Yummmmm! Lasagna!

This event may prove to be a real high-light!

I understand we will be waited on hand and foot by a wait staff eager to please...and the lasagna sounds super delish! There will even be an eggplant version if you are of the vegetarian persuasion. I think I'd like to try it even though I am a committed carnivore.

And salad! Not just salad...caesar salad, my very favorite!

And garlic bread...

and wine....

Mangiamo

Balls and Cookbooks!

What a combo, Balls & Cookbooks!

First...thank you Penna & Bob, for donating those

nifty colored water volleyballs to our ball inventory.

They are a little different feeling from the balls we are used to

but I predict they'll be useful in expanding our finesse.

Perfect for setting!

******

Next..

The Sandpiper Cookbooks are sitting in three large boxes under a table in my Texas room.

Lot 38...back in the corner, the back 40...come on back!

Come and get 'em!

(we are leaving on a road trip from Nov 29-Dec. 9 or 10,

but Sue P can break into my house for you)

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Pricing is flexible.

The more you buy the cheaper per book they are.

One book is $10.

Two are $9 each.

Three makes it $8 each.

And four or more brings the cost down to $7 each.

What a deal we are giving you.

Can anyone say Christmas gift?

Butterfly Garden Gets Trees!

Thanks to a very generous donation from Les & MaryAnne, in memory of their parents,

we have a couple of Wild Olive trees in the butterfly garden.

Additional thanks to Patsy and Garland for our ability to add a wider range of butterfly attracting plants to our inventory.

We added Cape Honeysuckle, a shrub that has brilliant red/orange flowers. Firebush, a very showy shrub.Gregg's Mistflower...a must for attracting butterflies, especially Monarchs.And Mexican Tarragon or Mint Marigold, which is not a mint, but is a variety of Marigold and has culinary uses as a substitute for tarragon.

Smells great and butterflies adore it!The garden is looking great.

Hard to believe after the long hot summer, but what has survived, has thrived.

And now we have shade trees.

Mexican or Texas or Wild Olive...attracts hummingbirds by the truckload.

Annie & I were lucky to find a great price on some beautiful trees...one big, one smaller.

And to the delight of Bill & Jim, the trees were not only delivered, but planted as well!

It was a BIG job!They dug.......and dug...
...and dug some more.
The small tree went in first..Of course we had to pose as if we had done the hard part.

See the real worker lurking in the background? He was shy.

Then the big tree was wrestled in.

Wow! I'm sure glad we didn't have to do that!It takes experience...and muscles!
Ta-da!
The plants are spreading...
...blooming....
...and attracting lots of butterflies.Next we'll work on benches and memorial plaques.

Adopt-A-Family Meeting

There will be an ADOPT-A-FAMILY organization meeting

in the Community Center at 10:00am Friday November 20th .

We need elves to purchase gifts for children aged newborn to 11 years old.

One family has five, one has four, one family has 3

and two families have 1 child each.

We will also need wrappers and strong able elves to deliver food and gifts.

We will be enabling those who wish to be shoppers with the means to shop.

If anyone is going to be out of the park Friday morning and would like to help, they may drop a note off at Lot 5 indicating where they can assist in this endeavor.

Ho!Ho!Ho!

Elsie’s elves headquarters

Beautiful State Parks!

Last week the bicyclers toured Estero Llano Grande S.P., a lovely little gem on 1015 just before you hit the border for Nuevo Progresso.

It was chock full of water features and birds and alleged alligators.

Donna L. has a lens on her fancy shmancy camera that puts my poor aim & shoot to shame.

Here are a few pictures she liberated from her computer treasure chest. This is a Grebe. No, it's an Anhinga, Anhinga, Anhinga!

Also called a snake bird...you can see why.

The alleged alligator. And...look closely at this pile of leaves.

It's, do I remember correctly, a Night Hawk? Sleeping on the forest floor, guarding her nest.

Yesterday we traveled to Brownsville to visit a brand new state park, Resaca de Palma.

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Drove through the rain.

Questioning Lanny's purpose to lead us hither & yon on a fool's mission.But...he was right (tho it pains me to admit it).

It was a lovely bike ride. The sun came out. It finally warmed up. The scenery was gorgeous.

We didn't see many birds. In fact, I think this was the one and only.But the ride and the company were great.
There was the possibility of seeing snakes.Eeek! There goes one now!Now, lest you shudder, be aware the indigo snake EATS rattlesnakes!

Good boy!It was magical, riding through the woods.

