Lone Star State-Day Three

 We took off this morning from Dallas (really Plano, suburb of Dallas) to head south to Houston. After we figured out the several complicated interchanges, we made it out of town to the open road. Goodness, this part of Texas is flat. Our first stop was Waco, a couple of hours down the road. Below are some pictures from there.

First stop was a place where they found several fossils for the now extinct Colombian mammoth. The original 13 complete mammoths they found were given to Baylor university.

Everything else has been left in place and is part of an active dig. If you study the picture you can make out the parts of the mammoth that died in place. At the very least, the tusks are easy to see. I was very excited to see the actual bones/fossils because in museums you usually see only models or plaster replicas. We also saw remains of an ancient camel, giant tortoise, and a saber-tooth tiger.

 

We also hiked a short trail that was part of an Eagle Scout Project. Wally and Theo are both Eagle Scouts and I've been around quite a few projects. However, this is the fanciest project sign I've ever seen.

Next up was the Brazos River Riverwalk in downtown Waco.

Ward wanted to see the historic Waco suspension bridge there.

I was happy to see the full-size bronze sculptures of a cattle drive.

The heat was building so we decided it was time to move inside with a visit to the Dr. Pepper museum. Dr. Pepper was invented by a young pharmacist, Charles Alderton, who mixed 26 flavors for the winning combination.

The museum was very well done and at the site of the former bottling plant.

At the end, we got a coupon for a free Dr. Pepper. Too bad that I can't stand the stuff, but Ward was happy.

And if you watch much HGTV, no visit to Waco would be complete without a visit to Chip and Joanna Gaines' Silos.

However, they are closed on Sunday.

Then we got on the road for a few more hours to Houston. We took the back roads looking for the famous Texas bluebonnets that are in bloom now. We saw many along the way. BTW, I think the camera did a pretty good job capturing these flowers at 60 mph.

It was another good, but tiring day.

Until next time...

Hello from the Lone Star State, Day one and two

Ward and I are in Texas on vacation where we are visiting with friends and being tourists. The days have been full, but good. I'll see what I have time to squeeze in here before it's time for bed.

Travel Day and Gardens

Our flight went off without a hitch. We signed up for TSA precheck to hopefully help with the long lines that are forming at airports these days. We didn't have to wait long in our lines, but the regular lines had only a normal wait.

We began our trip with a visit to 
long-time friends, C and M. We had planned to stay with them, but there were some last minute changes, so we stayed at a hotel nearby. Yesterday, we went to the Dallas Arboretum.
It was hard for Ward to get a word in edge-wise as C and I were catching up.

There were a lot of people enjoying the gardens even though it was in the 90s F.

At the gardens, the daffodils were done and the pansies and tulips were almost done blooming. It was interesting to compare that to the almost flowerless Maryland that we left.

This frog fountain was blocked off or I'm sure there would have been people in it to cool off.

Harvest sculpture

Even the tunnel from the parking garage to the gardens was colorful.

After a few hours, the heat was starting to get the best of us, so we headed back to C and M's house for more catching up and a great meal that C prepared.

Today was another busy day of travel and sightseeing as we made our way from Dallas to Houston. Next, time I will share with you what we found along the way.

Until next time...

A Change of Scenery

The snowdrops came up just in time to get snowed on the next day. We will be seeing warmer temperatures and more green during our trip. The first weekend is supposed to be in the 90s F.

 Ward and I are leaving soon on a trip to Texas. We will be visiting with a few friends and enjoying some touristy things along the way. We also plan to check out where we used to live to see how much things have changed. We've already figured out that our favorite neighborhood restaurants are out of business. We're sad about that, but are armed with a list of the best places to get Texas barbecue. 

I hope to be checking in here to share our adventures, but we'll see how often the opportunity occurs to do that. I will share some of our trip with you when we get back for sure. 

Now back to packing. It seems that we have several appointments between now and when we leave, so I'd better make hay while the sun shines.

Until next time...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 Happy St. Patrick's Day

Irish dancers in a St. Patrick's Day parade in Washington, D. C. several years ago. Look carefully in the background, and you will see the Washington Monument.

Did you ever notice that this time of year, everyone seems to be part Irish? I claim the same thing, though I have some data to back it up. According to Ancestry, I'm about 40% Irish. Also, I know that at least one set of great-grandparents was born in Ireland. I think those two things qualify me to drink green beer and Shamrock shakes. Too bad that I don't like either one of those.

When I was a kid, St. Patrick's Day was "celebrated" by pinching kids who weren't wearing green. It wasn't until I was an adult that I wondered about this painful tradition. Supposedly, wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns who may pinch you for fun. Or something like that. 

More dancers from the parade.

And it wasn't until fairly recently that I learned that some wear orange on St. Patrick's Day, especially in Northern Ireland. Protestants wear orange in honor of William of Orange, who defeated the Catholic King James II in the 1600s. Wearing orange is often used to make a religious or political statement. A former coworker said that her Irish in-law family was quite adamant that Orange was the color for St. Patrick's Day.

And BTW, who was St. Patrick anyway? Not being Catholic, I never studied saints and have never been quite sure. But my trusty computer says that he lived in the 5th century and is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. That's a little different from what I had heard previously, that St. Patrick rid Ireland of snakes. Apparently, there have never been snakes in Ireland, and snake banishing is some kind of metaphor.

