On August 19th, 2009 this house became our "new" home in Palacios, TX. Palacios

is located on the Texas gulf coast east of

Port Lavaca and west of Matagorda which is west of Freeport which is west of Galveston. Walking a block to the east or a block to the south from our house will find you at the water's edge of the Tres Palacios Bay which is nicely maintained by a seawall complete with multiple fishing piers and lovely views.

The three tall post-like objects on the south (left) side of the house are dead palm trees. The two short white posts near the curb are tree trunk shaped hitching posts. A circular concrete s

tructure to the left of the leftmost hitching post is believed to have been a fountain at one time. The structure was converted into a flower bed and has since been damaged. The circular border is broken and partially missing on the curb side.

We have already eaten a few meals from the bountiful seafood that we have caught from the bank or on our kayak. Ummmm, that reminds me. I have redfish fillets in the freezer from my first redfish catch ever. Redfish must be at least 20" long to be kept legally. Mine measured 20 1/4" and was caught while Mark and I were kayak fishing in the bay near Grassy Point.

The letters "IUKA" were mounted on the front of the house possibly by the original owner who built the house around 1904. Information is still coming in on the significance of the name IUKA. The local historians are researching the name so the information can be included on the Halloween Homes Tour brochure. Our house

will be listed in a brochure featuring a driving tour of old homes. An inside tour would be too scary even for Halloween at this point, hence, only outside photos in this post.

The house sits on a corner lot and the front faces east. The porches wrap around the south side to the back. The third floor is the attic which is being converted into my art studio. From the attic a ladder leads to a hatch which open

s onto a broad flat area of the roof. An old photo of the house shows a railing on the roof creating what some people call a "widow's walk". The letters "The IUKA" are on the rounded corner of the house instead of above the front do

or. There are no trees or shrubs in this photo so the town was brand spanking new.

The view from the southeast shows the wraparound porches and more dormer windows in the attic. Four dormer windows exist, one facing each direction. Two of the dead palm trees are covered with trumpet vines and give the illusion that the trees are alive. What doesn't show in this photo are the thousands of mosquitos that almost succeeded in making zombies out of us as we moved in. Deet is the BEST four letter word I currently know.

My friend dear dear friend Ginny came from North Carolina to help us move. Little did she know that she would be a blood sacrifice to the cause. We arrived at the house late in the evening and started unloading the cars when we were blindsided by the viciousness of the freshly hatched starving mosquitoes. Ginny made a dashing trip to the local store for insect repellant and arrived a minute after they had closed. They took pity on her and reopened so she could purchase the now greatly cherished commodity in our home - deet! I believe the out-of-towners are easily recognized by the locals by the number of mosquitoes attached to their bodies. Thank you Ginny for your selfless sacrifice. You are a true friend.

Did you know that only female mosquitoes bite?

I also want to take this opportunity to thank my dad and our long time family friend Marlin who were there to help Mark and I unload that last UHAUL truck load coming from our apartment in Houston. I'm still amazed at how good you both look with halos and angels wings, especially as you carried so many belongings up all those stairs. It was as if your feet weren't really touching the ground.