Under Construction

Our street is a very big mess at the moment.

The city is putting in new water and sewer lines.

They are also installing new water meters. I have been watching these guys. One guy dug this whole in just a couple of hours.

They arrive before sun up and I took this picture through our window at nearly 7pm at night.If I worked as hard as they do I wouldn't be able to walk the next day.I am thankful that we have such strong men to do these kinds of jobs.

Dreamer Series

Two local artists, S. Gruppi and J Worman decided that we didn't just need to renew our city, but inspire the locals to dream big,

 So, they set about painting murals around the city they labeled The Dreamer Series. This larger than life dreamer graces the side wall of the Harvest Bread Company of Magnolia St. in Ft. Worth, Texas.

Linking to Monday Mural:HERE

A Film Festival

I love living in the city as opposed to suburbia. There is always so much going on. I am not always up on what is happening around town, but my sister Polly is.She called to invite meet to an annual event on the campus of Texas Christian University. They have a film festival over a two day period where they show 20 films...and they are all free.

These are fairly current films, some on religious subjects, others with possible  political controversies and there those that are just worth discussing. It is a bit like a book review.

They also furnish popcorn, coffee and water. The neat part is there is a facilitator after the film to lead the discussion on your views of the film, or it's message. We saw the academy award nominated film Trumbo, filmed in 2015. It was about the top screenwriter in Hollywood that was blacklisted, and sent to jail for belonging to the communist party  in a time of hysteria after World War ll. The main actors were Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane and Helen Mirren.It was an excellent film and led to a lively discussion.

The New Link

Some of you may remember that on Thursdays I use to post a picture of a fence. That was the one "link party" that I took part in. For those of you that don't know, a link party is where a host blog has a theme for the day, and other bloggers from around the world link up their photo based on that theme. Well, the fence link up has ended. So, I am hoping to join a new one titled Monday Murals. I tried last week, and failed at hooking up. You would think I knew how to do that by now. So...here goes.

This colorful mural is on the side of the Chat Room Pub on W. Magnolia Street in Ft. Worth Texas. West Magnolia Street is the main drag on the south side of Ft. Worth in an area that has recently been brought back to life. The image titled the Watercolor Face was used in years past as the logo advertising an annual arts festival called Arts Goggle.

Click: HERE   to go to our host blog, where you can find links to murals from around the globe.

Healing

I mentioned in a previous post that the vine that trails on the brick wall on our patio is sick. I asked the landscapers to replace it, but they ask for a chance to heal it. It made me think of our throw away society. Some are so quick to toss things out instead of repairing them....and I guess I was about to be guilty of that.

It also made me think of my mood. I am feeling a bit wilted about the change of Presidents tomorrow. I have a couple of friends who are delighted about it ...and I just for the life of me I cant see why? I do cherish their friendships and hope that this will not devide us like I see happening in this country like never before.

Don't worry I am not going to go put plastic on my head. I am going to try to be the best me I can be and hope for the best...Janey

Football and Pizza Rolls

This weekend in North Texas it was all about football

You see, we are in the playoff season and our own Dallas Cowboys were up against the Green Bay Packers (Wisconsin).

Daughter number 3 (we have 5),Kristen and her husband Ken were lucky enough to have tickets to the game, and  on field passes after the game.

We also had another family member present, son in law Joe (far right),shown here with his brother Chip. He was obviously for the opposing team, Green Bay. Kind of natural since he hails from Wisconsin. I am not sure who the two guys in the middle are. Just a good example of the extent of craziness some fans go to!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we are watching the game on T.V with these sweet grandchildren. Ten year old Taylor and eleven year old Brooks.

 So, I decided to do a kid friendly lunch that would also be a craft.

(I have tried three times to make this photo go horizontal....with no luck)? 

