Christmas Day 2012

Christmas Day 2012 - Plano, Texas

Listening to the news a week or so ago I learned that in order for there to be an "official" White Christmas in North Texas, there needed to be a 1" accumulation of snow on the ground and after recent record and near record high temperatures, it was a long shot.  As Christmas Day approached, however, the possibility became a reality and sometime after lunch on Christmas Day it began to snow.  Ron Jackson on Fox 4 News informed us that this was the first snowfall on Christmas day in North Texas in 37 years!  Four years ago it snowed on Christmas Eve and lasted into Christmas Day, but this year the snow came on December 25th.  My cousins in California are so jealous!

I'm just glad I got to be a part of it!



Life in West Texas

One night when I was home with my 3 year old (many years ago in Odessa) I was about to go to bed and I walked into my bedroom and just as I turned off the light I thought I saw a flash of movement near the head of the bed.  I quickly turned the light back on and carefully looked where it had been and there was nothing.  I thought I was seeing things but decided to explore further.  I lifted up the corner of the mattress and right there laying flat at the top of the bed between the mattress and box springs I saw this:

Common Scorpion found in the Southwest

I quickly dropped the mattress back down into place and stood there paralyzed (and I had not even been stung!)  I did not know what to do, but of course I started to itch all over thinking that I was covered in scorpions.  I was alone in the house with my child so I knew I had to:

1. Go back in, find the scorpion and destroy it, or;
2. Find another place to live ---THAT NIGHT

Believe me, #2 was a viable option at that time, especially if I was unable to locate this thing quickly.  I went back into my room with a drinking glass, having no idea exactly what I was going to do and feeling pretty sure that when the mattress had slammed down on him earlier he took off, probably to burrow deep into my blankets.  Still, I pulled back the mattress and there he was!  He did not move.  He was laying flat and motionless and I began to think maybe I had killed him when the mattress fell back down during my hasty retreat.  By this time, my son had heard the commotion and wandered into the room to see what was going on.  He watched as I carefully placed the jar over the scorpion and we both jumped back as the scorpion came back to life and began thrashing against the jar.  I let the mattress fall back again, but luckily it fell back onto the jar and did not tip it, instead trapping the flailing scorpion inside glass between the mattress and box springs.  Several hours later when a more capable person with a clearer head finally extracted the critter from my house I was still wide awake and waiting for a call back from the exterminator.  Life in west Texas is not for the faint of heart!

Tim McGraw's Best Side

Tim McGraw at Cowboy's Stadium, June 2012

I was not a huge fan of Tim McGraw's music until I saw him live in concert a few years ago.  That was outdoors at night and the pictures that I took then just did not do him justice.  A couple of months ago my husband and I met up with friends at the Kenny Chesney-Tim McGraw concert at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.  The pictures came out much better. 

Have you ever been to a concert and seen all the empty seats behind the stage?  Well, at a Tim McGraw concert, I would think that behind the stage would be a pretty popular place to be.  Just sayin'.

It's What's for Lunch!

I had a standard lunch during the times I went to the junior high schools or high schools that had snack bars in the cafeterias in Texas:  a deep-fried burrito similar to the below picture (just one mind you!)

and a Nutty Bar. 

Altogether this cost .75 cents.  I would usually save the .25 cents left over from my dollar each day to buy a 2nd Nutty Bar if the first one didn't hit the spot.  Gosh I loved those things and still do.  I always tried to make them last longer by peeling apart each wafer and eating them singly.  It just feels like I'm getting more bang for my buck or in this case my buck .79. 

Anyway, I have two boxes of these in my pantry right now with plans to see how long I can make them last.  I don't think peeling them apart is going to really make a difference.  I give myself a week.  We'll see.

Archie!

I have a friend and co-worker who is a loyal reader of my ramblings here.  God bless her!  My birthday is coming up and she came in with a pretty pink bag about a week early and said she couldn't wait to give me my gifts.  She gave me the go ahead to rip into the bag and it soon became clear why she couldn't wait:

Yes, I'm an Archies fan---hence the name of my blog.  My friend saw this in a grocery store and said she couldn't resist.  I think Archie was my first "human" crush (my first crush was actually Atom Ant --- the cartoon character -- when I was about 4 or 5, but that's for another day).  This double digest is awesome and I plan to read every word!  Thank you Sherry!

Atom Ant - circa 1965 -- He's dreamy!

One for the history books!

Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps

Before the Olympics started, I was hearing all kinds of predictions from Ryan Lochte followers and Ryan Lochte himself about him taking over the Olympic swimming events and while he did do well, I think it's pretty clear who took over.  I'm a Michael Phelps fan, but I also knew that he'd admitted to not really working as hard as as he had in the past, so I was prepared to watch him fade into the sunset while the new kid took over. Little did I (or Ryan Lochte) know, but it appears that his premature boasting may have helped propel Phelps into the history books!!  

Gabbymania!

All-Around Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas and Coach Liang Chow

She did it! I just knew that she could!

Go U.S.A.!!!

