Surprise!

My African violet is blooming.

It's always a surprise when it blooms! 

YeeHaw!

I'm joining the new meme Tuesday Afternoons.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Simplicity

The crocosmia has finished blooming.
Just in time for the summer's hottest temperatures to arrive.

I'm going to join the crocosmia and start my summer hibernation!

I'm joining Tuesday Afternoon at A Spirit of Simplicity for her new meme.


Wishing YOU well and much joy! 

Tea With A Lady

Let me introduce you to Lady Carlyle by Royal Albert.
She was a gift from one of my sisters (by choice).

A classic example of the romantic, floral tradition of Royal Albert,

Lady Carlyle draws inspiration from the extravagant rococo styles of the 18th century.

The Lady is decorated with a highly stylized floral design,

a deep pink border and elaborate gold scrollwork

I've paired her with a teapot with roses by Grace.

I made a pot of Harney and Sons Chinese Flower tea.

Chinese Flower is a beautiful blend of hand plucked green tea with flowers and citrus.
There is a light aroma of orange and flowers.
One sachet makes two cups of tea.
A real delight with Lady Carlyle.

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea!

I'm joining some tea parties in the Land of Blog:
Teatime Tuesday
Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

My World: St. Arnold Brewery

The last city on the Rice Football Caravan this year was Houston

and the get-together was held at St. Arnold Brewery.

St. Arnold was founded by Rice University graduates and they often hold special events for Rice.

Here's just a little snippet from the St. Arnold web site.

You can read more about St. Arnold here.

"Our first keg of beer was shipped on June 9, 1994. Founded by Brock Wagner and Kevin Bartol, we chose Houston because, other than living here, this was the largest city in the country that did not have a microbrewery. Brock was a longtime homebrewer and had considered opening a brewery as far back as college, although that was quickly dismissed as a silly idea. Seven years after graduating, Brock revisited the idea, enlisted Kevin's help and the brewery was off and running. Kevin has since left the business after a bitter battle. (Just kidding - but don't you wish people wrote that when it was the truth?).

Our small crew does everything at the brewery: brew the beer, filter the beer, keg the beer, bottle the beer, sell the beer and drink the beer. For us, this is a passion, not a job. We believe that this comes through in the beers we make. Our beers have soul."

Why the name St. Arnold?

You can read the complete story here.

The Legend of the Beer Mug

It was July 642 and very hot when the parishioners of Metz went to Remiremont to recover the remains of their former bishop. They had little to drink and the terrain was inhospitable.

At the point when the exhausted procession was about to leave Champigneulles, one of the parishioners, Duc Notto, prayed “By his powerful intercession the Blessed Arnold will bring us what we lack.” Immediately the small remnant of beer at the bottom of a pot multiplied in such amounts that the pilgrims thirst was quenched and they had enough to enjoy the next evening when they arrived in Metz.

And, a fun time was had by all!

(They make a great root beer, too.)

Many thanks to the hosts of Our World.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

My World - Happy Thanksgiving!

Visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself!

I thought I'd take you on a walk around our neighborhood
and look at the Thanksgiving and Autumn decorations.

And, finally, Home Sweet Home!

From Twisty Lane to you,
this brings a wish for happiness-
Joy and laughter, warmth and cheer -
and peace and plenty through the year!

My World

Be sure to visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself.

I love this time of year in Houston.
There's so much to do -- too much!

Last week I went to the International Quilt Festival with
my Sista and god-daughter.
We girls always have a good time together.
We were wowed by what we saw.

It was a hard decision just deciding where to start!
So much to see!

(On the Wings of A Dream by Caryl Bryer Fallert)

This quilt is called On The Wings of A Dream
and was the grand-prize winner.
Caryl Bryer Fallert from Paducah, Kentucky is the artist.
Caryl describes the quilt this way:
"After a major life event, a new life chapter begins, and
there is freedom to make new choices and try new things.
The dancer and the transparent white bird merg
together to represent this freedom. The eagle represents
the past, which must be left behind in order to move forward."
Hand dyed and painted, machine pieced, embroidered, quilted

(Beyond the Horizon by Mary Ann Hildebrand)

I promised Kim over at Calamity Kim's that I would post
this quilt called Beyond the Horizon today.
It is based on one of Kim's favorite woodcuts.
The artist of this quilt called Beyond The Horizon is
Mary Ann Hildebrand of Comfort, Texas.
Mary Ann says " This quilt was made in response to a local
art center's call for quilts based on other art forms and my
husband's challenge to do the design.
It is based on an early woodcut."

