Cookin’ it up in Texas!

4am comes awful early but that is the time I needed to be up to catch this flight yesterday morning! It was still dark when we took off….this beautiful picture is taken from my plane window as we passed over Richmond, Virginia --- just awakening to a new dawn.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

I love watching the scenery from the plane window…and it was such a clear morning that I could easily see where the rivers lead –I’d never caught this perspective before. I was lucky this time!

I also got plenty of hexagon sewing in ----feels good to be back at it!  Just a few more rows and this section will be ready to add to the “Mother Ship”.  Maybe by the time I get home?  We’ll see!

Janet picked us up at the airport, baggage and all – and drove us to Plano, straight to Fabric Fanatics!  I have HONESTLY never seen so many batiks in one place in my life!  That’s all they have!  If you are looking for batiks, you won’t need to go any further than this.

Dave’s brother Myron met us for lunch, and we all went to a Tex Mex place to get our TEXAS on!

After that, we checked into our hotel, and the guys went shopping while I took a nap.

I can hardly believe that it’s been 9 years since we moved away from Texas. And it’s been that long since we’ve seen DH’s brother and his wife --- we are in contact via phone, via facebook, via text --- but there is nothing like sitting down with family and talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company in person!

There is this huge country western place called Southern Junction that we loved to visit for special occassions when we lived out here. It’s the most unique place I’ve ever been!

First off, it’s out in the middle of nowhere, past Rockwall ---and it looks like nothing more than a storage warehouse on the outside --- but you go INSIDE and this place is HUGE!  It’s got a stage for concerts and live music, THREE bars, places to play pool, a mechanical bull, and the best part ---you get to choose your own steak and cook it on the grill yourself.

How come it is not as much fun to cook at HOME as it is to go out and stand along side a flaming hot grill with complete strangers?

Here’s DH --- picking his T-bone off of the tray! From here you take it to the little seasoning area ---

There’s garlic salt, seasoned salt, all kinds of peppers – butter for basting your meat –—I have no clue who this random stranger is, but she sure seemed to know what she was doing with her seasoning routine --- ((Can we say that she was “well seasoned”?? LOL!)) So I just followed her lead and put on whatever she put on!

Big long grill, and boy those coals are hot!  Yes --- coals!  It’s not a gas grill – there’s a real coal fire there with briquettes and everything.  The smell of the meat cooking was heavenly!  One thing about cooking your own dinner though --- if you burn it? TOUGH COOKIES!  Mine is the shish-kabob there at the far right.

DH’s brother, Myron, and his wife Pam!  Of course along with a steak the size of Texas, you get to grill your own Texas Toast --- as much as you want--just don’t burn that EITHER! We also had salads, and there is a "Load it up yourself" Baked potato bar!  I about needed a wheelbarrow to get myself out of there!

Dave, the steak-master, shows us how it’s done! When he turned 40, I gave him a surprise birthday party here.  Fun Memories.  Ummm..that was almost..12 years ago!

I know it’s crazy, but it IS more fun to cook with strangers than it is to cook at home!  And I didn’t have to do the dishes after!!

But I did have to stop and have my picture taken with Buster, the Mechanical Bull! And NO, I did NOT ride him ---I’m not THAT crazy!

It was a fun first night!  Today we rev up for our first workshop, Love Shack and Crumb Piecing!  Bring on the scraps!  What a way to start off New Years Eve celebrations!

Don’t forget that tomorrow ((Sunday, New Years Day)) is the release of Part 8, the FINALE of our Orca Bay Mystery!  You won’t want to miss it!