October 31, 2010. San Antonio, Texas. Hallowe'en

There is excitement in the air. Suzanne is sweeping the front stoop because neighbors and friends are coming over for Halloween dinner, served out front. David will turn on the smoke maker promptly at five and we will be ready for the festivities. The twins are swimming, prior to putting on their costumes, David has gone to pick up the barbecue sandwiches. Soon after eating and drinking and sitting around out front, the kids along with Suzanne and me and the other Mothers will go out to trick and treat, while the fathers stay to hand out candy, and drink wine.

It is an exciting night, second to only Christmas in the annual calender. My job is the help set up the tables and chairs up front, but Suzanne with her efficiency has everything ready, so I begged off swimming while I write my wee web blog. The water is chilly.

The volleyball court is complete and is a big hit. It will serve them well. David has been trying to entice Suzanne to play a game, three on three volleyball. David never played volleyball at school at any level, so he claims the twins and he are in need of some skill training, but he is a tad competitive, so I suspect he will improve. It will be fun watching the progress.

Backyard Court

October 30, 2010. San Antonio, Tx. Action.

Never a dull moment, here in Texas, in the home of David and Suzanne. At seven-thirty this morning, David was at the store, renting an auger so he could dig the posts for the Volleyball court. He was half finished at ten, when Sarah and her friend had to leave for their volleyball game. I went with David as I had not seen Sarah's team play this year. This weekend is Volleyball tournament time, single elimination, so when you win, you play the next game, if you loose, you go home. Sarah's team won on Thursday so they play the next round today. Sarah's team played at eleven. They lost, barely, but they lost, so now she is finished.

Meanwhile, Suzanne took Ken along with Allison and Samantha to see Abigail's game at noon, fortunately at the same venue as the twins soccer game at one. Abigail had stayed overnight with Hanna, who acts as the team manager, so Abigail met Suzanne at the game. Now we must juggle. I watch the first of Abigail's game, then go to see Allison and Samantha on the soccer field, while David does the same, only in reverse. Suzanne is keeping the official book at the volleyball tournament so she is stuck in the gym, but she must be home, ready to be picked up at 2:30.

Abigail's team was top seed, so the first round was a bye for them, which I thought right off was trouble, as they had no time to get loose and confident. They too lost and immediately headed to the restaurant to celebrate their season. Meanwhile, the twins lost their game, then had a second game twenty minutes later, which they also lost. Everybody lost but everyone seems just fine

Suzanne and Sarah were invited to attend the Texas game in Austin, about an hour and a half hour drive away, so they had to be home by two-thirty to drive with a friend of Sarah's and her Mother. They are playing Baylor so we have a divided family, some cheering for Texas and some for Baylor.

Immediately upon our arrival home from the twins game, David got to work on the Volleyball court. He rented the auger for the day, so wanted to take it back before six. So here we are. I am in the house awaiting Abigail's arrival home, David, Samantha and Allison and Ken are finishing up the court, then will return the auger, while Suzanne and Sarah are off ready to cheer for the Texas football team.

Soon we will watch the game on TV and relax!! There is never a dull moment here at home in Texas.

Back to Texas, Cotton King of N America

October 28, 2010. Canyon Lake, Tx. Spin off.

Willa Cather has been a favorite author of mine, but I have not read her for many years. One of the benefits of our drive north on #281 was we drove through Red Cloud, Nebraska, her home town and the setting for many of her novels and stories. Now I am up to my eyeballs in a biography of her, written by James Woodress, and I am enjoying it thoroughly. The creative process is a bit of a mystery to me as my creative gene is non existent, but I love to see it in action. I am loving this book and the life of Willa Cather.

The purpose for our trip was merely the drive on # 281, but along the way, much benefit accrued to me, which I call the spin off. Every trip has them, things that are seen and experienced in addition to the main purpose for the vacation. Your life in enhanced, because of the initial decision even though you had not dreamt about these things before. I always feel sorry for people who only go to places they have been to before and travel to the same places time after time, never exploring the new.

And here is another spin off. Ken and I spent so much time in the car that we talked and planned for the next ten years. Now we have people to see and places to go and we even know how we are getting to get there, all due to two weeks in the car.

Of course, we visited with Keith and Wilma, Ken's brother which is always fun. They are opposite from us in every sense and I am sure we drive them crazy, but we always have a good time together. Without #281 we would never have seen them this year so this is another spin off from the trip.

I am accused of being an impossible Pollyanna and I am, but when it comes to a vacation, the side benefits are almost equal to the main event!!

October 27, 2010. Canyon Lake, Tx. Home Again.

Now we are truly back where we started, safe and sound at the lake. We left the far north just in time. Yesterday a major storm hit the middle of the continent, with high winds and much snow. All the highways in Manitoba are still closed, including the trans Canada Highway, along with all the roads in North and South Dakota. And the temperature is below freezing. Once again, we got lucky.

Never a dull moment at the home of David and Suzanne and the four girls. Honey from David's bee hives were harvested on Saturday, making 42 jars of delicious honey. Fifteen months ago David started keeping bees in four hives at the bottom of his garden. He ordered the equipment for harvesting, invited friends and their children over for the afternoon and had a wonderful time, each leaving with a jar of honey. Now David and Suzanne are ready for hostess gifts at Christmas, all from those clever bees.

In the back of their yard is now a beach volleyball court. The sand is in place now and David will install the posts and net this weekend. Both Sarah and Abigail play volleyball for their school teams and as Allison and Samantha are also tall they will probably play volleyball too. David decided they needed a court in the back yard. They will have fun with the court and is a great idea but I must say, it would never have crossed my mind. Moose, their new puppy loves the sand. He stretches out on the cool sand right under feet of the girls. It's quite a sight.

The Other Manitoba