Sunday's Ten Minute Report

My Dear Blogworld Friends,

My deepest hope is that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, no matter how you celebrated. 
My heart has been so full of gratitude this weekend because of God's goodness, bounty, and that GREAT, AWESOME, INFINITE LOVE He has for me (us).

All of my children and Queen Mother were around our table.  There were lots of parades, football, food, and fun, naps, more food and fun.   But, I have to tell you that I did NOT serve leftover Slim Fast.  Couldn't get by with that, you know.   :)   I have heard many *horror* stories of non-traditional menus at Thanksgiving  (egg rolls, pizza, peanut butter and jelly).   Eeeeeeek!  Truthfully, we've always had the same dinner of turkey, dressing, casseroles, pies, etc.  It just wouldn't FEEL like Thanksgiving without the traditional fare.  (Makes me wonder why we identify certain holidays by the food we eat.  What theory is that?  Pavlov's?)

If you or someone you know celebrated this week in a funky Thanksgiving way, let us all hear about it. 

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I do apologize now that I have NO Thanksgiving pictures this week.   My computer completely CRASHED Friday night, and I'm using a little Acer (aaaarrrrgggg!) I got long ago for a song and dance.  So, my tower will go to the tower doctor this week.   My postings will have to wait until everything is back to normal -- whatever/whenever that is.

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Queen Mother's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday 9 a.m., so please remember her in your prayers.  She is being so brave. 

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The Cowboys won!  (How did that happen?)   Miracles will never cease.  Now, y'all should already KNOW that!!!  I think I'll extend some grace to Wade and Jerry this week. 

Until we meet here again, God bless you.  Have a wonderful, blessed week.

See you in the funny papers.  :)

The Boys Are Back

My boys are home for Thanksgiving.

Yeah, they're back.   *smile*

It's been a cooking marathon the last two days.  But, tonight, there's this:

Cheese and Chicken Enchiladas

1 medium onion, chopped

2 T. margarine

1-1/2 c. shredding cooked chicken

1 12 oz. jar salsa, divided

3 oz. cream cheese

1 tsp. cumin

2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

5 to 8 tortillas

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook and stir onion in margarine in a large skillet until tender.   Stir in chicken, 1/4 cup salsa, cream cheese, and cumin; cook until thoroughly heated.  Stir in 1 cup cheese.  Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture in center of each tortilla; roll up.  Pleace, seam side down, in a baking dish sprayed with Pam.  Top with remaining salsa and cheese.  Bake 15 minutes or until bubbly around edges.

Serves 4.

See you in the funny pages.

Thanksgiving Prayer

We thank thee, Almighty God,

for the rich heritage of this good land;

for the evidences of Thy favor in the past;

and for the Hand that hath made

and preserved us as a nation.

We thank thee for the men and women

who, by blood and sweat, by toil and tears,

forged on the anvil of their own sacrifice

all that we hold dear.

May we never lightly esteem

what they obtained at a great price.

From the prayers of Peter Marshall, D.D.

Chaplain of the United States Senate

Monday List

My Monday List this week is short and sweet: 

MAKE IT THROUGH; FULL STEAM AHEAD!

Queen Mother and I made a flying trip to Dallas today.  She had a preliminary appointment with an internist before the big surgery date next week and received an excellent report.  Praise the Lord!  

Of course, we had to have a little fun while travelling through Dallas to Denton to visit my aunt my grandmother, who  is..........

  DRUM ROLL.....108!

Yes, your vision IS NOT failing you!  My grandmother is one hundred eight years old!  I wanted to post her picture, but she asked me not to.  Sorry.  I wish you could see her.  She's fantastic!

So, besides enjoying a blessed visit with three wonderful women in my life, Queen Mother and I did this:

Sam Moon

Oh, the earth stopped rotating right here!

 

My Thanksgiving prayer for you, my friends, is this: 

May God, who puts all things together,

makes all things whole,

Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,

the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,

Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,

up and alive from the dead,

Now put you together, provide you

with everything you need to please Him,

Make us into what gives Him most pleasure,

by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.

