NyQuil Test

"Cough, cough"... I'm taking a break to

test the benefits of NyQuil. Yes.. I have a  cough and cold.

My sons tease me when I claim that something is

"going around"... but that's how I caught this darn cold.

It's going around!!

I'll be back in a few days.

We are headed to Galveston for a wedding soon

so I need to make a miraculous recovery.

Back to bed for me.

Three or More Tuesday - Girl Scout Camp - ca. 1959

Camp Brownwood in Texas

It was the first time I had left home on my own and

without visiting grandparents. It was a week full of fun

and meeting new friends. I am pictured in the middle.

The girls on each side of me were so much fun and I was sure we would be in touch for a lifetime.

Swimming lessons were daily and it was my least

favorite thing to do. What I did enjoy were crafts

and games.

This is where we slept. One night a possum climbed

inside and did we ever scream!

We sang the "Johnny Appleseed" song for

the blessing before each meal.

And we learned manners. No one was allowed

to have their "fairies", or elbows .. on the table.

It was so much fun to go to Girl Scout camp.

I do remember though that when my parents

came to pick me up, I was really glad to see them!

Anyone else a Girl Scout or attend summer camp?

Visit The Gypsy's Corner

for a real cool picture

and enjoy other entries in

Three or More Tuesday

http://www.thegypsyscorner.com/

Mosaic Monday - "Ma and Pa Kettle"

Growing up in a small college town made for some great childhood memories. I never realized until I was a married woman and moved several times that our lifestyle was just so downright good. I really enjoy reflecting on enjoyable times that sadly there are no pictures of to share what my sister and I were up to... especially in the summertime. Most likely the pictures though in my mind make up for this.

There was a city park not terribly far from our neighborhood. There was a bridge that went across a ravine at the park. We never knew the real name of the park, but we called it "Billy Goat's Gruff". On a summer day when all parents were at work, an older neighbor girl would organize a day at the park. We were probably nine and ten years of age. The older friend was a "mature" thirteen. She would pack a picnic lunch of sandwiches, Dixie cup ice creams, glass jars of water and paper goods. We loaded it all into a red wagon and in single-file "marched" to the park for a day of fun. There was a group of trees and if you walked within these trees you would find a small clearing. Right away we would set to work, sweeping and dividing the area into "rooms", outlining the rooms with small rocks. We were a blend of The Boxcar Children and Ma and Pa Kettle. All day long we played, taking turns being "Ma" and "Pa" or the children which we named: Archibad, Gertrude, Myrtle... and other down to earth names I cannot recall. Somehow in the game of make-believe we would act out a cute boy friend coming to ask Ma and Pa for their daugther's hand in marriage. I guess we were on the verge of finding out what romance was all about... or so we thought!
I was usually "Ma" and cooked food like porridge... whatever that was... I just knew in old books people ate porridge. I made sure that there was plenty of greens and cornbread. I also made sure that the "kids" drank all of the their milk. Funny how we picture through the eyes of a children how family life should be.
These were good times... 

I'm linking to Little Red House

for Mosaic Monday

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Show and Tell Friday - Fall/Halloween Decor

Fall - Halloween is coming!

Well, let's say I hope it is. In deep South Texas, we really do not have the Fall season as others know it.

If you haven't seen Julie's pictures of the horseback ride

she and her husband took, please check out her blog.

http://circlecliffviews.blogspot.com/

Fall is beautiful where she lives!!

My Halloween decoration for my breakfast nook.

I know Halloween can be sort of a controversial event

but I do love old Halloween decorations.

That shade of orange, the grays and blacks and the off-white really does it for me.

... so Trick or Treat!!

I'm almost embarrassed for anyone to see my bald walls.

We had our walls stripped of its wallpaper and painted last November.

I STILL cannot bring myself to poke a hole in that fresh paint

for the sake of a picture. I recently bought some upholstery

needles and will attempt to use them in place of nails.

I know... it's probably a phobia or something like that.

I'm getting a jump on the week

and will link to Show & Tell Friday

at My Romantic Home!

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/2009/09/announcement.html

Table Top Tuesday - Fall Spirit of it All!!

Family Room Fireplace Mantel

I've enjoyed decorating for Fall today. My husband is traveling so for some reason when he is gone, I like to stay up all hours "playing".

I missed the Cloche Party (sigh!), but will have mine to

show off soon.

Better later than never, right?

I'm linking up with

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life

for her fun-filled

Table Top Tuesday.

Come by for a visit and enjoy

all of the lovely Fall creations!!

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/



Mosaic Monday - Those Boykin Boys!

