We left Vermont in the earliest dawn of a foggy morning, knowing as the plane swept away in an exhilarating whoosh that within just hours, we would set foot on Texas soil. There is hardly any knowledge more pleasant than that!!!

I told myself that I wouldn't cry when we touched down.

I did very well on this resolution...

For two seconds.

At last! Back in Home Sweet Texas!!!!

One of our first encounters was with an ancient rancher who was dealing with frozen pipes after a recent cold spell. We offered to help - here you can see (at a distance) Augs talking with him as he wandered around in his truck and told amazing stories. What began as a random meeting turned into a fascinating hour in which we heard about the price of cattle, the difficulties of Texas ranching, the joys of tomato gardening, and the history of Blue Bell ice cream. At the end, he rummaged around purposefully under a pile of papers, tools, and unidentified objects in his truck, and finally extracted a small, tasty-looking package.

"Deer sausage," he explained, handing it over, then adding in a confidential sort of whisper, "The deer was dead a few days."

Speaking of meat...

A super generous family treated us to the most AMAZING dinner imaginable, at a Brazilian Steakhouse in San Antonio!!

And now here is The Random Collection of pics from the rest of our trip:

Totally unexpected matching day.

Catching up over deliciouso Mexican food...

...and grabbing snippets of time to talk on busy workdays...

One of our favorite people. Ever.

Um...last time we saw this fellow he was a baby; not so much anymore. I didn't mention hamburgers in his presence. It just didn't seem wise.

We were privileged to spend a day out on the Guajillo, listening to stories, catching up on life, and soaking in wisdom from one of the dearest couples we know.

They took us on an extensive tour of the ranch, telling countless old tales of Indians, Texas Rangers, actual battles that took place right there along the Colorado River, and ancient knowledge of plants, among other things.

He is also one of the best cooks I know!

I'll end with this picture of two of my favorite dogs. They are the best. They are fun, they are wild, they are full of energy, they are sweet, they are unruly. I adore them.

Already looking forward to the next time we return to Texas,

Ems

Texas Roadblock

Three of us are in heaven Texas at the moment! And yesterday, driving through the countryside on a beautiful old road, we came across a small herd of cattle that was disinclined to move...

This guy was mesmerized by the headlights, content to stand silently and simply stare. And stare. And stare. And stare...

I kind of took a liking to him!

There are some people in life that make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger and live just a little bit better.

{unknown}

Heading to Texas!!

This is the view that greeted me this morning. And it was a very good start to the day, which has now turned out to be wonderful and hectic and full and super exciting, mostly because I am leaving for Texas in 9 hours and 7 minutes...!!!

To say that I am looking forward to being there would be the understatement of the year. Curtis has residency interviews down south, and Augs & I are going to keep him company, and also catch up with old friends, and also soak in some warm(er) temps, and also love every minute of it.

On another note, on Saturday we hosted the Christian Medical and Dental Association's annual get-together of students and leaders in the New Hampshire/Vermont/New York region.

Texas is now approaching in 8 hours and 57 minutes!!

Brr.

This is what greeted me the other morning as I stood, one hand clutching a hot mug of coffee, the other hand busy flipping over pieces of frying bacon, my toes dancing a little jig on the icy tile, and all of me wishing for a warm blanket to curl up in.

Okay. So 68 degrees indoors is warm for Vermont. Buuuuut, the outside temps make up for all of it by reminding me in every windy blast of snow against the window that I actually live in Siberia!

We had a beautiful white Christmas!!! And I am already much, much enjoying 2017...