Greener Grass

Ok, Nana.

We're gonna hide.

and you come find us.

I already suspect that they are hiding in the tall weeds

that have sprouted with recent rain showers.

98...99...100

Ready or not

Here I come.

Where are you?

I'm gonna find you!

Whoa!

There you are!

These poor children

haven't seen anything green in 18 months

because of the drought in Texas.

They've sadly been playing in sand and stickers.

They didn't see this tall green stuff as stinky, sneezey weeds,

but something green, soft and wonderful to play in.

They revered it so much

that they fluffed it back up after hiding in it.

I guess that's further proof that we are created

to lie down in green pastures.

(Psalm 23)

Thank you Lord for showers and a green yard

even if it is only weeds.

Life in a Hamster Ball

It's Monday morning and this post is for YOU. 

You who have ever felt like you are a hamster,
 spending day after day in a ball. 

 Always runnng. 

 Never getting anywhere.

(That probably has applied to all of us at some point in time.)

I have the cure.

Go to a carnival.

Preferably with chldren.

Take lots of money.

It was the San Angelo, Texas
 Stock Show and Rodeo

Craft Show

Petting Zoo

and

CARNIVAL.

We went on purpose.

This comes from someone who's spent her life
 trying to divert children's attention away from carnivals

"O, look over here at this interesting empty lot, dumpster, convenience station, or whatever"

Anyone else guilty?

The last time I took children to this carnival

they all lost their footlong corndogs and funnel cakes after the Tilt-a-Whirl.

WE WENT ON PURPOSE

It was the fartherest ride away
and she called it the "merry-go-round"

7 year old: "I've ALWAYS wanted to ride the merry-go-round."

Nana: "I've NEVER wanted to ride the ferris wheel."

12 year old brother: "Not Me"

Mom: "Nope,  I'll get sick"

So, ALWAYS and NEVER rode the ferris wheel.

And what kind of goofy grandmother would forget her camera

 and have to use her phone for amazing shots
from the top of the world.

We conquered the ferris wheel.

We threw darts to win toys

and balls to win goldfish

and begged for more.

We ate curley fries and corn dogs and cheesecake on a stick.

We drank enough sugar to keep those two energizer bunnies going for years.

We loved the critters

in the petting zoo.

Then we walked into the Mutton Bustin'  building

and Little Miss ALWAYS said,

"I've ALWAYS wanted to do that."

(FYI - San Angelo is sheep country

 and Mutton Bustin'

 is a rodeo event where children ride wooly sheep

like cowboys ride bucking horses.) 

So ride she did.

She took a tumble

and got up to do it again.

This cowgirl is down, but not out.

But the absolute favorite was

the Hamster Ball

We laughed

and laughed

and laughed

and begged for more

So when your problems

seem like giants

and you think life is for the birds

Get you some kids.

Find a carnival.

and have some fun while you're in that hamster ball!

Chocolate Fest

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I won an Interscholastic League writing contest.  My topic was

"Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder".
 I don't have a clue what I wrote about, because I certainly didn't know much about absence OR fondness.  Then I thought it referred to romance.  Now I know it can be applied to any number of things.  Lately, for me - it is all about my family, my home, my home town and my home state.  Being away from them has made them all the more dear to me.

This past weekend I went to a fund raiser for the Scurry County Museum in my home town. 

The event was the Chocolate Fest

where chocolate is supposedly paired with the perfect wine. 

 Now that I think about it, I didn't hear one person comment on

 which wine was best with which chocolate.

I'm not a wine drinker for a lot of reasons

(mostly because I don't like it),

but once in the grocery store I was handed a sample of

Woodbridge Moscato

and bought a bottle.

It was so sweet and fruity, I could have downed it like kool-aid.

But I can't and don't because it might start to look like this picture:

a little fuzzy.

My friend, Pat, once watched me eat chocolate and said,

"it's a good thing you don't drink,

because you would probably be a

slush."

A Slush?

So for this event I kept one hand on the camera

and the other in the chocolate plate,

which is also not good.

The event was held at the Manhattan Coffee House

on Snyder's historic town square.

Marianne owns the place and is the perfect hostess

She left Snyder decades ago for a life of adventure.

She has been everywhere and done everything, but came back home

to develop some of her property into something

that would enhance our community.

She has been inspiring us to be better

for about 10 years.

The Windmill Ranch Preserve

is a bed and breakfast and great meeting place.

The Big Apple Deli is next to the Manhattan and its proprietor is

Bill, Marianne's son.

Our mayor, the honorable Terry Martin, was a server at the event

His beautiful first lady, Martha,  has been my friend for a long time.

  She is on the museum board and,

I just learned,

a Sister on the Fly.

 

And speaking of flying,
John is also a board member and also served as bartender.

He is retired from an oil company

and is a respected pilot.

Mrs. Tune

(Isn't that just the perfect name for a piano teacher?)

provided  the music for the evening.

