Old

I am linking today. Some folks call it a link party. It is where you follow a theme, and put a link on your blog, so that your readers can jump over to the leaders blog, where all of the other blogs are also linked. Got it? I know I didn't for a long time. Today's theme is Rubbish Tuesday. Doesn't exactly mean rubbish as in trash...but I guess it could. One of the definitions went something like this: Something in pristine condition that just happens to be old. Don't worry I am not posting a picture of myself!

Okay, so it is not that interesting, or old looking, although it is in pristine condition.....or at least I certainly hope so.

and when I open it, it looks a bit older...Looks sort of like an empty closet.

Maybe this will give you a clue as to what it is.

....and this certainly will. It is an old private elevator in this house (opening into the breakfast room) that works perfectly! We are leasing the top half of this house(until they complete our new house), built in the 1920's, and this thing is certainly helpful when bringing up groceries, luggage, etc.This elevator is my contribution to something in pristine condition that just happens to be old..I might add that it also comes in handy when taking out the rubbish!..Janey

 Linking to:        Rubbish Tuesday

Blue

Good morning! It's Monday, but I refuse to be blue. Need to post a blue picture though, if I am going to link up with Blue Monday. Let's see blue. I see a lot of blue in my pictures, but here is one on a Rhine Cruise that I don't usually show anyone.

It was the only day of bad weather.. We were passing the part of the river where there was a castle, on either side, every mile or so! It was so windy and cold, that I wrapped up in a blue blanket.! Have a wonderful day...I hope it's filled with blue skies, or at least castle or two!                                   

Linking to: Blue Monday

Welcome

...to the neighborhood! I mentioned in a previous blog, that I am temporally living in an old neighborhood, where a lot of the homes have been redone. Rose, from Rose from Oz, asked me to picture a few, as she loves restored homes. Well, so do I. Those that have known me longer, know that I conduct the home tours in my little town, where we "summer", in Colorado.
Ask and you shall receive :) Again, welcome to the neighborhood! Built in 1911 just three short miles south of downtown Fort Worth, an idyllic area sprung up, attracting the mighty oil men who had a lot of change in their pockets, and wanted luxury accommodations to match their life styles.

Columned gates welcome you at either end of the seven block long Boulevard, which the developer named for his wife Elizabeth. Beautiful mansions were built along this street, from 1911 through 1929 when the stock market crashed, and the depression ensued; bringing to a halt much of this lavishness.The gates were even torn down in 1955, and for the next twenty years the area fell somewhat into disrepair. Nineteen sixty nine was the beginning of the come back, and come back it has. New gates were built in 1989..and numerous renovations are still going on!

 

This is the home that the developer (Mr. Ryan) built for himself in 1913. Although four short years later he sold it to a Mr. Smith who owned a Grain Company. It stayed in the Smith family for the next fifty something years.

Mr. Ryan did however stay in the neighborhood. He moved to this slightly smaller (yet similar) home that he had built for his son. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan lived in this house  their remaining years.

 

you may click on image to enlarge 

There are so many beautiful old homes in this neighborhood, but this is one of my favorites..Sorry, do not  know the history here.

A recent addition to the neighborhood are these round abouts installed at intersections along the seven block Boulevard. These actually were spearhead by my brother in law, Bart. They are having a problem with the plants; something to do with under ground springs (they stay too wet) But, as soon as they figure it our they will be beautifully planted.

* I was just in the Ryan/Smith home this week. It is being restored. Hopefully, I will get to go in again when it is completed. I am hoping it will be one of the homes on the annual Holiday Candlelight Tour in December.

Seems I only pictured white brick homes. There certainly is a selection of other colors and styles. I will just have to take another walk!

The Button Dress

I am not sure why, but someone made a Button Dress.

 

I spotted this dress in the lobby of an old Opera House in Granbury, Texas

Kind of clever how they arranged them on the dress. Guess if I were really bored, I could make a Button Dress too. Naw...I hate it when I just have to sewn one on. Have you ever seen such a thing?

