Hacienda Don Jose Restaurant "TlaquePasta" - Tlaquepaque, Mexico

The restaurant at our favorite B&B in Tlaquepaque

is Hacienda Don Jose. It is like a second home to us in Mexico... we have stayed there so many times.

Salvador tends bar and is quick to offer a

refreshing drink to guests.

We love the art on the walls... and I am so

sorry to say that I did not get the name of the artist.

An art critic was staying there and we asked what he thought of the paintings. He loved them and said that the eyes of the woman were absolutely captivating.

The food is delicious! You probably cannot make out that this is a chicken breast in a cream sauce with slivers of peppers... served with a medley of vegetables. My husband had just treated me to a bite of his more than excellent steak. That is the touch of brown you see on the plate.

This creme brulee has taken center stage

as THE best I have ever eaten.

Knowing this now... in the future it will be salad for me for the main course in anticipation of this creamy, thin crusted dessert... to end all desserts!

http://www.travel-library.com/accommodations/north_america/mexico/guadalajara/quinta_don_jose_boutique_hotel.html

Doors to Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico

These are some of the beautiful doors that you will see on some of the buildings in Tlaquepaque, a "suburb" of Guadalajara. Usually behind these door are some of the most beautiful haciendas and landscaping.

This may be the entrance to a bed and breakfast.

The architecture in Mexico is beautiful.

The "door knobs" to these doors are elephant

heads made of metal. Amazing!

An evening in Mexico

These beautiful yellow trees call Primavera here in Mexico are all over

the state of Colima right now. I have searched for days looking for the

best view of these to photograph but it just has not happened. You are

having to settle for second best. When the sun hits these just right they

almost glimmer. My favorite tree in Mexico!

Our granddaughter prepares a little botana for us in a local resaurant.

It's a tostada with chopped onion, tomato, beans, jalapeno, melted manchego cheese and a dab of a cream that is so wonderful!

Our grandson was busy the whole time we were there.

The fish in the little pond by our table loved being fed crackers.

You can barely see them poking their heads out of the water.

It was a great evening!

A great day in Mexico!

We arrived at Suchitlan up in the hills of the state of Colima, Mexico

This is our oldest son, his two year old son David, my husband David and

our six year old granddaughter, Carmen.

This is the view as you enter Los Portales, the open-air restaurant.

They are well-known for their cream that is used on their many dishes of beef,

chicken and rabbit.

Carmen demonstrates spreading the cream on a blue corn tortilla.

After she covered the tortilla with cream she sprinkles a small amount

of sea salt on top, rolled it up and enjoyed it as a flauta, a flute.

After Suchitlan, we drove to city of Colima, the state's capital, for

a walk through the mall. It was time for an ice cream

treat at the Golden Arches!

It was a great day. My son's wife was under the weather so was unable to join us. Otherwise, it was a perfect day!

Today in Mexico

Carmen - how little fashionista!

Lunch on the patio with our sweet granddaughter.

A quick pic of our grandchildren. David had been into the cake.

The day in Tecoman, Mexico

Our granddaughter is learning how to ride a bike. She just hasn't learned how to stop yet. Our grandson likes to run along side of her. When she falls he tries to help her up. My husband loves to get in on the action.

Mangos hang from the trees everywhere. These are pretty green, but many others have ripened and usually fall around us. They are really good!

I love to drive by my daughter-in-law's boutique. Her display windows are always fully decorated and beautiful. She is very talented.

Bienvenidos -- Rancho Don Pedro in Tecoman, Colima, Mexico

Rancho Don Pedro was named after my husband's father, "Pete".

Pedro in Spanish is "Pete".

This tree at the entrance of the home is a parota. Had my husband not named the ranch after his father I would have named it after this tree. It's very old and in person it is very impressive.

I've written about Rancho Don Pedro many times and even started this blog with pictures of the remodeling. We added this acquaducto to the entrance.

This area is for entertaining. We've held quite a few parties here including our annual Halloween party for the grandchildren and even a wedding reception once.

This is a view from the opposite side.

Here is the two bedroom house and pool.

Texas A&M in 2026!

My grandson will be at

Texas A&M University in 2026

and will lead the football team in winning the

Big Twelve Championship!

Gig'em, Aggies!

The old kitchen loses out to the new one

We built our home 27 years ago. Even then we were saying that the Formica countertops were "temporary". This picture shows my new wood floors, but they  replaced the linoleum flooring that were "temporary" as well.

It is probably hard to make out in this picture, but the counter is actually a bar ... and it was never used as the counter where the boys could do their homework or eat an after school snack... as we always saw in Better Homes and Gardens. That was because it was too narrow!

So... finally we remodeled last November! Yayy!!

Out went the Formica and in came the granite. Wow! It took three men who struggled to bring the granite into the house. It weighed over 300 pounds.

I had a black sink put it... one of those composite sinks. You can barely see the faucet, but it's really a nice one... and I love it. The old ovens are still in this picture, but a few weeks later the Thermador ovens were delivered and installed.

You can see the Thermador induction cooktop. I had beadboard put on the island and it was "antiqued"... copper colored paint underneath and black on top. With the purchase of the ovens and cooktop I got a "free" Thermador dishwasher.