All glory to Jesus forever and always!

Oh, yes, yes, yes.

Hebrews 13:19-21 (The Message Bible)

God bless you all!

Sunday's Ten Minute Report

As usual, tonight's sports report highlights the sorry Dallas Cowboys, winning 7-6, barely.

Where were they?  The whole offense was a no-show until the last three minutes.  For two hours and forty-five minutes, the Redskins might as well have been playing their grandmothers.  Wade Phillips needs a good spanking, and Jerry Jones' head needs to be in the Thanksgiving guillotine.   Do I hear anybody else out there?

Humor me for a minute or two. 

My family leaves for church much earlier than I leave.  At ten o'clock this morning, I could not locate my purse or keys.  I looked up and down, in and out, and nothing.  Did not make the church service, but I found my purse at Mom's house.  I must be losing it.

This afternoon preparing for Christmas play dress rehearsal, 34 pulled the cleaner's plastic off his suit, and the suit and shirt were molded.  MOLDED!  I wiped the suit down, we found another shirt, and off we went.  I'll have to return it to the cleaners this week.

The three hour rehearsal was rough.  I think that's supposed to be a good sign, though.  Here are some cute photos.  I have to include one out-of-focus picture, however, because it's so cute.  (Please forgive my bungling photography.)

Chad makes such a gorgeous Jesus.

Teen trumpeters Garrett, Channing, Haley, and Meredith

Lounging in the women's dressing room

Waiting backstage

Roman soldiers Williard and John (had to get Williard's legs)

Such fun! 

Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving!

See you in the funny papers.

The Saturday Morning Post

Good Saturday morning to ya!

Here's your funny for the day:

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.  She said, "I want something shiny that goes from 0-200 in about 3 seconds." 

So, I bought her a scale.

And that's how the fight started.

See you in the funny papers.

It's a Slim Fast Thanksgiving

God bless her.  My friend Shawnee has already ruined my Thanksgiving this year.  Um hmmm.  Her post today just absolutely did me in, making me feel guilty, guilty, guilty.  Already.  I appreciate her attempt to be good.

This is what I had planned on serving for Thanksgiving dinner:

Now, all that's changed.  34 has been on a diet all year.  He won't mind, I'm sure. My children will thank me for this fifty years from now.  I'm saving their health, their futures, their children's health and futures.  I'm only thinking of my family's well being.  I know they will understand.

Please remember us this Thanksgiving in your prayers.

This year for Thanksgiving, I'll be serving this:

Yes, that's the ticket.  Left-over Slim Fast.   *yum*

See you in the funny papers.

Heartbroken

I've had a relatively nice and slower morning.  But, when I saw this in my email, my heart broke...for my country, my family, my friends, US soldiers, and for all of you out there who love America, freedom, and God.

Did he really "forget something," or is he really revealing what's in his heart?  

A "humorous" email came through the other day.  It said something like "I'm praying for my president - Psalm 109:8:  Let his days be few, and let another take his office."  In this Psalm, David is praying to God about his adversaries, but let's remember that Samuel, by God's direction, annointed David to be King of Israel.  David was chosen of God.  Obama was allowed by God.  

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/news.aspx/134466
This does not delight me.  However, it does ring a clarion bell in my soul that Jesus-followers must get serious about praying for our nation.  We're being taken by aliens.

A Day Off

Hiya, Friends!

Today is Queen Mother's 75th birthday.  I rushed her around this morning, loaded her up, and drove her to Wal-Mart.  Yeah....a birthday at Wal-Mart.  Isn't that what we all long for?  a birthday....  at Wal-Mart....  yeah...

Anyway, she found some curtains there that she liked, and I am going to hang them for her after she rests a while.   The fatigue from the radiation has finally surfaced.

So, instead of blabbering on about nothing, I'm giving my post space to a good friend.  I haven't known Shawnee for long, but she's a good friend, and our daughters have homeschooled together.  Shawnee is an excellent writer and has written online DIY articles which, I'm sure, she will reference somewhere on her blog.   Check her out! 