Nathalie, my good friend and talented artist,

 painted the evening away

 and donated the finished canvas to the fundraiser.

That's a wine glass on a weathered cedar fence post.

Kathy and I laughed about the junior high cheerleader outfit

 she passed on to me

and how we were both the worst cheerleaders ever.

 

 

She has recently opened a restaurant,

The Happy Texan,

and is living her dream.

Amy was one of Heather's friends.

She still looks the way they both looked

15 years ago.

She is now a wife, mother and teacher.

 

 

 

DeVelva, a sweet cousin,

is a hairdresser and always beautiful.

It was so good to see her.

I guess that was the best part of the

Chocolate Fest -

reconnecting.

And speaking of cousins,

Lisa was there too.

I have loved her since she was such a little thing.

How can she be a mom to three teens with another surprise on the way?

For my blood relatives that may be reading this blog in confusion,

Both of these gals are cousins by marriage

but they both introduce me as

their cousins.

They make me proud!

 

 

 

It was just a lovely, lovely evening back in my home town.

 Maybe absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Gifts from God

Back in Texas, I spent a few days with the GRANDchildren

 while their parents went to New Orleans on a business/pleasure trip. 

It was good.

Their schedule was:

Monday - School

Monday Evening - Cotillion

Cotillion is where 12 year old boys go

to learn etiquette and how to dance with 12 year old girls

while pretending not to like it.

This week was 50's night.

"Who is James Dean, anyway?"

Tuesday - Home School

Where it's OK to do your math, and grammar, and spelling in your pj's.

I saw a picture/post of the Pioneer Woman's homeschoolers doing their work on the floor..

Another home school mom posted a picture on facebook of her girl doing math in a lawn chair with a chicken looking over her shoulder.

I guess - if it works, it's OK.

Wednesday - School

Wednesday - Soccer Practice

(Cancelled)

Thursday - Home School

Thursday Evening - Basketball Practice

This is on the wall of the basketball court.

Friday - School

In between, we found time to eat creatively

and badly



We even went bowling

as a special treat for finishing our work early.



and something made us really hungry.

We had one really nice day to play outside.

This girl can ride like the wind

(and in the wind too).

Yes, that's a drilling rig across the road.

And for my North Dakota friends lamenting the oil boom there,

I could see 11 drilling rigs from their house.

That doesn't include pump jacks and tanks.

We've got it too.

One of the kids was eating homemade potato soup

from a bowl that said:

"Children are a gift from God"

Yes, they are.

Back in Texas

First day back in Texas, we made a trip to the deer pasture to get the hunting truck that broke down there.  The whole 50 mile trip, I relished the beauty (at least the beauty to my eyes) of dry West Texas. 

We drove through what was once the largest wind farm in the world. I don't know where it stands now, but you can probably drive in them for a hundred miles.

We stopped for a few pictures along the way.

Not everybody likes them,

but they don't spill oil or chemicals

and they don't smell like gas or H2S.

They are clean and somewhat blend into the sky.

This trip to the deer pasture,

I realized that I have had a serious long time

love affair

with pastures.

My earliest pasture memory

was driving down the trail of a road

to visit someone named

Aunt (pronounced ain't) Addie

who lived in a pasture.

I think there was a cistern in the front yard

and an outhouse in the back.

She may have even lived close to our deer pasture.

Everything about pastures fascinate me.

prickly pear,

mesquite trees,

 mistletoe,

critter trails,

and critter houses.

Even things people leave behind

can take on an art form.

David,

the man after God's heart,

the shepherd boy,

song writer,

warrior,

King,

said,

"He makes me to lie down in green pastures."

(Psalm 23:2)

Can I suggest my own version of this scripture?

(RRV - Renee's Revised Version)

He created me to

lie down,

sit in,

walk through,

photograph,

and enjoy

pastures

Now that I think about it,

we were created to live in a pasture

(well, maybe a garden).

The Hebrew defines pasture as

a word altogether poetic,

a seat, a dwelling of men or God.

where flocks lie down, remain, rest.

Psalm 83:12 translates the same word

as house of God.

Trips to the deer pastures,

and lakes

and mountains

and city parks

might be nothing more than our attempts

to go back the THE GARDEN.

These could be places where we try to connect with

our Creator.

My pasture love continued when my family

moved to a cotton farm with a pasture

for me to roam when I was 11.

It's funny, but I'm not sure I could send my 12 year old grandson

to roam alone in that same pasture.

We live on the the family farm

and when we get back home to Texas,

I tell my man -

"gotta go to the pasture".

Boots, hat, snake gun and four wheeler ready

and I'm off. 

There's really no purpose there - I just have to go.

I'm pretty sure I've never laid down in the pasture,

but if I did,

the view would take my breath away

because I just might find HIM there.

I hope all your trails lead to green pastures...

and your Creator.