Compare and Contrast Haiku--Texas Summer

Bright sun and white clouds
Scarlet blooms against the sky
Heat like hornet stings

Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Well, we've had a great couple of days. Thursday we took Bethy to Stephenville, Texas, to see the play Noel Coward's Blythe Spirit at Tarleton's workshop theatre. It was a fair presentation, but the actors kept mis-pronouncing words! No excuse for college students and and professors! None at all!

While we were there we picked up our first geocaches. I've started a new blog about our geocaching and letterboxing. Check it out.Here is our Turtle cat helping me with my newest quilt, a Carolina byways quilt...a 9-patch. Turtle is always a big help!
These are mustang grapes at a cemetery in Stephenville.
We ate at a cafe that is in my daddy's old furniture store. It was fun going into the store. However the prices were high, and the food just wasn't that great! Raf and Bethy were mugging for Joey...Joey can receive photos now. BTW, Joey is having a "fun" boot camp. Amazing!
These photos are inside the store...looks a whole lot different. My what a wonderful childhood I had in Stephenville. The Best!
Check out my other blog!!

Show and Tell Friday

Welcome to "Kelli's Show and Tell Friday!" Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better! Go to Kelli's page to link your show and tell to Mr. Linky!!

My show and tell comes in 3...this year. Do you have a childhood friend you're still in contact with? I have many, but one of my most precious is Toby Kunishige Harrison, a true friends and a true Christian. Toby and I met in early elementary school, and we are still friends today. We had something interesting in common. My father was a German-American with a thick accent, and Toby's father was a Japanese-American with a thick accent! Our meeting was less than 10 years after World War II. Our hometown is Stephenville, Texas. My father was a decorated hero in WWII. Toby's father never got that chance. His family was interned in California during WWII! What a terrible thing to happen to anyone! Of course, all of their belongings, real estate, etc. was taken. They came to Texas to start over. Toby and I were in the SHS class of 1961. Toby was lucky enough to remain in Stephenville until after graduation. I moved in 1958, so I didn't graduate with that class, BUT they include me in all the reunions! We just had our 45th last year.

Anyway, Toby and I both became teachers, and we have corresponded over the years. Every holiday I hear from Toby, and so far this year she has sent me the three following crocheted holiday symbols. Aren't they great?! They're pins. Over the years Toby has sent me many beautiful things she has made, and I treasure them!

Comfort...for Jennifer and for all those gone before

Suffering now gone
Pain is released, spirit free
Memories linger

This collage is of my childhood. All these people live in my memory forever.

Pay it Forward

Crepe Myrtle in my garden

Pay it Forward (PIF) sounds a great swap. My researching mind encouraged me to try tracing it backward, and it appears to have entered the blogging world from devliegendekoe, to Eleanor and Ruby, to The Sitching Room, Two Lime Leaves, to Maddy's Glass House, to Serenewhimsy, to Pink Purl , and finally to Wild Rose. I want to propose it to you, as this will open up a whole new group of blogging friends.

Here's how it works:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week… LOL… but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So, if you want to play PIF, be one of the first three to respond and let me know you'll keep the promise!

And blessings to you all!

Grapevine Trantula Train Again

Yesterday we took Bethy to the Fort Worth Stockyards and to ride the Grapevine Trantula Train. When we took Travis last week there were very few people. Yesterday the train was packed. We had a fun day. We ate at the Greek House in Fort Worth near TCU. Really good, traditional Greek food. My plate has dolmas with a Greek salad. Yummmm!

And the winner is. . .

Raf just drew the winning name for my drawing of the book, My Mother's Garden. And the winner is . . .

. . . Gautami Tripathy of Delhi, India. Congratulations, Gautami. I am putting the book in the mail this afternoon. Hope you enjoy it!

Alphabet Soup

Morning Glory asks: "Is it soup yet? Yup. Time for some alphabet fun. Today's bowl of soup is brought to you by the letter 'Bb'."

Things that light up my life which begin with a "B" are:

1. B is for Bible. Without the Bible and the Word it bring to us, I would be completely lost...as would the whole world.
2. B is for books. So many books, so little time. I absolutely love to read and spend a great portion of my day doing just that.
3. B is for backyard. We have a new deck built, and we've installed a lovely garden swing. We have bird feeders, crepe myrtle trees, a small wood, and planters with tomatoes. The backyard is a wonderful, comforting place.
4. B is for birds. Raf and I have been "twitchers" for years. We don't go "hard at it", but we enjoy watching birds and adding to our "life list".
5. B is for blessings. They are all around me. God has been so good to me and to my family. He has blessed us with so many things...life, love, home, each other.

