Texas Wildflowers Part 1 - An Interrupted Trip

Immediately following Holy Week and Easter, my husband and I set out on our annual retreat and tour of the glorious Texas wildflowers.  We did our usual 'long route' to see what the Brazos Valley region had on display.  So many lovely fields of blue! We loved spotting this jackrabbit (his ears were twitching) and this hawk going about their daily routine amidst such splendor.  We also spotted a Texas Longhorn enjoying the bluebonnets. This is a Road Runner. 
 

Once again, we enjoyed the hospitality of the wonderful Lamb's Tale Ministries as they provided our accommodations in Comfort at The Haven River Inn.  Nestled along the Guadalupe River, this Bed and Breakfast provides awesome breakfast feasts, comfortable rooms, and the opportunity to rest and renew oneself physically and spiritually.  

Being creatures of habit we took our customary drives around the Hill Country, seeking out the unique beauty of one of our favorite Texas locations.   I loved getting to see this new mother bringing her lambs into the barn!  There are many ranchers who raise sheep in this area, but this year we noticed so many fewer.  I worry that this is a result of many years of drought, which is at a severe level.
 
I'll focus this blog on the close-in photos of the flowers.  Check out part 2 for the dazzling fields of color and some photos from around the Hill Country.

I don't have good photos of some of the best color we saw the entire trip, as my husband was driving fast along Interstate 10 and refused to stop.  After talking to my doctor regarding some abdominal pain I'd been experiencing, we ended up leaving early to head home - well, to the Houston area so I could be seen in a Methodist Hospital Emergency Room.  It didn't take long for the doctors to determine that my gallbladder was badly infected, having stones and sludge, and needing to be removed immediately.  I am happy to say that I'm much better and have hopes of returning soon to the Haven River Inn to complete our time of retreat.

Please enjoy the photos but remember that they are copyrighted by me, the photographer and are not to be copied, posted, shared, printed or in any way made use of without my permission.

My Pi Shawl

I feel that I must apologize to you for the delay in posting.  Our Internet was down for over 2 weeks and I had my gallbladder removed in an emergency surgery last week.  All is nearing normal again and I thought you might like to learn more about my Pi Shawl that I knit at the end of last year.

As 2013 came to a close, I felt the deep sense of accomplishment as I completed knitting my first round shawl.  It took just over a month to knit this Elizabeth Zimmerman 100th Anniversary Pi Shawl, Gull Wings Version by Mwaa Knit. I used Maharashtra Silk, a lovely raw fiber in these yummy varied colors.  The pattern is worked from the inside out, leaving an extraordinary number (over 1200) stitches to bind off.  

By the time I got around to blocking this shawl, it took 5 hours of crawling around on the floor to get it to a place that satisfied my perfectionist quality.  The floor was the only surface in our home that could handle the 72 inch diameter size of this shawl. Many times, knitters never even tackle these projects because of the shear size of the finished projects. It is surprisingly versatile as a wrap, as it can be worn folded in half, scrunched up as a scarf or fully open with a small fold forming a collar.

Cruising: Part 5 - Shipboard

Once we survived the check-in process and the trip was underway, Melissa and I began to explore the Carnival Magic.  We discovered lots of great places to play, eat, relax and be entertained.  

We each treated ourselves to a hot stone massage in the Cloud 9 Spa.  The waiting area is lovely and we returned after our spa time to enjoy it a little more. There is also an amazing adults-only serenity deck which had my favorite big round lounges.  Each had thick cushions and pillows, high sides and were big enough to snuggle down and just enjoy the water views. 

There are so many dining options: marketplace casual, the dining room, an Italian restaurant which features recipes from our Captain's mother and a variety of bars (to get our endless refills of soft drinks for a additional fee) which are never far from a thirsty cruiser.  In the dining room, seating is assigned for the length of the cruise.  We had great conversation and many enjoyable evenings with the ladies at our table.  Each dinner offered a nice variety of meal options which included a unique, 'did-ya-ever' selection of items such as escargot, frog legs, shark, oysters, etc.  Desserts were diet-busting good.  Service in the dining room was first class with a team who were eager to ensure we had what we wanted, how we wanted it prepared, and in sufficient quantities.  They also double as entertainers, singing and dancing nearly every night. 

Each day while we were out, our room stewards tidied up and each evening they left a bucketful of ice, a few mints on our turned-down beds and a new towel animal.  We saved each one and had a hard time leaving them behind.  It was so fun to walk out on the Lido Deck Valentine's morning to find that crew had created a towel animal wonderland - with animals on each chair, in the pool and scattered around the deck.  We were encouraged to select one to take with us.  I picked the bear and Mouse selected a snail (as a reminder of eating escargot, I think). 

Entertainment options were varied.  The Magic has a nightly stage-show, comedy clubs, casino (amazingly, I won $65 playing penny slots!!!), lounges and bars.  We usually spent our late evenings in the piano bar enjoying Derrik's music.  During the days you can play mini-golf, basketball, challenge yourself on a ropes course, watch movies at the Dive-in theater, shop duty-free stores, become part of an organized activity, or take a slippery ride on the two water slides.  
 
 

Ultimately, my favorite part of being on the ship was just relaxing, spending time with my daughter and watching the beautiful Caribbean waters slip past.