Last weekend.

Took Mom and Denise to BJ's in Temple last Friday. It was our regular Friday night outing. It's been switched up now that my sister is living at home there with Mom. She and Denise don't really get along. It's a long, stupid story that I won't go into. Suffice to say, there's a hell of a lot of folks who don't get along with my sister, and Denise hasn't been trained like the rest of us to take her shit. So there's friction.

So, I take Mom and Denise out one Friday, and then Mom and sis out the next. Yep, these women folk have to share the FHB. It's a HUGE struggle. Cat fights. Ugliness. Such is life, when one is slathered in womenfolks.



I jest! We all get along pretty well. Well, until sis shows up.

Denise and I drove over from Killeen and stopped in Salado so I could get a haircut. Then there was a brief stop at the local cigar store, and then we headed to Temple.

We picked up mom, and then I drove over to BJ's, on the West side of I-35. I dropped these two to the front door and went off to find a parking place. By the time I got in they'd already bellied up to the bar and ordered the first round of drinks.



This is my Blue Moon, off the tap with a slice of orange. Mmmmm, good.



They've got a few pulls there at BJ's, but not as many as I'd like.



At one point the bar tender served the girls a mixture of his own. He saw Denise order her "Shandy" (beer and soda mixed), and thought she might like his own little concoction. I think it was one of their own beers (they brew their own for the place) and some king of liquor. I took a sip and thought it was nasty as hell, but Denise liked it. Go figure.



At one point the little electronic thing went off, buzzin' and flashin' lights, almost scarin' the piss out of me. Then we were led off to our table. That's what's left off Denise's "Shandy" there on the left, my second Blue Moon in the middle, and Mom's Margarita on the right.



When the time came to order food, Mom and Denise chose appetizers, but I went for the Patty melt. Those are Tater Skins on the left, and Southwestern Spring Rolls on the right. Of course, I had to help them finish. Had too. It was just the polite thing to do.

After that Denise and I tried to see a movie. We wanted to see The International, with Clive Owen. But the theater at the Temple Mall only had a 9:50 showing, and we wanted to get into an earlier one than that. So we drove back to the theaters at Harker Hights and Killeen, but nether of those places had the movie showing. So, we blew it off for the night and decided we'd try again Saturday.

Saturday morning, we piled back in the car and I took Denise back to the mall in Temple. I left her at penny's, and then I drove back to Belton and met my buddy Dave at the Gun Show they were having there at the Expo Center.



Along the way I pulled out one of the new Macanudo 1968 cigars I'd picked up at the store in Salado.



Mmmmm, wonderful smoke. Nice and rich. Expensive, but well worth it.

Dave and I had a good time at the gun show, walkin' up and down the aisles and checkin' out the deals. I ended up getting a new sling for my Garand, a sling for my Finnish Mosin Nagant, and falling head over heals for a Galil ARM this guy was sellin'. $850!

Always wanted one of those. I was a good boy though, even though I'd just been paid and was flush with cash. I decided I'd go home and do my online bill pay, and then see how much money i had left after. It turned out, of course, that I didn't have enough left to get the rifle, but that didn't stop me. Plans and schemes began to work their way through my head.

I'd told the guy I might be back Sunday, but there were things to do first. I met Denise back at the Mall and we saw The International. Excellent flick! Great story, and a killer shoot out at the Guggenheim. How many movies can you say that about?

Anyway, Sunday started with the annual Wilson Family Reunion, at Morgans Point, near Belton. We've been going out there, to the Bell County Sportsman's Club, the first Sunday in March of every year, for as long as I can remember. This was the first reunion since dad passed, so I was figuring it would be emotional.

Mom and sis haven't gone to one of these in ages, each for their own reasons. But mom always cooks a platter of her famous chicken. Last year Denise and I failed to get into line fast enough and we didn't get any of this stuff. Of course, the Wilson's, Huey's and Rampy's (all descendants of the original Wilson who came here from Alabama in the early 1890s) all know about Mom's chicken.



So this time, when I got back into the car, Denise said "where's the chicken?" I told her it was int he trunk. "Well, get it. I want a piece!" I laughed and went to get the goods. We shared a piece or two on the way. I tell ya, it's GOOOOOOOD stuff.



All the regular folks were in attendance. Lots of cousins, a few aunts and one uncle, the last one left alive.



One of the family members came up with a new picture of the old family Patriarch. That's William Samuel Shields Wilson (known as WSS) and his first wife, Frances Adams Rampy. We think this was taken around 1891, just before they came here to Texas.




After the big feed, Denise and I took part in a long standing tradition. After the gut bustin' feed, we take a leisurely walk down the road to the lake. I saw along the way that the Red Buds were bloomin'. Must mean that Spring has sprung.



they sure are pretty. I've always love Red Buds.



There were lots of things sproutin' out all over, despite the drought were in.



Found this funny lookin' rock along the way. Some sort of Limestone, with all the softer bits worn away. It's about two feet across.



Belton lake has been goin' down steadily for a good while now. It's hard to believe that only a few years ago it was closed to the public due to the high water level. If you look closely at this shot you can still see the dead tree line way up on the bank, showing how high the water got that year.



Yep, we need some good rain. Lots of it.

Anyway, after the reunion, Denise and I took a drive out to see dad. I cried a little, and then we drove back to take mom her platter. Bot the girls were napping when we got there, so we didn't stay. I drove us over to the Gun Show and I talked to the guy with the Galil. We made a deal. I gave him $50 and we signed the deal, and when I get paid again in two weeks it'll be mine. Wooohoooo!

Also, you remember this guy? I remember him mostly from the TV show The Virginian, when I was a kid. Well, he was at the show in Belton, sittin' at a table and sellin' autographs. I tell ya, it was sad to see, but you do what you gotta do.

Anyway, they're gonna kick me out of the library here. time to go teach the jail birds again. I'll see you again later. Cheers!