Please, welcome my friend, Shawnee! 

"Kids escape the funniest ways!

It never ceases to amaze me what little children see on their own level of intelligence and observance. While babysitting for a friend, this little fellow in the picture discovered the doggie door was just right for him to use for an escape route.

Our back yard is fenced in to prevent the dogs from roaming, so it was perfect to keep this little guy in check as well. He thought he'd entered a new paradise and was getting away with something truly special!

Needless to say, all I had to do was either crawl through the door myself or walk around and unlatch the gate to get him back inside. But the fun was in watching him through the window as he explored the back yard with the dogs.

I do have to be careful to watch what he carries out the doggie door with him on his newly discovered adventures.

He took out a stretchy rubber skeleton from our toy selection. I caught the dog trying to eat this, which would have made for some interesting results once his system discovered it wouldn't digest. He took out a skateboard, which was quite a feat, considering it was his same size. He took out a basketball, candy, and dog toys, and legos. The only problem is what the dogs decide is fair game to be shared.

My own son climbed out a window when he was about the same age as my little guest in the picture. Thankfully, it was ground level. I found him on a carport next door, at an empty residence, giggling. My daughter climbed over a locked gate at that age. (That was a nightmare for mom.) She was found on another block, playing with some children who couldn't even speak English.

Live and learn. Children are much more inventive and determined than we parents deserve sometimes.

Thankfully, now I can be more aware, educated, prepared, and relaxed when little visitors escape my watchful eye.

Why don't you share with us some ways your own child/children have escaped over the years?"


Thanks, Shawnee.  I have several stories like this of my own.  ;)  Find Shawnee here.

See you in the funny papers.

Christmas Tree Farm Story #2

We must be careful for which things we pray.

Being a more serious personality... seriously... really........  Do you know about the personality quadrants?  I definitely fit into the 'controller' quadrant, and I have traits of other quadrants, but the 'controller' quadrant is my main peg.  It comes from being the oldest child, type A, or whatever it is.  You psychology people know about this.  This 'controller' person is bossy check, organized check, likes structure check, gets to the point check, likes results NOW check,  etc.

The other three quadrants are all different.  As this controller studied the other quadrants, I began to desire to come more toward the middle of the quadrant board.  Maybe age has something to do with it...wanting to have more fun, taking life less seriously, laughing more, etc.

Mind you, no personality can change overnight.  I guess it's a mental challenge to change oneself.  I began to pray about it.  The first thing I did was go from a washed-out, graying brunette, to a blonde.  Well, look at the choice: go gray or go blonde.  Man, I'm not old enough to be gray.  I still have teenagers!

That's not even part of my story.  Having fun.  Learning to have fun.  That's my point here.

So, here's the Christmas tree farm story.

One really busy day with maybe 20 cars in our parking field, we were alternating going into the house to eat lunch.  I was making my way between the cars to the house, and I noticed 34's legs sticking out from under a car.

This was not unusual.  Plenty of idiots came to the Christmas tree farm in sub-compact cars.  So, tell me, where does one tie a seven or eight foot Christmas tree onto a small car?  Can't go in the trunk!  It goes on top with yards and yards of jute wrapping the tree and entire car.

We all learned to tie trees onto cars.  It was more challenging when only one person tied it, though, and that's what 34 was doing.

I saw him under the car retrieving the jute from the other side.  I looked around and saw no one else around, so I walked over to him, reached down and got his zipper in my fingers.  I pulled the zipper down and up.  Down and up.  Zip.....zip.....zip.....zip.  Then I scampered away.  MMhahaha.  I could see his legs shaking and him trying to come up from under the car.

I ran quickly to the house not wanting him to see me.  I opened the door to the house and walked in..........................

And there 34 was at the bar, eating lunch.  Ohmygosh!  I must have looked at him, horrified, because he asked, "What is it?"  

"Oh, nothin'," I said. 

Don't know who the man was.   Maybe he got his Christmas thrill that year!