I love the Olympics.  Summer and Winter---each time they come on I am ready for whatever version it's time for.  In the winter I love the luge, the skeleton, the bobsledding, the skiing, the ice skating, the speed skating, you name it, I'll watch it --- and that includes the curling!  When it's time for the Summer Olympics, I'm more than ready for them too.  All the running, swimming, diving, volleyball, cycling, archery, rowing --- I even watch the fencing!  It's all exciting to me, but this year I can't wait to see the gymnastics.  It's fun to watch no matter what, but like most people it's always fun to see your home country win and rooting for them is all a part of the experience.  These girls on the U.S. Gymnastics Team just really get to me this year, especially little Gabby Douglas, who I think is about as cute as they come.  It looks like both the Men's and Women's teams have a good shot to bring home the gold and now, since Gabby pulled the upset and is poised to perform in the Women's All-Around Final, I can't wait to cheer her on.  Go Gabby!  Go U.S.A.!!!

15th Street Cafe



There's this little gem of an eating place right across the street from where I work.  The 15th Street Cafe barely qualifies as a "hole in the wall" size-wise but every single thing that I have ever eaten there has been GIGANTIC on flavor.  If you are reading this you may or may not have read a post of mine from February concerning soup http://tambourinebetty.blogspot.com/2012/02/soup-for-breakfast.html where I mentioned this place and the fact that soup is one of my favorite meals, no matter the time of day or the time of year.  This place serves great soups (although I have yet to try the carrot soup or the gazpacho).  They have a different "Soup of the Day" every week, but thankfully they always have their tortilla soup.  I could eat that stuff way more than once a week and this week I have!

My 3rd bowl of 15th Street Cafe tortilla soup in the last 5 days!



It's Friday!



This guy has been trying to get IN my office for two days.  He comes zooming toward the building and hits my window time and time again.  It's like he thinks he's going to force his way in.  He is relentless as he backs off and tries again.  Sometimes he crawls in a circle for a while, as if to "shake it off" but then he's right back at it again.  I'm finally used to the "tap - tap - tapping" but I keep trying to tell him, "You're going the wrong way!  It's Friday and we are all wanting to get OUT of here!" 

My Sweet Tooth!



I work for a neat group of people.  Some have offices here in the suite, so we interact with them more and the others are in and out and you never know when you are going to get to see them.  The last time one of the "in and outers" was here he dropped off some goodies.  I was in a meeting, so I am just thankful the others saved me some of what he brought.  Someone must have told him about my sweet tooth!

The President Smells Awesome!

Me, President Bush, Tammy Hawkins and Susie Whitson - circa 1993

I thought I would take a break from the continuing saga of my past few posts to say that I love this guy!!  Back in the early 1990's, George W. Bush announced he was going to run for governor of Texas and one of his main platforms was juvenile justice.  Being that he lived in Odessa as a young man, and that he still had many ties to the area, he decided to make Odessa Teen Court one of the stops along the way as he began to campaign.  This was a great fit as Odessa had one of the very first established teen/peer courts in the United States, and had great success in dealing with first-time juvenile offenders.  I worked for Teen Court for 6 years and had been a juvenile detective prior to that, so I was very interested in what he had to say.  We did not have much notice that he was coming, but we did have it confirmed the night before, so I was ready with my camera. 

Whether you are a fan of President George W. Bush or not, there is no denying he has charm and charisma.  I am a fan and continue to be. I love the sincerity that seems to be such a part of him.  I love his relatability and his respectability and the fact that he adores his family.  There was never a time that I was "ashamed" of this president.  I felt safer and now my head just spins when I try to understand where we are headed.  You can see in the picture how giddy I am.  He spoke to us like friends, he was very genuine and concerned and while I know that is the "way" of politicians I can tell you that I did not feel at all that he was being anything other than real during my interaction with him.  He was traveling light and did not have an entourage, although there were a couple of guys who accompanied him.  There had been enough press about his visit that there were some citizens who showed up to talk to him.  What I witnessed as I stood off to the side was a very caring and compassionate man who talked to every last person who was there to see him.  He did not appear to be on any schedule and if the gentlemen who were there with him were security, they stayed their distance (The senior President Bush had just ended his term a few months earlier - so I don't know the protocol as far as secret service traveling with adult children of past presidents). 

I can tell you one thing with certainty.  The President smells awesome!

New Stuff!

1980 Chevy Monza courtesy of thetruthaboutcars.com

Once the paychecks started coming regularly, so did the "new stuff" My mom bought a new 1980 Chevy Monza and my step-dad bought a new 1980 Chevy dually double-cab pickup (I just wish I could find a picture of one of those sweet rides!). Like Mom's car it was bright red. We were on top of the world. This was the best we, as a family, had ever done, and perhaps that is one of the reasons I will always have such fond memories of Odessa.  We ate out, and not just at McDonald's!  We went to the movies!  I went to work at Susie's Casuals in the Permian Mall and was able to use my paycheck to buy clothes and shoes for myself and not groceries!  Things really seemed to be looking up.  Not only did my family have one small burst of financial prosperity, but this is where I graduated from high school (after attending 15 total in 4 years), where I got my first real job (at the Odessa Police Department), where I met many of my closest friends, and where, when the time came (as it always did) for my family to pack up and move, I was able to stay put, and make a life for myself there. Sure, it could have been any one of the others places we'd lived---Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles --- places where there were trees, water, activities, mountains --- but it was Odessa. Many people call it "Slowdeatha" but I'm not one of those. Odessa will always be home to me.

Less than two years after this time of plenty, things were changing and the boom was turning to bust.......



