Caliente Hot Glass

I was saving this for the next batch of outings, but now I realize it’s probably not going to happen anytime soon, so I’ll turn it into a post now. In November, we spent a day in Gruene once again. It was busier than we thought, because in addition to it being Thanksgiving weekend, the town is now holding a Christmas market for 3 weeks straight! Thankfully, there is more parking than I remembered last time. We even made it to lunch at the Gristmill!


Our December outing was awesome: we went to a free demonstration at Caliente Hot Glass, a local glass-blowing studio and gallery. (As of this writing, the free demos are on the second Sunday of the month, but check the website to be sure.) Glass blowing is the type of hobby I never think of when I wonder if I want to take up anything (like ceramics or yoga, sure, but glass blowing?), and yet it is so cool to watch! Well, hot, really, because the furnaces are really going. We learned about what temperatures are needed for various colors of glass, how to make a bowl or vase (sometimes that depends more on circumstances than intentions and you have to go with it), etc. I would have stayed longer, but the Little Prince was getting restless. The studio happens to be adjacent to active train tracks, and that held his interest for much longer than glass blowing. But I had a really great time!


I was hoping to go see an exhibition about French moderns at the McNay, but I don’t think that’s going to happen before Baby Number 2 is born, and then we’ll be optimistic and say we’ll start our outings again during or after the summer…