Lunch

                                             
This print hangs in my kitchen....reminding me where I would rather be. Paris! Where would you like to be lunching?

Shoes!

 

Went to a luncheon with my daughter in Chicago I was amazed at how high the heels were. I am not sure I could still walk on ones so high!

One more test!

Bear with me. Trying to do something new....use this iPad!

 

This is a test

How's this for a centerpiece?

 

This is a test entry from my iPad.

Memories of Halloween

To most people these are the "in" item to decorate with. Not sure what these green mossy balls are actually called. To me...they remind me of  a painful Halloween.. You see in Texas, we have a tree called a Bois d' Arc or Bodark Tree, and commonly called a Horse-Apple tree by the locals.The fruit of this tree looks an awful lot like these balls.When I was a child of five years old, I was out trick or treating with my sisters, when a group of high school boys ran by throwing horse-apples  (Bodark apples) at each other and one hit me in the chest. I ran crying to my parents car. Mother let me in and  then accidentally closed the car door on my hand...

Little known fact: French explorers in America named this tree the Bois d' Arc because Indians were making their bows from the hard wood.

Olfaction Advertisement ?

I had to look that up too. Here's an entrepreneur that  didn't need a lot of signage. He let the smell of smoking (barbecue) ribs draw you in. Set up on the frontage road of hwy 6 west of Houston, I had the feeling (from the smell of things) that long about lunch time, there would be a crowd!

Fourth of July Bird?

This enormous tile art work hangs on a wall in my doctor's office. It is made up of small tiles, is well lit , colorful and a nice addition to an otherwise sterile waiting area. As you can see there is a male and female cardinal and what looks like a little raccoon watching you. What has me stumped is the red white and blue bird? I don't think I have ever seen one....How about you?

Ranchettes

Many of the ranches in Texas are being subdivided and sold as smaller "ranchettes". A place where a family can have room to roam and enough space for a few animals ,usually horses. This welcoming sign at the entrance of such a place in Navasota, Texas sorta says it all. 

A Famous Texan

                      The Grave of Howard Hughes,  Houston, Texas

It reads like fiction...the life story of Howard Hughes. Hughes claimed Houston as his birthplace; although records dispute that... and place his birth in Humble, Texas Christmas Eve 1905. Business magnate, aviator, engineer, film director , producer, and one of the world's wealthiest and possibly most eccentric men....he could be called anything but humble.

I vividly remember that April afternoon in 1976, when they said that the mysterious Howard Hughes's,( who had not been seen in public for twenty years), private plane (flying in from Acapulco. Mexico) was requesting to be met by an ambulance. News crews  reported a frail ,very thin man, with a long un-kept beard being carried off by stretcher. Pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital. He had apparently died in route to the town he loved. Houston where he claimed to be born , almost died in.....and finally was laid to rest in..

For more information on this larger than life Texan, check out the link below:


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes

 
* Little Known Fact: It is no secret that Hughes dated a long list of famous actresses in his day, including academy award winning actress Gene Tierney, who by the way just happens to be buried in this same cemetery. Glenwood.

Two Blossom Day

Saturday was a beautiful day here..a bit too humid, but that's just Houston. I always like to put pots of Hibiscus along the back curved wall of the pool. We enjoy the huge colorful flowers, even though they fall off after only one day. Yesterday, I was surprised that each bush decided it was a two blossom day. Hopefully you had a two blossom day too!

Burmese or Half Lotus?

Maybe you know the name of this position?  I just know that he caught my eye this week at a plant shop. I think he needed a little sign that  read "Kiss Me I'm a Prince". Did I bring him home? No, but I considered it....and then quickly came to my senses. I really don't need a meditating frog......and I already have a prince!

Monster in the Deep

The pool service comes on Friday morning, so I was not surprised by the leaves littering the bottom early this morning. But, I did a double take when I saw this guy. Yes, it does look a bit like a lobster, but in reality it is a crawfish. People in our neighboring state (Louisiana) go crazy this time of year having Crawfish Boils. In this case, it is not the neighboring state that is the guilty party....but the neighbor next door. I remember last week an invitation to a Crawfish Boil they were having over the Easter weekend on their driveway (just over our fence). The weekend we happened to be out of town. I am not sure if someone threw this guy over the fence , into our pool, as a prank, or he was an escapee who crawled under the fence and dove in? Anyway, I promptly called for help (from my husband). I insisted he catch it, with the pool net, put it in a bucket and release it in a nearby creek. Sorry to say, the pool chemicals must have done him in as he was not alive :(
If you are not familiar with a Crawfish Boil you may want to check out this site
*http://www.whatscookingamerica.net/Seafood/CrawfishBoil.htm     

Calvert ( part four)

One last picture from Calvert. I was amazed at the number of restored mansions in that little town .. This cutie was more of a normal size. I can't tell if it was built in the 1890's or just after the turn of the twentieth century. I especially liked the long skinny windows ....and the double front doors. Clever how they  planted a tree to shade the front porch from that hot Texas afternoon sun.