The Move (Part 2)

Mobile Home very similar to our new home in 1980

Our new home was massive (to us) and gorgeous!  It was decked out in all the latest colors and fabrics that 1980 had to offer.  It was moved into a space just few trailers down from where we started and we immediately began to try to figure out who was going to have the big room on the end where the bay window was.  Turns out my mom had that pegged for us three girls.  My brother got his own room and us three girls were in the bigger room on the end.  My parents' room was on the opposite end.  Although just about 2 months earlier we had lived in a regular house in Riverside, California, it had been long enough that we felt like we had all the space in the world.  Things are so different when you are a kid.  Space and time and perceived hardships have a different definition.  I remember that we loved the new space at first and then, as with most things, we got used to it and the walls started closing in.  But at first it was glorious!  A new trailer has much the same smell, in my opinion, as a new car and we couldn't get enough of it!  The mobile home was not the only new thing that we got in short order.....

The Move (Part 1)

photo from http://www.lasvegasbuyeragent.com/

 

My mom was notified of the available trailer while I was in Artesia at school, so I never saw it prior to moving in.  When I returned "home" I was not overly impressed, but was assured this was temporary.  My mom could not believe I was complaining about having a roof over my head as opposed to the tent situation.  The above trailer is almost identical to the one we lived in for a time----the colors are the same and the rust even looks familiar.  Some of the walls inside had been torn down, so there was little privacy, and with four females that was a nightmare.  By now it was summertime and school was out, so we were all home, all day,  We made friends in the trailer park and stayed gone A LOT.  We got involved with the Baptist church which was a block away and went to Vacation Bible School and many of the youth activities, but mostly we just stayed out late into the night, hanging out with our friends.  "Home" became just a place to sleep and my mom was so busy trying to make other living arrangements that we pretty much took care of ourselves.  After about a month we were notified that our new trailer was going to be delivered.  We had not been a part of the process of getting the new trailer, so while we knew it was likely to be nicer than what we were in --- we were not  prepared for what we got. 

The Trip

Very similar to our 1962 GMC pickup

I have to back up here to tell a short story about how we got to Odessa in the first place.  I sure wish I had a picture of the actual pickup that we arrived in.  It was early 1980 and we were living in Riverside, California. We had one vehicle --- a 1962 GMC pickup.  It was so ugly!  It was a very similar color of green to the above picture---although it was a primer finish.  Us kids hated that truck!  When, after a few months in Riverside, my parents decided to leave California, we loaded up the six of us into this truck and headed east.  Whatever could not fit for the trip, either got left behind or got put into storage.  As you can see, this is a single cab truck.  The cab was reserved for my parents and the dog.  That left a limited amount of space in the bed of the truck for my parents to pack us four kids in.  We also had to share that space with a Lincoln welder and assorted pots, pans, blankets, clothing and other necessities.  Thinking back, I am reminded of the tent situation I wrote about earlier and how crazy it all seems now, but back then, we just did what we had to do.  And we had to get on the road.  So that's how we made that trip.  We were actually on our way to Louisiana and about halfway there my dad called a friend and learned that Odessa was booming.  So Odessa is where we ended up.  We drove from Riverside, California to Odessa, Texas (1037 miles according to Google) with us four kids packed into the back of that truck.  I guess the fact that it was early spring and we traveled mainly at night helped it to be bearable, but I still shake my head when I think of that journey.  What's even more amazing is that I remember arriving in Odessa and looking around and no one even gave us a second glance.  People were arriving there in droves and they were getting there in every way and shape possible, so we probably had it good compared to many others......

The Tent (continued from "The Boom" posted on 6/25)

photo from www.wforums.com

In May of 1980 my family, which consisted of my step-dad, my mom, me (age 16), my sisters (age 11 & 12) and my brother (age 10) and our half chow/half German Shepherd had moved to Odessa, Texas where the oilfield was booming.  We had one day to find somewhere to live because our only transportation was my step-dad's pickup, which carried his Lincoln welder which supported the family.  In other words, he had to take that truck to work every day, so we had to find a place and find it fast before he had to start at work.  After unsuccessfully checking for apartments, houses, trailers and hotel rooms within a decent distance from his job, we heard that the new arrivals, like us, were being sent the way of campgrounds in the area.  We didn't have a trailer, but we did have a tent, very similar to the above picture. 

Honestly, now I think I would go bonkers, but back then I don't remember it really being so much of a big deal.  In May it was hot, but not outrageously so, and the KOA that we ended up at had a pool, an air-conditioned game room and a snack bar and we just looked at it as an extended camping trip.  Just the year before , we'd traipsed across the country for a year in a travel trailer, following the work, so we were used to minimal accomodations.  During the day we swam, played at the arcade, hung out at the snack bar and just basically did what kids did back in the pre-gaming system days.  We had the place pretty much to ourselves during the day since school was still in session for the "regular" kids.  I did travel some during the week to Artesia, New Mexico to finish up my junior year in high school, while living with family friends, so that gave me the break that my younger siblings did not have. 