We also became a feast for mosquitoes while posing on an overlook.

But isn't the view worth it?

Magical. I tell 'ya!

Romantic!

We all didn't hold hands.But we could have...very romantic!

One un-named rider (Annie) ran over some scat (poop to all you civilians) that wedged in her gears, spokes, cables, tires....Stinky & GROSS!

Pauline to the rescue.

Pauline used a well known Canadian technique for removing the offending substance. A stick.

After recovering, we adjourned for my favorite part of the day.

Lunch.

But first we had to drive by all the restaurants in Brownsville.

But a good one was picked.

Las Mismas.

No English spoken here, but great food.

We all got a delicious soup.And the food came out pretty fast, was hot and well prepared.Milanesa...kind of a Mexican Chicken fried steak plate. And ...shoot...what did they call this? It was tostados piled high with fixings but called something else. Memory jog, anyone?

And enchiladas stuffed with white Mexican cheese and chicken. Then my plate. The journey to try mollejas whenever possible, continues. This was a good one.

What are mollejas, you query?

Maybe someone will comment and answer your question,

plus get an entry into the free lunch ticket drawing.

Each and every blog comment goes into the magic cigar box to be drawn at the next FunBuzz.
******

We had a super time. Thanks Lanny & Donna.

Next week it's another great adventure. The McAllen bike route down Col. Rowe, with lunch at New York Pizza.

Breakfast Time!

Tony and Jon discussing Saturday's lunch and Sunday's breakfast menu.

When I eavesdropped I heard something about French Toast. Ummmm!

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So...what are your favorite breakfast foods?

Do you eat the same thing, day in, day out?

Or do you like variety?

Remember...each and every comment gets a chance at a free lunch ticket,

to be drawn at the next FunBuzz.

I did a search and found this list of the top breakfast foods...any of your favorites on the list?

Top 20 Breakfast foods.

1. Oatmeal

Steel cut or instant or regular, with brown sugar and raisins.

2. Eggs Over Easy

Yum!

3. French Toast
Bread dipped and cooked in an egg and milk mixture, and maple syrup.

It's often not done right, but when it is done right, it's heavenly and fluffy!

4. Waffles
A dough-based cake with that familiar design just right for putting in maple syrup.

Great with fruit on top!

5. Scrambled Eggs
Those classic, fluffy yellow eggs that you can have along with all sorts of things,

like ham or cheese or herbs.

6. Sausage

What's not to like!

7. Grapefruit
From one of our own trees, perhaps. I like the Ruby Reds.

8. Omelet
A beaten egg cooked in butter or oil with ham, cheese, vegetables, and/or other meats.

A great customizable food!

9. Orange Juice

Again, from our trees.

10. Pancakes

With blueberries!

11. Yogurt
I really love Greek Yogurt with granola.

12. Bagel and Cream Cheese

with Lox!

13. Toast

Buttered of course.

14. Eggs Benedict

Whoa! Yummy! But for special.

15. Breakfast Burritos

Not from a gas station.

16. Muffins
Blueberry?

17. Croissants
Buttery and yummy!

18. Bacon
It's smoky, it's piggy, and it can be crispy or fatty depending on your tastes.

It's fast to eat, great with almost every breakfast, and bacon bits are great in omelets!

19. Hash Browns
Burn 'em...that's how you order them extra crispy.

20. Granola

This goes with my Greek Yogurt...I like the Bare Naked brand, naturally.

New Focus for Chapel

New Name & Focus for Chapel

Starting Sunday, November 22nd, Chapel will now be called Fellowship.

Fellowship will have no fixed format (no liturgy)

but instead will be open to all who are seeking spiritual renewal.

We welcome those who come to soak up some encouragement, those who come looking for answers, those who come to participate, and those with dissenting opinions.

Although I'm spearheading Fellowship and will always have something prepared to spark discussion, I welcome anyone who wants to bring a poem, article, song,

or scripture they would like to share and discuss.

If you are interested in leading Fellowship for a week (or a month),

you may use materials of your own or borrow from my library.

Currently we are using Max Lucado's study guide for Genesis and have been discussing who God is and who we are in relationship with God and how that impacts our lives.

Communion will be offered on special occasions

and other events will happen as the group decides.

If you feel the need to feed your spirit and don't have a church to attend outside of the park, please consider joining us Sundays at 9:00 AM in the Club Room (previously the weight room).

For more information or questions, please contact Darbi at Lot 3.

Email: darbistolk@gmail.com or phone: 260-438-4225.