A Fence

Monday through Friday, I walk early in the morning with one of my sisters. We are building new home, and in the meantime we are leasing the top part of an old home, only one block from my oldest sister. I love walking in this neighborhood, which was in it's prime in the 1920's through the 1940's. The majority of the homes have been restored. Then you come across one that hasn't been.

Looking at this fence, you just know that at one time it was new and cared for, with a flower bed running it's length. These beautiful Irises still spring forth , perhaps a testament to happier times.

Linking to:
     Good fences       
        

The Garden

We are still renting the top half of an old house, waiting for our new home to be completed. We have a deck on the back side of the house, and a small garden down below.

 

I don't know much about plants....So I can't even tell you what this is. I know in the Fall, it appeared dead, so Tom and I chopped it back, all the way to the ground. What a surprise that it has come back and has flowers all over it. Actually, there are several in the garden.

 

I think these are called Knockout Roses, and they are happy, even with little or no care.

Hanging from our deck is a Honeysuckle Vine. This plant  has a very sweet smell...and reminds me of my childhood. Do you have a garden or yard?

A Liveable City

I had mentioned in a previous blog about Ft Worth's trail system. Flanking the banks of the Trinity River, as it snakes through town, are over 40 miles of paved walking, jogging and biking trails. What I didn't realize was just how close one of these trail entrance's is to where our new home is being built.

On Friday we discovered an entrance within walking distance of where we will soon live.

 

It is a lush green area with trails along a tributary leading to the river

 

There are wooded areas on both side great for bird watching.

Lots of joggers running by....many accompanied by dogs.

 

Other than birds, and jogging dogs...we didn't discover a whole lot...except for a big green caterpillar crossing the trail. We sure enjoyed our walk though!

Happy Easter

 I spotted this carrot on the door of one of my favorite little shops the other day. It also reminds me that morning that I need to get busy. My family is getting together at my oldest sister's at noon,and I am bringing a carrot dish to add to the festivities. Apricot-glazed carrots to be exact. If anyone is interested in the menu. There will be a honey baked ham, fruit salad, deviled eggs, a potato dish. a green veggie, and my carrots. We will of course have dessert. Coconut cake and a chocolate bundt cake.

I hope that you are spending the day with loved ones..Tell me about your celebration..

.Happy Easter .

Dresses

Last week Tom and I attended Ft. Worth's annual Main Street Art Festival. We didn't actually stop in each and every booth since it spanned a nine block area . One booth that did catch my eye, was one that was displaying Dress Sculptures, by an artist, John Petrey, from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I saw several of these works of arts decorating the lobby of the Woman's section of a local hospital yesterday.

The artist ,who at one time was a commercial photographer, is making a name for himself worldwide with these whimsical sculptures adorned with all sorts of materials. The skirt of this one was actually made from travel maps.

 

and the polka dots of this  large one displayed the names of donors to the hospital. The artist, so I learned from the Internet, gets his inspiration from the many 1960 television series that he enjoyed watching over the years. I thought they were rather perfect decorations for the Woman's section of the hospital!

A Strong Fence

This fence, or corral, holds some fierce competitors. An annual event in our little mountain town: The Stick Horse Rodeo. Entrants,who are skilled riders of all ages, compete for ribbons in their prospective  age groups.

....and I wasn't kidding when I said... Of All Ages. Come to our town, where you too can be a kid again!

Linking to: Good Fences

The Cake

 

My sister Dotty's grandchild Olivia turned four years old this week . Olivia's favorite movie is the Little Mermaid, so Dotty's neighbor made her a mermaid cake. Decorating such a cake I guess is usually done with an icing called fondant, which is not always very tasty.... So, I was told this neighbor made all of the decorations, including the blue icing out of pressed chocolate.

Art Festival

We are new in town, so this was our first visit to the annual art festival held in downtown (Ft. Worth, Texas). They close the main street  to traffic, and booths are set up from the courthouse, nine blocks, to the convention center. Three stages are set up along they way, and over 150 different local and regional musical artists also perform over this four day event.