Within a few weeks a very small trailer became available in the trailer park right across the highway from where my step-dad worked and my mom jumped at the chance to get out of the tent.  Actually the trailer was a step down in our opinion because we lost use of the pool and game room, but we were living in a trailer park where there were other kids and we met and made friends there very quickly.  Many of them were in the same shape as us, with dads working across the highway and having just moved from out of state, not knowing anyone.  Many were without transportation as well, but after the paychecks started coming regularly, that all changed.  Oh, how it changed------ (to be continued)

The Boom

                                                    photo from www.hubpages.com

I saw a headline last week about a couple who was living in a storage unit in Texas.  I just had a feeling it was happening in West Texas and when I clicked on the story I found that I was right.  It was in my adopted hometown of Odessa --- 350 miles east of where I live today.  The couple had been evicted from where they were living and had put their stuff and themselves into a 10'x20' storage unit similar to the one in the above picture.  They had been living there three months.  Texas summers are brutal and 100 degree days had already started by the time this story was being aired.  Together the couple gets about $900 a month in social security and disability, and that would normally get you somewhere to live better than a storage unit, but times are different in Odessa these days. 

The oilfield is booming.

That means that when your lease is up in what was your $500 a month efficiency apartment, you had better be ready to fork over twice that much a month, or more, in order to renew it.  Otherwise there are a dozen oilfield workers ready to pay that higher price standing in line.  I read these stories and remember back 30+ years ago to when my family first drove into town.  I know price-gouging is a reality.

My family of 6 (at 16 I was the oldest of 4 kids) rolled into Odessa in May of 1980 after my step-dad heard about the unlimited work for welders.  He had his own rig and soon learned he could write his own ticket.  Within a day of arriving, he signed on at OIME, a local business out on the highway between Midland and Odessa---a 20 mile stretch of oilfield-related businesses, pumpjacks and the people who worked them.  He found the job before we found a place to live and the housing search proved to be a lot more difficult.  We finally settled at the KOA about 5 miles from his job.  We were going to camp out -- in a tent.  Yay.  Stay tuned -------

Truth

The first time I saw this picture I chuckled.  Someone had posted it on Facebook, and I immediately remembered my son doing this and wondered if the saying on the picture was true.  I texted the picture to my son and he texted back one word, "Truth".  He probably has no idea how happy he made me that day.  I finally found a picture of him at about age 11 in a similar position----

This is one awesome kid.  Truth.

Old Friends (and Tim McGraw)

Allyson-Sondra-Dee Dee at the Kenny Chesney - Tim McGraw concert 2012

The three women you see above were all police cadets at the age of 18 and two of the three went on to become police officers.  The girl in the middle, Sondra, left police work before completing the academy in west Texas, moved away and taught herself all about video production.  While Al & I both work for government agencies and have managed to keep in touch over the years, Sondra works for a local CBS affiliate and we had lost touch with her.  Facebook changed all that and when we figured out we lived within an hour of each other we started planning a reunion.  Turns out we all love Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, so this past weekend, after nearly 30 years, we were all three together once again at Cowboy Stadium to see Kenny & Tim.  We'll have to do that again sometime.  Sometime soon.

The REAL reason we got together.  Oh. my.



My Beautiful Bamboo Purse

Photo from Kaboodle.com

Did anyone else have one of these?  I secretly and not-so-secretly coveted this bamboo purse with a passion when I was 13 years old.  I absolutely had to have one.  I think this must have been another California thing since an informal poll of a few of my Texas friends revealed that they had never laid eyes on one of these beauties. Oh how I loved this purse.  I would spend a substantial amount of time every few days weaving a scarf or bandana in and out of the openings in this purse, knotting them just right through the little half-moon openings on each side.  This served as a liner and was to make sure that my small treasures did not fall out of the purse.  I say every few days, because depending on what I was wearing I tried to make sure my purse matched.  It took me quite some time to find a picture of the exact purse that I had----I sure thought they were more popular than they have turned out to be!  Just looking at this makes me want another one now, since the original was probably lost in some long ago move.  This has put me in an even more nostalgic mood as I am now off to search the web for pictures of "Ditto" jeans and "Yo Yo" shoes.....does anyone remember those?

Barefoot Sandals

Photo from http://www.rastaempire.com/

When I was a teenager in California, these things were all the rage.  Living within a short ride to the beach and having such perfect weather year round us kids went barefoot every chance we got.  We also liked to try to go barefoot at school.  One of the high schools I went to in the 1970's was very laid back (like most things in California during that time), and the dress code was non-existent.  They did like us to wear shoes though.  One way we got around that was to make our versions of "barefoot sandals" similar to those depicted above.  Some elastic cord and beads and you were in business.  While these are pretty ideal on a beach (if the sand is not too hot!) they really don't serve much of a purpose other than as foot jewelry, as they don't protect your feet from anything.  However, as teenagers, we felt like we were getting away with something if we could make it the whole day wearing these creations at school without getting caught! 

Fire Lover

I enjoy reading non-fiction books, specifically True Crime and Biographies.  Joe McGinnis and Joseph Wambaugh are two of my favorite authors, so when I ran across this book in pristine condition, for 49 cents at a resale place in Pottsboro, I snagged it.  I didn't even read the back cover, I just saw Wambaugh and "A True Story" and that did it for me.

Turns out I have seen several shows about this very subject. 

From the back cover:

From master crime writer Joseph Wambaugh, the acclaimed author of such classics as The Onion Field and The Choirboys, comes the extraordinary true story of a firefighter who may have been, according to U.S. government profilers, "the most prolific American arsonist of the twentieth century."

