Cousins Retreat

This year, Lucina and I were able to crash the original cousin's gathering for one afternoon. After we had lunch and visited, the older "girls" went off to Mary Dru's ranch for some scandalous eating, drinking, and making merry. Some card sharking was also in the works, I was told. These guys have been through it all together and it makes me so happy they make time in their crazy lives to reconnect on a regular basis. The host rotates and this time around, Mary Dru hosted first at her home outside of Alice, TX and then at her ranch further south.

Here we all are the porch at Mary Dru's house in Alice. It is a house built in the early 1900's by the East family, a well known ranching family in South Texas. It was then purchased by my great-grandfather and grandmother McGill. It is the house where my grandfather was born! How cool is that? Mary Dru told lots of stories about the boys and how one of them fell down the stairs, her dad, and how all three would run around the upstairs porches - outside of the rails!!! I would absolutely freak out. It's a wonder they all made it to adulthood.

Mary Dru still sleeps in the Great Grandmother McGill's bed and all the cousins remember spending time in that bed, getting their hair brushed, stories, etc. It really was a neat walk through memory lane (their memories, at least).

Aunt Jane, Mary Dru, Mom, Sissy, Ann and top me and Cina.
Aunt Janey and mom. This puppy is really good at hunting rabbits. There were a couple of bunnies lying around the yard. EEEEK.
This is Mary Dru and her "hog leg." She vowed to protect all the girls from harm. That's a serious looking firearm let me tell you.
Mom and Sissy. Buds for longer than they would care for me to tell you.
Aunt Janey and Cina. I love this picture...and the fact that it looks like Aunt Janey has a flower in her hair at this angle. How tropical of me.
My grandfather. How adorable is he???
My great grandmother McGill.
The woodwork inside the house. We wondered if this was on purpose all the M's for McGill. No one knew for sure.
Mary. She has worked with and for Mary Dru for a long time. Sweet lady!!
The pet cemetery in the garden.
The oriental wing of the garden.

Lots of purty flowers. Mary Dru has the green thumb I wish I had.
Pride of Barbados. I definitely want some of these plants. SO pretty and attract all sorts of butterflies and birds. You should have seen the beautiful bluebirds and hummingbirds. I didn't capture any of them but they were gorgeous!
Pomegranates

Thanks for sharing some of your special time with me, cousins!