It's Time

If you check the forecast for next week, you will know where I am. Busy packing.

It is time to seek out cooler temps.

I will be online soon, so please check back. Janey

HOT!

In Austin, Tx taking care of granddaughter Hannah. I picked her up at school yesterday and it was over 100 degrees (37 C) . Smart place for the snow cone man to park...right in front of the school.

Lunch with the birds

My previous post was all about our beautiful square in downtown Ft. Worth.

Well yesterday we returned there, and had lunch with dear friends at a most unusual restaurant. ...or at least with a most unusual name. The Bird Cafe.

Sitting in a prominent location on the east side of the square, this building built in 1889 originally as a Title Office, is a delight inside and out. It is also a favorite dinner spot for many or simply a place to meet a friend for a drink and tasty tapas.

 19th century stairway with original stained glass.

Parts of the restaurant look new, but they have saved a few areas where you can feel the age of the building,

and it doesn't take long for you to notice the bird theme here and there.

Every room is decorated with large vignettes of bird prints, which led me to research why. Seems these are prints of Texas birds painted by twin brothers who grew up in Ft. Worth. Their inspiration coming from a fascination with John J. Audubon. You can read more about these artists HERE

This was our last monthly lunch with our friends Jenna and Phil as we will be headed to our home in the mountains for the summer.

If you find yourself in Ft. Worth, Texas I can highly recommend the bird cafe if you are looking for ambience and good food.

Fun on the Square

In the Fall of 2013 our city debuted a beautiful multi functional square right in the very center of our downtown business district. They had to close a section of main street in order to build it, but in five short years it has become a huge success and has brought family and tourists alike back to our downtown that was fast becoming, like a lot of other cities, a ghost town after 5pm.

 This Internet photo will give you an idea of the scope of the project. It is an area where you feel safe day or night due to the apparent presence of a private security force. There is also free parking after business hours in close by garages, and free valet parking at the nearby restaurants.

 Since the weather was so pretty on Friday night, Tom ask if I wanted to eat at one of the terrace restaurants on the square for dinner. Upon arrival, were surprised to see a band setting up  and decided to stick around and have a listen.

Quite a sizable crowd had gathered

and a few folks got up to dance. As the evening progressed more and more folks hit the dance floor, especially when they started playing rock n roll!

For something unplanned...we sure had a great time!

Mother's Day

In the U.S. we have a day set aside in May to honor Mother's.

I miss my Mother especially on this day. My mother was the most optimistic person I have ever known. She always pointed out the positive in every situation, even when it was apparent there wasn't one.  Crippled with rheumatoid arthritis, it hardly sidelined her or caused her to complain. She kept all five of her girls in check, despite the fact that most  of us towered over her. Having what seemed like total recall, she could tell you what relative was born on which date and probably what day of the week it was. She delighted in being around her grandchildren and laughed out loud at everything they did or said.She was not a good cook, or a good housekeeper but she was a joy to be around.She loved her soap operas and her Dallas Cowboys (football team) and when she was younger I remember her large stacks of True Romance Magazines.She did not drink or smoke or use bad language...but on Christmas Eve for some reason she always tried to smoke one cigarette and have a glass of Mogan David wine.Yes, that sickly sweet stuff that tasted more like cough syrup. Rest in Peace Mother. Your five girls and seven grandchildren, as far as I know, are all behaving themselves and without a doubt everyone of us miss you. To all of the Mothers out there I wish you a very Happy Mothers Day.

A Sign of the Times

I have seen news articles like the one above that some places, in this case New York City, have solar phone charging stations that are free to use...

 but I had no idea that one has appeared in downtown Ft. Worth, Texas at Sundance Square.
Have any of these appeared in your area? Just wondering. Have a wonderful weekend! Janey

It's A Tradition

I spotted this sign on the back of a car parked in front of one of our luxury hotels in downtown Ft. Worth the other night.

It wasn't just any car. Some folks would call it vintage, but it doesn't seem that old to me.

I prefer classic to vintage...sounds special instead of old. It reminded me of leaving my own wedding.

One tradition that I am not sure is popular anymore is the tying of tin cans to the back of the car. I have tried to research where this tradition originated, and found numerous answers. Do you have traditions in your country related to the bride and groom departing  the wedding?
The above is not my wedding car, although we did depart in a Mustang.
The corvette above... for those that don't know is a 1958

The Surprise Encounter

As I mentioned in a previous post...we have had several guests of late.

One of our activities for visitors is usually a visit to our favorite (nearby) museums. We were doing just that on a rainy day last week,

when a stranger approached me with this lady on his arm. I was a bit startled when he addressed me asking "excuse me, but what exactly brought you here today?". A bit quick witted I am, so I am happy that I didn't answer: "to get out of the rain". Instead I said "we have out of town guests and we love this museum". All the while looking around for some hidden camera. He then replied, "well then you need to thank this lady... she started this museum"...I have since read a lot about her....and indeed she did build the museum. We had a very nice visit and she introduced us to her daughter who is the new president of the Kimbell. You can read more HERE

I am still wondering why I was singled out, but very happy that I was. He by the way is writing a book about the museum and he finishes...I guess I will know his name.!

Guests

I apologize to my few followers. I have been in and out of town and in addition to that have had two sets of guests...which is why I have neglected reading your blogs. I do hope to get back on schedule.

You may know by now that I like to cook, especially to try new recipes. When the last set of guests were here I made a breakfast ring one morning. The dough comes in a tube. They are designed to be crescent rolls...but you position them like this on a cookie sheet. Top them with scrambled eggs , diced red pepper, bacon and cheese.

Then you fold over the outer edge and tuck it under.

This is the finished product. I kind of felt like it was more of a craft project than a recipe. Then I received  such rave reviews about how delicious it was...and will likely make it again. For the complete recipe...go HERE

 The weather doesn't always cooperate when you want it to. ...and besides, we really needed the rain. So, we headed out and toured two of our favorite museums...

The Collection

The current exhibit at Ft. Worth's Kimbell Museum is the extraordinary collection of Asian antiquities collected over a fifty year period by this couple.

Sam and Myrna Meyers, and American couple, found themselves living in Paris in 1966.

They happened into a small antique shop in a small town in Switzerland one day, according to Sam to escape a downpour, and met the shop owner, who enthusiastically educated them of how available ancient antiquities were to collect..

 A young Myrna in front of their Paris shop that housed their collection

 

The chance encounter fueled what became a life long quest which ended with this couple, then of modest means, collecting over 5,000 pieces of what has become the richest all-encompassing private collection of Asian objects in the world.

Making it's debut at The Kimbell (first time in the US) are 4,000 pieces of that collection.

I was surprised at the variety of the objects

and would suggest a visit if the exhibit comes to a city near you.