Playing With Angels

Don't let these angelic faces kid you!

Between church and lunch, these guys hammed it up!

Hear no evil.  Speak no evil.  See no evil. 

It's a trick.

Trick #1.  Rodney

Trick #2.  Chris

Trick #3.  Jeremiah

See the pain in Chris' face.

Enter the little sister.  Isn't this every young girl's dream? 

To play with big brother and his friends?

Uh-huh!  she says.  This is fun!

Angels playing leap frog...in dress clothes, no less...

...adding some gymnastic tricks...

...and getting a little artistic...

...and enter little sister...again...

Come on Chris!  You can do it!

And little sister gets the lift.  That was special.

After a fantastic lunch of Mexican chicken and banana pudding with Grandmother

and before hitting the books,  we opted for a calm game of 'spoons.'

Those young spoon players took out us old women first. 

We got no respect.

Then it got a bit rowdy.

A challenge for the last spoon ensued.  The angels are going at it.

It went to the floor.

Oh, it got really dirty.

Fighting tooth and nail...for a spoon!

Victory at last!  for a spoon...

Look at the excitement!  You'da thunk it was a gold medal.

But, alas, it was only for two kisses from old women who lost out early.

Somehow, I don't think the angel minded.  A kiss is a kiss. 

Just don't mention it to his girlfriend.

I was his first girlfriend.

Just sayin'.

See y'all in the funny papers.

At the Edge of the Wood

I reside at the edge of the wood.  I like it. 

Yes, we are all cramped here and have to sleep side by side with AC in the winter and heat in the summer, but we've made it and successfully raised five kids living like this.   Well, none of us is exactly 'normal.' 

~ haha ~

Actually, this was Defenbacher's dog house when he was alive.  Our best-bud German Shepherd passed away several years ago, and we've never moved his house.  The steel poles are cemented into old tires for a volleyball net.  Before our big, fancy family center was built at the church, the kids would come here to play volleyball once or twice a week.  I miss those kids.

On my morning walk, there was a convention of pigeons, as usual, on the electric wires. 

The flock is my neighbor's "pets."  Some years back, she began feeding a handful of pigeons each morning.

The birds fly in to her place about dawn each day and expect the full meal deal.

Around four in the afternoon, they all beat it back to town.

Their family and friends have increased to 70, give or take a few.

 

It has always amazed me how birds teeter-totter on small wires

or that there aren't more fried fat pigeons and ugly turkey vultures around here.

It actually took me several minutes and a good zoom lens to get these pictures, having to zigzag my way toward the pole, moving very slowly and not looking up.

You know, pigeons on wires don't like eye contact.

Be Kind One To Another

It was a most lovely sight.

 

Every big white truck that passed, I blessed 'em. 

I was moving south along US Highway 59,

and I witnessed travelling north a posse of men 

in their white steeds on wheels - dozens -

coming from points south and

heading to aid the folks who are without lights and heat.

Girlfriends and Mr. Bill, I cried.

Because I thought

who else in the world would rush to the aid

of their fellow citizens,

and even people in other countries,

to provide help in time of great need?

God bless those electricians!

Wish I had a picture to show you.

It was a beautiful sight.

"And as you would that men should do to you,

do you also to them likewise."

Luke 6:31 KJV

Yes, I cried...

...from a grateful heart.

Ok, class, today...

My little corner of the world is in Cass County.  There's an old saying, apropos to anyone in any county or parish, "You can take the girl out of Cass County, but you can't take Cass County out of the girl."

Beg pardon, but I was neither born nor reared in Cass County.  However, my ancestors have a long history here in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas.

Travelling through Linden the other day, I noticed that the court house is getting its l-o-n-g, overdue facelift.  This court house is the "Oldest Working Court House in Texas."  Very historical.

In 1846, just after Texas won its independence from Mexico on December 29, 1845, by an act of the new state legislature, Cass County was declared an independent county.  The county had been included in with the current Bowie and Morris Counties (Morris being in Arkansas) making one big county.  Court was held in Jefferson and was moved in 1854 to Linden.

In 1848, E.W. Story donated 50 acres on which to build a new county court house.   That first two-story building was constructed of hand-sawn lumber with the logs transported to the saw mill by oxen.   The first court in that building was held in 1852, but the building was sold shortly thereafter to the Baptist church.

The county quickly contracted with T.J. Foster Sr. in May 1858 to construct the current brick building which was completed in May 1859.   The Civil War activity stopped just three counties away.