Growing up in Los Angeles, John Orr would watch in awe as firefighters scrambled to put out blazes with seeming disregard for their own lives. One day he would become a fireman himself, and a good one. As a member of the Glendale Fire Department, he rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a fire captain and one of southern California's best-known and most-respected arson investigators, as well as a writer of firefighting articles and finally of a fact-based novel. But there was another, unseen life, one that included many women, a need for risk, and a hunger for recognition.

While Orr busted a string of petty arsonists, there was one serial criminal he could not track down. The fire lover used the same simple yet devastating device and was unerring in his execution. His lethal handiwork led to the death of four innocent people and countless millions of dollars worth of property damage. Homes, retail stores during business hours, fields of dry brush in stifling summer heat -- little was safe from his obsession to see them burn.

 

The suspect in these devastating crimes was shocking to say the least, and hundreds of fires can probably be attributed to this one arsonist.  The criminal's target of choice was large building supply and grocery stores, usually concrentrating on using a  "delay device" to catch piles of foam pillows on fire.  Once started, these fires raced out of control, and fire doors slammed shut.  Fire doors were designed to fall once the fire reached a certain temperature, thereby trapping the fire within the store and not letting it spread to nearby businesses.  These doors were installed with the thinking that any fire that occurred during business hours would be found and put out before the doors activated.  Fires that happened after hours would be happening in a deserted store, so the fire doors coming down would not trap anyone.  With an arsonist loose and setting rapidly spreading fires during the day in open stores full of customers, the fire doors did nothing but trap those trying to escape.  Early on, when one of the fires claimed four lives, it was deemed accidental, but that came into question later as devices were located and found to be the cause of the fires. 

I read this book very quickly and Wambaugh did not disappoint.  He wrote just enough about the backgrounds of all the main characters to make you connect with them, but not too much to make your eyes glaze over.  This very complicated story was very easy to follow due to his thorough explanations that allowed you to picture what was happening.  This is a classic case of finding the answers in the last place you would expect.  Orr desperately wanted to be a police officer all of his adult life, but felt that he "settled" for being a fireman after failing several police related tests.  He made his way up through the ranks to Captain, but seemed to want to outwit the police as he constantly horned in on their cases trying to show his expertise. 

When it was learned that he had written a manuscript using many facts from cases on which he'd been a part of, the pieces began to fall into place.  Upon thoroughly reading the manuscript, police and prosecutors found a roadmap of probable arsons by this one person.  Cold cases were reopened and investigated and found to be attributed to arson, charges were filed and finally someone was brought to justice.  Such a tragedy.

How to Handle a Snake

I've had several experiences with snakes over the years.  Many of them when I was much younger, but the stories here occurred within about a three month period while I was living in Wylie, Texas.  While I am not terrified of snakes, these encounters were a little bit too close for comfort.

One evening I heard one of my dogs barking incessantly on the back porch and opened the door to peer outside.  It was nighttime and I did not have my glasses on but I saw what I thought was a "large pile" on the porch outside the master bedroom and thought to myself, "How did  either of my little bitty dogs make a pile that large?"  I retrieved my glasses and headed out to clean off the porch, but as I stepped out with my vision fully intact I saw that the pile was a pile of snake and it started slithering off.  After I returned with a shovel, the snake was quickly dispatched and both pieces were disposed of.

A couple of weeks later I was headed to bed and walking through the living room I turned off the light, but not before I saw a flash of movement under one of the chairs.  Upon closer inspection I found that it was a very small snake, about 6 inches long.  I scooped it up with a nearby newspaper and deposited into a jar.  I wanted Daniel to take it to school to his science teacher to find out what kind of snake it was.  All I remember is that the snake STUNK to high Heaven!  Although I don't remember what the science teacher decided, I have since learned that ratsnakes are very common in North Texas and they do release a musky "stink" when alarmed. 

My third encounter within this three month time frame occurred one evening after returning home with my son.  We walked into the house and on the tiled kitchen floor there was a snake curled up under one of my plant stands.  We just stopped and stared at it.  My mind raced and all I could think about was getting that snake out of the house, because I did not want to spend the money it would take to stay at a hotel if that snake slithered off and I could not find it.  I just remember yelling at my son to open the front door as I grabbed a dish towel from the oven handle, made my way over to the snake and grabbed it up.  I have to say that I did make note that it was not a rattlesnake, however, I did not know if it was poisonous or not.  I know I grabbed it as safely as I could, but I just did not want to give it time uncoil.  I raced like a madwoman with that snake to the open front door and threw everything --- snake AND dish towel out into my front yard.  I did not want to hold on to it for even one second longer than I had to.  We then slammed the front door and locked it (assuming that the snake did not have a key I guess).

Within a few days of this incident I brought my dogs outside to the front yard and stood on the porch while they ran around and checked things out.  As I turned to go back inside with them, the below site greeted me.  I had stood on the porch for about 15 minutes within about a foot of this, never noticing it.  Both dogs had run out the front door and back in without so much as a sniff in its direction.  It looked to be the same snake I had tossed out a few nights earlier.  I think it must have been the companion to the first snake I had "dispatched" and maybe the parent to the baby snake I had sent off to school without its permission.  Either way, this was my last encounter with a snake in or near my home, so maybe leaving it there that day was the proper way to "handle a snake". 

