Happy Birthday, Donna! Next time you do karaoke . . . .

Colton's visit to Dad's alma mater: November 26, 2013

Colton (Class of '14) and Donna visited Dad's alma mater, Louisiana Tech, in Ruston on November 26.  Colton is thinking about pursuing a business degree there.

Dad graduated in May 1953, earning a brick in the sidewalk.  I was born two months later.

Dad's brick, right above Billy Earl's.

Early Thanksgiving: Monday, November 25, 2013

Dad, Donna, and Mom mixing dressing

Papa Tom has carved so many turkeys he can do it without looking!

The womenfolk: Mom and the Sistas

The menfolk: Martin, Craig, Dad, Papa Tom, and Colton

Unhappy freezer moment

I only wanted a slushy TopoChico; walked away too long!

School days for Fox: November 2013

Using Mommy's "Beauty and the Beast" lunchbox

Our future movie star in her fur jacket and cowgirl boots, with a sippy cup full of grape juice

Where Fox's movie star good looks come from

B-r-r-r! Prepping for our first freeze: November 12, 2013

The deck and porch plants are tucked safely away in the sun room for the night.

Porch and deck plants under the snowflake lights in the sun room.

Baba, who's about 17 years old, won't come inside, so we set her up with a heating pad and banana box windbreak next to the front door.  This of course means we have to get up every couple of hours to turn the heating pad back on since it goes off automatically.  That's okay.  We love Baba!

We would also have a photo of Millie in her box in the sun room but when Papa Tom called her name to take her photo she leaped out of her box and wouldn't get back inside.  Meanwhile, Lucy Fur and Einar have disappeared, probably under the house.

Grandgirls' Roses

I love cutting roses from one of the grandgirls' rose bushes and placing them in the fleur de lis wine bottle in the kitchen.

A day or two later, they're opening beautifully.

A little blurry but I like the shadow roses.

With grandgirls' roses, during a yoga break

Kiely, a flip flop, and Papa Tom

After our trip to the Quarter, we returned to Donna's house where 11-week-old Kiely was only too happy to work over one of the flip flops I'd kicked off.  She's so smart:  she already responds to "sit."

Who?  Me?

Papa Tom was ready for some zzzs after a long drive, a birthday party, a Hurricane at Pat O'Brien's, the Cats Meow, and Cafe du Monde.

Onward to the Quarter!

Just like the time she took my Junior Mints . . . Sista Donna with our three Hurricanes.

On to the Cats Meow for Sista Donna to do karaoke, something she's wanted to do since before she was 40.  She chose "I Will Survive."  I didn't know the words or where they went with the music but had a great time being part of Donna's bucket list.  I hope she'll ask me to tag along to check off the next item (unless it involves heights and/or falling.  But she's already parachuted, so I'm probably safe.)

Birthday princess at Pat O'Brien's before our karaoke performance

Next stop:  Cats Meow.  Sista Donna has wanted to do karaoke since before her 40th birthday.  It was time!

Yes, because I love my sister, I agreed to "perform" with her.  She chose "I Will Survive."  I'd heard the song but didn't know the words; managed to survive my first karaoke experience.  Shanana/Mia has left the building on Papa Tom's arm!  I left, but it didn't look like anyone left during our "performance."  

Of course we had to have beignets to celebrate our debut as karaoke-ers.

Surprise!

Hiding behind our menus, waiting for the birthday girl to arrive

Sista Donna was really, really surprised (probably in part because her birthday isn't until November 26).  She thought she was having an early dinner with friends.  Well, she was!  Heh-heh!

So happy to be there for my baby sister's big day!  She really is a princess!

Colton, Camille, and Destry were there too, of course.

And she's only 1 year old!  Must mean life begins at 50.

With best friends Erin and Shelly, the women behind it all

Here's to your next half century, Donna! (outside Bravo Restaurant: November 1, 2013)

Halloween 2013--Sixth Street!

This guy has been at the Museum of the Weird for a very long time!

Bride of Wolfman?

Elvis has left the building--for Sixth Street!

El Rey del Whopper

Samsung and the iPhone battle it out!

Viking!

This guy has been playing guitar for a very long time!  He's friends with that pirate at the Museum of the Weird.

Discovered a great new blues band:  The Redlady Band, playing at the Nook on Halloween night.  They have gigs almost every night at various Austin locations.  Will definitely catch them again.  Some of their adoring fans (a devil and a witch among them, in front of the stage.)

Halloween 2013! (our house)

Papa Tom and Roy visit on the front porch, waiting for dark

The candy stash was in the "to go" bag from our dentist

Baba hid out under the porch swing to avoid all the goblins and ghoulies

Luminarias: discovered LED lights this year--much safer than candles

We had decided to shut it down by 8 p.m. so we could go to Sixth Street.  Started holding back the Hershey's, Nestles Crunch, and Butterfingers and giving out the Nerds and Gobstoppers.  We're bad!  Seems 8 p.m was the witching hour.  We'd had about 150 trick-or-treaters up to that point.  At about 10 til 8, the streets were virtually empty.