Two wings were added to the east and west sides around 1917.

Building used since 1859

On August 19, 1934, fire destroyed the top story.  It was quickly rebuilt to house jailbirds.

Being the "oldest working court house" means it's the oldest court house in the whole BIG state of Texas still being used as a court house.

Initiation of the restoration project began about 10 years ago.  Texas Historical Commission is working to restore many of our state's buildings.  I realize that this is a "young" building compared to those in the New England states and elsewhere, but we are proud nonetheless.

To appreciate what we have, we have to appreciate our history.

Angel-infants

  Angel-infants

"Happy those early days! when I shined in my angel-infancy."

Henry Vaughn - The Retreat

Jake and Walt at two weeks. 

They arrived five weeks early.

Their beautiful mama is 50. 

Their dad's an old geezer.

Aunt Debbie visited them yesterday.

I just couldn't get over the size of their hands and the length of their fingers.

Definitely classical pianists' hands.

Just don't tell their dad. 

He thinks they will play professional football.

 Sleep now, Little Walt.  

Dream of playing Mozart.

Jake is stirring, snuggling with his mom. 

"Mom, I will play Rachmaninov."

Keep dreaming, tiny angel-infants.

The Greatest Toastmaster Story of the Year

The simple truth about this story is that very few people know this.  It is, in fact, true, and I have a witness, and one who thinks he is a witness, and I am posting this oh-so-terribly-embarrassing-but-hilarious story about myself just so I can say that I still have no skeletons in my closet. 

Ok, I actually do have one or two huge secrets that I might share about myself some day...  Maybe... since y'all are my BFFs...

As I have shared back in October, I am a Toastmaster.  Not a current member, but I'll always think of myself as one.  I am an Advanced Communicator Silver, Competent Leader (under the old leadership program).  If any of you out there know about Toastmasters, you'll know it took me over three years to gain this status.  I worked hard for it.

Two years ago, I won the humorous speech contest for my club, my area, my division, but did not place in District 50.   The five to seven minute speech is written and expanded into three parts posted in October 2009.  Check the archives under "I've Got to Lose Weight."  (Maybe someday I'll figure out how you click it from here.)

So, the story goes as such:

At the division contest in Longview, I was so ready to give this speech, very hyped up.  This speech had proven to be very funny to the audiences which fueled my excitement. 

It was a cold day in March, so I had worn a broomstick skirt with boots, fortunately.  As I prepared to take the stage, my excitement was mounting as the audience was revved up from the previous speeches.  

The introduction into the speech went well.  As I was telling the part about shooting the raccoons and jumping up and down, the audience was shaking with laughter at my antics.  It was kind of like one of those out-of-body experiences where your eyes are the camera, and you are panning around in slo-mo, seeing everyone's mouths wide open and hearing deep, deep HA.........HA........HA.........HA........... 

The more laughter, the more excited and animated I became. 

And then it happened. 

I became so wired that I peed all under my skirt; I even crossed my legs underneath my skirt but could not stop the flow.  My hose, my socks, my slip, and my boots were totally wet, and I was 100% flushed.  So, with great effort on my part, I finished the speech, hoping and praying I wasn't leaving puddles on the floor.

When I was excused from the stage by the Toastmaster, I left the stage with, seemingly, great confidence and poise and darted straight to the ladies' room.  In the stall, I shed all my clothes but the skirt and boots.  Just tossed them into the trash can.  Can you imagine the janitor emptying that can thinking, "What do these Toastmaster people DO at these meetings?"  I retrieved my tiny bottle of parfume from my purse's abyss and sprayed myself.

I returned to the meeting room and sat in my chair.  My friend beside me asked me if I was sick. 
"Yes." 
"Are you ok?" 
"No."
"Is there anything I can do?"  

I looked straight at her, no expression, and said, "Do you have an extra pair of underwear I can borrow?"   I could see the light of great understanding dawning in her face.   Did she smell something?  She died right there.

At the end of all the speeches, the Toastmaster had all the speakers return to the stage for the ending questions and then the results of the contest.  Only one other person knew that I was standing there naked under my clothes, and she wasn't telling.

I graciously accepted the trophy and certificate declaring me first place in the division.   Smiled a few smiles for the cameras.  Shaked some hands.  Met the judges.   Took congratulations from other Toastmasters.  Left the building and had the carpool head straight to the Dollar Store for a package of underwear.

So, haha, Toastmasters!  I pulled one on you.  The Naked Winner!  And you didn't even know it!

