Boo!

Well it is Halloween! It seems every year there are more and more decorations about, both inside and outside  people's homes. Don't get me wrong....I have always enjoyed the holiday, and have wonderful memories of Halloween night both as a child  and as a parent. I think it is a real family time event, with parents accompanying their little goblins up and down the street....and parties where  whole neighborhoods seem to attend.

Here are some spooky specimens for sale at a nearby big box store.

 and I have shown you this gate before, to a  large estate, where they go all out
.

Inflatables are popular too, for your yard. This kitty though seems to be laying down on the job.

So how do we decorate? I would say I have scaled down. The same old pumpkin gourd, on the door, year after year.

Do you decorate for Halloween?

Whether or not you do, have a safe but hopefully spooky time tonight...Janey

Yuk!

This is not an advertisement....and it should not be tried at home (or elsewhere).

These are two products that I use when I travel. The one on the left is a face cream (yes it is supposed to erase wrinkle too), that has a SPF of 30. The one on the right is a small size of the toothpaste that I use. The tubes look an awful lot alike.

especially from the back.

You guessed it. I got up recently at the hotel, put face cream on my toothbrush and started brushing before I realized what I had done. Oh my, I can't tell you how awful face cream tastes!

Have you ever done something so crazy?

What's Going On?

I have featured this old rock wall before on fence day. .

It fences a rather large estate that I walk past on the morning walk.

 Well, apparently something is going on. At first I thought maybe they were putting in another driveway.

Then I noticed the construction fence runs most of the length of the whole property.

I hope that they are not demolishing the place. There was an opening in the fence down by a ravine, and you can see that the windows are out of the house.I will keep you posted.

Linking to: Good Fences

In Plain Sight

I feel sure hundreds pass this painting every day. It is part of the special exhibition at the Amon Carter Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas, but it does not hang in The American Folk Art Museum in New York City with the others.

It hangs on the wall ... in the subway at Fifth Ave. and Fifty First Street in New York City.

Ralph Fasanella painted it in the 1950's from sketches he drew while riding on the subway, and felt that it should be shared with subway riders. After the exhibition, it will return to the subway tunnel wall. So you can look for it next time you are in NYC.

Folk Art part ll

This is a continuation of our visit to the Folk Art exhibit at The Amon Carter Museum. I love this town (Ft. Worth, Texas), they have such a wonderful cultural district, and it is actually within walking distance from our new home.

Above is another selection from the 100 piece collection of Folk Art, on loan from the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. Many of you may recognize this artist...who I think symbolizes folk art. Any guesses?

 Well, if you guessed Grandma Moses you would be correct. Anna Mary Robertson (1860-1961), affectionately called Grandma Moses, believe it or not, didn't start paining in earnest until she was 78 yrs. old!

Tomorrow a folk art painting that hangs where hundreds of people see it every day..

College Fellowship

As part of our senior (citizen) courses at T.C.U., we also enjoy several social outings. 

We were invited for a private tour this week of the visiting art exhibit titled: Self-Taught Genius at the Amon Carter Museum . A collection of over a hundred pieces of folk art from the American Folk Art Museum in New York City.

This piece, an architectural model, titled Encyclopedic Palace of The World, done in the 1950's by Marino Autrite (1891-1980). The Italian immigrant,who was a auto mechanic, hoped that the huge building would be built in Washington D. C. He wanted the building to house the knowledge and human discoveries of the works of man, Those discovered and those yet to be.

 It never happened. Posthumously his model has had a profound effect. In 2003 it was the centerpiece of the Venice Biennale, and now is part of the permanent collection of The American Folk Art Museum.

We Didn't Invite Patricia

Well, it is the morning after the big party that I have been so busy getting ready for. It was a meet and greet of the friends that are going with us to France....which isn't until April.

So, what do you feed a crowd of eighteen? Well, if you are going to talk about France...wouldn't Beef Bourguignon  be in order? It sounds like a lot of work, and it was, but the beauty of it...it can be prepared the day before.
 .....and then the rains came. Most of the rains coming off of the remnants of Patricia...the hurricane that hit Mexico. So, three couples coming from Houston couldn't get here. That took us down to twelve. That's okay because Beef Bourguignon freezes well.

 

A hazy photo of some of  those that could get here. My sister Polly made a delicious salad.

 

Jamie made an absolutely scrumptious (and beautiful) French Pear Torte

and Linda brought some yummy pastries from a French bakery...and of course we had macaroons. They were frozen in France, and flown to Ft. Worth...yes really!

By the way. I didn't fly them in from Paris. The grocery store did...and the price reflected that they must have flown first class. Therefore there weren't too many purchased!