Anyway, you take Pillsbury Pizza Dough, which comes in a refrigerator roll. Spread it out and cut into sections. Apply pepperoni slices and a cheese stick

Roll the dough around like above, and bake @425 for 10-12 mins 

Note to self. Cut the dough in only eight pieces next time, so it is easier to wrap around.

The finished product

Be sure to give everyone their own bowl of Marinara or Pizza Sauce for dipping..
Yes they were a hit.

Oh, by the way, it was a very close game but Green Bay came out the victor 34 to 31.

The Parking Garage

I had an appointment this week that required that I park in a parking garage. I am not a fan of this method of parking your car, but living in the city I find more and more it is my only choice.. This one (at my doctor's office), is not really that intimidating, except that is is generally pretty full. 

On this particular day I had to circle all the way to the third level to find a spot. I was hoping to find one before level 4 which is the open roof top, and it was raining. I did find a space on level three, and the nice thing about the garage, in inclement weather, is that you can take the elevator to an underground pedestrian tunnel linking you to  the building across the street where the doctor's offices are located.

To help remind you what level you left your car on, they have murals depicting scenes from our town of Fort Worth, Texas.Level 3 shows the twice daily longhorn cattle drive down Exchange Street in our famous Stockyards.

For Other Murals Around the world click: HERE

Good Morning

Good Morning!

The day breaking over Fort Worth, Texas

I spied the red sky from my kitchen sink just now and went outdoors to see the pretty sunrise. It is warm here today. It is going to be nearly 80 degrees, which is certainly not January weather. I hope your New Year is starting off well. Ours, not so much. Hubby forgot to close our garage door last week, and his golf clubs were stolen, and he took his car in yesterday to find out the air conditioner will need replacing. Air conditioning in Texas is not an accessory. It is a necessity. I will return when I have happier news :)

Janey

Time To Rodeo

No matter that Fort Worth is a very sophisticated cosmopolitan city with an amazing cultural district, this is the time of year we all become cowpokes!

That's right folks it's time to Rodeo!

I know some of you are not fans of rodeos, and I fall into that category...but this rodeo is so much more, and one of my favorite events is the High School Art contest ,

and like last year, I will show you the winners (yes, I said High School)

This is the Grand Champion (above)

Reserve Grand Champion

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

Fourth Place

I am always amazed by the talent. Do you have a favorite? I kind of like the chicken.

The Hard Freeze

In Late December we had a hard freeze in North Texas....down to 12 degrees (-11 C).

Despite the freeze, I was still shocked to see the state of our Pyracantha vine on our brick wall in the courtyard. It looked very stressed.

Have a closer look, and you can see that the beautiful berries are dead. My first thought was that it died because of the freeze....but not so.

Just a few feet away the same vine, in the front yard, is still healthy and colorful.

We immediately called our landscaping crew. They said the one that is dead, got stressed during the summer and never really recovered. So, we asked for new plants, even though it has taken over two years to almost fill out the wall. Instead, they have talked us into letting them strip the leaves and berries off, and put it behind plastic to see if it will come back in Spring. It is going to look ugly out there...but I am hoping it works! 

I will give you an update..

The Orange Box

Happy New Year!

I guess all of you are doing what you usually do in January. Getting organized and making promises to yourself...called resolutions. I stopped doing  that (the resolution part), some time ago since I came to the realization that they were more than likely promises I would have trouble keeping. At this time of year I do try to bring some sort of order to my life, meaning I usually go through my orange box and search out cards that need updating.

Yep, that is it. The little recipe looking box that although it is white, will forever be Mom's Orange Box. It's predecessor was actually orange (circa 1970), but the lid of that box snapped off years ago. I know everyone else puts their addresses in their computer....and if you are under forty...you probably have that list on your phone.Why not an address book like everyone else you ask ?

 Well, I like this system where I can simply give you a new card if necessary. Although, I did go to a big box store recently and ask a "young" clerk where the index cards were? Honestly, she had no idea what I was talking about. Things are changing so fast....sometimes it scares me...

Tell me what your January rituals are.