And what St. Patrick's Day Parade would be complete without Irish wolfhounds?

And how am I spending this St. Patrick's Day? This morning, I got my hair cut, and this afternoon was spent at the DMV. However, I did wear a green shirt to both of those outings. :)

Did you do anything to celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

Until next time...

Book Reviews

I've had a hard time getting into reading lately, but here are a few books that I did read.

Leonard (My Life as a Cat) by Carlie Sorosiak, Children's fiction (elementary ages), 2021

Lissa from Postcards from the Bookstore mentioned this book in one of her Book Rant posts. I thought it sounded like a fun, easy read for bedtime when I don't want anything too exciting.

Leonard is an alien who gets to come to Earth for a month for his 300th birthday. He wants to come as a park ranger in Yellowstone, but ends up as a cat in South Carolina instead. Olive, an 11-year-old girl, rescues Leonard in a storm, and he becomes her pet. By typing on her computer, he convinces her he is really an alien and needs help getting to Yellowstone on time for his pickup home. 

Olive is spending the summer with her grandmother and struggling with self-confidence because she is different than many other kids. She loves animals and knows and shares everything about them. During the summer, she learns to like herself while Leonard learns what it is to be truly human.

The book is fun as Leonard discovers his catlike ways. You will definitely relate if you've ever had a cat. The book has just the right amount of strife and tension with a happy ending appropriate for a children's book. I thought it was an enjoyable read.

Grace and Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman, Adult fiction, 2025

This book was reviewed by Squishy Tulips, who thoroughly enjoyed it. We're a little past the holiday season, but I decided I couldn't wait for next Christmas to read it. :)

Grace and Henry are 30-somethings who have both lost their spouses within the last year. Grace has 2 young children, and Henry has none. Grace's husband died after a long illness, and Henry's wife died in an accident. Both Grace and Henry are suffering from profound grief. 

Their mothers, who are in a book club together, decided to "fix them up" so they can have someone to talk to about their losses. Slowly, but surely, cracks form in their grief, and they begin to hope that life can go on.

This is definitely a character-driven story, and the author does a good job of exploring the complexities of grief and the little things along the way that can pull the grieving person back to living with hope. Despite the fact that this story deals with a very serious subject, it is a charming romance of sorts and was an enjoyable read. 

Note: The story takes place in Baltimore, and at first, I was distracted by the numerous references to all things Baltimore because I was personally familiar with them. I don't know if that would be the same for the generic reader. As I got further into the story, that was not as much of a problem.

The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski, Adult fiction, 2026

This was a book of mistaken identity. I hurriedly picked it up at the library, and I thought this one was another take on the Gilbreths, the family in Cheaper by the Dozen.

I was very wrong. This book is a work of fiction about the Gilbert family, consisting of five children, their mother, and their aunt. It follows their lives from the eve of World War II to the early 2000s.

The story is told in an unusual way, with the narrator, Max, giving the reader a tour of the Gilbert House before it is converted into a luxury hotel. 

An example: "There is another scent, of course--oh, many--but do not despair. It is possible to untangle the threads. Take your time. There it is...a musty tang, like stewed nails. It is blood, very old blood, rubbed deep into the fibres of the sea-blue rug at your feet. It was cleaned badly, even then, but that story comes later."

I think the author was very clever in the way she wove the story, but I wish it had had more traditional narratives during the tour.

The Gilbert family is a mess. The father died in WWI, and the family never recovered. The mother is clueless about most things and lets the children do whatever they want.  They don't go to school, and today, we would call them free-range kids. A bossy paternal aunt steps in from time to time to help, but usually makes things worse.

As the children grow into adults, we see that they all have problems. No one is happy. And because of this, I found the book depressing. In fact, about halfway through, I stopped. If I had known that at least there would be something positive eventually, I would have kept on. But all of the comments and reviews I read suggested otherwise.

The book has been described as "darkly comedic, quite unique, a blend of tragedy, comedy, and intrigue, tragic," among other things. I didn't find it funny. Perhaps because I was too focused on waiting for something good to happen. This book was not for me, but if you don't mind dark, depressing books, it is an interesting, well-written story.

Peril in Paris by Rhys Bowen, Adult mystery, 2022

I needed a palate cleanser after The Infamouse Gilberts, so I went back to my comfortable and familiar Royal Spyness mystery series and read Peril in Paris, which is #16 in the series.

Pregnant Georgie and her husband, Darcy, travel to Paris, where Darcy is working on a secret mission involving the Germans. The story takes place in 1936, when Hitler is gaining power. While Darcy is working, Georgie stays with her friend Belinda and ends up modeling in a Coco Chanel fashion show. A woman is murdered at the show, and through a set of coincidences, Georgie becomes the prime suspect.  

 Per usual, several historical figures factor into the story one way or another, and I always enjoy that part of the books. I liked this book better than the last two Royal Spyness books I read. It seemed more in line with many of the earlier books in the series.

 *The Royal Spyness books follow Georgie, 35th in line to the British Throne, in the 1930s, as she stumbles onto murder after murder. There are castles, rich people, royalty, and many class restrictions that surround the stories. Despite being royalty, Georgie has no money, which causes a set of problems all its own. The stories are in historically accurate settings, and humorous relief is provided by her inept maid, Queenie.

These books are as much about the characters and settings as the mysteries, and I reach for one of them while I am waiting on a hold or looking for a familiar comfort read. 

Until next time...