We had a very different week than usual this past week. Dad was getting along fine, so we “seized the day” and took a short trip to West, TX. I didn’t actually pay attention to where, exactly, we were staying when I made the reservation. I just picked a hotel that looked nice and was reasonably priced in the Waco area. It turned out to be a bit serendipitous.
We left Tuesday morning after checking on Dad one last time and telling him we would be gone a couple of days. Then we drove to Waco and went through the Dr. Pepper Museum. It was a fun and interesting place to visit. You get a voucher for a free DP at the end of your tour…or you could trade it in for $1 off any other treat. Believe me, they knew what they were doing when they made that offer. Pretty much everyone traded up for a DP float! Even with the discount, they were NOT cheap. But they were definitely delicious! They were made from a real old-fashioned soda fountain…where the syrup is added to the ice cream and then the soda water is added. Our soda jerk was quite experienced, and it was fun just to watch him work his magic. That was, by far, the best float that I’d ever had!
By time we left the museum, and drove back to West, it was time to check into our hotel. I was a little nervous when we got there. The reviews had been great, and the hotel looked very nice from the outside. Once we entered, though, we saw that they were in the middle of renovating it. AND the internet was down during our check-in, which caused some issues. They did grant our request for a top floor room at the end of the hall (which is usually the quietest area…Dennis is a very light sleeper and hates to get awakened by people stomping over his head). When we opened the door to our room, the A/C hadn’t been turned on and it was HOT! But the room was very nice, so we cranked the A/C down and it eventually cooled off just fine. I looked up restaurants in the area and there was a place in West (which is a TINY town) that had great reviews for their steaks. I thought that sounded good, so we decided to try them out. Dennis has been disappointed too many times ordering steak, so he just got chicken tenders, but I went for the sirloin. It was about 2-3” thick, tender, and cooked perfectly! Dennis was sad that he had opted for chicken. We enjoyed the restaurant so much that we returned on Wednesday night and tried some other options. Everything was good, the service was great, and the prices were very reasonable! If you are ever looking for a good place to stop on the north side of Waco, try out the West Station Roadhouse. You won’t be sorry!
When we got back to our room, Dennis allowed me to take the first shower. Another problem! Whoever had installed the shower control had done it wrong, and you couldn’t turn it to hot. So I ended up taking a very quick, cool shower and Dennis opted for a sponge bath! We told the hotel clerk about it at breakfast the next morning and they had it fixed the next day when we returned from our adventures. They were extremely apologetic, too! Other than those little glitches, it was a very comfortable place to stay. The best thing about it was that it was right next door to Slovacek’s and just across the highway from the Czech Stop and Bakery. I didn’t realize that this little town was the Czech (and kolache) capital of Texas. So, of course, we had to do our own taste test to see which was better. Slovacek’s won out! For a savory, I went with their jalapeno popper kolache. It was SO good! For sweet, I tried the plain cream cheese kolache. Delicious! I love checking out the local (food) culture!
We spent the day Wednesday touring the Homestead Heritage. I’ve heard about it for decades, so we decided to check it out. We were both glad we did! The craftsmanship of all of their products that they make and sell is exceptional…plus you get to watch them do a lot of it. We visited with the craftsmen as they worked and got some interesting tips and history in the process. We had lunch at their café, where everything is cooked from scratch using the foods that they grew or raised on the farm. The sandwiches and burgers were served on homemade breads, the vegetables and herbs were grown on site, and even the condiments were made there in their community. It was absolutely delicious! We visited the cheese house and cave and were allowed free samples. Dennis thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the carpenter in the woodshop. I especially loved watching the potters at work and seeing the beautiful pieces they had for sale. We had a wonderful history lesson in the 200+ year old gristmill (and I couldn’t resist purchasing some of their freshly stoneground flour and blue cornmeal). We also had a good visit while watching the blacksmith at work. We were amazed at the craftsmanship of the spinners and weavers at work. Plus we spent a long time just walking through the various shops where all of the goods were on sale and admiring the beauty of the artisanship. I would loved to have purchased a LOT of their work, but the prices reflected the time and work invested in each piece, so it was all a bit out of my reach. I ended up just buying some food items and a couple of gifts for upcoming birthdays.
We made it back home around noon on Thursday and went to check on Dad after grabbing some lunch. He did fine while we were gone, and had even participated in some watermelon fun in our absence. I am so happy to see him doing better. Bobbie’s failing health and death just totally overwhelmed him, and I was beginning to fear that his “fog” might be permanent. He has snapped back quite a bit over the past couple of weeks. Of course, he still suffers from memory loss and confusion, but he has some life back in his eyes and his mannerisms. He went out to eat with a group of us today after the morning assembly, and thoroughly enjoyed himself! Since Bobbie died, he has (I guess) decided not to worry about his diet anymore. I think he was trying to stay healthy so he could take care of her. Now he is eating WHATEVER he wants! At 89 years of age, I’m not going to interfere with him either. At best, his time left on this earth is very limited, so he may as well enjoy what time he has left (even if it means eating almost a half a bottle of honey with his tortillas!).
Sheila and Matt and the boys (except Ian, who had to work) came for supper Friday night. Yesterday was Matt’s birthday, so I wanted to cook something really nice. I made jambalaya and made some artisan bread using the whole wheat flour that I had brought back from our trip. Then I served baked peaches with ice cream for dessert. He and Caleb were very lavish with their praise. (Have I mentioned how much I love to cook for those two guys?!) Nam had just finished his first week of kindergarten and had done very well. He was pretty tired though! There’s a big difference between 5 days of full-day school and the 3 half-days that he went to for pre-school last year. We are planning another sleepover next Sunday night, since he is off on Labor Day.
Yesterday was Amber and Rick’s shower thrown by the Highway church. Everyone had been instructed to bring one thing for Amber and one for Rick, so they got a LOT of great stuff! I think they both have everything they need now, plus a whole lot more! We all had a great time, too!
I have absolutely nothing planned this week (other than normal stuff) until the weekend, when we’ll be going to the Labor Day Gathering in Haslet. I’m hoping to start doing some organizing and cleaning in my pantry and closets. I’ll be spending all day Friday doing food prep and cooking for the weekend. But that leaves me four whole days to do whatever I feel up to tackling (other than my daily trips to check on Dad). I can’t remember when I’ve had the free time to spend on reorganizing. I’m actually looking forward to it!
I hope your week goes well and that you can spend some time doing what you want or need to do!
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