See you in the funny papers.

Monday List

Good morning!  It's cloudy, cool, and drippy and in the 50's today.  Nice!  I love Mondays!

All my boys were here this weekend.  Blog friend Vickie from Sand Flat Farm says I just like to sit around and look at them.  Yes, I do.  Kid #4 Sam and Kid #5 Mary and I had some fun in those wee Sunday morning hours. 

Mom's superheroes!

This week's looking busy, as usual, with a little silliness thrown in.

Uh oh - here comes Mom.

In my Nick and Nora pj's.

Aren't they the cutest kids?

• Instead of painting my bedroom last week, I painted my bathroom.  Paint bedroom.
• Make t-shirt quilt
• Make denim pillows
• List Thanksgiving menu and grocery shop 
• Still haven't finished War and Peace.  Keep reading.  Finish this month.
• Quartet part practice
• Scripture memorization 
• Stop the madness now

I hope y'all have a glorious week. 

See you in the funny papers.

Sunday's Ten Minute Report

Good evening.

Tonight's report, as always, begins with the Dallas Cowboys' loss with Green Bay.  Where were the 'boys?  You know, I never have understood how any professional football player can be disappointed with the game's outcome because of this one reason: 

They get paid the same whether they win or lose! 

Playing for hundreds of dollars per game - no, make that thousands - no, hundreds of thousands for ONE lousy game - POOR GUYS!!!  I absolutely gush tears for them, don't you? 

I am calling for Wade Phillips to get the Cowboy boot.  I am calling for Jerry Jones to jump in the middle of Lake Ray Hubbard!

Ok.  I've got to settle down...  I am a Christian woman.  I need to pray.  In tongues.

paosidgnw.naoisrgn /. arput qan/;a oaulknt aldkngoIWUGONALKFG /ZKf;asldif nalns oi lna ;owiet k n88 nlekr kna lnga8e9rganrgkn a8ygh a;nregl kargh lngnahg8ap98hg oahjrgpa 

There.  That's better.

Our weekend was busy.  We worked at the rent house where my two oldest children are living, and, miraculously, the bathroom sink miraculously unplugged itself.  No kidding.  A miracle!  After two weeks of being totally stopped up, the sink miraculously started draining.  I kid you not.  It was a miracle!  

And speaking of miracles, our church service was great today.  Honestly, I can't remember what the pastor preached about for watching the elderly couple down the same aisle nodding off.  It was comical.  She sat perfectly still the whole time, eyes closed, and he did the nod-mouth-open thing.  I have never understood why people come to church and sleep through the service.   At least, when I'm a little drowsy, I watch the other sleeping people just to keep from falling asleep myself.  Not that my pastor is boring...  time for me to take out the trash...

And then, my lovely Queen Mother prepared a feast for lunch - poppy-seed chicken, fresh vegetables, fruit salad, cheesecake, and coconut pie.   Thank you, Mom.  Delicious!  She is having surgery on December 1 to remove cancer.  Will you please keep her in your prayers?

Play practice went well.  Our producer/director is a talented couple from Texarkana with years of productions and photography under their belts.  Take a look at their site here.

Need to go iron for 34 for another hard week at work.

This concludes tonight's report.  Goodnight and God bless America.

See you in the funny papers.

The Saturday Morning Post

Good Saturday to ya!

A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.'




The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's dern near perfect.'


And then the fight started...

See you in the funny papers.

COMMANDO!

A perfect night for COMMANDO!  
Light clouds, cool mist, no moon, dark. 

Camouflaged soldiers and cat burglars gathered 'round the campfire;  

ravenous dads raided the food tables;

chilly moms hovered near the fire;

waiting for the game to begin...

Good luck, out there.

