Car Number 1

In my previous blog I discussed my visit to the museum celebrating the once famous department store in our town. The store that was so large that they built their own subway.

Above is the photo of car number one (there were five) that was discovered wasting away in a field in 2013. The others long ago destroyed at the scrape metal yard. One of the daughter's of the founders of the store (and subway) along with a host of others.. loving saw that it was restored

and transported it to it's final resting place. Today it sits forty feet above the tunnel it use to operate in from 1963 to 2002.....in the lobby (where you can see it) of the grand twenty story building One City Place, Fort Worth, Texas.

More Merchandise Less Money

More Merchandise for Less Money, was the motto of a department store in Ft. Worth that was so loved that years after it's closing...there is a museum in it's honor.

The Leonard brothers opened a small retail store in downtown Ft. Worth in 1913 that grew so large over the years that in it's time had as much merchandise as Amazon does today. They sold everything except liquor and cars. . Growing to cover six city blocks by the 1960's,it was causing traffic jams downtown.

So, what did these enterprising men do? Why they built their own subway. You could park for free a bit north of downtown, and ride their subway (free again) underground and arrive in the basement of their  store. I actually rode this subway in the early 1960's. It was Christmas time and I will never forget the huge Christmas tree.

I could go on and on about this store...but it would be easier if you would just visit the museum yourself. Located just west of downtown Fort Worth (over the river), you will find the little (again free) museum that can explain it better than I ever could.

I toured the museum with my Colorado friends this week.  One of us just happens to be the daughter of one of the founders. She certainly gave us a very special tour.

A Special Visitor

I have been very busy entertaining a  special guest.You see we convinced daughter #5 to leave our little four year old granddaughter Hannah here for the week after Easter.

Let's see...What should we do? Even though she was totally happy just helping around the house

as long as she could reach it with the help of her stool.

We thought maybe we should think of some fun things to do.

Our Ft. Worth Stockyards are always a sure bet...

where they have a twice daily parade of the longhorn steers.

 Although she decided this was close enough to this one.

The Ft. Worth zoo is always a great idea...She thought so too.

Where she said her favorite thing was feeding the birds.

 Gramps was a huge help this week. He took her to the park, and to a Smurfs movie

and another place that we won't mention to her kale and quinoa eating parents. 

So...we have returned Hannah to Austin and we are catching our breath , since we have some special cousins arriving here tomorrow. Yep, if you are looking for me..I am back in the laundry room wishing my little helper was here.

A Carousel Repurposed

I am so happy that Fort Worth is starting to appreciate the Trinity River as it snakes through town. There are several areas that are being developed along it's banks for people to enjoy. One of those newly completed complexes is a place called Riverside. There are several restaurants, a grocery store, places to shop and and live, all right along the river bank. 

They haven't forgotten about art either. This sculpture garden is titled

"Horse Field"

is by talented Austin artist Daddy-O Wade

you can read more about him here :HERE

Stealth Photography

Is that what you call it when you are sneaking a picture when you the sign clearly says:. No Photographs in store?

 I wanted to show you what I understand is a vegetable that is on sale at a nearby gourmet grocery store. I have never seen such a thing. Have you?

 The sign clearly says what they are...but it was the price that made me catch my breath! I checked online and it said they are prepared similar to the way you would prepare asparagus...I think I will stick to asparagus...

A Dear Friend

 Most of you know that we spend five months of the year in the very small town of Lake City which is high in the San Juan mountain range of Colorado. It is a place where you make fast friends, since most of the people there are just  like us "summer folks." Many of us are retired, so each year when we go back it seems someone is missing. It is always a shock when it is someone you didn't expect. This summer we will be missing a dear friend... Bob. Bob passed away this past week in California.

Dana and Bob

Bob's wife Dana hails from one of the town's founding families, so they have spent most all of their over fifty years of marriage summering in their darling cabin in Lake City.  

Everyone I know always comments how you never see one without the other. Their place is relatively close into town, so they walked everywhere. Not only were they great walkers..you should have seen them dance...which is something they loved to do. Dana's hobby is gardening and Bob had a keen interest in trains. He did a lot of research on the passenger train that came to Lake City from 1889 to 1933. All traces of that train disappeared in 1937 when they  pulled up even the tracks.. Bob took many hikes, accompanied with old maps, trying to find signs that the train was ever there. Tom and I went along on one of the hikes when he was trying to locate one (of many) old bridge crossings. He did locate it near where The Lake Fork of the Gunnison River spills into Lake Blue Mesa .He became such an expert that he gave lectures at the museum and his train related field trips were always sold out.One of the many ways he benefited the museum.