Want to join in? What lights up your life that begins with the letter "B"? Leave a comment and then jump into Mr. Linky and let us read what you think.

Just for a Laugh

Raf's cousin, Cindi Lee, sent this. I just had to share it. I would gladly give credit...but I don't know to whom!! Hope you enjoy it!!

Reviews: Sue Henry's Tooth of Time; Movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I just completed reading Sue Henry's new Maxie McNabb book, The Tooth of Time. The book held some importance for me because we have been to the Philmont Scout Ranch twice, and our John was there twice as a Cub and twice as a Boy Scout. Joey was there once as a Cub and once as a Scout. John is now an Eagle, earning his Eagle before he was 14, and receiving it on his 14th birthday, making him the 8th male in my Ficke family to early the Eagle!

Sue Henry is a superb writer. As well as the McNabb series, she also has a series involving an Iditarod racer, Jessie Arnold.

This book also pushed my interest in weaving, as much of the action takes place at Weaving Southwest in Taos, New Mexico. I think I want a student loom!Last evening, as is our family tradition, 11 of us met, first to eat barbecue at Baker's Ribs and then on to the movie to see the newest Harry Potter, Order of the Phoenix. I had heard many blogger reviews, and I was actually dreading the movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. Interestingly, as the books contain a dark feeling, so the lighting of movie was much darker. Also, the actor who plays Dumbledoor was much better, as I think he was actually playing Dumbledoor rather than playing Richard Harris, the first Dumbledoor. And this book begins to hold Christian allegory can be compared to C. S. Lewis.

Further, although the movie added scenes not in the book, and removed many scenes, all-in-all the movie was good, stayed with the story; the actors did their jobs well; the special effects were spot on. Now I am waiting , quite impatiently, for Book 7!
So there you have it. My opinions!

And if you want to win a copy of My Mother's Garden, just click here to be part of the drawing on July 18.

Show and Tell Friday

Kelli at There Is No Place Like Home is hosting a Show & Tell Friday. This is what she says: "Do you have a something special to share with us? Feel free to share pictures and if there's a story behind your special something, that's even better!" If you want to join in, make your post and go to her blog and add your name to Mr. Linky.

I haven't participated before, although it's always such fun to read about the show and tell items others have...so here goes:

My grandmother, Harriett Elizabeth McBee Ficke attended the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 and purchased this ceramic shoe as a keepsake. Grandmother grew up in Bramer, Missouri, and lived her married life in Wheeler, Texas, only moving to Midland, Texas, in her later years after her husband died.

One of Harriett's daughters was Marguerite Ficke Philpott. Marguerite was a trip, to say the least. She married for money; certainly not for love. Once she called me and said, "Sue, I've been around the world 3 times, and I just don't know what to do now!" I should have told her if she ever stopped playing bridge, got off the cruise ship, and actually SAW the places the ship visited, she probably could have thought of something to do! Anyway, in 1949 she took up ceramics for a little while, and she made this little shoe. She was one of my daddy's seven sisters...he was the only boy.
Enter the My Mother's Garden Drawing.

Poetry Thursday, Summertime in Texas

Summertime in Texas

The rains of June abated
And the sun is hangin' high
Green grasshoppers and crickets
Chirp and sing as I pass by

Tomato leaves are wilted
Crepe myrtle bright and red
Grass is brown and dusty
Needs water to be fed

‘ssippi kites soar above us
Scissor-tails are catchin' bugs
Clouds racing toward the east
As if on magic rugs

Soft nights with starlight shinin'
Scents of mown hay all around
Picnic baskets full of chicken
Quilted pallets on the ground

Hot and bakin’ in the summer
Sometimes not a breath of air
Lightening flashin’, thunder rollin’
Texas, join us if you dare


Want to participate in my drawing?? Click here to win "My Mother's Garden".

DRAWING for a Garden Book!!

Kelli recommended this book to me, and it's lovely. So...I decided to share the wonderfully written stories about gardens with all of you. If you would like a chance to win this book, please post a comment to this post. I will hold the drawing a week from today on July 18 and will post the book to the winner on July 19. This is a great book of short essays and stories about gardens and how they influenced each author.

Here's the book description:

The beauty of a flower, and the beauty of a family. A garden and a child-the similarities between the two can be striking. Both require time and patience. Both call for a very special person to look after their needs and to consider their futures. And both will blossom when tended with a mother's love. This heartwarming collection of essays and stories-from beloved classics and modern favorites, authored by writing gardeners and gardening writers alike-celebrates the role of a mother's love in helping her garden and her children grow. Featuring selections from previously published material by noted garden essayists, as well as compelling excerpts from novels and memoirs, this volume is a touching tribute to mothers everywhere, whose perennial gifts of attention and care allow those they love to truly bloom.
Sign up NOW for a chance to win this charming book.

