Light At The End Of TheTunnel

We feel very fortunate to have  gotten the first one of two Covid 19 vaccines today. Our county is one of the few that has finished vaccinating 

the front line workers and  has opened up shots for anyone over 65.  Oh no did I just admit to being over 65?! Tom and I got word from one of my sisters before it was on the local news, that we could go over to the convention center without a reservation and receive a vaccine  until they ran out of their current supply. Tom was so excited that all the way home he was making a list of all of of the places he wanted to go.

I really feel like this new year 

things  are going to return to normal!

Sorry for some reason having trouble with the new format on blogger today...Nothing seems to work as it should!

A Christmas Drive

 Today is Christmas Day, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it.

Like so many other seniors we in order to be safe have spent the day alone. Correction, we were not alone we spent the day with each other.

The weather was so pretty that we went for a drive, heading west of Fort Worth about  25 miles to the small town of Weatherford. Weatherford is the  county seat of Parker county and this is their pretty old courthouse built in the 1880’s.

The town has around sixty of these big old Queen Victorian styled homes. This one is now a Bed and Breakfast.

I thought this house was interesting with its high pitched roof.. It looks like it should be on a farm, but was right near downtown.

Weatherford was the birthplace of the Broadway/movie actress Mary Martin (1913-1990) who played Peter Pan in the original movie. This statue stands in front of their library. There was another one in the town park that went missing years ago, and I guess they are still searching for it. Mary Martin was famous for many roles and in real life was the mother of Larry Hagman who played J.R. the T.V. show Dallas.

I hope that you too had a nice day however you spent it.

A Family Tradition

 I guess if I thought hard enough I could remember several favorite family traditions, especially those this time of the year. Driving around town in the evening looking for Christmas lights surely would rank up there as a favorite. I know I know things get way too commercial when it relates to Christmas, but who doesn’t like the magic of twinkling colorful lights? I don’t think Tom and I have ever done it alone, but last night we did.

So hopefully you will ride along.

It seems we were not alone after all there were several other carloads of people doing the same thing, so stopping long enough to stake a picture was at times a challenge.

Wrapping trees seems to be popular

The whole street seemed  to glow red with these lights.

These were clever.

How about these?

This home certainly looked inviting..

Wow, this one was amazing. That’s a private drive up to an estate,

and I have pictured this fancy gate many times. Here it is all done up for the holidays.

This picture (borrowed from the Internet) is probably the thing I miss most , baking cookies with my granddaughters

Merry Christmas

Western Art

We are having beautiful fall weather with cold nights and sunny mild days, so we decided to go walk around the Amon Carter Museum. It is well endowed by the Carter Foundation, so it’s free and houses a large selection of American art.

We also know that there are no crowds these days, especially in the afternoon during the  week .That is  the Cater Museum behind us.

They are known primarily for their western collection, but they do have a wide range of other art...this being one of my favorites.

To tell you the truth, I can’t tell a Remington from a Russell and they have a nice selection of both. Above is a Russell.

This one is a Russell too. I found it sort of funny...and after reading about it, seems it really happened.

Russell like Remington also did bronze sculptures .

This is a Remington.

and this is a Remington sculpture. See what I mean about their art being similar? Then I started checking and they were both born around the same time, Russell in 1864 and Remington in 1861.One was born in NY and the other in Missouri. Their families both being prosperous and conservative, and at an early age they both moved to Montana. I wondered if they knew each other. One article said no they never met, another said they met once in 1904. I did find out the main difference though. Seems Russell was all about the cowboy and looked at the Indian as a savage, while Remington had great compassion for the Indians and it shows in his work. I will have to go back now and see if I can tell whose painting it is without reading the plaque.

 

The Christmas Elf

 It is tradition around Christmas time that I make holiday shaped sugar cookies. I started doing this when my girls had to stand on a stool in order to reach the kitchen counter. This is now a tradition that I look foreword to with my granddaughters, but it is not going to happen this year. It is our choice to stay safe and spend the holiday by ourselves. I haven’t been having as much trouble with this as my husband. From all descriptions that I have read, I believe I would be categorized  as an introvert, and there is no guessing that my Tom is an extrovert or type A personally, or whatever you want to call it. Sitting still is not one of his strong suits, so this isolation is killing him. Needless to say he was happy to help me decorate  Christmas cookies. 

I of course had to set forth some rules, and ice one eat one was not one of them.

It turned out to be a fun activity. Of course there were way too many cookies for just the two of us, so I packed a few in Christmas tins and he delivered then to the doorsteps of our neighbors.

Any other suggested activities welcomed

Merry Christmas!

This and That

 Yes, I am still here. The days get longer and starting to all look alike. Trying to find ways to stay busy....which is hard when there is nothing to do. I need to take up a new hobby. If you have any suggestions...let me know. 

We had rain this morning, which we certainly needed but I was happy to see the sun come out this afternoon . The forecast is for more rain accompanied by a cold front later today, so I took a quick walk. There are still pretty leaves still on the trees, but the cold air should take care of that.

Hmmm, what is this?

Yep, one of my neighbors is paying someone to pick up the dog poop in their yard. Now to me that is the height of laziness!