It's Been A Long Time

Yes, it has been a long time since visitors from Cuba traveled freely to the U.S. Fifty four years to be exact. So, I was excited to attend to a lecture at Texas Christian University  to hear a talks by three visiting dignitaries from Havana.

One of the visitors Dr. Miguel Cabrera is the official historian at the Institute of the Arts for the Cuban National Ballet, and  founder of the Havana Museum of  Dance. His talk was in Spanish, with a translator, but he was warmly received and gave us a glimpse into the world renowned National Ballet of Cuba.
Performances are on the main stage of the beautiful Palace of Galician Centre (above), which seats 1,500 people.

I didn't realize until I got home, that the only snapshot I took of Dr. Cabrera had him drinking a glass of water (gentleman far left). The lecture is one  of several offered to Continuing Education students at T.C.U.

It was a nice surprise that following the talk we were offered a  Cuban dinner by a Caribbean restaurant in the area that serves authentic Cuban Cuisine.

The Seed

Yesterday I wrote about persimmons....which I was surprised to see for sale at the grocery store.

Barb commented that she liked the seeds....and Rosemary said the persimmons she eats have no seeds. Well, some persimmons do have seeds, anywhere from one to eight, and others don't. Happiness is finding no seeds...since that way you get more fruit! Seems the persimmons without seeds didn't get pollinated. Found out something a little more interesting. They say you can predict the winter weather by cutting open the seeds.

Seeds that show a spoon inside are predicting a heavy wet snow.

 Those with a fork.....powdery light snow

and a knife indicates you will be cut by icy winds!

Who knew ?!

More interesting facts: Some folks use  toasted, crushed  seeds as a coffee extender, and Confederate soldiers even used them as buttons.

A Fruit

I was in one of my favorite grocery stores yesterday, and saw a display of fruit that caused me to pause.

It is not very common to find persimmons for sale in grocery stores these days. ...but there they were. The sign says they are a Fall fruit ,must be why they are being sold now.

When I was in the second grade, we lived  near a relatives dairy farm. Between the house where we lived and our cousin's farm was a long dirt road. On the south side of that road, about halfway down stood a persimmon tree. I will never forget eating one when it was still green, which is something you shouldn't do. It takes all of the moisture out of your mouth....and tastes horrible. Although, when ripe a persimmon is a very sweet delicious fruit.....and from what I read online...it is even healthier than an apple.

Do persimmons grow where you live? Have you ever eaten one before it"s ripe?

I am going to be sporadic the next few days. Not only are we having the large dinner party on Saturday, but several of the out of town guests are staying here. Wish you were here to help :) Janey

* I have word verification turned off. If if shows up when you try to comment, just ignore it and hit post.

Where is she?

I know...I am missing in action. Really busy this week....but I will return. Janey

Ooh La La

Well, it is official, we are going on another European river cruise, and seems my husband loves to see how many friends we can get to go along. Last time cruising the Rhine, I think we had 46! We don't take the group discount for being the organizers....we just reduce all of our friends fares.

This time we are going to France....several nights in Paris, and then seven nights cruising through Provence, ending with a night in Monte Carlo. So, why am I showing you an Eiffel Tower guest towel? Well, we are having  our fellow travelers to dinner on Saturday night, (sort of a meet and greet). It will be a buffet,so I went in search of napkins with a Paris theme...and this is what I found.

A little demonstration, if you will, of what I did.. I folded up about an inch of the bottom.This is so your utensils don't fall out on your foot.

insert the knife

 Wrap both sides of the napkin across the knife, and fasten with a small elastic band.

Flip it over. Now you are ready to insert the fork and spoon. If you try to put them in when you did the knife...you would be be pulling your hair out...believe me!

Now apply a second small elastic band near the top.

Now my utensils are ready for the buffet table. Have you ever noticed how many words we have in English language for the same item? Silverware,utensils, cutlery,stainless. Hmmm. I know it is only Sunday night, but I have a busy week ahead, and my Mother taught me: "Don't put off until tomorrow the things that you can do today".

In case you are wondering I do have several sets of utensils, so poor Tom will not be eating with his hands all week :).

 By the way,I found the tiny black elastic bands in the hair products section of the store.

A Place to be Photographed

It is customary for brides to have their wedding portraits taken in beautiful locations, and there are many that use the  Dallas Arboretum to do just that . Although, we did not spot any brides on our trip there on Friday.

 What we did see was this. These are young ladies having their Quinceanera portraits taken.

