The Far Yon Tip of Texas

Greetings Y'all. We're back from our trip to Pharr, Texas to attend my niece's wedding. All went well with that. (Uh huh, the mints were much appreciated. ;) Then we went shopping in Mexico and had a good time sightseeing for a few days. After our second (How can a body shop good going just once?) shopping excursion in Mexico we headed to South Padre Island for a short visit to the beach. This ship lit up the harbor with brilliant color. Looks like a pirate ship to me, Matey.

The Gulf of Mexico waters at South Padre Island.My granddaughters loved collecting seashells to bring back home with them.We were not the only ones strolling along the beach.
As we were leaving the island the sun was setting just beyond the bridge to the mainland. If you click on the picture you can see the bridge stretching across the water. It was about a mile long.
On Monday, our last full day in Texas we went on a birding tour at the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. We saw a lot of different birds that are not common here in Tennessee. I really enjoyed the tour. Here's a small sampling of the many birds we saw:
Green Jays at a feeding station. We observed and took pictures of them from behind a blind.
From a distance the Great Kiskadee.I had been hoping to see this bird, the Chachalaca.
Birds and javelinas were feeding in the same area. The tour guide reminded us that javelinas are not a wild pigs. Sorry, but it looks like a very hairy, little ol' wild pig to me. ;)I'll leave you with this shot of some butterflies enjoying their corner of the park.My my, but it's good to be home again. Have a great week, Y'all.

Linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters #211

Sad, It's Just Really Sad

We had wind and lots of rain last week, but our autumn leaves are still hangin' onto the trees. That's fog you can see through the branches.
Now, here's the sad, sad story....Several months ago Melanie showed us all the pretty aprons she had bought for herself. Oh yes, they were lovely, and I was impressed with them, but here's the thing.. I lingered in admiration a little too long. (Reaching for tissues.) I let my guard down and found myself almost instantly beyond self-control. (Swallows hard.) Before I knew it I was in a chasm of free patterns, lovely cotton fabric and matching thread. (Stifles sob.) I want to return to yarn and needles, but I haven't found my way back just yet. I'll let you know how it goes. Meantime, the free pattern for this one is here.
I finished the rose mints, all 140 of them. The flavors are banana and Bavarian Creme.
Have a great week, Y'all. :)

Trees Ablaze With Color in the South

Our trees here in the South are starting to show peak color now. The evening sun lit this one up like fire for the picture. I huge, big "Thank you!" to all who visited Emily's site and voted for my hat with the dishrag bow!I didn't win the contest, but my entry did give the winner a very close shave. ;)
Nope didn't win that one, but to my great surprise I won the best time to knit a dishrag contest..go figure..very surprised about that one.
I'm still sewing aprons, can't stop myself. I free-handed the pattern for this apron, but it doesn't fit me so I guess it's back to the drawing board...too bad since I really like chickens.
Heeere chick, chick.
No knitting to show as I've been busy making wedding mints for my niece's wedding reception.
Here's a look at a few of them packed in containers. I've done 84 pink peppermint hearts, 90 amaretto doves and 80 creme de menthe leaves. Next comes the roses, lots of roses. You can see the molds in the bottom right side of the picture.Have a great week before the week before Thanksgiving, Y'all. ;)

See, There's This Contest

The Dishrag Tag Race is over, but there is a contest at Emily's website that I've entered. Please go here and look over the entries. I have more than one entry as you may detect from my flagrant use of my kitchen as the background, but only one really has a chance of winning.
Search your conscience and please vote for my Darling Chapeau Embellishment. http://yarnmiracle.com/2008/11/05/picture-perfectbest-use-of-dish-rag/
Thank you, thank you! Oh, and if I win I'll see there's a chicken in every pot and a Cadillac in every driveway. ;) Cool, huh?