A New Vegetable

I titled this a new vegetable....when it probably isn't, but it is to me. I love vegetables and haven't met one I don't like, although egg plant is not a favorite.

There are a lot of ornamental squashes at the grocery store this time of year, but for this one I found a recipe. Actually it was a blogger that called my attention to it. You may not have a Trader Joe's near you, but surely they are sold elsewhere.

They look like this. Some though are more green than yellow .

You cut the squash open lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds.
They look a bit like a butternut squash, but the outer skin if much softer, making them easier to cut open.
You then cut the squash into slices as pictured

I put the slices in a plastic bag and poured in a tiny bit of Olive Oil....mixing to coat the slices. Then season with salt and pepper. I used cinnamon on a few slices to see what that would taste like. I am thinking next time I would also mix a tiny bit of sugar with the cinnamon.

Line the sliced on a roasting pan (jelly roll pan), or a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30mins. The instructions on the label said 15 to 20mins, but I like them softer. Again you eat them rind and all....
and eat them we did.....and forgot to take a picture of the finished product! Sorry
Have you ever cooked Delicata Squash?

A Love Story

On Friday of last week we drove an hour south of here to attend a Memorial service honoring the lives of a  friend's parents.

Leonard and Hazel had been married for seventy four years. Meeting in High School in Flatonia, Texas so many years ago.

This young couple married in 1942.

 Leonard  had enlisted in the army air core at the beginning of World War II and was a pilot

and trainer here in Ft. Worth.  He later owned an auto repair shop with a friend. Upon retirement. Leonard and Hazel moved south to near Waco to be closer to their only child, a son, where they became very active in their grandchildren's lives.

I guess you are wondering why I am blogging about this. Well, this loving couple, after all of those many happy years died on the very same day. He 95 yrs.and in failing health, she 92 and seemingly still in good health. Hazel unexpectedly died first at about noon on a Thursday, and Leonard that evening at about ten.

This story went viral as they say, and was picked up by news agencies around the world. You can read more about this sweet couple: HERE

The Traveling Taco

No this post is not about a food truck...although there is one by the same name.

This is about what they call a brick and mortar restaurant. I guess that is American slag for an actual building. This tiny Art Deco looking diner was sitting on a very valuable piece of property.

click on any picture to enlarge
Here is a map to show you. Downtown Ft. Worth is almost half way up on the right edge of this map. Just over the Trinity River, between downtown and the culture district is what they call the 7th street area, an area that is booming with high rise condos, restaurants, shopping and nightlife.That little restaurant was sitting where I have inserted a black X.

I say was, because last week, they picked up the entire thing and moved it to a new location.

Back to the map. They went north on University St. to White Settlement Rd (and no I will not explain the name of that street), turned left (west,) across the West Fork of the Trinity River. See the other X? That is the new location ... an area that is about to be developed and called The River District.

arriving a the new location
This shows the other side of the building which is metal. They hope to be back open soon...and when they do I am going to try their tacos.

Oh, I forgot to mention. You didn't want to be anywhere near those two roads the day the little Taco Restaurant was moved!

This information (and photos) were gathered from various news agencies.

When Life Was Simpler

I was out walking with my sister and brother-in-law late one afternoon

when my brother-in-law said "look at that". It took me a minute. I couldn't figure out why he was calling our attention to this house....and then I saw it. Look on top. A television antenna..a thing of the past.

That was back when we bought a television, stuck an antenna on the roof,

or pulled up what we called rabbit ears..and watched t.v. for FREE.

I don't know about you, but I am not sure I saw it coming....the cost of entertaining ourselves with t.v. I know, I know, look at all of the channels we get..but regardless if you subscribe to cable, dish or direct t.v. (is that the same thing?).. I'll bet you have a hefty bill each month. I also have trouble keeping up with the new technology: Smart T.V, Streaming, DVR, Roku, etc, etc.

I do understand you can use an H.D. Antenna still if you live in an urban area, twenty miles or less from the local stations, and then if you have a smart t.v., you can stream Netflex, Hulu and Amazon Prime through your computer to your set....but don't quote me on that.

Although, can I still get HGTV, Bravo (yes I confess I watch it), the Weather Channel, CNN and Golf Channel for my hubby.?

ME OH MY!

Our Class

As many of you know, I have been taking fun courses at TCU (a university in Ft Worth, Texas). These are not courses where you are given college credits or even receive grades. They are just to be informative, and as I said, fun!

Tuesday was my last of four one and a half hour classes on journaling. I was curious how one person could fill up so many hours on...just writing down your thoughts. Well, meet Lucy Cantu.

Lucy is billed as a Transformational Speaker,Career and Life Coach, and a successful one at that. She claims a lot of her success came from journaling. I can't believe how much I enjoyed her class. She had us do a lot of things including making a picture collage (snipped from magazines), of our goals for 2017. She herself had done this some sixteen years ago, and many of her goals have come true.

A grainy shot of our class

Yes, I am center in the blue blouse

One of the things I put on my goals page was: Make New Friends, since I am new in town. Would you believe that at the end of class, a couple came over, who are also new in town, and ask for my phone number....and no we did not share our collages in class.

*Lucy I hope that you don't mind that I swiped your cute photo from FB!

The Wall

I hardly think it is a coincidence that the exhibit at one of our wonderful museums here in Ft. Worth is on the existing wall between the U. S. and Mexico. I am not trying to stir up a political discussion here, just wanted to share with you parts of this moving exhibit.

This National Geographic photo shows parts of a wall that already exists out west....in desert terrain. There are partial walls separating the U.S and Mexico in California, Arizona and Texas. Does this keep the flow of illegals out? Not really

as talented photographer Richard Misrach explains."The walls can easily be climbed or tunneled under although, most just head to where there is no wall...and are faced with crossing an arid unforgiving desert." He has taken moving photographs of personal items abandoned along the way.

 In a display case below the photo were the actual items in that backpack.

 Also part of the exhibit, are musical instruments created out of items discarded on these monumental treks

 by artist Guillermo Galindo

Misrach also photographed a watering station left by good Samaritans, always marked by a flag. I am a little confused by this. Wouldn't the border patrol watch these sites? Brought to mind deer feeders.

A poignant reminder that not all travelers are adults.

Then there was this sobering photo of a target  practice area for the Border Patrol, with red and blue shell casing piling up on the ground. Surely trying to enter this country...even illegally is not a capitol offense?
No matter how you feel about this subject, the exhibit is worth seeing...and is free at the Amon Carter Museum running through December 31st of this year.
Both artists will also be giving a free lecture at the museum on November 5th.
Contact the museum for times.

Linking to Good Fences: HERE

The Rainbow

I have mentioned before that our new home is very close to the Culture District in Ft. Worth, Texas. Matter of fact, in good weather we could walk the one and a half miles to that area, which boasts no fewer than
 six museums ...several of them with free admission.To see the list of those museums, and others in town go : HERE

This week we attended a couple of exhibits at The Amon Carter

In the foyer of the newest part of the museum, you can see the hint of a rainbow....and if you look closer...hubby Tom.

Well, that rainbow is actually a visiting work of art,

one that you can see better at certain angles.

Click on image to enlarge
 
This amazing installation was done by artist Gabriel Dawe, using an enormous about of colored threads no larger than sewing thread. To read about this unusual artist go :HERE