11.21.2014

SAN ANTONIO



I think this was my third or fourth trip to San Antonio, but I look forward to it and love it every time.  The Riverwalk is gorgeous and sheltered and cool and just the tiniest bit damp.  For a desert girl, it's a wonderful get-away.  We arrived on Monday afternoon into San Antonio's exceptionally spacious airport.  Not many airports are a pleasure, but this one was.  Every person we talked to or asked directions from was happily helpful.  That's the way we thought of them.  Happily Helpful.  They're great ambassadors for the city which, at 1.6 million, is much larger than I thought.

Mary and I stayed at a Drury Inn and Suites which is showing its age, but again everyone there was exceptionally helpful and breakfast is included in the price.  And, before I forget, so are wine and other similar beverages along with hot hors d'oeuvres.  It's a happy place from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.  And that aging part?  Our suite was spotless and I'm more into that than the latest and greatest furniture.   



We did the obligatory River Tour, and it is interesting... Really.  I had remembered that the San Antonio River is real and empties into the Gulf of Mexico, but in the process it becomes part of San Antonio's flood control project which is pretty darned intricate.  We learned a bit of history--real and imagined, and directions to a good authentic Mexican Restaurant.  I can't really vouch for the authenticity part, but it was so good, we visited it twice! 



 On another day we walked to the Alamo.  The Drury Inn sits on the river's edge--as you exit the back door, you're at the river; and in the other direction, it's only a few blocks to the Alamo.  I remembered the Alamo, but not as much as I should have.  I forget how intricately carved and really pretty the church is, and how seriously Texans take this shrine.  Yes, it is a Texas State Shrine in honor of the brave men who defended it against the forces from Mexico.  Here you find a roll-call of the great adventurers of the early 19th century.  Unfortunately, far too many of them, Americans, Europeans and Mexicans, died here.    



This tree--a Southern Live Oak--is much more impressive in person than in a little photograph.  If my memory serves me well, it is over 200 years old, and nearly fills the courtyard surrounding it.  We planted six Southern Live Oaks around our patio last year at about this time, and I'm now resolved to keep those sweet trees under control.  The grounds of the Alamo are much bigger than I remembered.  It was a good-sized fort (now nearly covered by San Antonio downtown buildings), but we think mostly of that pretty little mission when we think Alamo.   







 Water, water everywhere--the weather performed exactly as forecast, and on Thursday the rains, wind and cold descended.  We had hoped to ride the River Taxi to the Pearl Brewery, but it would be a chilly and damp hour-long ride.  Being dainty (and old) ladies, we took a cab and ten minutes later were warm and cozy at the Local Coffee shop.  This new area, accessible from the Riverwalk if you don't mind a hike, is historic (the Brewery was founded in 1881) up-to-the-minute modern, quirky, delicious and fun.  Plan on spending an afternoon, and plan on including lunch or dinner, then kick back and relax. 

  

Margie


11.19.2014

BACK TO MY FUTURE

About this same time of year in 2012 I posted about my great love for and dependence upon a Daily Planner.  Not just any Daily Planner, but the Perfect Daily Planner.  That year I had discovered Paperblanks and their lovely line of journals, address books and, yes, planners.

I told the story of spotting a particularly beautiful  Paperblanks Planner and even though it allowed only one page per day, and squished Saturday and Sunday together on a single page, I committed. It would be a bit tight, but I decided I could do everything on a slightly smaller calendar scale.  For example, I could use my teensiest-tiniest handwriting to limit all my notes to the daily allotted one inch  As most girls learn early in Kindergarten, beauty trumps all common sense.

Last month, when I visited the Paperblanks website to order my brains for 2015, I was horrified to discover only six choices of planners.  Six not-very-attractive choices of planners.  Beautiful journals but very plain  planners.  Frankly, my planner sets the tone for my entire year, and I was in deep trouble with this website. 

I continued to search the internet and various shops for a 2015 planner but, as the days wore on, I began to realize I had only one choice.  After all the not-so-nice things I had said about Franklin Planners in 2012, I would have to crawl back to them and beg to be forgiven.  And, damn--I hate to do that.

However, minutes after creeping into franklinplanner.com which instantaneously turned into franklinplanner.fcorgp.com (the shopping area--these people are straight to the point) I came across a lovely Italian leather cover on sale for half-price.  Well, they had me there and, as you could guess, I'm ensconced quite comfortably with Franklin once again.  I'm back with two-pages per day; a schedule for my schedules; pages for goals, values, mission and finances...It's truly me.  I love nothing more than delaying a project just one more day by taking one final opportunity to re-plan it, and Franklin?  It provides all the tools I need.

Yes, 2015, has all the makings of another successful year indeed.

Margie