Happy New Year...

My house
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

From My home to yours.

Sunset over Baptist Church in Kyle

Sunset over Baptist Church in Kyle
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

The reason for the season.

Christmas items at Old Town Gift Emporium

Christmas items at Old Town Gift Emporium
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

Merry Christmas from Kyle, Texas Daily Photo.

(This is a hand painted yard sign that I found at Kyle's Old Town Gift Emporium.

http://oldtowngiftemporium.com/

The crowd at Lucky Cup

The crowd at Lucky Cup
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

The Lucky Cup hosted a free screening of "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas last Friday and I made it the Claes family Christmas party. We had great drinks and chili, and a White Elephant Christmas exchange.

I gave away a fantastic KISS holiday ornament. I received a biography of Harrison Ford. It was great.

Merry Christmas everyone (I'm actailly sitting at my sister's house in Boston right now).

I'm going to be gone for a few days.. headed to Boston for Christmas.

So... until then. I'll leave you with these photos of food.

The family and I went to Los Vega for dinner the other night. I took pictures of what we ordered. The food is REALLY good. I highly recommend eating there when you're in Kyle.

A cool thing is.. they have a drive through.. so you can call in your order and by the time you get there... it'll be ready for you and you don't even have to get out of your car. BONUS.

Los Vega
721 N Old Highway 81
Kyle, TX 78640-9451
(512) 268-8570




My wife had the enchiladas


I ordered the fajitas (I don't like rice so I get double beans)


The kids are all about breakfast for dinner... Los Vega provides.


And here's my youngest's idea of how to eat a tortilla.

Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy Birthday Jesus!

6 Days to go!

6 Days to go!
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

In Kyle we've got this cool sign in the middle of town square to remind us how many days until Christmas.

(I doctored it up to read "6" since there are now 6 days until Christmas instead of "8" when I took the photo.

KUMC New Life Center
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

This is the New Life Center of the Kyle United Methodist Church. It's been in the news recently... well... this week even.. because the original contractor who was supposed to finish it in 2007 walked away with a great sum of money and disappeared... Well.. the church filed suit against him... and I'll spare the details (they are listed in the story that will be linked here - Hay's Free Press 12/16/09 article

Long story short... the man turned himself in on December 8. We pray he realizes what he has done and makes things right.

The KUMC is a church that is very much alive and in the community. You may have seen them at a kickball game (Pray Ball is their team) or at the Dia De Los Muertos celebration (they took 3rd place for booth decor!). Well.. this Saturday theUnited Methodist Women ate hosting a "Giftwrap and Childcare" at the Kyle United Methodist Church New Life Center. They'll watch the kiddos while you wrap your presents. It's a fundraiser for the New Life Children's Center of Canyon Lake. Here's the details:

I've been gone a few days... sorry about that.
In the spirit of being gone... I think I'll post a couple of photos of businesses and places in Kyle that are no longer... these have "gone" in the last few years.

Fonzie's - a 50s diner type place with good greasy burgers closed down.
Now it's a place called Piscis Seafood.

Lucky Cup in Plum Creek is closed. They reopened on Main Street across the street from the City Hall and the VFW.... almost next door to Pizza Classics.

We're throwing a Christmas party there Friday... we're screening Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas for free.. and having funnel cakes and hot cocoa and Lucky Cup's awesome coffee...

There will be a White Elephant gift exchange if you'd like to have some fun with friends. It's all ages and the movie starts at 7:00p.m.

Karen's Kountry Kitchen klosed... it became a chineese buffet place for a few months.. then.. LEVELED. The spot where it was is now a CVS Pharmacy.

Who knew in October 2006 when I took this photo that it would become the land where Seton Medical Center Hays would build and open in 2009?

Baby roses @ Old Town Gift Emporium
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

So.. I'd seen the diaper or towel "cake" before (a cake made entirely out of diapers or towels to give to a soon-to-be-mother at a baby shower) but I've got to say.. this dozen baby roses surprised me. Pretty inventive. Actually there's a whole display of neat stuff like this.

Found at Old Town Gift Emporium - oldtowngiftemporium.com/

Kyle Automotive
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

I liked the way the trees cast a shadow on the tin Kyle Automotove building.
I've never visited them (this was a Saturday afternoon so they were closed) but they've got a pretty nice Web presence:

kyleautomotive.com

From there:
Business hours are Monday thru Friday, 8am to 5:30pm

"Kyle Automotive services most makes of cars and light trucks. If performance is your thing, then the Fennell Performance side of the company will suit your needs."

So... if you need a Chrome Moly Upper Control Arm Kit.. they've got it. (I don't know what that is I just copied that from their Website)

Prime Real Estate

NO TRESSPASSING.
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

I sure wish someone would come in and buy this building... and turn it into something neat. Like a bowling alley... or a steakhouse... or a bowling steakhouse. It's in a prime location.. the entrance to "Old Town Kyle"

State Capitol Painting at Old Town Gift Emplorium

State Capitol Painting at Old Town Gift Emplorium
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

I thought this was a very, very cool painting of the Austin State Capitol building. Found at the Old Town Gift Emporium.

Christmas items at Old Town Gift Emporium

Christmas items at Old Town Gift Emporium
Originally uploaded by seanclaes

There are several of these hand-painted Christmas scenes for sale. They are all done by a local (or area) person. Pretty amazing. Pretty AND amazing.