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Writer's pictureJaela Deming

December 11, 2023: Texas Hospitality

Last week, Mom had the opportunity to meet up with an old friend she hasn't seen in 40 years at his family's lovely home in Edna, Texas.



After leaving Magnolia Beach, we headed to Edna, where we spent the night at a quiet, peaceful campground. Unfortunately, our one complaint about the place was that their supposedly 'hot' showers turned out to be freezing cold, which isn't pleasant anytime, but is made all the worse when it's a chilly, windy day :( Other than that, we appreciated being on RV hook-ups for a night so we could catch up and clean up after having spent a few days on the beach. The next day, having a couple hours to kill, we found the local library and settled in. Folks, I love books, and the limited access to reading materials has been a challenging part of RV life for me. So, getting to spend a few hours surrounded by books...I was in hog-heaven!


Those couple hours were over waaay too soon for my liking :)

After stretching out our time at the library as long as we could, we headed to a beautiful vintage 1912 home, owned by an old hometown friend of Mom's who had invited us to visit him and his family while we were in the state. We've been in Texas since October 31, and have felt very welcomed and cared for everywhere we've gone. The Nelsons proved to be no exception. Mr. Nelson invited us to meet his wife and kids, and take a tour of their lovely home. Mrs. Nelson is a wonderful interior designer, and has worked wonders with this beautiful old home. It felt like we were walking through an exquisite 1900's mansion.


This elegant staircase splits and curves around to meet in a center room on the second level.


I loved the sophisticated, yet festive Christmas decorations



This tree is absolutely stunning in-person!

These beautiful wood floors are the originals!

After touring the home, Mr. Nelson took my parents out for dinner, while us young folks partied in the RV. (Mrs. Nelson was not feeling good, so wasn't able to join them.) And by partied, the best we could manage was Mac 'N' Cheese with canned chicken and a movie. Oh yeah...and music during kitchen cleanup just for old times sake. (Random bunny-trail: there's a reason our parents disappear to their bedroom during supper cleanup back home...that's party time for us kids. Catch up on the day, rehash old memories, listen to/sing-along-with loud music, quote movie/audiobook lines, debate theology and/or politics, etc...often all at the same time, which means it gets kind of rowdy. As Mom says to us while she's on the run for her bedroom, "You people are SO LOUD!" Lol.... [And yes, occasionally the next day brings the discovery of one part or another of kitchen clean-up having been missed due to the mass chaos and distraction. Oops]. Bottom line however, is that when we're back home, kitchen cleanup is 'big-kid bonding and therapy time'. LOL.)


The Nelson family kindly allowed us to park outside their house for the night and use their yard to exercise our energetic pups, giving us yet another fond memory of Texan hospitality.


If you like to decorate your home, or want to see more of Mrs. Nelson's interior design projects, you can follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aninspirednest/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==


Another random sidenote: Mrs. Nelson apparently told my parents that if we want to be honorary Texans, we have to partake in the three main brands that Texans are loyal to: 1. shop at a H.E.B, 2. eat at What-a-Burger, & 3. visit a Buc-cee's. We've already shopped at a H.E.B, as that was where our Thanksgiving dinner came from. So the day we left Edna, we figured we'd stop in at a What-a-Burger for lunch. The food was great, but the best part was afterwards when we ended up talking to the local sheriff outside while he was waiting for his online order. He had a really nice truck and kindly showed us the inside. Mom ended up telling him the story of how we ended up squishing 8 of us into a Philadelphia squad car a few years ago, when our bus was impounded after we missed a no-parking sign. He got a kick out of the story and staged an awesome photo...


When the Sheriff has a sense of humor...

What-a-Way to end our stop at What-a-Burger! (Now, to find a Buc-cees...)


Until next time, God bless!


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Noah Ballard
Noah Ballard
Dec 17, 2023

Hi,

It's funny what you said about the post-dinner thing. We have our own sort of thing----bellowing any random quote that comes to mind, hurtling playful jabs, singing, playing music sometimes. It was cool to learn we aren't the only ones.


P.S. the best part of Buc-ees is the bathrooms. In the ones I've been to, the bathrooms are easily triple most of the airport bathrooms I've seen. It's crazy.

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Jaela Deming
Jaela Deming
Dec 19, 2023
Replying to

Hey,


Yeah, I probably should have added 'playful jabs/banter/insults' to the list of what happens during kitchen cleanup😂


Tbh, I haven't flown since I was about 3 1/2, so I have no memories of airport bathrooms...guess I'll have to take your word for it😆

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