Interesting thing at the gym tonight ... could have been a coincidence but it was still funny.
I went on the treadmill for about an hour... each machine has its own TV so since I do not have a tv I can watch there and get my exercise at the same time.  I finally remembered tonight to wear my bathing suit under my clothes to do some laps at the end to cool down.  I was swimming with the whole pool to myself... area all dark but the pool is totally lit under the water so it is great with the lit fountains all around it.  There are usually people in the hot tub but I had the pool to myself.  Well after doing many laps I decided to do one lap of butterfly... I am better than I used to be but I still splash a lot.  Well on my next lap I see someone walking by... security!!!  They usually hang out in front of the fitness area but I guess he heard me splashing around and came to ck out what was going on... or it was a coincidence....I found it funny anyway.  Work is still great as well as living here.  It is only in the 90's now so it is all good.

 I went to Gruene on Sunday - pronounced Green.  This is the dance Hall there which is supposed to be the oldest in Texas.  It is like being in an old Barn.  The bar to the right is just inside the door and then you go past it and get to the room below where bands play on a continual basis for free concerts.  Some nights they have special people come and then you have to pay.

 Beside where the beer cases are is where the band was.  At the far end you can barely see the stage.
Below I took a picture out the side where the pool tables are and yes that is right there are no walls on the hall... goes out to a patio outside.

Nice tables !

Just outside the hall there was a fire hydrant - very weird looking one at that ... The even put barn boards around the garbage pail.

Across from the hall is of course the General Store.  It sells penny candy - old fashioned and lots of different salsa.  Note all the motorcycles... the town was full of them all coming to see the sites.

This is a bed and breakfast that also rented out rooms in other buildings as far as I could tell.

Look careful see the door in the middle... takes you to your room for the night.

The sign above the door leading to this one said it was the pent house suite

If you want more water to take to your room just pump some for yourself using this pump.  Worked just like the one in the Hill.

Side view of the barn for the next two rooms.

Front view two more to rent

There were new subdivisions being built but I didn't take pictures.  They are new but are being built like they are old with wood logs and cobblestone.   There is a spa, tea room, antique stores and novelty stores.  Every third Sunday is a market day with lots of artists coming to town apparently.  If I go back I will take more pictures.  Everything else is going well as usual.

Finally finished the fruit basket.  The picture with a flash shows it better but without the flash you get to see it all.  Now onto the vegetable basket.  The frames have glass on them which I was always told not to do when i was selling the kits since they are supposed to sweat behind the glass.  Now I will find out if that is true or not or just a selling feature to sell more frames.  This was all I could find here in the right size so it will have to do.  I started this one when I was in my apt in the 80's so now I finished it for my next apt.  Just 3 houses in between and about 30 years.  Hopefully the fruit will not take 30 years to finish.

Found my first hockey rink.  From the outside it looked kinda normal but I had to go in since the sign going up to it said skating and golf centre.  Inside there were two ice pads...nice but this was  6 pm on a Sunday night and only one of them was being used.... The golf was a mini putt so you could come here and have a birthday party.  Lots of games in the lobby too.  Fitness area upstairs off the viewing areas where they do dancercise.... now what do you think all these blue things are... zoom in... they are skates.  Just like in a bowling alley if you need to rent bowling shoes well here they rent skates for public skating times and parties... Yes I am down South.

Couldn't resist taking these pictures.  These booths are at the front entrance to the HEB which is the main grocery store here.  Everything you would ever need to buy for your tailgate party.  You just have to figure out which team you want to support.  On jeans Fridays you see these colours everywhere.  I keep telling them that I am going to show up one day with a Hockey jersey on... just have to get one first.

 

This view is from the outside looking in to the gates that you have to open to get into our subdivision

This is from the inside looking out

  

Just inside the gate looking in go right of median

this is right of the median the curve is just past the row of garages on the right and then you are at our apt  not a very far walk at all

  

Turn around from looking into our gate and you see the office to the left and the pool exercise centre building on the right

Signs on Blanco where you turn onto Talavera Pkwy

At the signs looking up Blanco behind that fence is the mall that I walk to

on the other side of Blanco looking up Talavera The bldg in the distance on the right is the one at the gate going into our subdivision.