(Touque - a neat word for a hat, eh? by Victoria Gray)

There was a whole section of quilts made by Canadian artists.
This quilt by Victoria Gray from Heffley Creek, British Columbia, Canada
is called "Touque (tuk) n. a neat word for a hat, eh?"
It made me smile. Fun, isn't it?!!!
I would think a knitted hat would be indispensable in Canada!
Techniques: Hand appliqued, embroidered, braided and distressed,
painted, stuffed, trapunto, machine quilted

This is just a glimpse. There are more for another day!

Click here to view all participants of My World Tuesday.

Joy!

My World

Be sure to visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself.

I think I've mentioned before that we are baseball lovers.

I'm going to take you back to the end of September
and the last game of the season (for us) with the Astros.

It was a beautiful day and the roof was open!

We are huge college baseball fans
and get a real charge seeing *our* boys play in the major leagues.
Here's Lance Berkman (first baseman for the Astros)
with Paul Janish (short stop for the Cincinnati Reds).
Both of them played for Rice U Owls.
Lance was the college baseball player of the year.
Paul was on the 2003 team that won the college world series.
I wonder what they were talking about? !!!!!

It was Friday night and the last fireworks of the season.

Click here to view all participants of My World Tuesday!

Have a wonderful week!

My World

Visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself!

Last week our grandson and his parents were visiting.
We had a great time and now you get to see some of the pictures!

(Himself with the menu)

One evening we went to the Rain Forest Restaurant.
We were surrounded by animated animals.
Every 20 minutes there was a rain storm.
No water, but the lights flashed like lightening with plenty of sound effects.

The monkeys made monkey sounds.

The tigers growled every now and then.

The elephants raised their tusks and flapped their ears.

But it was Tracy the Talking Tree that HIMSELF really liked.

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Joy!

My World

Visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself!

I'm taking us back to Williams Tower and the grounds around the building to the Water Wall.

A three acre setting

Dedicated in 1985
Built and designed by John Burgee architects with
Philip Johnson Network

The gabled archway fronting the fountain, the scaenae frons
is reminiscent of an ancient Roman theatre stage.

11,000 gallons of water
per minute
spill over the walls of the 64 foot high fountain.

front and back

We had seen the Water Wall many times on the local television stations.
We had never visited the Wall before until the day we visited
the Williams Tower for the art exhibition for Mr. Turner.

I can't begin to tell you how overwhelming it is.
And, the sound of all that water!
WOW!

Click here to view all participants of My World Tuesday.

My World

Visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself!

Today, I'm taking you back to Texas Art Supply
and the last of the murals on the outside walls.

Click here to view all the participants of My World Tuesday.

Just a short note to thank all of you who have left messages of condolence
by commenting or by email regarding the death of our kitlet, Rocky.
All of us appreciate your kindness. The house is too quiet.
We all miss him -- two leggeds and four leggeds.
I'll have more about what took Rocky from us at a later time.

My World

Visit My World to see more of our world or participate yourself!

We had to drop by Texas Art Supply last week to pick up some supplies for Mr. Dragon. He is taking color theory this semester. Someone should have told me we needed to buy stock in Texas Art Supply! This time I had my camera with me and took pictures of the murals on the building.

I've saved some for next week!

Remember to click on photo to enlarge.

Have a wonderful day!

Joy to You!

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My World

Visit My World to see more of our world or to participate yourself!

Last week we walked around the Museum District in Houston a little more and this week I thought we'd return to Hermann Park and walk a little there.
Hermann Park is nestled between the Texas Medical Center, Rice University, and
the Museum District.

This is the reflection pool. It is 740 feet long and 80 feet wide.
We are looking toward the Pioneer Monument (obelisk 50 feet tall) and
the Miller Outdoor Theatre.

There is a jogging trail that winds it's way through the park --
about 2 miles long.
You can sit along the way and relax under the old live oak trees.

How about some Tai Chi?

If you are tired of walking, you can always take the train!

Or sit and share your lunch with a friend.

(Click to enlarge photos.)

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Thanks for visiting.

Joy to You!

My World

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

The museum district in Houston is on the northern edge of Hermann Park.
This is the original building of the Museum of Fine, Arts.
It opened in 1924.

This was the original entrance.
This entrance is no longer used.
If we could go in this door, we would enter the new Arts of India Gallery.

As you walk around the building to the *new* front door
you see this lovely surprise.

Looks like a horse made of driftwood.
It is actually bronze.
The artist (Butterfield) is a horse lover.

Keep walking and you'll reach the entrance to the Law Building.
(The backside of the original building that has had many additions over the years.)
The photo was taken from across the street, outside of the sculpture garden.
This is the part of the museum designed by Mies VanderRohe.

The sculptures outside the building were from the Red Hot exhibition
that featured modern art from China.

We like reflections!

The dinosaur was also part of the Red Hot exhibition.
It's cage is the same size as one of the containers you see on container ships.

Enjoy your day and I hope you visit My World for a trip around the world.