Happy Memorial Day

What better way to spend a long weekend than with a bunch of great people?  The photo above is of a long overdue gathering that took place a few years ago out at the lake.  These guys, including my husband in the red shirt, are all Lamar County boys and all went to high school together graduating in the early 1970's.  They had been inseparable up until several years before this photo was taken.  During that time they had each thought about all the fun they had together countless times until the sisters of two of them found each other on Facebook and passed along contact information, prompting the phone call that brought the boys back together again.  Oh Happy Day!!!

I adore my husband and that smile in the picture above is about the best and biggest I have ever seen and that was just the start.  Once these guys got together, it was like they'd never been apart.  Many more gatherings have taken place in the last several years and I have been very privileged to be a part of these reunions. 

This weekend as many of us will be celebrating Memorial Day and a three-day weekend I look forward to yet another of these fabulous gatherings.  There is nothing I can think of that I would rather do.  Thank you to these wonderful folks who have accepted me as one of their own, thank you to my wonderful husband for introducing me to such a fine group, and last, but certainly not least, thank you to all the men and women, both past and present, who sacrificed and continue to sacrifice so much so that I can travel freely and enjoy a time such as this. 

Tale of a T-Bone

Photo of a Police K-9 very similar to the one in this story (photo by wspca.com)

I often think of funny stories from my time as a police cadet, police officer and court worker and I just thought of one I think I'll write about here. 

Once, while on patrol late at night, we got a call of a burglar alarm going off at a local grocery store, which was closed for the night.  As several units, myself included, headed that way, we were reminded of our new K-9 unit that was also on patrol and available to us for calls such as this.  As a dog lover I was very excited about the possibility of seeing one of these beautiful German Shepherds in action.  I had only watched them train, but had yet to be on a call where I could observe their skills.  As I headed to the call, I could imagine the bad guys being dragged from the building, in total submission, by one of our four-legged officers. 

I pulled up to take my place outside the store and within a few minutes our K-9 showed up.  The exterior of the store was secured and the K-9 handler, a veteran officer, got out with the dog and approached the front of the store.  It was interesting---the handler gave clear and loud instructions in both English and Spanish through a bullhorn aimed within the front doors of the store, telling anyone who was in the store to come out with their hands up or a dog was going to be released into the building.  Interestingly, to the K-9 she spoke German, as he had been trained in Germany by German handlers.  While this all seemed very complicated, everything appeared to be progressing as planned.  After a few minutes of waiting, the dog was released into the store and disappeared toward the back, nose to the ground.  I could imagine that the dog was tracking all the scents of people who had passed through the aisles, trying to pick out the "newest" scent, possibly following it into some cubbyhole or hiding place that we, as officers, might easily overlook.  So imagine my surprise when we all saw the dog trotting happily to the front of the store, tail wagging, with a large package in his mouth.  Upon further inspection, the package turned out to be t-bone steaks!  Guess he found a nice dinner in the meat freezers in the back!

If I remember right, no burglar was found in the store that night, and I believe the alarm was triggered accidentally.  I am not sure what became of the steak, although I'm sure it did NOT go to the dog....to his credit though, he did go on to a very distinguished career with the police department---and I think this first stumble was not repeated afterwards.  I'll be the first to tell you that the sight and scent of a good meal is enough to throw me off my game though!

Morning Glories and Roses

My home for two years



I lived in a 915 square foot, 2 bedroom apartment for 2 years before I married my husband.  I really liked the apartment but was ready to get into a house.  We had a particular neighborhood in mind, a subdivision less than 10 minutes from work (and my apartment) that had nice homes in our price range, so every weekend we cruised through making note of the houses that were for sale (which were few and far between at that time).  Occasionally we would stop and look at what we could see through the windows or make an appointment to take a look inside if something caught our eye.

One Sunday we decided on the spur of the moment to take a ride through the neighborhood and saw a sign announcing an open house that was going on in "our" neighborhood.  We stopped in to take a look.  The house was very large, almost 2700 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, 2 living areas, a large kitchen and a formal dining room.  Then we stepped into the back yard and that pretty much made up our mind. 

There was flagstone covering about half of the yard with a koi pond and fountain which was very soothing.  There was a wrought iron fence and archway with a gate that divided the flagstone from the grass.  The patio was covered and enclosed on three sides providing privacy and shelter from the weather, but there was a space with a patio table, chairs and an umbrella out in the open, should the weather be pleasant enough to enjoy without as much cover. 

Koi pond to the left (a few years after we first moved in)

Over the years that we have lived there we have tried out several different looks, particularly for the archway and iron fencing areas. 

Morning Glories --- which were a "runaway" success!  So much so that they took over

everything so we pulled them and tried going with Knock-Out Roses instead (below)

Our Knock-Outs from a couple of years ago---they, like the Morning Glories, took over

everything (see below) and so we have cut them way back to allow some of the other plants

around them (and under them) to flourish a bit more. 

