Steep Right Up!

The sun finally came out 

and I enjoyed the day by walking up to the Village.

A stop at the new Starbucks for a Green Tea.
Sitting outside with my book.
Wonderful!

The book, LADY COP MAKES TROUBLE by Amy Stewart
is the second book in the Kopp Sisters Novels.
GIRL WAITS WITH GUN was the first in the series
and I loved it. The books are based on the Kopp sisters'
real life adventures in New York in 1914.
Great covers, too!

Painted in Rice Village after Hurricane Harvey 
by street artist Gonzo247.
This hand embodies the resiliency of the Houston spirit
and even has a little Texas embedded in the center of the palm.

Speaking of tea (!),
I wanted to share my new tea cup.
A dear friend surprised me with this cup and spoon 
from Mud Pie.
"Steep Right Up" to spring!

"Steeping Up" to spring also means
it's time for college baseball!
This was opening night at Reckling Park.
I like to get to the ball park early!


That's my This and That for the last week. 
Wishing YOU well, much joy and sunny skies!

Willy Nilly Friday

Amaze Me Monday

Mosaic Monday

Tuesday Cup of Tea

Keep In Touch

SaveSave

Opening Night

It's Opening Night at home for the Rice University Owl baseball team.
Astros spring training is also going on.

And, Sofie is back!
She is now a year old and doing well in her service dog training.
Here she is with her Mom.
Sofie's boy is on the baseball team.

*

It's Mardi Gras time.
That means King Cake!

This one has a Strawberry Creme filling.
Yum.

Here on the Gulf Coast the King Cake is associated with the pre-Lenten celebrations of Mardi Gras/Carnival.

In the southern United States, the tradition was brought to the area by colonists from France and Spain.

The King Cake comes in a number of styles. The most simple, said to be the most traditional, is a ring of twisted cinnamon roll-style dough topped with icing or sugar, usually colored purple, green and gold (traditional Mardi Gras colors) with food coloring. King cakes may also be filled with additional foodstuffs - the most common being cream cheese, praline, cinnamon or strawberry.

Finding the baby in the cake is said to bring good luck and you must supply the King Cake for the next years party.

*

I've started adding the green to the flowers for the afghan.

Almost finished  The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala by Laura DiSilverio.

I enjoy the readholics series.
 Book club members that always seems to get caught up in murder
and the book they are reading offers clues!
This time they are reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Monday Social

Mosaic Monday

This and That

It's been cold
and then it's been like spring.

Today it's cold, but the sun is shining.
Mina is always good at finding a sun puddle.

The college baseball season is off to a fast start.

The Rice Owl baseball team started off with four games against the

University of Texas.

There's nothing like the sound of the bat hitting the ball

Or eating a hotdog at a ball game. 

Photo From Rice Sports Information

Meanwhile,

back at home in the garden

the camellias are blooming.

Last, but not least,

the Burpee catalog arrived.

I'm making a list.

Burpee is a Non-GMO company.

Something I really appreciate.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Thanks, Kim.

Thanks to Karen for hosting Sun Lit Sunday.

Potpourri

First things first.

Happy Lunar New Year!

Welcome to the Year of the Horse.

I made several of these for a postcard swap.

**

I've spent most of the icy days catching up on the television shows I've missed.

I'm now caught up with CASTLE.

***

Speaking of icy - how about another Snowman?!

This little angel may be as tired of winter as the rest of us are.

I think she's helping them melt!

No artist listed but there was a suggested 1939 publishing date.

Thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

****

Do you have a favorite flower?

I love roses and daisies are such a happy flower.

But there is something about the iris.

It calls to me.

What is it about irises

in the garden

whether blue flag or yellow,

deep purple, white with red

why do they catch the attention, the imagination

more than lesser blooms?

A certain allure

that Georgia O'Keefe didn't taint

a beauty that draws you in to ponder and marvel on

a delicacy that is real

but a perennial that wears well

the seasons in New England too

bitter cold and short summers

whether in bog or flower bed.

~Raymond A Foss

*****

It's time for "Spring" baseball practice.

Even the umpires have to get their practice before the season starts.

The Owls will start the season in California against the Stanford Cardinal.

Go OWLS!

Thanks, Nancy!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Potpourri

It's been quiet on Twisty Lane.

I've been busy and trying to cut down my online time.

But, today is Friday and it's time for a little catch up -- some this and that.

*

I went on a rainy adventure with a good friend down to Alvin, Tx and Joe's Bar-B-Q.
I can't tell you how many times I've driven by Joe's and thought the food must be good
because the parking lot was always full.
I've done my own personal research now and can report that I had the best
Bar-B-Q sandwich I've ever had at Joe's.
Then we were off to Froberg's Farm for some veggies and blackberry fried pie.
I didn't get many veggies, but I did get a fried pie (or two), some honey and blackberry jam.

**

The Rice Baseball Insiders dinner was held at Reckling Park (home of the Owls)on the field. 

Boy was that fun. Some folks had never been on the field.

