his uncle owned several years ago, in Jerome, AZ. 

After lunch (and the obligatory shopping), we arrived at our "home for the night," at Indian Lodge State Park.  The original part of the Lodge was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps (one of FDR's programs to get the US out of the great depression). The original part of the Lodge, where we stayed, has 18 inch adobe walls and hand carved cedar furniture. The lodge was built to resemble a multilevel Pueblo village. 

 Our room, through the door on the middle pic above, was spacious with a beautiful view of the valley. There is an original kiva-style fireplace in the corner. Both this hotel and the El Paisano were obviously designed for comfort and as welcoming ends to a visitor's day. The only thing that we needed to do in this room was to remember how to sleep in a double bed. It took a few minutes and some tossing and turning but we figured it out.

Shortly before dusk, we drove to the McDonald observatory. We were really hoping that the skies would clear...much easier to see stars when the sky is clear.

 The observatory is located on the tops of Mount Locke and Mount Fowlkes in the Davis Mountains which offer some of the darkest night skies in the lower 48. Haime and I were both very excited to look through the telescopes and get more information about finding specific constellations and learning as much as we could about where to look and how to "navigate" our way in the night sky.

                                                                 What we hoped to see:

 

                                                    What we saw: 

 OH well, some will say that the cosmos was just not ready for Haime to look into it too closely. Others might suggest that the "mothership" was not ready to take him back aboard yet so it didn't show itself in Marfa, others will say that by being cloudy, Haime will just be forced to journey back out to west Texas and discover more mysteries and find more hidden gems another time. We had a great time and I plan to go back out there again. Haime even suggested that we go to Big Bend sometime in the late winter or spring...maybe there is some latent wanderer gene in him after all...one can hope.

TTFN,

Lois