Woman to Woman--Keeping Your Marriage Alive

"Whether you've been married for 38 years, 8 years or are a newlywed, you've probably picked up a few of the keys to a happy marriage, one which is nurturing and continues to grow. Maybe your marriage has struggled, but you've found a road back to each other and have insights for those in similar situations. What would you say are the three most key elements in your marriage that keep the romance alive and the heart aflutter? "
This is the question Morning Glory and Lei set for us today. At first I thought, "How Hard! I don't know what we've done to keep harmony for 30+ years!"

But then I got to thinking. Not long ago I was asked by a little friend on MySpace to tell how we had kept being married and happy for so long. This was the answer I gave her.

1. I married my best friend. If you cannot be friends, there's really no hope for a marriage.
2. Be honest. Show all your warts, keep nothing back, share where you've been and where you hope to go. Don't lie!
3. Trust God and go to church together. If God isn't put first, and you don't listen to His will for you, your marriage will be over before it begins.
4. Don't disagree in front of the children...stick together. Even if you think the other is wrong in a decision regarding the children, talk about it privately, and NEVER allow the kids to play you against each other.
5. Have fun. Do things together, not separately.
6. Support each other in their and your passions. If your spouse likes to act in plays, help him, support him, go with him. Don't stay at home like a lump!

Wow, that wasn't hard at all. And, it's surely has worked for us!

Fort Worth Zoo

Travis and Bethy at the little train at the Fort Worth Texas Zoo. I rode this same little train in th 1940's. It's a family tradition...like all of us going to see the newest Harry Potter movie this Friday night TOGETHER!! As many of us as can go together...this time there will be 10 of us!

Joey' Address

Here's a photo of Joey with his girlfriend, Coley, on graduation night. We just got a letter from him today. If you would like to write him or send him a card, his address is:

RCT Banner, William J.
3rd RTBN I Co. PLT 3206
39003 Midway Avenue
San Diego CA 92140-3206

He CANNOT receive anything but letters and cards....NO packages.

Thanks to all of you who write him!!!

Independence Day and Travis' Visit

This was taken on the way to Stephenville, Texas, for their annual Independence Day celebration. This picture was taken for Felisol in Norway. And I forgot to mention that on July 4 the temperature was in the 70's! And all the rain missed us...beautiful night.

This is Bethy and Travis playing a game with some little girls who were in the park.
Raf is helping Travis put a little kite together...it didn't work, so he traded it for a paddle and ball.
Bethy and Carolyn.

Fireworks were beautiful!Yesterday, we took Travis to the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Omni. We were going to ride the little train in the park, but the flooding closed it. However, we saw the Omni presentation of Special Effects, and then we ate at Kincaids. Then we went to the Stockyards and rode the Trantula Train.

This photo is of the ceiling in the passenger car of the steam train.

Travis kissed the cow.
This is the train.

This is the ticket booth.

Travis as a gunfighter.

On the train.

Travis with his candy.In Kincaids Hamburger Store on Camp Bowie.

Omni at the Fort Worth Children's Museum.

Raf's 65th Birthday is Today

Raf, my friend, my love, my life, my all, my everything. I love you.
Happy Birthday

Swing

My friend Gunni Berry in Brownsville, Texas, has a lovely garden swing. She told me she got it at Lowe's, and we found the very one! We went to the Lowe's in Granbury, Texas, (which is the trip where I took photos of the flooding), and today Raf and John got it up before the rain started. It is just right. Photos are below. The last one is of Bethy testing the swing.

Just now we had a call from our middle daughter, Carolyn, calling from Oklahoma City. The three girls have been to the funeral of an aunt in Birmingham, Alabama, and they flew Southwest (I never liked Southwest), so they flew through Houston both ways, and were diverted by the rain and lightening from Dallas. Don't know when they will get in. Saying a prayer for their safety.

It's 5 pm, and the sky looks like 8 pm. Thank God for the rain! Bless the poor folks who have lost their homes because of it.

Interesting note, our friend Kelly in Austin said:

"We just had a little storm blow through. It took my antenna down. (See http://k5ktd.webhop.org/ for a pix.) This antenna is 42 feet tall and rated at 100MPH. I've had quite enough of the rainin' and blowin' for this year."

And an Anglican Bishop is England stated that our floods are "a judgment on society".  Interesting perspective, as I was thinking the same thing earlier today.