I loved the Morning Glories and sometimes miss them.  They will make a reappearance one day I'm sure.  I've got plenty of possibilities to harvest seeds due to my yardman's decision to "help out".  One day I decided to end the Morning Glory craze and I pulled down all the dried up vines which were covering the arch and also a trellis over my koi pond.  I had them all pulled down and in the middle of the patio, ready to stuff into those biodegradable bags that the garbage men pick up.  About that time the yard crew showed up and they said they would "take care of it".  I gladly turned it over to them---only to learn later that they pushed that huge pile of vines and pods and seeds out into the back yard and mowed them up!  At first it seemed like a good idea as the piles were gone and I didn't have to worry about setting bags out in the alley, but that fall I realized what happened to those piles of dried up Morning Glories.  They had been spread throughout the back yard and hedges and it appeared that they had all taken root!  The entire back yard was covered in Morning Glory vines.  Thankfully, they are easy to pull up as needed and what I don't get, the yard guys mow down, but to this day, nearly three years later I have an abundance of Morning Glories that take root in the back yard and up under the hedges and against the fences, so they could easily be transplanted if necessary. 

We spend nearly every weekend on that patio and additional time during the week when the weather is right.  We can sit out there through pretty much any storm and catch a great lightning show if we are so inclined.  We've even added a bar and ceiling fans to the patio so only in extreme temperatures do we have to forego sitting outside.  Sitting at the bar gives us a perfect view of the flowers and the koi pond and sometimes it's hard to go inside!

A Good Match

Chilly

Prissy

I love these pups.  Every night when I come home they run and yip and bark and jump and generally act like they haven't seen me in 10 years.  Sometimes they do that when they haven't seen me for 10 minutes, but you know they don't know the difference.  Like one version of the saying goes, "I hope I'm half as good a person as my dog thinks I am."  

I started out by taking Chilly with me when I moved into the apartments right across from work.  I could barely afford the deposit for one dog, so two dogs were out of the question.  After I got married and we moved into our house I talked my husband into letting me get a dog for our dog.  I thought Chilly needed someone to spend her time with during the day while we were gone.  A little buddy.  It took some convincing and also took some time to find the right dog.  I knew I wanted a doxie, miniature if I could get one.  I was lucky enough to get a long-hair dapple, which you don't see often.

Prissy's first day home being welcomed by Chilly

It didn't take long for them to bond and although every now and then Prissy snaps at Chilly (I've never seen it the other way around) they are pretty inseparable.  They are both "pound puppies" which is all I've ever had, but I could not have dreamed up a better pair.  It's been a good match!

Curses!

I honestly did not know what picture to attach to this post.  While the title "Curses" could mean a lot of things, in this post it refers to the time when someone put a curse on me.  While at first that may sound ominous, in reality it all happened so fast that I barely had time to really absorb it.  Not until the curse came true and actually happened to me, did I take a moment to reflect on it .

I must have been about 19 because I was still training with my Field Training Officer who I will call "CB".  CB and I have remained close these last 30 years and communicate weekly.  Back when I was 19, I thought just as highly of him and was thrilled to have him as one of my mentors.  At this particular time we were on midnights, working patrol, District 3, downtown and west of downtown.  It was about midnight or thereabouts and we received a call of a disturbance at some apartments not far from the station.  Not the nicest of complexes, but a disturbance was not all that common at that location.  When we arrived we made contact with the caller and were told that their next-door neighbor was drunk and had been yelling and screaming at no one in particular just a short time before.  We knocked on the door to the neighbor's apartment and who should come to the door but an older gentleman in a pair of shorts and nothing else.  We recognized him as a past and frequent visitor of the City Jail who I will call "JJ".  JJ & CB went way back and they began talking about what was going on.  JJ was very obviously intoxicated as he answered our questions, and he was very agitated about having to do so.  He began complaining about being picked on and about how no one would leave him alone.  He was raving and ranting and acting pretty incoherently but up until this point he was still inside his apartment and he did not appear to be a danger to himself or anyone else.  He knew better than to come outside the apartment where he would be "in public" and could possibly be arrested for public intoxication.  After a few minutes he calmed down and assured us he was going to go to bed for the night and sleep it off.  This was agreeable to all parties, so we left in peace and cleared the call.

About 30 minutes later we received a 2nd disturbance call at the same location.  We arrived to find that JJ was now inside his next door neighbor's apartment and before he saw us, we witnessed him being very loud and aggressive, gesturing wildly and stumbling about the apartment.  When he saw us, he made a beeline for his apartment next door, but we latched on to him before he got there.  Although we tried to calm him down he was furious that we had "snuck up" on him and really became very belligerent.  He then became very threatening and finally we just had to make the decision to take him in.  As soon as he realized what we were doing, he stiffened up and would not bend his arms or legs.  CB and I had to carry him to the car after handcuffing him.  CB was very worried that we might accidentally hurt him because he said that JJ was probably close to 70 years old.  I could not believe this and looked at him again.  Sure enough, I saw the signs of age that I had not seen before and realized that we needed to be very careful.  As JJ saw me looking intently at him, he said, very calmly to me, "What you looking at girl---you ain't never seen a black man before?"  I assured him that I had and that I just wanted him to go along peacefully because we could not leave him there in his condition.  All of a sudden he calmed down and got very still and quiet.  He raised his hands to point toward me (we had handcuffed him in the front because it did not seem to be as strenuous on him) and I stepped back.  He looked very intently at me and said, "Just for this, I am going to put a curse on you."  I gasped and held my breath....I just did not know what to expect.  While many people might have just shoved him into the car, both CB and I were really kind of interested in what he had to say.  He had calmed down and was not fighting us, so I must of thought, "What the heck?"  As he stood there against the patrol car pointing both hands at me he lowered his voice and repeated directly to me, "I'm putting a curse on you girl" and I just stood there slack-jawed as I watched his whole face and demeanor change.  He continued, "From this day forward, all your babies ---- will be born naked."  WHAAAAATTT???  How dare he curse me and my babies!!!!  Then he and CB burst out laughing as I finally comprehended what he had actually said to me (I think CB had heard this line before).  As soon as he'd finished speaking, he climbed into the back of the patrol car and settled in for the short ride to jail.  Never gave us another problem.