So I walked to the shopping centre today since I didn't need too many groceries and I carried them home.  What a difference from living in Greely for so many years where the closest big stores were in Manotick or Barrhaven.  It was interesting at the mall.  At the pet store they had a sign that there would be pet adoptions today.  There were no pets in the store.  On my way back there were lots of dogs outside with a lot of people.  All of the dogs were rescue dogs with their foster parents and they were there looking for homes.  Interesting way to do it.

When I was home it was hard to explain to people our subdivision.  This is my little walk coming back from the pool that is just outside the gate.  This is just inside the gates to where we live my next blog will be from the road to the gate... later

Just inside the gate this is the building on the right side of the gate.  No corner balconies like my building but rest same as mine since they do not have garages either

Look left coming in gate and these are the buildings you see.  These guys have garages inside on the first floor at the front with parking in front of their own garage

Here are some of the carports and the external garages in the distance that people in buildings like mine can rent.  I just park in a regular outside spot.  I am in underground all day at work so car not in the heat that much.

This is the way to our apt.  I go to the right of the median in the middle and past the buildings you see here.  These are directly opposite the buildings above in the picture I said was on the left of the gate.   Curve to the right past these guys and our building is the next one on the right.

Turning the curve and now you see our building

Getting closer to bldg

Right in front see walkway to entrance

Stairs are right between the cars

Then you get to go up the stairs one flight.  There are two apt on each side of the hall with our storage unit doors in between so you never hear the guy next door.

As you can see the halls are outside and you can go all the way through.  Our apt is at the back so I can walk through this corridor to the back stairs and go right up to our apt or go up the front stairs here and walk to the back of the building on the second floor.

Found some more pictures on my balcony repairs.  None of the empty floor turned out since it was always too dark when I was home to take any good pictures through the window since the flash would reflect back at me.  At one point there was no floor at all on the balcony.  What happened was one day I got a notice that they were going to repair my balcony the next day and please bring in all personal belongings and plants and furniture so that they could work... the balcony had marks on the cement floor from previous peoples plants so I figured they were going to paint over the cement and patch up some cracks... brought in the stuff so then the next night when I got home from work I decided to go out on the deck to see what they had done... I couldn't open the door ... it was jammed somehow so I opened the curtains and turned on the outside light and the whole floor was GONE... if I had been able to open the door and step out I would have dropped right down to the first floor.  Here are some pictures of the outside and of the floor being rebuilt.  I can go out on it now but the paint job was awful so they are going to repaint for me some day.

view out door part way through repair

View out dining room window with new wooden floor

Balcony today new cement and wall painted

Men working from the outside on my balcony on the second floor

Last weekend at the pool a vulture came to visit to have a drink.  I got up to go for a swim after he was gone and turned around and saw a bunch of deer on the golf course.  Interesting.... then Tues night went nordic walking on different trails near where I went roller blading ... nordic walking allowed me to go on the gravel nature trails that are just beautiful... at the parking lot there is a great fountain... apparently they have them at all of the dog parks... tall fountain for adults and low one for dogs...no middle one for kids on this one but near the washrooms the kids get one.  Playing catchup with the blog so doing all of these pictures in one.  I couldn't make the pictures big enough to really see the deer and vulture well but you can click on them and zoom in to see them. Later today I will do the walk to the apt... missing some pictures on the way in so will get them on todays walk and update tonight... Nice to have internet in apt finally... my phone just wasn't fast enough...or I wasn't patient enough for it to upload...

Four deer grazing in the shade in the golf course behind the pool

Deer moved to Fairway

Golfers made it to the green so the deer took over the fairway

Vulture spreading wings about to fly away

Vulture landing about to take a drink

Vulture up on fence checking us out

Vulture taking a drink from the pool

this is the fountain that has the low ones for dogs