Those Boykin Boys!

The two little boys in the upper right portion of this mosaic
look like such sweet little boys, don't they?
Their sister was such the little angel ... however,
those Boykin boys could think of so many "fun" things to do.

Crawford Hotel - Big Spring, Texas

In the early 1930's my grandfather was part-owner and the manager of the Crawford Hotel. It was quite the establishment and a place where well-known entertainers such as Lawrence Welk would perform for guests in the evening. While it was a luxurious building and perfect for my
grandparents and my aunt to live, it was not exactly 
the best place to bring up two young boys.
The movie theater was the place to be on a Saturday.
My father and his little brother never missed the
latest movie releases. It must have been one of the first
movies about Superman, but my father came 
back from a movie to the hotel all inspired to be Superman.
He acquired a make-shift cape.
The idea was, my father would jump off of the building and "fly". He did decide that the
cat should be in on this stunt and would be the first
to try it. My father and his little brother made their way up to the roof of the Crawford Hotel.
My father had  attached a large sheet to the box to create the effect of a balloon... ala "The Wizard of Oz".
He proceeded to place the cat in the box...
and dumped him off the top of the building. 
To the amazement of my father and his little brother,
the plan failed miserably!
No word on the cat.
Minutes later, one of the employees of the hotel
found the two boys on the roof and immediately had
them reporting  to their mortified parents.


***
time passes...


It was a day for staying indoors but for two little boys
who lacked a play ground and friends to play with
it was time to find a "harmless" way to entertain 
themselves. As one of the housekeepers 
stuffed mounds of dirty linens down the laundry shute
the boys had a splendid idea... of course!
They would take a little "trip".
They carefully climbed in...
and were caught within minutes.


***


time passes...


The two little Boykin boys found themselves
living on a farm with their grandmother.
Little boys do not mix with hotel living. 


The End

           I am linking to Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

 

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Meet Garlic Gus!

Garlic Gus

When I would visit my maternal grandmother, "Jean", I would sort of take inventory throughout the house. There were certain things that I loved to look at in her beautiful home. The kitchen was one of my favorite places. I would look for my favorite salt and pepper shakers, see if Jean had plenty of 7-Up in the pantry (soft drinks were not allowed in our home), and check to see if she had remembered how much I loved bacon and soft boiled eggs... a quick look in the "icebox" told me, "yes", she remembered. But what I really enjoyed looking at was Garlic Gus. He was a little ceramic elf that sat on a garlic pod, holding his nose. I always made sure that Jean knew how much I loved Garlic Gus, just hoping that someday he would be mine. Jean told me how much she loved Garlic Gus... so much so that she stole him. What?? My grandmother was a thief? She was visiting her oldest sister in Ithaca, New York and commented on the cute elf that rested on her sister, Irma's, stove. During the visit she had teased Aunt Irma about how she was going to take Garlic Gus back to Texas with her. Somehow, Garlic Gus made it into Jean's suitcase and, sure enough, he ended up on her stove in Dickinson, Texas. Now whether or not there was an agreement about Garlic Gus or not, I do not know but Jean's eyes always twinkled with mischief when she told me the story. 

On my last visit to Jean's home (by that time she had moved into an apartment) I realized that Garlic Gus had survived the years. I asked Jean to please put my name on Garlic Gus. I loved him! Rather than wait she said she wanted me to take him home with me then, so she could enjoy knowing where he had ended up.

Last year while on a trip to Minnesota, I found a couple of other elves, very similar in appearance to Garlic Gus. Jean's had nothing on the bottom of the piece to state who had made it. I had to buy the elves. Then a few months later I found two more in an antiques store here in Texas. They were not expensive at all. These were made by Hollywood Ceramics, made in California. Garlic Gus will always be displayed in front of the other pieces, but I thought it was fun to find elves very similar to him.

Garlic Gus and Friends

Come and enjoy the 94th

Three or More Tuesday at

The Gypsy' Corner!

http://www.thegypsyscorner.com/

I'm so excited to link up with

It's a Very Cherry World for

"Rednesday"

...especially since there is so little red in my home... and when I find

some I love to participate in "Rednesday"!!

http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/

Mosaic Monday - Missing Mexico

Viva Mexico!

Our business is in Mexico and we lived there for a few years to get everything established and our son set up to manage 

the operation. We have lived here in the U.S. now for 

nearly two years... but, oh how I miss those

wonderful times we had with our son and his family

and our friends. We traveled as much as we could

and built a ranch home for the family and our

business partners to enjoy.