Brave Soldiers - Past and Present

My Mom and Dad

GOD BLESS OUR SOLDIERS, PAST AND PRESENT

IN MEMORY

My Father - James "Jack" Allen, Korea

My Father-in-Law - Richard Wisdom, Korea, Vietnam

My Uncle - William "Bill" Shadle, Korea

My Friend - John Gaston, WWII, Korea

IN HONOR

My Brother-in-Law - Mark Wisdom, Omaha, NE

My Uncle-in-Law - Glenn Wallace, WWII, Korea

My Friend - Max Taylor, Vietnam

My Friend - Daniel Allgor, Gulf War

My Friend's Son - Trey Parrish, U.S. Coastguard

My Friend's Son - Daniel Cothren, Iraq

My Friend's Son - Ronnie Neff, Iraq

My Friend's Son - Cory Cross, Germany, Little Rock

My Friend - David Nolte, Vietnam

My Friend - John Biscamp, Vietnam

My Friend - Tammy Biscamp, Iraq

And Prayers For Those Future Soldiers:

My "Adopted" Son - Rodney Gibson

My "Adopted" Son - Chris Sabatino

There are some I've not mentioned, I'm sure;

My mind just won't google them right now.

If there's someone you know, or if I have erred in information,

Please let us all know by posting his or her name in "Comments."

Thank you.

Thank you for your service to our country.  God bless you!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Christmas Tree Farm Story #1

As promised, the following is a silly, but true, story.  It's embarrassing, but aren't all such stories the funniest?

As I mentioned in a previous post, our family owned and operated a Christmas tree farm for several years.  All sorts of people and groups of people came to make memories, and we offered enjoyable, clean, and family-appropriate entertainment, like wagon rides, a gift shop, tetherball, wacky golf, and educational field trips.

The above photo is of a homeschool group.  They are sitting on a bailer table which we used to "wrap" the trees.  Please allow me a few details here.  See the boy in the red shirt on the front row?  Directly behind him is a 22 inch octagonal bailer.  It looks similar to a basketball goal turned on its side, but the bailer is about 18 inches in depth.  Encircling the bailer is a nylon net which, if stretched out, would be about 50 or 60 yards in length. 

See the boy in the cowboy hat on the end?  That's Kid #2 Is he picking his nose?? who has pushed many-a tree through that bailer.  One helper pushes, and another pulls.   The tree passes through the bailer and is wrapped with a candy-cane net which makes the tree easier to transport.

Get on with the story!   One busy weekend, there were 60 or 70 people milling about, and all our helper boys were assisting customers in the field.  Kid #5, who was a wee one in the playpen, and I were in the gift shop checking customers out, and someone poked her head in the door to ask if anyone could help her with her tree bailing.  I stepped out of the building and saw no helper even close.

Now, mind you, I had just spent six years either pregnant or lactating.  Body parts were still loose.  My things just weren't all together yet.

I told her, of course, I would help her.  By this time, maybe 10 or 15 people had come back from the fields, dragging their trees, and all were standing around, and I was the only soul to do this job.  Where were my guys?

First, I shook the lady's tree in the tree shaker, and loaded the six footer up on the bailing table.  Why I didn't ask some cute teenage boys standing around to help me, I don't know.  I pushed the tree up into the bailer as far as I could and then went around the bailer to the other side to pull the tree through.

Up on the table I went.  My feet went against the sides of the bailer.  I reached forward to grab the tree inside the bailer, and I pulled.............

And all the air inside my body came screeching out!  A horrifying sound!  I thought, oh my gosh!  Oh my gosh!  Oh my gosh!  I stopped pulling and leaned forward, covering my face with my arms.  My first thought was to bust out laughing, but I was tooooo embarrassed.  I just sat there in front of the world, trying to figure out what to do in front of all these people.  

I finally threw a glance their way.  I said quietly and without a smile, "Go ahead and laugh."  The teenage boys were already trying to hold in their gut busters.  The ladies had their hands over their mouths and their shoulders were shaking, and they were poking those boys to stop laughing.  The men had horrified looks on their faces which were quickly turning into mouth-open hee-haws.

Then...the whole world laughed, including me.  I fell back onto the table on my back, rolled off the side of the bailing table, and rolled under the table.  Then at once, all the people were rolling on the ground with me figuratively speaking, of course! laughing hysterically! 