 Hopefully the vaccine is coming to all of us soon. How do you feel about taking it?obviously I am all for it. Stay Safe.

Carol

 One of the first people we met when we started trekking to Colorado for the summers was a friendly lady named Carol. Carol always had a smile on her face and a friendly greeting. She was involved in so many local activities and urged us to do the same. Technically she would not be considered a local since she wintered in California, but when I met her she had been spending her summers in this little mining town for over 80 years.

You see her grandfather built this glorious Victorian house way back in the 1890’s. It was quite the showplace when this little mining town was booming. Carol explained it was the first house to be wired for electricity and her grandfather was so proud that he kept the lights on day and night. The house is no longer in the family and has had several owners over time. At one point the inhabitants painted the walls a bright orange and decorated in the popular southwest style. Carol was horrid and wouldn’t set foot in the door. Thankfully the next owner restored the Victorian look.

We received word that Carol passed away in California this week at the age of 97. No need to be sad. Carol would be one to say celebrate her long and happy life. Pictured here a few years ago with my Tom who she grew to love. Tom seems to have a flag pole coming out of his head....but the flower really was coming out of Carol’s hat.

🌺Carol you will be missed.

The Stockings Were Hung

 After a lot of discussion, we have decided that we would not put up our Christmas tree this year.

Since we will be doing no entertaining and the family will not be here, it just seemed like a lot of effort for the two of us. Early on my two daughters and their families were to be here for Christmas,but we feel like the virus is everywhere now and being so close to a vaccination, we have decided to stay isolated. Decorating the mantle today and putting a few things here and there will at least make it feel a bit more festive.

Will your holiday look different this year?

Gates

Long ago back in medieval times,  nobility lived in castles, and to protect themselves from their enemies, they dug moats around them.

Some cities even had a wall around the whole city, again to protect themselves from people on the other side of the wall. 

On my usual walk I pass by homes with large walls and security gates, which can be quite pretty.

Some would even be described as elaborate...like these into a billionaire’s estate.

His neighbor is a billionaire too, but his wall looks like I could even get over it. Well, not really. To the left side of that gate  is a guard shack with an armed guard inside. I didn’t even feel comfortable taking his picture with the way he was looking at me.

These days it seems to be a selling point. Listed among the amenities 

is the security gate.

So, we have not evolved much since medieval days. I guess there always be the have and the have nots...I would have just thought that mankind would have become more civilized in all  of this time.

I do not live behind a wall or a gate. Not sure that I would want to. For one thing I come and go way too much to wait on a slowly opening gate.

Your thoughts ?

Happy Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American followers!

A turkey from a past Thanksgiving.

It’s always a treat for me to set a festive table.

and cook in the kitchen with anyone who will help...in this case my daughter Stacy.

Just got a text of my niece’s table...all set for today’s feast,

but to be safe we are staying home. Yes just the two of us. We are still enjoying our neighbor’s tree which I posted a picture of before, but this is this morning...it is still beautiful. 

Don’t feel sorry for us..we really do enjoy being together 

Oh Hum

 I don’t know about you but it is getting more and more difficult to find something to post about.

Let’s see doing laundry, making soup and grocery shopping online isn’t very interesting or probably any different than what you are doing.

So I decided to take a walk to see if I came across anything interesting. ...and spotted this. This home has unusual landscaping for our neighborhood. It is more like something you would find in New Mexico or Arizona. I am not sure what these plants are but they have pretty feathery tips this time of year. Along about February cut these back almost to the ground...and by Spring they return to full size.

I hope you are all doing well....and staying safe..Janey

 

Lucky!

 We got the results of our test back today....you know the one for the nasty virus.

and the results were negative...

You can be assured we are going to be a lot more careful now !

Am I Really Being Careful?

 On Sunday afternoon, I invited two friends  over to answer questions about a club I am thinking of joining.

Being ever mindful that you can’t be too careful, I made individual snack plates and we sat out in my outdoor courtyard socially distanced from each other. One friend  did stay a hour longer than the other, and we went indoors, but we sat more than six feet from each other in the house..

Well she found out yesterday, that the day before, she was with someone for quite awhile doing crafts and that person, who was unaware of it, had Covid.

Me oh my, so now she is to be tested....and if she is positive, we need to be tested. You can’t be too careful friends...stay tuned.

Fall Colors

 Out for a walk in the neighborhood in this beautiful weather

The leaves seemed to have changed overnight.

I especially like the reds.

These feathery Japanese Maples are a favorite though.

Returning home where the berries on our Pyracantha are a pretty orange.

Pretty Fall

 I haven’t been out to take photos in awhile...so here is a shot out the window of our neighbor’s  tree.

We are enjoying a perfectly delightful November. I hope you are having pretty weather too. Janey

Happy Halloween!

 

Looks like there is a witch buried in my neighbors yard! It is a strange Halloween here in the U.S.

Due to the current health crisis, I do not think there will be many trick or treaters coming to the door.

Just in case...we really don’t want to open our door.

So we have put a basket of individually wrapped candies on a ledge on the porch.

Hopefully this will be safer for not only us...but the children too.

Happy Halloween