Lots of room to walk and talk and meet the fine young men who make up the 

Rice Owl Baseball team.

This is coach Graham and the next shot is one of the 18 conference title trophies.

Each table had a trophy as centerpiece.

I'm not sure how much fun the players had, but us *old* folks enjoyed ourselves.

***

A true cold front arrives today.

We start at 75 at 5 AM and will drop to 50 --probably by noon.

It's supposed to stay in the 40s and 50s the next week.

****

Santa has arrived on the front porch with his tree.

I've plugged them in to make sure they are working, but won't officially turn them on

until Thanksgiving.

The snowman is on the balcony. 

Getting ready to jingle on!

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Sunlit Sunday: Baseball

It's time for Sunlit Sunday.

Nothing brightens up my day more than baseball.

Especially college baseball.

That's part of the Texas Medical Center in the background.

My owlettes started the season off well and then they went to Hawaii.

They played well there.

I think they may have had too much Hawaii as they haven't played well since coming home.

The season is young -- and so are they!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

This and That

I love this time of year.

There is a promise that the days will cool and wonderful walks are in the future.

Last year, because of the drought, the acorns were few and far between.

This year the squirrels can't collect them fast enough before the acorns cover the ground.

I love Halloween and love to share Halloween fun!

This is a reproduction of a vintage Halloween postcard.

Isn't he quite clever!

Yes, we *auto* have a Happy Halloween.

***

It's that time again.

Classes have started at Rice University.

The Boys are Back!

Time for Fall Ball.

I walked over to watch the action.

So many new freshmen.

There's just nothing like the sound of the bat hitting the ball!

**

Walking home from Rice I spotted some Halloween decorations.

This Halloween man made me smile.

His head turns from side to side.

I don't think this Ghost is going to scare anyone!

What a great welcome he'll be to Trick or Treaters.

***

Finally, I finished the last black cat square.

I went to Michaels and found a gray yarn that was very close to the original.

This is what the afghan would have looked like.

It is huge.

I'm glad I decided to make four lapghans instead.

I did do some tweaking of the pattern when I decided lapghans were the way to go.

I can't put anything on the floor without having a cat or two check things out.

Now I have the kitty seal of approval for the lapghans.

Thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday each week.

Wishing YOU well and much joy! 

My World

It's Time for My World.

Go visit the My World site to see more of our world or, even better, to participate yourself!

I was trying to decide what pictures I would share with you about My World. I was watching the Home Run Derby, part of the Baseball All-Star Game and decided that I would show you my two favorite baseball parks in Houston.


This is the scoreboard at Minute Maid Stadium, home of the Houston Astros. The Minute Maid corporate offices are located in Houston and they paid for the naming rights to the stadium. The stadium is built on the grounds of the old Union Station and is attached to part of the old Station building. That's why you see a lot of railroad trains around the park.


The roof opens and closes. Good thing in this horrible heat. No one would be able to play if it was open. You can see the shadows the window and roof cast on the field. Makes fielding interesting sometimes.

Batting practice at Minute Maid.

Here's my other favorite park, Reckling Park home of the Rice University Owls. These pictures were taken during Fall Ball last year. Scoreboard first.

The Owls have been quite successful -- scholar athletes. They take their studies seriously along with their baseball.

Batting practice at Reckling Park. In the background you can see the Texas Medical Center.

We do enjoy baseball!

Potpourri

It's Friday and it's Potpourri time with a little Journal Friday
and a book review thrown in.
This is the By The Sea page I've been working on from Pam's class.
I've added the words.

The words will be familiar to some of you *wise* folks.
I took the chorus from "By The Beautiful Sea" to journal.
(Words by Harold Atteridge in 1914)
In many ways I'm not happy with the page,
however, it makes me smile so not all is bad.

I finished reading The Celtic Riddle: An Archaeological Mystery by Lyn Hamilton. I have a good friend in California who I call my Saurian Sister. We both were book pages on AOL back when chat rooms were just getting started (Lzrd and Dragn) and we've stayed friends through the years. She sent me a box of books with other goodies for my birthday. This is one of the books she sent along with several more Archaeological Mysteries by Canadian, Lyn Hamilton.

Lara McClintoch is the co-owner of a Toronto antiques store. Her travels take her all over the world. In The Celtic Riddle, Lara accompanies her employee, Alex, to County Kerry, Ireland for the reading of an old friend's will. Eamon Byrne left each of his quarreling heirs a clue - a piece of a puzzle that would lead to a mysterious treasure - but the family would have to work together to find the treasure and that's not likely with this group! An ancient Celtic poem serves as the key. Lara and Alex are fascinated by the intricate riddle and come closer and closer to the secret. Murder and mayhem and long lost treasure. Sounds like the perfect summer read to me!

(Photo by Tommy LaVergne)

Lastly, a snapshot of Rice Owl third baseman Anthony Rendon in action.

He has been named the 2009 Collegiate Baseball National Freshman of the Year.
Owls are off to Baton Rouge to play LSU in the Super-Regionals.
Good luck OWLS!