Great Thanks for Life - Thurs., Nov. 28

Happy Thanksgiving to you, your families and friends. Enjoy your day of thanks.

Many thanks for:
1. Bob who is the love of my life going on 32 years.
2. Mom who raised me to be an independent, enthusiastic, spontaneous person - children live what they learn.
3. Our two sons, Randall and Michael, who have chosen different paths, but both are happy and well adjusted.
4. Our families: brothers, sisters, in-laws,  nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, step-children, and step-parents. Much diversity can be found in one family.
5. Our lives in Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Texas...we have lived in beautiful areas in lovely homes. We have hiked, walked and explored all of them.
6. Our current home on wheels allowing us to live "on the road." Life is now a big "road trip."
7. Our jobs: It's nice to have food, gas, heat, money to go out to eat, to travel and try new things.
8. Our health: This allows us to keep doing what we love.
9. Wildlife outside our windows. Love to watch the birds and squirrels. On our road trips we have also seen deer and bison outside our windows.
10. Our cats: They are so entertaining and so loving. I can't imagine a home without cats.
11. Beautiful weather, like today, expansive blue skies, high swirled clouds, cool temperatures, and a slight breeze.
12. Natural beauty: flowers, waterfalls, autumn colors, mountains, deserts, rivers, the ocean and canyons.

13. Food to sustain us.

14. The mental capacity to make choices in our lives.

This morning, Bob, Randall and I walked 5K (3.1 mi.) around Crownridge Canyon Natural Area. Bright blue skies with swirled, white clouds framed the day. 

After our walk, we had Thanksgiving Dinner at the RV Park Rec Hall. 100 people socialized and ate. Very nice meal with our RV Park family.

Here are photos of our day...

Bob & Randall - Crownridge Canyon

Randall & Bob - Crownridge Canyon

Me with my warm hat - fleece flaps cover ears & neck.

Gorgeous day!

Love the lines of the clouds.

Fall colors.

Bob & Randall - it's cold out!

Thanksgiving at the Rec Hall.

A whole table for just desserts.

I hope you all are happy and thankful for your lives.

Travel Bug out.

Cold Canyon and Dallas Buyers Club - Sat., Nov. 23

A couple of weeks ago on a Volksmarch meetup, I met Susan M. We hit it off and agreed we'd walk together. Since then she was on a trip to Florida. She's back in town and we did a 10K (6.2 mi) walk today at Crownridge Canyon Natural Area.

A cold walk, I might add. It was 40 degrees F. when we started at 10:15 a.m. In addition there was a chilly wind blowing.

Our first 5K was in the trees in the canyon where we were relatively sheltered. (Every other time I've walked in the canyon and through the Crownridge neighborhood it was 80-90 degrees in spring or summer.) Today we dressed in layers and had hats and gloves. Our attire was appropriate for the weather so we didn't get too cold.

Amazingly, many flowers are still in bloom or, should I say, blooming again.

Trumpet vine

Susan M. with Agave angustofolia 'Marginata' (I think) .

Our steps were brisk and we finished 10K in 2 hours, 10 minutes. To replenish our energy, we had lunch at Taco Cabana. Bob met us at the restaurant and we had a great conversation about many topics.

After lunch, Bob and I went to see "Dallas Buyers Club" with Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner. This movie will not be everyone's cup of tea, but we thought it was a very compelling movie. Matthew McConaughey plays an electrician and wannabe rodeo cowboy who contracts the HIV virus. His doctors give him 30 days to live because he is very sick.

This movie is based on the true story of Ron Woodruff. Matthew McConaughey lost 50 pounds to play this character. We are inserted into Ron's life just before he finds out he has AIDS. Hard-partying, heavy drinking and drug use are wreaking havoc on his health.

Once he comes to terms with the fact he indeed has HIV, he reads about AIDS research and alternative treatments. At first, he thinks AZT is the drug that will save his health. Later, he goes to Mexico and brings vitamins and protein back into the U.S. which he then sells through a Dallas Buyers Club. Clients pay $400 a month for membership, then receive their vitamins for free.