I didn't realize that over a thousand different artists, from across the U.S., register, but only 200 are chosen to take part in the show.

We sure enjoyed going around lunchtime on Friday...and the weather was perfect. Made me wish that this street was always free of cars. Do you have a street in your town that has been deemed pedestrian only?

An Evening at the Theater

We went the the theater this week to see the award winning presentation of STOMP ;first appearing in Brighton UK back in 1991. STOMP is a unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy.
Tom (my husband) is still raving about it. I don't think I have seen him enjoy any musical more. . Shirts and memorabilia were for sale in the lobby by this guy.... who too was also making a lot of noise!

The scenery, which never changed, taken from our seats, which were really great . We were guests of one of my sisters. Thanks Nancy!

I took another picture in the lobby( on the sly) of a Mother and teenage daughter, who were dressed rather outrageous. Everyone couldn't help but stare. I was going to put it on my blog, but didn't for several reasons.

1. I did not have their permission
2. I would be doing so to make fun of them....and my  Mother's (who is no longer with us) words kept echoing in my ear." If you cant say something nice, say nothing at all."

Texas in Bloom

click on photo to enlarge

A white fence... the perfect back-drop for a field of Bluebonnets, which is the official state flower of TEXAS! (now in bloom)

Linking to Good Fences

Someone wanted to know if the Texas Bluebonnet is in the Lupine family. Indeed it is. It is called A LupinusTexenis. The second photo here is of Lupinus Sericeus. A flower also in the Lupine family, that grows in the area I live in the summer...South central Colorado.

Houses

When I drive through a small town, I love locating the old homes, and we did just that while visiting Granbury, Texas last weekend.

 

It doesn't matter if they are small,

 medium sized

or restored.... as so many of these seem to be .

Even the larger ones, appeared to be well taken care of,

and painted every color of the rainbow. A nice cloudy cool day in Granbury.

Promised You Wildflowers

I was hoping to take a lovely drive this weekend and photograph wildflowers. April is a wonderful time to visit Texas. But, alas, Saturday turned out cloudy and cold.

I did take this  (one and only one) shot earlier in the week, when the weather was much nicer....but I promise to get back out on another nice day. We did go for a drive southwest of Ft. Worth, to the small town of Granbury (pop approx. 8,000).

Granbury is the county seat of Hood County. It's picturesque courthouse sits in the middle of the town square surrounded by shops, restaurants

and a recently renovated 1886 Opera House

The Opera house has an elegant lobby, complete with wrought iron balconies and crystal chandeliers.

The walls inside are the original locally quarried white limestone with

seating for 250 people in refinished upholstered original seats..

and a stage all dressed up for the current production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Granbury is the perfect get away from the big city. Come back, and I will show you some of the Victorian era homes.

Greening Up

It has been a long cold winter in most parts of the U.S., even in Texas. So, we are all excited that Spring has finally arrived. This is a favorite time for me, and I enjoy riding out into the countryside where pastures are greening up and wild flowers are blooming.I have no idea what this crop it. ....but it is very very green 

I even got closer hoping that one of you could tell me what this is? It is only about a foot tall at this point. Wouldn't it be nice if farmers would label what is growing in their fields? 

 

I love it when I happen upon an old house, barn or church. This little farmhouse had a wonderful old rusty roof. Come again and I will share some wildflower shots.

A Wee Ranch

 

I guess I don't have to tell you where this small ranch is! It is just a tiny little place with an old house and barn...but a pretty fancy fence!

Linking to

 Good Fences 

A Favorite

This little Texas church is a favorite of mine. It sits of on the rolling landscape of Central Texas. We use to pass it on our way from south Texas to north Texas . It is about a half mile off of the highway, but can be seen, even at night, because it is illuminated.

You can see why I thought of it when I saw a painting at The Carter museum. See previous blog.

 

I remember one Christmas night... seeing it in the distance and asking my husband to turn off of the highway so I could get a closer look

 These photos were of course were taken in the day time.  

you may click on photo to enlarge

A Texas plaque gives the history of the church