Oh, yeah, and one of my secrets.....
one of my secrets....
is...........
is...................................
is...................................
drum roll.........................
I can't believe I'm going to say this.........................................
I should wear the sign.....................................................
just between you and I.....................................................................
you'll still be my friends, won't you............................................................




Sorry...I just can't say it...
You would forever think of me as _______!  (YOU FILL IN THE BLANK) 
If anyone can guess, I'll send you a used Texas Roadhouse gift card with a $9.97 balance.

See you in the funny papers.

Right Around the Corner

Nature lovers, it's time (in Texas) to get those hands dirty.  Time to dig.  Plant trees.  Bushes.  Bulbs.  Spring is right around the corner.

34 loves to plant trees.  This weekend, he planted over half of the 50 tree seedlings he mail-ordered from the nursery.  First, he planted the dogwoods; he loves dogwoods.  Then, he planted a good many of the pawpaw trees. 

Pawpaws, he says, are the only native fruit trees to Texas; however, with the forestry industry forging into the beautiful pineywoods of northeast/east Texas in the past forty years, the pawpaw trees, along with other native plants, were cleared for the planting of pines and hardwoods for the burgeoning number of paper mills popping up in the South.  It is, indeed, rare to find a wild pawpaw tree growing in these here parts.  Hence, the comeback of the pawpaw trees planted by simple landowners.  

Even after several years of owning this property, we are still finding all sorts of junk scattered about under leaves and soil.   Gosh, have we dug up the junk!

Look!  The first sign of the coming spring is here!

Jonquils...

rosemary...

The greatest thing about growing herbs is even I can't kill them!

spearmint and chocolate mint...

I thinned out this bed of mint in November, but not to worry.

Mint is invasive and comes back with a vengance.

If anyone wants a cutting, I'll share.  Leave me a comment.

Wild garlic has come up in the pasture.

The tulip tree has velvet buds guarding lavendar flowers.

The promise of spring, just around the corner.

Great Day for Cooking

Gray, windy, a little bit nippy...a good day for cooking and planting trees. 

While 34 is at the renovation house planting pawpaw trees and flowering dogwoods, I'm doing his laundry for next week and puttering in the kitchen.

The girls, up at noon, decided to make pancakes.  A couple of budding chefs, here...

...who need a lot of practice.

My cooking project for the day is shrimp gumbo, which starts with roux

(pronounced 'rue') and water.

  Looks gross, but let's continue. 

I know plenty of folks who make their own roux,

but I buy mine at the local grocery.

There's a gumbo recipe on the jar.

I add as much of these ingredients as I want - bell pepper, onion, garlic,

celery, crushed Italian tomatos.   Chop all these veggies and add to roux. 

I do not follow a specific recipe on gumbo.  Just whatever looks good to me.

And, it comes out like this:

Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about! 

Ok, well, maybe not.

Since the gumbo is well away from being ready and presentable,

I'll just tell you the rest.

Sprinkle a fair amount (probably 1 tablespoon) of

 Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning into the mixture.

Cook the roux/vegetable mixture for two hours on low temperature.

Increase temperature to medium high, and add

 frozen sliced okra (no specific amount) and cook until the okra is soft.

Then, incorporate thawed, shelled, deveined shrimp.

Cook until the shrimp is pink in color.

(If you buy the shrimp pre-cooked, heat thoroughly in the mixture.)

You could also use pulled cooked chicken or crab meat.

Serve gumbo over a good bed of dirty rice.

(The actual dirty rice recipe is very involved, so I just buy the boxed version.)

Serves 4 to 6.

Need to go out and check on 34 and the tree planting process.

See you in the funny papers.

Stand for Something

This past weekend, thousands of pro-lifers marched in Texas.

In Dallas

In Houston

In Austin

In San Antonio

Let the children come to me; do not try to stop them;

for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.

Matthew 19:14 NEB

In the temple blind men and cripples came to Him,

and He healed them. 

The chief priests and doctors of the law saw

the wonderful things He did,

and heard the children in the temple shouting,

'Hosanna to the Son of David!'

and they asked Him indignantly,

"Do you hear what they are saying?"

Jesus answered,

"I do; have you never read the text,

'Thou hast made children and babes at the breast

sound aloud thy praise'?" Psalm 8:2

The picture at the top is my Kid#4 Sam.

This mama is telling, no shouting, to her child,

"Run, son, run to Jesus,

for your soul will find rest

and your soul will live."

Selah