Faux Twitter : Driving to Dallas

 

(the night before)

10:00 pm  Made sure ‘the bust’ was secure in the back of my car.

11:30 pm  Couldn’t go to sleep because I was fixated on the alarm being set at 4:00 am.

12:00 am  Read several pages from the sequel to The Hunger Games. Thought about Round Top.

  2:00 am  Realized I was in serious sleep trouble.

  4:00 am  Alarm started beeping. Felt like I had sticker burs attached to my eyeballs.

  4:30 am  Left house with eyes crossed needing coffee.

  4:50 am  Stopped at truck stop north of Edinburg to buy a large coffee . Had out of body experience at register thinking I was a truck driver.

  Made random comment to man behind the register about ‘losing time’. Realized he thought, who is this lady with stickers in her eyes?

  5:50 am  Pulled into Border Patrol checkpoint south of Falfurrias. Rolled down back window . Agent aimed large flashlight into the back of my Tahoe and said,

   “Oh Wow.”

   6:00 am  Stopped in Falfurrias at McDonald’s to buy another cup of coffee.

   6:20 am  Nine miles later, stopped in Premont at Dairy Queen for the best insides to sausage, egg, and cheese tacos. Didn’t eat the tortillas. 

   Had another cup of coffee.

   6:30 am  Started listening to my IPod and singing along. Wanted more coffee. Had severe longing for my grandsons.

   7:30 am  Stopped in Three Rivers to buy gas. Thought about Mary Jo and her new grandbaby.

   9:00 am  Stopped in San Antonio at a convenience store. Noticed Goodwill across the street. Flew through Goodwill.

  10:00am  Stopped at Outlet Mall at the Pottery Barn Outlet. Thought they might have a sale on fall things. Realized Pottery Barn and I may never be friends.

  11:15am  Stopped at IKEA outside Round Rock. Got caught in a trap-like maze. Finally found checkout counter. Clerk didn’t give me a sack. Did not understand IKEA.

    1:45pm  After multiple driving anxiety attacks on 35 , stopped in Lorena. Love driving through that small town. Ladies from the Methodist Church were

     outside decorating for fall with garlands and pumpkins. Bought a cup of chili and a large iced tea to go at a cafe on Main Street.

    These small adventures make me so happy.

    3:00pm  Made it to Dallas in spite of myself. Waited at Half Priced Books for my daughter to get out of school. Tomorrow the work begins.

Packing My Car

 

This is the back of my car.

I am leaving tomorrow to drive to Dallas to help my daughter move.

I am taking two pink chairs,

 

white twill slipcovers from Target,

 

three Martha Stewart mirrored lamps from KMart,

a charcoal gray shag rug ,

 

 

charcoal gray, faux raw silk fabric to create a shower curtain, 

 a print remnant to make pillows, if she likes the pattern,

 

multiple prints,

my Martha Stewart tool box,

a box of picture hangers,

multiple cans of spray paint,

an apron, in case she ever wants to wear one,

three gifts from  sister#2- a front door mat, a striped rug, and a bust,

                                                                             

and lots of

zippered bags from Mexico , which are wonderful when moving.

My husband and I realized years ago that hiring movers and a truck for 2 hours (which is actually a reasonable price)

is

cheaper than going to the emergency room.

 

Is Round Top on the Way To Dallas?

        Conversation With My Husband This Morning

Me:  “On my way to Dallas Wednesday , I thought I would go by Round Top.”

Husband, looking at me in disbelief :  “But if you do that, you will be heading east.”

Me, thinking it is not the pioneer days, and I am not pulling a covered wagon through the mountains before snowfall, but on second thought, I bet if I found a hutch in Round Top it would fit nicely in a covered wagon… and what is so wrong with ‘heading east’?, but instead I said:

“Well if I leave at 4:30 am, I can get to Round Top by 10:30 am, and then I can explore until 4:00 pm, and then I can get to Dallas before dark.”

(this is another pioneer rule we use- you can drive around in circles all day if you want to, but you need to get where you are going before dark)

Husband, looks at me like I am crazy.

                 Several Hours Later During a Football Game on Television

Me: “Is a U-Haul trailer expensive?” 

(I know what it costs because I have rented one before, but I LOVE seeing his reaction.  It is soooo much fun.)

Husband: Pretends he is taking a nap during the commercial.

                                                           

 

‘Old Friends’ and a Tip

This morning, in playing with my dishes, I brought out some old ‘friends’, and as a result, things you have seen before.

That makes sense, right?

I just arranged them differently.

My inspiration was a tapestry drapery panel I bought years ago at Dollar General.

That is my tip by the way.

I try to always look at packaged curtain and drapery panels at discount stores (the only place I really shop), because I love using them everywhere but at the window.

Just make sure it is the 81” panel.

I actually started with a burgundy tablecloth to use with my black and white transfer ware, but I thought it looked a little Christmasy.

 

The black chargers with the bronze border are ceramic and were 90% off at Hobby Lobby two years ago.

