A Celebration

This weekend we drove down to Houston for a memorial service for the dearest of friends. Too many of us are slipping away due to dementia .

A fun Caricature of Jim

on the program

Hey like I said this was a celebration! Friends and family joined together to remember Jim... Jim was the best man in our wedding many moons ago, and he was a special  guy. One quick story: Jim was from an Irish neighborhood in the Bronx. My husband Tom is from an Irish neighborhood in Chicago, so is it any wonder that these two young men became fast friends when they found themselves living in Houston, Texas?

One of Tom's first memories of Jim was a phone call he got one day from Jim asking him to please come over. Seems his new lawn mower wouldn’t start.Tom checked it over to see if it was primed etc., and yanked the cord. It started right up! Jim replied “what the hell is that thing"!? ...referring to the cord.You see, he had never mowed a lawn. Tom said  if he  ever  wrote book about Jim, it would be titled There is No Grass in The Bronx.

On the way home yesterday we ran into a horrific traffic backup due to an accident. The trusty GPS on my phone showed us another way.

So happens it was a country road past really pretty fields and ranches.

Even though it added time to our trip, it was so peaceful and enjoyable. I wish as we hurry through life we would take more time and enjoy the back roads available to us in our lives…

Spring

 I don’t know about you but since December we have had an unusually cold winter here in north Texas,

so I was delighted to see these tulips blooming on my walk yesterday.

Have you witnessed Spring where you live yet?

Finally a Plan

 It wasn’t long after we moved to Ft. worth, Texas that I noticed it.

An unusual building on the edge of downtown sitting right beside one of our freeways. It had obliviously been abandoned for a long time, but it did have a historical designation.

Not sure that you can read it, but it was a public market when it opened in 1930.

              Here is an aerial view (obviously I didn't take this)

 It shows the L shaped covered stalls behind the building where farmers sold their produce. Inside the building was  somewhat like an early mall with a bakery, butcher and all  kinds of shops.

 

People wanted to save the beautiful, unusual building, but no one knew what to do with it. You’ll notice back in the third picture that it is now surrounded by roads…one side is a freeway.

Here is the plan. It will be senior living apartments

 One of the buildings will be a parking garage. There will be gardens,

a recreation building and a pool in the center courtyard. I am so happy that they didn’t demolish it!

New Buddy

 We sold our Colorado home last summer. I know I will miss a lot of things,

especially my morning visit by the Stellar Jays.

 

Meet my new buddy!

Okay.. it may not be as picturesque, but I do have a regular visitor outside my window here in Texas. No not the angel... A friendly little squirrel sits on the fence outside of my kitchen window eating magnolia seed pods, and doesn’t seem bothered by me being at the window.

Estate Sale (another)

 I know, not everyone enjoys home tours as much as I do, but this one had some surprises.

Like the other house on a previous post it wasn’t a home tour but an estate sale, and I went for the same reason....to see the house. It is a home I pass by almost daily, a custom build from 1927.

The main room had very high ceilings with wooden beams and trim.

The doorways were all unusual shapes as well.

The kitchen was like a trip back in time. Although I am not sure this stove is that old. I couldn’t find a brand on it, but it looks almost like the Aga stove that is still being produced.

I’ve never seen anything like this in a private home. Looks like an old commercial refrigerator, although I guess it could be a freezer?

This unusual chandelier looks like maybe it’s from Italy? It was in the primary bedroom, which seemed a strange place for it.

All of the furniture was antique,

 

 

and bit unusual.

I remember my grandmother having a sewing machine like this.

 

 

I wonder how old this record player is?

Probably near the same age as this t.v 

.

I found this room very unusual. Built into the wall was this faucet. It wasn't the dining room maybe a large breakfast room? There was a fireplace, and  green tile trim in the room along the doorways and even along the bottom of the wall instead of wood molding.

 

So there you have it. It's how I have been entertaining myself until I can travel again. What have you been up to?

Underground.