From time to time over the years, I'd run across JJ, but never did I ever have another bit of trouble from him.  Several years later, when I had my first and only child, JJ's curse came to be.  Daniel Brett was born naked as a jaybird.  I'm sure glad that was the only thing JJ cursed me with---it sure could have been worse!

Happy Easter!!

This Easter was different for me.  Different in many ways.

My first experience with confetti eggs and silly string

I was able to travel to California to join my immediate and extended family for a tradition that has been going on for years with them.  This was my first time to enjoy it since I have only recently become acquainted with them.  My biological father's side of the family is very large.  As I've mentioned in past posts, he had 10 brothers and sisters and at the Easter event this year one cousin was speculating that there may be as many as 40 cousins between all those brothers and sisters.

My baking gift basket (plus a makeup kit I won for winning a word game)

This year, at a large park in Riverside, California about 80+ gathered together.  It was absolutely the best time.  The weather, after threatening rain a few days before, was perfect and the variety of food and fun was spectacular.  There was more than enough shishkabobs, chicken, sausage, beef, potato salad, fruit salad, casseroles, vegetables, chips, salsa, cakes, cupcakes and cold drinks for probably a couple hundred people.  The games and competitions were total chaotic fun.  There was a raffle with dozens of gift baskets (I won a huge baking gift basket (above) containing cake & cookie mixes, cookie cutters, frosting, hand towels, pot holders, rubber spatulas, cupcake pan, cupcake liners, a variety of sprinkles and decorations and a cookie press, plus much more).  There were word games, board games, card games and a really funny game where you had to open and eat a twinkie by only using your mouth and with your hands tied behind your back.  I did not participate but I sure wish I had pictures to show!

Me and Cousins Sheri and Jimmy with Roger's finger up top :o)

All day long at the park enjoying food, fun and family was just not enough.  I was ready to spend the night and the next day getting caught up.  I did get to meet several cousins who I had not met before and it was like I'd known them all my life.  I loved it!  This is my 2nd visit in the last 3 years, but the first Easter I got to spend with them.  After the fun we had this year, I think we will definitely make this an annual trip.  Jimmy says each year it just continues to grow.
 

Me with Cousins Amanda and Lisa

As an added bonus, before we got to CA I was able to locate a cousin and aunt on my mother's side of the family.  Amazingly enough, they live in Redlands, CA, about 20 minutes from where we were staying near Riverside.  Because of the close proximity, we were able to meet for dinner and I was thrilled to reconnect with them. Aunt Cindy had made the trip with me (as she always does) and I was so excited to be able to share this experience with her.  Aunt Terrie was married to my late Uncle Roy who is the older brother to Aunt Cindy's husband, Tom.  The years have been so kind to these beautiful ladies.

My cousin Janus, her mom (my Aunt Terrie) and my Aunt Cindy

Janus is Cindy's niece and Aunt Terrie is her sister-in-law---it had been over 40 years.....

Another successful trip is in the books and I look forward to making more memories in the future!

My Mom Told Me....

 

My Mom used to tell us kids that raw cookie dough would give us worms.  I must have believed her because to this day I don't like raw cookie dough---even raw cookie dough ice cream, which I am pretty sure does NOT have actual raw cookie dough in it. 

Looking back I think she probably told us that so that she would have enough cookie dough to bake actual cookies.  With 4 of us rugrats under the age of 7, I am sure we were hard to corral, but the word "worms" shut us up quick!  I wasn't sure what she meant by us getting worms but I could just picture the worms we baited our fishing hooks with crawling all over me in the middle of the night and I was not having ANY of that.  She must have seen how effective this tactic was because according to her we could "get worms" from eating raw potatoes and uncooked spaghetti too.  Where that combination came from, I'll never know, but those three forms of food have become synonymous with "worm magnets" in my mind.  I would never let my son eat any of these three things becase Mom's words were still ringing in my ears. 

Doing a little online research I did find that regarding the cookie dough, the concern is that the raw eggs in cookie dough can lead to Salmonella.  So, while my mom probably did not know about the Salmonella poisoning aspect, she had an instinct that told her to keep us from consuming something questionable.  Also in Mom's defense, Salmonella bacteria, under a microscope, look like worms.  So I'm good with that.  It also turns out that years ago raw or undercooked potatoes were associated with Trichinella which is a parasitic roundworm, and while it's vitrually unheard of in modern times, I say "better safe than sorry".  I have not found anything that would cause me to believe that raw spaghetti will lead to worms, but maybe Mom was short on spaghetti noodles for dinner that night and didn't want us to shorten her supply further.  Why we would want to eat raw potatoes or pasta escapes me to this day. 

Now, on to another pressing question of my childhood:  Will eating more than one Flintstone vitamin a day make one of my arms grow longer than the other? 

Mom sure knew how to get our attention.  Being deformed AND wormy was the last thing any of us kids wanted----stay tuned.  Google, here I come.