Rusty

                            
                                   
Not all of the old mansions in Calvert, Texas have been restored. Although the one above did seem to be under renovation; it was the fence that caught my eye. Despite it's condition, I thought it was pretty.  Obviously nothing has been done to save it. I don't know much about rust, but feel  sure that it will eventually eat right through the metal? It will be interesting to go back some day and see if it is still there...

When Cotton Was King

                                        
   The little central Texas town of Calvert prospered when the railroad laid tracks through town in the later part of the nineteenth century. The rich soil also produced healthy fields of cotton. Many of these plantation owners chose to build their mansions in town. I was surprised that so many were still standing and very well cared for..


I love the generous porch on this one. I can imagine sitting there in a porch swing, enjoying the slight breeze with a tall glass of iced tea!

* Little known fact: Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley was born in Calvert, Texas!

The Courthouse that became a home

We have driven through Calvert, Texas many times and even stopped a few. It is a tiny place just over a thousand in population with  a downtown that has been turned into a series of antique stores.On our trip north on Friday the weather was beautiful, and we had time to kill so we ventured off of the main drag.

This building was built in 1875 with intentions of it being the courthouse. Calvert had been designated the county seat, but due to a Yellow Fever outbreak, many of the town leaders died, and the county seat was awarded to another nearby town. Robert Brown a wealthy merchant  bought the place in 1885 and made it into his home. In 1966 the home was made into a museum and remains open today.  

Happy Easter

This small protestant church is out in the countryside, about a quarter mile off of the highway south of Waco, Texas. It is especially visible at night , sitting on the crest of a small hill, illuminated by lights.. One year, as we were driving to North Texas for Christmas ,we got off the road to have a closer look. This year, almost fifteen years later, we decided to pay it another visit to see if it had aged. I am happy to report it is being very well cared for and at the time pictured, which was around noon on Friday, illuminated by the sun! Today,on Easter Sunday, it is likely  standing room only. Happy Easter!

* even with all of the correct gadgets I am unable to post pictures on my blog using my iPad2. Maybe I need to download some sort of an app?

Oops

Chargers,camera, camera cord, iPad...Amazing the things that you have to remember these days...I thought I had everything...but I forgot the little gizmo that connects the camera cord to the iPad. Life use to be easier! So no pictures until I get home. Having a great time. Weather is beautiful...Walked in a 5K race this morning....

Happy Easter

We are headed to north Texas to see my family for Easter. Wish me luck.... I am going to take my new iPad and see if I can load pictures and get them to my blog....
If this is a holiday that you observe. I hope it is filled with family, faith, love , fuzzy bunnies and colorful eggs!....Happy Easter ,Janey

Garden Shop

This sweet little Garden Shop is in the center of the  tiny community of Chappell Hill west of Houston. I don't think it is an old building, but one that was built to look old. I like the way the shade was covering the street. Reminds me of my childhood when I went barefoot. The pavement in Texas was so hot, that in bare feet you looked forward to shady spots like this that gave you relief from the searing pavement!

A Texas Inn

Built in 1834, by  English immigrant Henry Fanthrophe, when Texas was still part of Mexico, this large family home was a welcoming shelter and stage coach inn for travelers  traversing the wild west. It was passed down through the same family until it was sold to The Texas Parks and Wildlife Assoc. in 1977.Come  and enjoy a  tour and  a ride on the stage .Open on Saturday and Sunday, tours are conducted by volunteers in 19th century costumes. Entry is free and there are picnic tables available for use under shade trees on the six acre sight. Fanthrope Inn, Anderson Texas 936-878-2214
Large groups need an advance reservation.

Texas Couthouses

Last weekend we took a driving trip which took us through Grimes County, north of Houston. Pictured above is their courthouse built in 1894. There are 254 counties in the state of Texas and  courthouses can be very different in architectural style. I have an  Aunt who decided to take a photo of all 254. It took her several years  traveling around the state on weekends , usually accomplishing  two or three at a time. She finally did succeed and I think she was a little sad that when she finally took number 254!

Baby O

I love this shot. Baby "O" as we like to call her (Olivia) is making a statement just how much she loves the beach. My little great niece was in Costa Rica recently  with her family attending a wedding. You would never know, by this picture, that little Baby O had open heart surgery just two months before. I love seeing her so healthy and happy!

Backroads

I love wandering around back roads. It's something we  usually don't have time to do. Why is it that we   rush from place to place, on super highways, when there are so many interesting things to discover (to coin a phrase) off the beaten path? We did just that last weekend, when we were out photographing  wildflowers . I must admit at first it was the sign that attracted me. Then I realized that it was not a sign that belonged to this building. We were in Anderson, and the sign is talking about food at a relay station in Planterville, another fifteen miles south. It must have been  a remnant of an organized bike trip? Wonder what this structure was? Sitting at an angle at a crossroads, a block from the Grimes County courthouse, could it have been an old gas station?I didn't try the door, but I am sure you would get a wonderful squeak from those rusty old hinges. It probably has a date with the wrecking ball or maybe it will just return to nature. It already seems to be in the arms of the local vegetation...