Is that even a price?

They are heavy.

I added my King’s Crown goblets- which I have always called cranberry glass- and then, for a twist, I used dull green napkins.

I feel like I need to say,

“You had to be there”,

because of all of these colors.

My photography today doesn’t really show that it did work.

Have a wonderful weekend.

My trip to Round Top this weekend had to be changed.

I am headed to Dallas to help Daughter #3 move from an apartment into a duplex early next week and my own work duties call.

You should see the pile of stuff I am taking to Dallas.

I wonder if I will get to bring back some of my things that have been on loan?

Hmmm.

***

I am linking to these wonderful parties.  These ladies provide us all with a fun way to share our inspiration and our home.

Wait for Me!

One of the many freedoms I love about blogging is changing my train of thought midstream. The inimitable, AMAZING Debbie of Talking Trash says it this way:

Squirrel!

So this morning while I was pontificating about teaching, everyone else was playing with their beautiful fall things.

I am almost a day late and a dollar short.

The Gorman print on my mantel may not be what I would pick today, but it was my mother’s and that makes it just right for me-especially the color of the woman’s skirt.

Have a great Tuesday!

***

I am linking to

and

Dear Daughters, Teaching, and an Editorial

Dear Daughters,

        While waiting for my first new teacher observation of the day, outside a Stripes convenience store (having my breakfast) , I thought of you.

        School buses were driving past- which always gives me an adrenalin rush- and I was overwhelmed with the gratitude I felt for the career I had, the new work I am doing, and the work you all three do.

        You all three began your career paths in the classroom, often in settings some might consider risky, and you are stronger women because of it.

        I then felt a little jolt of healthy irritation.

        It is a profession (teaching) and an entity (public school) that is often misjudged.

        So I decided to filter this feeling through a technique I used in a recent new teacher training:

  ‘This is what I have seen and heard’ in classrooms in the last few years. This is what I believe.

*In a senior English class , at a high school with a population of students who would meet all sorts of criteria for the designation ‘at risk’, the teacher was showing a film on attending Harvard.

*In an elementary classroom, two certified teachers worked with the students all day- half the day in English and half the day in Spanish. The students were learning both languages accurately.

 

*On an elementary campus, while walking down the hall, I overheard a teacher say to a kindergarten student, “It is always a good idea to begin by saying, ‘I am sorry’.

*In a middle school classroom, the teacher said- beaming from ear to ear- “I like what I am hearing!” Everyone was beaming.

   

        And so dear daughters, because I am on a roll, I want to clear up a couple of other points-which I know you know. Others might not though.

 

        Teachers in the state of Texas are contracted to work for 187 days.  Their yearly salary, determined by the state and the local district, is paid out over 12 months.

        The money they are paid in the summer is for work they have already completed.

        And finally, as many people enter the profession via an alternative certification program, just know they have bachelors’ and even masters’ degrees, and this first year of teaching is under a probationary certificate, involves research-based coursework, and requires two exams, the equivalent of state boards. 

It also costs over $3000.

        It is ALL so much harder than it looks.

        So there.  You know how I am.  Just wanted you to know I was thinking of you.

                                                                               Love, Mom

       

         

         

 

Man Shops Globe and Paint Colors

If, like me,while watching various HGTV programs, you are shouting

“You’ve got to be kidding…” at the television ,

try Man Shops Globe on the Sundance Channel.

It is a breath of fresh air and inspiration.

Keith Johnson , an international buyer for Anthropologie, takes viewers along on his shopping travels.

The segment above, set in Australia, was an eye opener for me on color.

The designer Johnson visits in the segment, designs color palettes for a paint company by creating a storyboard.

The pictures, items,or found objects she has clustered on her storyboard-telling her story- in turn indicate the colors for her new paint palette.

I thought that was brilliant.

Picking paint colors is a horrible, slippery slope.

I know.

I have stood in various paint stores in front of a gazillion paint swatches while my brain

SHUTS DOWN.

I have been thinking about letting go of my yellow walls, but then I have a

FLASHBACK

about the trauma I experienced in settling on that yellow (Banana Cream).

As I write this, it occurs to me that this is clearly an unhealthy union.

Now-

instead of heading to the paint store, I am going to create a storyboard instead out of

found objects.

IF

I can think of a story…

 

 

Cooling Down a Fall Tablescape

 

This morning , instead of doing things that were on my list, I decided to create a fall tablescape that felt cool (as in temperature).

Since it is in the 90’s here, I couldn’t use the weather as my inspiration.

I decided to play fall colors off of a cool color like white, a cool metal color like silver, and a cool glass color like mercury glass.

When I think of Woodland Spode, I don’t necessarily think of white, but I love how it looks with a bright white charger and mercury glass.

Everything cools down a bit, even if it is still hot and muggy outside.

 

When that first ‘norther’ does blow in , colors may change around here even further,

but for now I am just trying to stay cool.

***

I am linking to several wonderful parties :