i.love.bluebonnets.

every year, I say the same thing... "I love bluebonnets".  They are such a beautiful sight in spring as winter disappears for another year and as summer begins to heat up. 

if you ever get the chance to go to Texas, take it from me, don't pass it by...

although... I do have a crush on Texas.
But... I also have a crush on thousands of other places to call home.

actually, I love every town/city/state/country that I visit.  I imagine myself living there.  I peruse classifieds for homes to buy and jobs to obtain.  I learn the layout of the land... because you never know... I may just find myself living in Paris, Arkansas.  Or Hell, Michigan.  Or Bend, Oregon.  Or New Heidelberg, Minnesota.  Or Timbuktu, Vermont.  Or New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

But for now...
Here's to the Texas Bluebonnets!

Happy SuperBowl

The Cowboys Stadium has been "SUPERBOWL-IZED"! 
Tours began on Sunday, January 23rd.

Wow, I cannot believe the Superbowl is 13 miles (+ or -) down the highway.

Go Team!

Because... really I just don't care who wins. 

Go Team!

Because... I am not even really sure who is playing.

Go Team!

Because... I had to get through a birthday party and adult post-party.

So, email me and let me know
1.  what teams played?
2.  who won?
3.  what superbowl number is this?  (because I am too tired to decipher the roman numerals!)

Implosion Explosion

Sunday morning, at 8:00 am, the community hosted a big event for our still sleepy city of Fort Worth -- home to Texas Christian University.  People gathered along the road blocks with steaming hot coffee because the temps were sitting at 33 degrees.  Ladies donned scarves, heavy jackets (heavy for Texas) and boots {most clothing - purple in color}.  Men huddled.  Children ran around.   Dogs in sweaters compliantly sat.

The Football Stadium came tumbling down...
The big purple castle in the sky exploded...

Before:

During:

And After:

torrential downpour

there is nothing like a good rain at the end of the day.  especially when you want the sky to turn a little darker for the benefit of sleep time.  as every mommy and daddy knows, putting the children to bed "on time" in the summer is rather difficult -- nearly impossible.  how can they go to bed when there is still two more hours of day light? 

bluebonnets are from heaven!

Sorry, but I just had to post more bluebonnet photos.  In just eight short days, the bluebonnet beginnings from last week are now in full bloom!   The bluebonnets from last week were lovely... but this week, they are lovelier.  I am in awe!

clockwork orange

big round orange gourds are lots of fun this time of year! 

the best place in north texas for pumpkin viewing is at the "flower mound pumpkin patch".  not only are there lots of pumpkins, but there are bouncy houses, obstacle courses, climbing structures, wagons, hay rides, and loads of picnic tables for picnic-ing!   http://www.flowermoundpumpkinpatch.com/

a great family outing

Should've been a Cowgirl

Should've learned to rope and ride
Wearin' my Wranglers, ridin' my burro on a cattle drive

Stealin' those young guys weapons
Shootin' and Ridin' with my ten gallon stetson

Had a side kick with a funny name
Shirley Temple wasn't up for this Western game

Go West young girl
Before you get old, Texas is full of men and oil

Sleepin out all night amid those West Texas hills
Kickin off my boots and passin out against my wills

Should've been a Cowgirl!

Hide and Seek

It's another Sunday, funday... And we are playing 'Hide and Seek' indoors due to the hotTexas heat outdoors. Even the pets avoid going out. Can you help us find the cat!? Apparently Cat A thinks she is hiding.

La Cucaracha Hunters

We live in the south and have bugs as large as the state of Texas itself. Bugs that I have never learned to accept. Bugs that I have never grown accustomed to. Bugs that I despise. Of those bugs, La Cucaracha (the cockroach) is the worst!

We adopted two cats last year in a delusional state of being petless. Kittens are so cute and fuzzy and furry and sweet and cute (again). Then you bring them home...

Our cats love to hunt anything... geckos, ants, flies, mice, snakes, birds, squirrels and cockroaches.

