On our way home we stopped in Indianapolis at the auto auction. Some of my brothers either have a car lot or are working with buying cars for a car lot as an employee. My brother Joe is the number sixth sibling down from me. His birthday is my half birthday. On the other side of me is Phil, my youngest brother and the youngest in the family. It was great to see them even though it was a short visit. I also found it interesting because I have never been to an auto auction. The only brother I did not get to see on our trip was Al. I couldn't reach him to schedule a time. We were disappointed about that but maybe next time.

The photo below was taken with my I- phone.

Joe, Me and Phill

I have seven brothers and four sisters and I am the oldest. Many of them live in the Chicago area and Indiana. When we go to see my daughter and her family we also try very hard to see as many members of our family as possible. Bob is also one of seven and four of them near Chicago. While in Indiana we met three of my brothers at a restaurant near the lake. It is easier if we can find a meeting place where everyone can visit at once. I was noticing my brothers always seem to have a smile on their face.

Teri and my brother Stan

Jeff (long time family friend) and Bob

Tim and his wife Linda

My Brothers Luke and Tim

Yesterday being Christmas and because of hosting a house full of people I didn't get my camera out. Sometimes you get too busy and caught up in the moment. I will probably regret at least not asking Bob to take some pictures but sometimes the memories are good enough.

Back to our trip to Indiana: Bob and I picked up my sister Pam then my cousin Larry and drove to Frankfort to visit my Aunt Geneva. I attended school in Frankfort until I was in the eighth grade. After spending some time with Aunt Geneva we took a ride in my childhood neighborhood. My grade school was torn down and there was just an empty lot. The house I grew up in was still there but looked totally different. It was not very well kept and it had been changed without the best interest of the original Victorian design. The apple tree was gone and the beautiful flowers and shrubs that my Mom planted and maintained were gone. I felt kind of sick in the pit of my stomach. I didn't take a picture and hope the drive by doesn't forever ruin the more beautiful images of my memories of so many years ago.

My Cousin Larry

My Sister Pam, Aunt Geneva and Me

I will answer a few questions by attempting to explain my beer signs more clearly.

My husband is a huge fan of Shiner because he loves the flavor.

The signs were done with a Texas/Western flare because Shiner is brewed in Shiner Texas. The melted bottle below is in front of the Texas flag and the one below that has a rope wrapped around the bottle with the painted barbed wire framing the picture.

Brewed in Texas