By then, the helpers had returned and helped me out from under the table.  I stood proud and announced to everyone:  "I apologize.  This farm prides itself in family fun, not gross entertainment!" which started another wave of hysterical laughter.

I'm burning, burning, burning, just thinking about it!

I think those customers got their money's worth.  I can only imagine the stories that were told around the dinner tables that night!  "Hey, today, at the Christmas tree farm..."  That story is probably still circulating.  Each year, around the family Christmas table, the story is retold:  "Hey, remember that year at the Christmas tree farm..."  Yeah, maybe they don't remember...

Like I said, they came to make family memories.

See you in the funny papers.

Memory Lake

Today, Kid #5 and I went to the lake on this 50 acre property to select a place for COMMANDO command station on Thursday.  We went thinking "COMMANDO," and I left thinking "Dad."

My dad passed away June 30.  I haven't been able to write about him, but I think it's time.  Tears are pooled in my eyes and memories are flooding my mind about this one special place that Dad loved.  I'm fittingly calling it "Memory Lake."

My kids were raised here on this place.  Little girls and boys learned to fish in these waters with the best teacher and fisherman in the world, my dad.  Expensive rods and reels, donated by my children, are nestled in the lake bottom's sand and weed.  Skinnydippers have raced across the lake and back.  The old boat's oars have been lost, found, and lost again.  Picnickers and young lovers know these waters well.  Dad loved it best.  So many stories.  Years of beautiful memories.

A solitary place to sing, ponder, meditate, or just be.

Dad, I love you.  I miss you.  Jesus, say hello to Dad for me.  I'll meet him there someday.

Monday List

And a very good morning it is!

Today's List Day.  What's going on in your week? 

My weekly lists keep growing with the holidays approaching, and this week is exceptional because of COMMANDO.  What is COMMANDO, you ask? 

COMMANDO is an outdoor, in-the-dark, family game (or an anybody game).  Our homeschool group has participated in this game for several years now at different places, but we always enjoy hosting the party.  Since we live on 50 acres, the challenges are fun, especially with the terrain sloping downhill and the woods and pasture to maneuver through without getting caught.  Seems men and boys particularly like this game since it's a hunt-and-be-hunted type of game.  It's very similar to paint ball, but there are no weapons.  Just flashlights, flour bombs, tokens, and the challenge of making it from the starting point to the bonfire, which here covers roughly 20 acres and 600 yards.

At the end of the trail, there are  (sing along with Debbie) wieners for roasting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow.  Well, there won't be snow or caroling.  Ok, the bonfire is big enough to give off heat, which temps will be in the 50's on Thursday night, but small enough to roast those golden wienies and plump, fluffy marshmallows.  Yum!  Sitting out under the stars with good friends, eating around the campfire, laughing and sharing, family time...those are precious moments in which memories are made.

So, my week's list includes:

• party preparations
• paint the bedroom (ha! this may never get done!)
• have an order for another t-shirt quilt to be made for Christmas
• scripture memorization and O Holy Night practice
• War and Peace chapter reading
• regular work stuff, kid stuff, 34 stuff, renovation house stuff...
• think about all the stuff to get done before Queen Mother's surgery in December

I'm stopping there.  I need a bubble bath.

A funny:  I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go on our anniversary date?"  It warmed my heart to see her face melt with sweet appreciation.  "I want to go somewhere we haven't been in a long time," she replied.  So, I said, "How about the kitchen?"  And that's when the fight started...

Happy Monday, good friends.

See you in the funny papers.

Sunday's Ten Minute Report

Good Evening, Blogworld!

This evening's report begins with SNF (Sunday Night Football) Dallas Cowboys' potential win.  Which Tony Romo will show up tonight is the question circling the house.   I can see they are not playing in Jerry's World, so that may or may not be a factor.  Most likely not! I'd like to put Jerry right in the middle of the line, between the center and the nose tackle.   Sorry!  Tacky!  I'm on my knees asking forgiveness.  Yeah...