He runs afoul of the USDA and IRS for importing unapproved "drugs." His club gets raided. Undaunted, he travels to Japan, Israel and other countries to find the medications he needs to help him survive.

If you do not like strong language or movies about homophobia, AIDS and death, this movie will not be for you.

In the evening, Bob took me to Random Event Center in Boerne where we shared a Sam Adams Cherry Chocolate beer. For dinner we ate fish and chips from Hippie Momma's food truck at Random.

Bob's son, Randall, the bartender

Prosit! Samuel Adams Cherry Chocolate Boch seasonal beer.

Many, many beers on tap!

Mary, one of the Random owners

Will Owen Gage playing live music at Random.

We thought we'd be able to watch the Blazers play the Warriors tonight because the pre-game show was on one of the big-screen TVs; however, as soon as it was time for the game to start, the station cut off and showed that we would have to pay to view the game. Oh well.

Home was beckoning. We were cold and tired.

Tomorrow we may go to Austin with Susan M. and her husband, Darren. We want to do the Capitol Volksmarch. It all depends on the weather. Forecast calls for 70% chance of rain and very cold temps.

Good night from the kitties and me.

Sunnie and Bowie

Sunnie and Bowie

Walk and a Movie - Mon., Nov. 18

No wasted time today! I got up, ate breakfast and headed out the door to Mitchell Lake Audubon Wetlands for a 3.1 mile walk. The temperature was in the mid-70s when I started walking and a cool breeze stayed with me the whole walk; a far cry from yesterday's blazing temp and humidity.

The reason I love walking at the Audubon wetlands is that every day I see something new. Today I saw a few birds I hadn't seen before and I will try to identify them. More turtles than usual were on the paths too.

Here, then, are the highlights of today's walk:

Northern shrike

Vesper sparrow, I think.

American kestrel, one of my favorites!

American kestrel showing his pretty coloring.

Olive-sided flycatcher

Black-tailed gnat-catcher.

Northern mockingbird

American white pelicans

Soloist

White pelican from below

Turtles "racing" across the path - the big turtle in back won.

White pelicans

May be a yellow-bellied flycatcher.

West polder.

Turkey vulture in flight.

White pelicans

West polder.

Some kind of nest.

If I were a bird, I would line my nest with this fluff.

Ruddy ducks.

Western meadowlark

Butterfly in sun.

Inner wing and outer wing are completely different.

Such a beautiful pattern.

As soon as I finished walking, I zipped back to the 5er, showered and headed over to pick up Sharon to go see "12 Years a Slave." We went to Regal Quarry Cinemas. Both of us liked the movie. You have to be ready for the intense nature of this movie. It pulls no punches (or should I say throws many punches) in showing slave owners at their most base. These are the slave owners who believed slaves were property and were no better than apes. Based on a true story, we learn of Solomon Northrup, a free man living a fine, respectable life in Sarasota, NY.

When his wife and kids leave on a three-week trip, he is approached by two men who have heard of his wonderful fiddle playing. They entice him to join them for two weeks in the circus to travel to Washington, D.C., and he will be paid a lot of money for his fiddle playing. The two men get him drunk and sell him into slavery.

From Washington, D.C., he is taken with other slaves to Georgia to work on cotton and sugar cane plantations. Life is torture on the plantations; no one wants an intelligent slave except his very first owner. However, his stay on the first plantation doesn't last long - he is sold to another plantation owner. Things go downhill quickly. It is a credit to him that he never loses hope of returning home to his family and his free man status.

The casting and acting are superb. I felt like I was complicit in the treatment of the slaves simply by virtue of being white. The movie is unsettling which I suspect follows the feelings in the book closely. While the movie is excellent, if you don't want to see nudity, rape, mental and physical abuse, hangings, or vicious whippings, then don't go. Because I am pretty sure this movie is true to what happened in that era, I give it five out of five stars.

Pam from Nomadic Newfies is our latest follower. I've been following her for months. She enjoys camping, hiking, photography and traveling. And she contributes to Mural Monday. Thanks for joining us, Pam.