 Very near the Colorado River where we spent the weekend (see previous post) is

 You may click on photos to enlarge

a state park, The Longhorn Caverns, which opened in 1932.

It’s an extensive underground cavern where you can take an escorted  tour. There is quite a bit of walking involved almost a mile and a half before you resurface.

Tom and granddaughter Hannah were good tourists and watched the introductory film.

Although Tom who is not fond of tight places decided to hike instead.

It is pretty chilly down there and Hannah ended up wearing her Mom’s large coat.

In places  the walkway is only a little over 4 ft. high which involved some stooping over.

 

There is also a species of bats that live in the cave. Here is a tiny one hanging upside down.

During the Civil War they harvested bat guano (poop) here to mix with other substances to produce gun powder. You can read about it HERE. The article also tells you about a young girl hostage being rescued from Indians in the cave.

 

There were of course interesting stalactites growing from the ceiling,

and several areas with large crystals.

I especially liked this area.

Before it became a state park the locals use to hold dances down there. Actually it was during prohibition and there may have been some drinking going on.

I can’t imagine getting all dressed up and climbing down into a cave to dance!

 

On your drive into the state park it is hard not to miss the European looking castle nearby.

So if you want to feel like royalty …you can rent the place…(see Here) for your stay in the area.

We sure enjoyed our weekend and we were all sad to leave. My sister brought along her three year old grandson. As we were packing to go home she said “Rowan are you ready to go home”? He replied ”not yet”, which about summed up my feelings exactly!

Two Rivers One Name

 Did you know that in the U.S. we have two rivers with the same name? That name is the Colorado River. One starts in northern Colorado and runs across into Utah, Arizona, skirts Nevada and California and drains into the Bay of California. 

The other Colorado River starts in Texas very near the town of Lubbock and runs diagonally across Texas and empties into The Gulf of Mexico.

 

So why am I telling you this? Well we spent the weekend on the Texas Colorado River and I confused people who assumed when I said we were on the Colorado River that we were back in Colorado! Not so.

Our youngest daughter invited us and other members of our family down to her river house this weekend.

It is an investment property with other couples and is leased out most of the time, so it is not always available to her. Despite that it was cloudy the whole time, it was warm out and we had a wonderful time.

Lots at this point on the river are very narrow, but everyone has a boat slip and usually a deck above it.

Those rolled up foam things are called lilly pads. You can tie them to the side of the dock and the kids have fun jumping onto them.

‘

We spent a lot of time outside. It was funny watching people get out of that hammock. I ended up on the ground!

 Making s'mores after dinner on that fire pit was one of the highlights of our trip! For those that are questioning what a s'more is click HERE

By the way, discovered I was very good at foosball. Who knew?

 

The kids were very excited when they saw their fun bunk room, which can sleep eight! Thankfully there are three other private bedrooms and three bathrooms. It is a great property for family get togethers and an amazing number of things to do in and around the area.

On Saturday we toured a very interesting cavern which I will feature in my next  post.

Estate Sale

 Have you ever been to an estate sale? Maybe they don’t have them in your country. We do have garage and yard sales, but this is different. It use to mean an estate, or a large expensive home was selling off the everything inside. Today there are estate sales no matter if it is really an estate or not. There is a dealer that prices  everything and works the sale for a cut if the profits. 

I must admit I wanted to go to see the house.

I took a few pictures, which I wasn’t sure I was supposed to be doing..therefore they are not very good quality.This was the formal living area looking into the kitchen. I was amazed at the high ceiling with beautiful beams.

One shot of the kitchen. Everything had a price on it.

There was a family room beyond the kitchen which was full of Christmas decorations.

The chandelier and ceiling caught my eye in the dining room.

The primary bedroom had a large tapestry,

                and a large en-suite bathroom with a cute tub.

It also had a very elaborate vanity and mirror.

 

 

I was able to get one shot of the wine cellar…although looks like they took the wine.

 

 

So what did I buy? A dish for crackers..that’s it. We got rid of so many things when we left Houston and promised ourselves we would not fill this place up again. I did enjoy seeing the house though.