No big news here.  We rushed to church this morning, play practice this afternoon, and 34 and I had our big date around 4:30.  We went to the ATM, gas station, Sonic (to see his boy Raymond), and out to the renovation house, finding two beautiful deer trying to find something on which to munch in the backyard. 

FYI:  When we moved to this corner of the world, my parents, 34, and I decided to grow a great big Christmas tree farm for extra income.  For 17 years, minus a three year sabbatical, we operated a choose-n-cut, really-not-so-big farm.  The years in operation were very wonderful, memorable years, and I have many happy/funny/sad/mad/and-everything-in-between stories to share.  On Tuesdays, I'll be sharing some of the stories with you until Christmas.  I hope you will enjoy them.

Well, the Cowboys still haven't won, but I'm signing out for now.  I'm tired just watching all that physical exertion!  I still have ironing to do...

See you in the funny papers.

Trammel's Trace - A Piece of Local History

Hi, Friends!

A baby shower and two weddings today!  What a day!  I had planned to be selling aprons at Cullen-Baker Country Fair, but, alas, I didn't.

Instead, I motored about, putting more than 120 miles on my already aging ride. 

There's a Cass County town that I always love driving through.  Apparently, the tiny burg has an active Chamber of Commerce, because the people go all out each season with the decorations.

Somebody even put pumpkins in the second story windows of this downtown building.  Interesting.

But, this is what I want to show you.  Besides being a seasonally decorated town, Hughes Springs has a story dating back to 1813.

Trammel's Trace was the first road into Texas from the Carolinas, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas, issuing waves of Irish, Scot, German, and English settlers into Spanish-held Texas and Caddo Indian area.  There's a legend that there were no settlements between Fulton, Arkansas, and Nacogdoches, Texas, along this trail back in those early days of Texas history.  The trail was initially an Indian path, changing to a smugglers' trail, changing to a settlers' road, finally changing to a county line. 

The Trace was named for Nicholas Trammel Jr., born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1780, and died in Gonzales, Texas, in 1856.  He and his family were traders, horsemen, entrepreneurs, and were known for horse racing.   Supposedly, Trammel hid treasure somewhere along the trail.  I just hate when people hide things and don't tell anybody.

Trammel's Trace is now part of private land holdings.  I have heard around these parts that the wagon tracks are still visible in some areas.  I may as well try to find those tracks, ring somebody's doorbell, ask to take pictures.  Except that around here, it can be pretty redneck with large, snarling, guard dogs, hidden wire traps, and little old ladies with shotguns.  Might be tricky...  Maybe I'll take a pecan pie for a bribe.

Hughes Springs is a cool, little town.

See you in the funny papers.

Escaped My Cage

Dear Blogworld,

It's good to escape from the cage occasionally.  This is what some people look like when they've been caged too long without The Cheesecake Factory:

The poor woman!  Queen Mother just finished radiation treatments recently, and look what it's done to her!  However, after a visit to Dallas and the Cheesecake Factory, see how it has improved her face and her -- hey!  Is that woman in the middle, my sister, that's 50 years old, that's pregnant with twin boys, counting money?  Buy gold, K!

Our little gang of gaggling girls and one he-man at the Cheesecake Factory!  Our waiter at the restaurant took this blurry picture, but it's our momento of this occasion, Queen- Mother's-cancer-surgery-mark-it-on-your-calendar-doctor-visit.  Another blip in the road of life.  Will you please keep her in your prayers?

Left to right:  Kid #4's girlfriend, Emily; Queen Mother; my sister Karin; Kid#5 Mary; That'sMe; Kid #4 Sam; my long time partner in crime, Lisa, who's a laugh a minute!

It was even good to be in Dallas.  My 34 quips this little ditty to my children:  "I love to see Dallas...in my rearview mirror!"  As far as he's concerned, going to Dallas once or twice a year is waaaaay too often for him.   But, he misses all the good places, like The Container Store!

See all the shiny objects?  Aren't they beautiful?

Good night.

See you in the funny papers.