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| Antique spurs were on display at the Mission Espada, about 3 miles from the aqueduct. This spur resembles a clock gear, and was popular in Mexico in the mid-1800s. |
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| The Mission Espada, built in the 1700s, is still a functioning church. |
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| Inside the Mission. Over 1,000 people were baptized at Mission Espada between 1716 and 1773. |
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| Lighting a candle for those we love |
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| Papa Tom and I went to San Antonio on Tuesday to sight-see before his oral surgery at the UT dental school on Wednesday. We visited the Mission Espada aqueduct, built in the early 1700s. The aqueduct still irrigates the mission's fields today. The aqueduct is ever so slightly sloped, so gravity can move water into the fields. Unused water was returned to the river in the early days, as required by Spanish law. I'm not sure if that's still the case. |
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| A real hollow log. I took a peek inside, but nobody was home. |
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| Beautiful morning overlooking the lake from Craig and Martha's back yard |
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| Papa Tom and me at Craig and Martha's front door |
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| Colton drove over from Louisiana Tech in his Nissan, named "Nelly." |
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| With Dad and his flowers: Dad, Charles, Donna, me, Martin, Martha |
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| Amon and Fox joined us for dinner on Wednesday, October 19. Chase was the center of attention, of course. |
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| Fox has a 4-foot wingspan, if memory serves regarding the distance between the island and cabinets. We can measure everyone else's wingspan when the kids are here in December. Yea! |
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| Thanks to Joyce and Emma, we found out about these adorable kitty cat shoes and found a pair for Fox (on Amazon, of course). Thanks for the heads up, Joyce and Emma! |
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| Fox says they are her ballet slippers. |
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| Can you find Emma? We were treated to another excellent performance by the Midway choirs on October 17. |
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| After the performance |
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| Emma's to play a camp counselor in an upcoming show. Here she is with her friend Holley. |
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| Fox wanted to know how much Chase aka Fluffball aka Big Fatso weighs. We showed her how to first weigh herself holding Chase, then to weigh herself alone, subtracting the lower weight from the greater one to get Chase's weight. She still wanted him to stand on the scale by himself. He weighs about 8 pounds. |
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| She held him against the height wall long enough for me to take a measurement. |
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| He's almost as tall as River was at close to 5 months old, when the Asheville Lewises were in Austin for Papa Tom's 60th birthday. Fox drew his picture but didn't have room to write "Fluffball." His nickname is now "Fluff." |
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| Chase is mesmerized not only by the talking skull but also by the disembodied hand! |
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| Fox figured out where the "eye" was so she could make Skull talk: "I see you!" |
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| Mr. Fox and me, with my new hair twister |
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| Love the braids! Wish I knew how to do this. |
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| Birds of prey. I think this is the red-tailed hawk. |
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| Sand painting |
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| Papa Tom and I met Martin and his friend Lorraine Cull at the Renaissance Festival. |
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| I would want him to be on my side! |
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| We were amazed by this guy's ability until we got close enough to realize he wasn't real. |
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| Three heads are better than one. |
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| In Texas, we wear cowboy boots with our kilts. |
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| Papa Tom and I met Martin and his friend Lorraine at the Renaissance Festival outside Houston on Saturday, October 8. We had front row seats for the jousting tournament. |
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| Our side of the arena routed for the Spanish knight. |
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| We had our own horse. Luckily for him, he was wooden, like the Trojan horse. |
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| Papa Tom was hungry for a turkey leg! |
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| We had lunch at school with Fox on Friday, October 7, to help her celebrate being the class Superstar that day. A different child is the Superstar each week. Fox shared family photos and favorite toys with her classmates, so they could get to know her better. |
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| Amon placed an online order for new tires for the Civic. Tom discovered the delivered tires in the driveway. Luckily we were home and Amon was able to pick them up right away. |
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| In cleaning out boxes, I found a drawing Skyler did of Janae about 13 years ago. He told me it's okay to send it to Janae. I think she should have it. |
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| The lingerie bag comes off at feeding time. But as soon as Zulu's had breakfast, the bag goes back on so he won't be Chase's breakfast. Chase doesn't mind putting his paw in the water. |
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| After I opened my office window to enjoy the cooler weather, a wind gust blew the screen out! Chase decided to take a closer look. |
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| He leaped to the ground for a really closer look! |
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| Let me just brag about our smart boy. He is not allowed on the kitchen island, but likes to see what we're doing up there. He's discovered he can stand on the backs of the bar stools to watch us, without getting in trouble for stepping on the island. |
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| Papa Tom tried to keep Chase on the back of the bar stool for a photo, but Chase was ready to step down. |