We have never housed so many critters as we have in the past fourteen months. I spend every bloody morning chasing critters around the house -- trying to remove them from the indoor premises. The cats are quite humane as they ALWAYS bring the critters home ALIVE. So for three hours every morning, I fly around the house on a broom shooing birds (yes, witchlike). Sweeping snakes. Catching geckos. And running from squirrels and mice.

The cockroaches are carried in via cat mouth. Cat #1 holds the cockroach in its mouth, runs into the house, locates ME, and deposits the roach at my feet (alive, of course).

First, I wonder, why ME? Why not husband? Children? Neighbor? Why do I get the prize?

Next I think, I thought there weren't anymore cockroaches in a three block radius of our house. Didn't the cats already catch them all and bring them home?

So, this morning, I woke up to Cat #1 standing above me with a cockroach being deposited next to my head. No need for an alarm this morning. I jumped out of bed and started wailing.

"Are you going to help me out? Or should I just run the vacuum and wake up the rest of the house?" It is only 5:45 am.

And so I begin to sing, in my loud tone-deaf voice, at 5:46 am.

La cucaracha, la cucaracha,
The cockroach, the cockroach,
ya no puede caminar
can't walk anymore
porque no tiene, porque le falta
because it doesn't have, because it's lacking
las dos patitas de atrás.
its two back feet.

Going on a Fieldtrip

Heading out on a field trip to the local park, the teacher asks the children to imagine what they might encounter. Remember this park has a pond.

"Grass!" shouts Hyllary.

"Ducks!" announces Wyatt.

"Geese!" bellows Carter.

"Squirrels!" yells Aliya.

"Bugs and other yucky things!" insists Betsy and Windy.

"Good job, students! I love all of your answers. When we return to the classroom, we will record our findings in our journal," states the teacher. "And ..." an interruption occurs ...

"FLAMINGOS!" shouts Vanessa, who has obviously never been to a park in Texas!













(Photo courtesy of flickr.com and marymactavish)

One Cow Please!

We’re building a home (some day, like in 2019) on a two-acre lot in a small city, thirteen miles southwest of Fort Worth’s city limit.

I’m not even sure it is really considered a city. Perhaps, a town? A village? A municipal? Colony? Commune? Hamlet?

Population 726.

When my family moves there (upon completion of said home), we will increase the population (that is, if nobody happens to move out). I never dreamed I would reside in a town equivalent in size to Victoria’s Elementary School (student population is 720).

There is one stop light. Two major roads. One gas station (which, thankfully, has a supply of diet coke and an available restroom). And four gated neighborhoods. That is it!

The neighborhood covenant is written in drivel (much more boring than mine!). Minimum home square footage, blah blah, maximum number of buildings on property (only one shed or barn, ya’ll, not four), mailbox placement, garage placement, masonry façade, blah blah blah… And yet in small print – one farm animal, per acre, permitted.

I vote for a pot-bellied pig.
Victoria’s hoping for a horse.
Petra moos for a cow.
And husband – of course, just prefers the deer, wild turkey and scorpions that are pre-existing.

What about a goat? That would solve the mowing situation. I might trade my pot-bellied pig for a goat. OR, perhaps, I will just teach Petra how to bleat! [I should have bought that pig in Ho Chi Minh City for ten dollars. How I would have gotten the pig to Texas is another blog for another time.]

After perusing the fine print, I discover that we can own two farm animals (remember, one per acre)! I vote for the goat and pot-bellied pig! Maybe I'll win, after all, it is Mother's Day Weekend!

We visit our land each month. We blow bubbles, we run around, we receive cacti pokes, we inherit chiggers, we host bug bites, we swat bugs, we step in fire ant hills, we smuggle scorpions into Fort Worth, and we admire the Texas bluebonnets.

The bluebonnet sight in spring is worth all the other mishaps!

God Bless Texas and its Bluebonnets!