The backsplash is tiny stone.

I am really enjoying having all this work space now on the counter. I'm still trying to figure out my deocrating style. I've been tied up with other things lately and just haven't gotten to it, but it will happen.

We improved on some of the other rooms, but that will be for another time.

It's so good to go back and look how far we've come with our redo! Thanks to Between Naps on the Porch! http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Off to Mexico!

This Wednesday my husband and I will fly to Mexico. Our business is located near the city of Manzanillo on the Pacific side of Mexico. We farm papaya, honeydew melon and personal size watermelon. The season is finishing up for honeydew so it's time for my husband to travel down there to check things out. Our oldest son is our business partner and lives there full time. My husband runs the sales office in Texas, on the U.S. side of the border.

Now my husband is going on business, but we BOTH are going to see not only our son and his wife, but our two beautiful grandchildren. My husband is known by the grandchildren as "Pops" and I am "Abuela"... which means "grandmother" in Spanish.


We've learned to answer ro different names/titles in Mexico. My husband is referred to as "Don David" and I am simply "Senora". Being called "Don" in Spanish is a sign of  respect. I can't help but get tickled by that a little bit and tease him about it, but it truly is a good feeling to see and feel the respect my husband's employees have for him.

I'm off to pack, but not before I particiapate in Metamorphosis Monday!

White Bluebonnets - "Dare to be different"

I'm not sure if these are "officially" recognized as bluebonnets, but they are not a real common sight to see... in fact, this is my brother's picture. I think it's just beautiful. It was taken close to Austin. So many Texans are showing off their bumper crop of wildflowers to blogland these days and I just couldn't resist being a part of helping to display one of Texas' best assets... the Bluebonnets, our state flower.

Are you a Vera Bradley fan?

Well, so am I. Vera and I are getting to be such a good friends... maybe too good. But on thing is for sure... there isn't much else that perks up my mood than carrying one of my Vera's wherever I go.
My inspiration for this black and white picture (well, almost b&w) came from the beautiful pictures on "Sweet Up - North Mornings... a Creative Oasis" by Kathy http://sweetup-northmornings.blogspot.com/  Check her out!

Learning to "collage"!

Well, it's not that great but it's my first collage. I have a problem with following directions so I'm trying to teach myself through trial and error.

The pictures are repeats but just what I could come up with for the moment.

Thanks for your patience!

Ryan and his godson

Beau

Beau with his godfather... our son, Ryan!

Easter brought us an extra blessing. Our youngest son became the godfather to little Beau, the son of our dear friends.

It is so much fun to see the two of them together. I know they're going to be very close!

It's the next big thing - Family Reunion 2010

The Peterson - Cavallin - Larson Family Reunion

2009

     It's that time of the year... and actually I am running behind schedule, but planning for the 2010 family reunion is underway. The building has been rented (last year) and the dates are known to all... July 16 and 17th.

     My favorite part of the reunion is the "Tree Hugger" event. Everyone (well almost everyone) has emailed their latest updates: births, weddings and loved ones who have passed on. I will have recorded all of these events and then run off the family tree. We lay the family tree out on tables that have been lined up so that family members can review it and even at that point make additions and corrections.

     This is a labor of love for sure. It is my husband's Swedish family. This year we are trying to add a few "extras" to the reunion... perhaps a cooking demonstration of a couple of Swedish recipes. I would love to see some of the children act out the story of the family coming to America.

     Are you involved in your family reunion? What activities do you have?

A Peak at the Ranch

Minas Hill has been the site for our Easter Sunrise Service at our

deer lease... which we always refer to as "the ranch". On top of this hill a view of the land around is incredible.

The entrance to the area where we stay is always a welcome sight for us as we immediately begin to relax and prepare for enjoyable times. After we stay at the ranch, we all feel ready to accept the challenges of the week ahead and blessed with the comaraderi of our ranch family.

An aloe vera bloom is always lovely sight.

                                        Cactus blossoms are so beautiful as they open in full sun.

A field of thistles.  I opened the window of the truck to take this picture and could not believe the sweet aroma these thistles gave off. Don't touch; just smell!

I only wish I could tell you the name of this wildflower. They are everywhere at the ranch. It's so delicate and yet strong enough to survive the hot south Texas sun.

Let's finish our cascarones or "confetti eggs"!

Our finished confetti eggs - cascarones!

After coloring your empty shells and allowing them to dry,

fill them with colored confetti.

Cut colored tissue paper in circles that will fit over the opening of the egg shells. Carefully glue the edges of the openings and then press the tissue circles onto the glued area. The top pictures shows you the end product.

Now you have a "cascarone"!!

Our tradition when the boys were young was to use these confetti eggs in place of hard boiled eggs or even the plastic eggs. After all the eggs were collected during a "hunt", my husband would give the signal that the fun would begin. The boys chased after each other cracking the eggs on each other's head. We were not excluded from this either.

I do not consider myself a prankster, but for some reason I could not resist filling one egg with either a little glitter or flour. Tee-heeee!!

P.S.  Lori E. wanted to know who cleans up this confetti. Our hunts are done in a field usually... sometimes in our backyard. The confetti usually dissolves after a few rains. And if we see a stray piece of confetti, then we it just brings back the memory of a fun time!