We were just minutes away from favorite places:

* 5 minutes to our son and his family's home 

* 7 minutes from the beach - beautiful view and great food

* 15 minutes from our friends' beach homes

* 30 minutes from Manzanillo

* 60 minutes from Pinar de Cheyenne - palm trees, close-up view of the volcano, cool air

*180 minutes from Guadalajara - shopping, movies,

historic palaces and more!

I really miss the 

*12 minute drive to Rancho Don Pedro - our ranch

where we would barbecue with our son and his 

family, have dinner parties and just quiet play time

with our grandchildren. 

 Our grandchildren in Mexico

(Last day of school last July) 

 Join us at Little Red House
               http://www.dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/
                                      for Mosaic Monday!!

Mary's Mosaic is fabulous!!

110 Years Ago Today - Galveston Hurricane - September 8, 1900

Galveston before Hurricane - 1900

Galveston, Texas - September 9, 1900

It was 110 years ago today my country's worst natural disasters occurred. It took place in Galveston, Texas and was known as the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Estimates of the cost of life was astronomical... 6,000, 10,000 and 12,000 have all been figures quoted throughout the years.

My great-grandparents, Rosa and Rosario, were living in the small town of Dickinson, Texas not far from the shores of Galveston. Rosa's brother and family lived in the Galveston area. Surrounding towns were either totally devastated and wiped off the map or suffered terrible damage and loss of life.

Rosario and Rosa DePaquale

The family story is that during this terrible storm my great-grandmother, Rosa, who was pregnant with my grandfather, crawled on her stomach from one building to another managing to carry a lamp with her. Debris was flying everywhere and rain was coming down in torrents. She reached her destination and discovered that she had been battered badly by flying tree branches, parts to buildings and other flying objects. Her face was cut and bruised. The lantern she carried was dented. Today I have the lantern she carried. The lamp is packed away do to my fairly recent remodel but below is a picture I posted over a year ago. I do prefer to keep it displayed because it reminds me of my great-grandmother's courage.

The dented lamp from the storm

Naturally through the years stories of the hurricane were shared by family and friends. My great-grandmother's brother went into real estate and was part of the mass project of rebuilding.


My grandfather became a civil engineer, earning his master's degree from Cornell University. He returned to Galveston County and helped with the expansion of the seawall on Galveston beach. On our family's last trip there we searched for as many of the plaques honoring the men who were part of that project. We felt so proud to see my grandfather's name on all of the plaques.

My cousin with one of the plaques.

One of seven plaques along the Galveston

Seawall.

If you look on the right column of the plaque you will see

D.V. DePasquale's name.

If you want to read more about this very devastating hurricane you can see actual footage of the disaster on these YouTube videos:

Galveston Waterfront
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izdonjcm1zk&feature=related
Galveston, 1900 - After the Storm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG5bNUH5sgM&feature=related

I am linking to My Romantic Home

for Show and Tell Friday

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

It's Toot Your Horn Tuesday - And what a birthday it was!!

My birthday cake - made of flowers!

I entered my 63rd year on September 2nd...

and what a day of fun it was!

Two dear friends from my prayer group took

me to breakfast at a local place that serve

delicious breakfasts... with singing chefs!

They sang "Las Mananitas"...

the traditional birthday song in Mexico.

I met with my two sisters-in-law who both

have birthdays within two weeks of mine.

We meet annually to celebrate our "advancing"

year and to share a little fun gift for each other.

The day seemed to go on and on and lots of

great visiting.

That evening my husband and son took me

to El Divino, a tapas style restaurant.

I wish the pictures did justice to the food,

but here goes...

(Would be you believe there was no moaning and groaning as I took

pictures of the food??!! )

Shrimp Tacos

Grilled Asparagus

Tuna Sashimi

and my favorite...

Scallops Wrapped in Bacon

What a fun day...

(I think I gained a few pounds AND a year!)

Toot Your Horn Tuesday

A Silly Little Sparrow

http://www.sillylittlesparrow.com/

Vintage Thingy Thursday - Which is it??

"The Edge of Night"

ca. 1954

My sister and I enjoyed watching my grandmother's TV

so much. Here we are glued to the set (I am on the right) either watching

The Edge of Night or possibly some variety show... Ted Mack Amateur Hour, maybe?

I blogged yesterday about my grandmother's ceramics.

Look on top of the television set and you'll see more of the

ceramics she painted.

Well, you may think that the TV is the vintage thingy in the picture. It is... but the other vintage thingy is ME!

I'm 63 years old today.

Yayyy!!

Visit The Colorado Lady

for a lot of fun!

http://coloradolady.blogspot.com/