 He was also a member of our Victorian Tea committee (our husbands). The men actually filled the tea pots, and were responsible for keeping them filled...not to mention physically setting up many many tables and tents. That is Bob third 

from left.

Bob ...you will be missed.

I Was Wrong!

I don't know if you will remember, but I wrote a post about this sweet little house. I was afraid, like so many of the older homes in the neighborhood, that it would be torn down to make way for a larger more modern one.

Well, I was partially right. They are making way for a new home, but they did not demolish this one. It is being moved.

I have no idea where they are taking it....but if I find anyone around, I will ask and let you know...

Easter

I am a little late wishing everyone a Happy Easter.

My little granddaughter Hannah was here and we have been very busy, doing important things.

Cookies by niece Kristin

 Our large family gathered at my sister Polly's for a wonderful Easter dinner.

There was a huge gathering of kinfolks and lots of delicious food,

and of course an Easter egg hunt.

If you celebrate this holiday. I hope you were with family or friends.

The Painting.

Last Spring Tom and I went on a River Cruise down through southern France, along with my sister Polly and her husband Mike. Polly's hobby, which is now could be considered a part time job.... is photography, so as you can imagine she was delighted by the photo ops the streets of France provided her!

Arles, France
I am not sure that I can explain her technique here...maybe she will read this and correct me. Anyway, I will try. She has a setting on her camera that takes several frames of the same photo.....combining them for the best shot. Then I think she uses an app on her computer that makes it look like a painting. When she returned from France, she sent several pieces of her work to a photo lab that transferred the imagines onto a watercolor type paper, which indeed produced the effect she was looking for.. I picked up this one yesterday(a small 5x7),  framed it and have it displayed on a small shelf in a guest room. I was thrilled by the finished product...Thanks Polly

Back to Reality

My previous post was about a glamorous style show at a luxury department store....but alas, that is not my regular lifestyle. You are more than likely to run into me at the grocery store.

Which brings up another subject....We have a new grocery store in town. This chain that sells healthy, mostly organic foods has been around for awhile, but not in Ft. Worth. Tom and I have been trying it out for lunch. They have a small eating area and a nice selection of take away food. Tom usually goes for their pizza by the slice, and I like trying a different cup of soup with every visit.

I like this healthy idea. Instead of offering a free cookie to children, as most stores do. They offer a piece of fruit,

but this was new to me, a sports bar right in the middle of the store. I guess their idea is entertain Dad while Mom is shopping??Have you seen this before?

A Day at the Ranch

🌹Several of my blogs lately have been about Fort Worth's newest development, the one that until recently was a private ranch.

I also mentioned that it was a multi-use area that included shopping. Well, the first store to open there is a world famous luxury store. They have been in Fort Worth for years, but closed their other location and built a new one here.So many department stores seem to be closing these days, but I understand a lot of luxury suppliers and designers are still not selling online.

Neiman's is also famous for their lunchroom, so when my friend Betty suggested we go see the new store, and have lunch I whole heartily agreed. I mention Betty often since she lives near me in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and also has a summer home near us in the mountains. I found this photo of the new lunchroom online. The younger folk all seem to like contemporary style, but I find it stark. Give me old world any day, especially with a chandelier (or maybe just a view). I can' complain about the food though. It was delicious.

As we were leaving lunch I noticed an area set up for what looked like a style show, so I ask a sales associate what was going on? She confirmed it was a style show, invitation only but she would be happy to find us an empty chair. Well, I ended up on the front row!

I am not even sure who the designers were, but I sure enjoyed the show. By the way the guy in blue was the rather entertaining announcer. Here are just a few of the fashions:

To top it off, we were even invited backstage after wards for champagne and snacks

If that wasn't enough, they gifted everyone with a nice sized bottle of designer cologne!

Not a bad day at "the ranch" if I don't say so myself!

(Betty and moi)

The Art

On a previous post I mentioned a development close in... in Fort Worth that at one time was a large ranch. It is a multipurpose area with restaurants, condos, green spaces and yes shopping. The developers have been working closely with Artspacelll to install artworks in this upscale area that reflects the history of the land.

So the first piece of art...in the center of the shopping area...is this 40ft. fully functioning Plexiglas covered windmill by Tom Fruin. I thought it looked beautiful against the blue sky yesterday.

To learn more about Tom Fruin, a New York artist, go:HERE

Books

In the age of so many "devices", I was delighted to receive these two pictures this week.

My daughter(in North Carolina) was looking for her two year old Abigail, and found her in the closet with a stack of books .

A rainy day in Fort Worth called for a makeshift tent at my sister's house.... an attempt to entertain her grandsons. I just  adore how Jack is reading to his little brother Rye.