The Quinceanera which is both a religious and social event is the coming of age of a fifteen year old Mexican girl. This is a big event in their lives....and it is a huge celebration.
Traditionally the dresses they wore were white or pink...but the modern young women have ventured out. I rather like the turquoise one.

A Garden

I am so fortunate that two friends who are neighbors in Colorado, in the summer, also live near me here in Texas in the winter. We try to get together at least once a month, usually to have lunch

Yesterday we met in Dallas to go to the Arboretum, an 86 acre park on the banks of White Rock Lake,

where they decorate for every season

and this time of year there are pumpkins everywhere.

They do have beautiful Fall flowers as well

and waterfalls and fountains,

but the pumpkin displays seemed the most popular

There were three restaurants to choose from for lunch,

 and we just had the best time!

A Political Lecture

I have to admit I wasn't too excited about the topic, when a new friend invited me to attend a lecture series at one of the area country clubs.They have nationally known speakers once a month for six months.This lecture was on our upcoming Presidential election. I am not a very political person.Although, I always cast my vote. My mother taught me that you do not discuss politics or religion, especially with people you don't know. When I became a stewardess back in the 1960's I was told the same thing. Those two subjects were a no no....and I have lived by those rules.I also stay away from those topics on my blog. We must remember that I am new in town though...and treasure any invitation.

I do have to admit that I was very pleasantly surprised. The speaker, pictured above was Candy Crowley....who I recognized once I saw her.She served as CNN's chief political correspondent, has been awarded several Emmy's and was the first woman to moderate a presidential debate (2012).
I found her to be very smart, witty, informative and a great speaker. She is a real pro, and I came away with a lot of new knowledge and had a nice time too!

Today I am off to Dallas....that other big town near here. I am meeting two girlfriends that are part of my Lake City, Colorado pack...Surely we will find something interesting to do? Have a nice day...Janey

Bristol Head

When we are in Colorado for the summer, we  travel over Slumgullion and Spring Creek passes several times to attend plays at a great repertory theater in the town of Creede.

On our journey, we always pass Bristol Head, a 12,713 ft peak in the rugged San Juan Mountains. Here you can barely see Bristol off in the distance. I was more interested in the fence, since I always have an eye out for fences to share on Thursdays. Which is fence day.

                                                                         Linking to: Good Fences

Finished

A while back I mentioned I was doing some covert sewing, as William from Ottawa called it. I wanted to make some lace panels to soften a little window in one of the guest bathrooms.

The reason I was doing it secretly is that my husband has an  aversion to lace. So, I was sitting in front of the television hemming the panels (not terribly secretly), and he said "What are you making"? I told him I was making curtain panels for one of the bathrooms. He then replied, "that's lace, and I don't like lace". So, I told him that they were not for his bathroom. He didn't actually seem that bothered, but did add, "well, we can always take them down if we don't like them, right"? He also informed me that lace was for little old ladies. Therefore, I reminded him that he was married to a little old lady.

Hopefully I won't find them missing.

My Home Town

My home town of Sherman, Texas had a population of around thirty thousand when I was growing up, and is not much larger today. It is about sixty five miles north of Dallas, not too far from the Oklahoma border.

 There are many beautiful old homes there. A large number of the these homes were built with wood siding and not brick, therefore many have been lost over time. I was so happy to see that this one, located at the corner of Birge and N. Woods St. had been restored.

The home was built in 1896 by Allen Birge (hence the name of the street). Mr. Birge and his family moved from Connecticut to east Texas in 1860, where he was a successful business man and was elected sheriff. He served as an officer in the Confederate Army before moving to Sherman, where he was  in the cotton brokerage business.

This home remained in the Birge family until 1969.

A Milestone

I have not been visiting many of your blogs lately, and I apologize. In the past two weeks I have moved from our home in the Colorado mountains, to our  home in  Ft. Worth,Texas. Then we traveled down to Austin, our state capitol, to see daughter number 4, stopping along the way see daughter number 3, who has a new home.

When we got back  to Ft. Worth I had planned to get settled into some sort of routine, but instead decided, at the last minute, to attend my high school class reunion, which meant traveling to the small north Texas town of Sherman.

Can it really be my 50th high school reunion? How on earth did that happen?

One year at a time I guess. I attended with classmate Beverly (green blouse), who I discovered lives very near me here in Ft.. Worth. Our fellow classmate Gary was happy to see us both.

Beverly and I have been friends for a long time. We were eight grade cheerleaders together. That is Beverly top left with her eyes closed. ...and me, the middle right...yes with the dark hair.
I really wasn't  too excited about attending the reunion, but I have to admit I had a great time. Does your high school have class reunions, and have you attended any?