On A Quest

My entire shopping trip to Round Top/Warrenton was fueled by

my quest for a zebra rug.

Boy, I do love a QUEST.

This finally got to Daughter #2-

and everyone else within hearing distance I am sure.


In my questing, I can get a little obsessed driven,

which may or may not lead to talking about it non-stop .


So under this type of mental water torture,

Daughter #2 finally said,

”Mother, you can borrow mine and see if you like it.”

Woo hoo!

True confession.

I have never been good about returning library books on time…

***

Joining:

Kristen @ Simply Klassic Sunday

Stephanie Lyn for Under the Table and Dreaming - Sunday Showcase

Mary at Boogieboard Cottage Masterpiece Monday

Anita of Cedar Hill Ranch Cowgirl Up

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life Tabletop Tuesday

Linda at Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Kim at Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesday

Check One

(my grandsons’ hide out in our backyard)

I am in a state of waiting it seems.


Things feel like they are right around the corner,

including summer and visits from my grandsons.


The mesquite tree above creates a perfect canopy

for treasures in their hide out that need their attention.

When they visit I am going to say and do things for the purpose of getting their attention (they are 5 and 8)-

like…

” Y’all grab that gallon of paint and head on out there and paint that swing.”

or

“Y’all find a way to get that bird feeder down and paint that too.”

or

“Y’all grab that black paint and paint your picnic table too.”

Then I am going to laugh and ask if I can help.

After we finish all of our work, I am going to

go in the house and make kool-aid mixed with orange juice

and tuna fish sandwiches

like my mother made in the summer when I was little.

And as one last thing to get their attention,

I am going to hand them each an order form and a pencil for the next morning’s breakfast

that says

 

Check One:

* pancakes and little sausages

*cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk (don’t tell their parents)

or

*scrambled eggs, biscuits and jelly, and bacon

 

Then the next morning we are going to take our individual breakfast orders out to the hide out

to eat and plan the day.

Check One.

Warrenton Tomato Cages

When a vendor at Warrenton pointed at these

wire baskets and said

“I had a lot of these, but they were bought by Marburger vendors to create light fixtures”, I really wasn’t listening.

I was thinking about my tomato plants that survived a recent storm.

I bought 8.

My father was right.

Things that get ‘whipped around’ do come back stronger.

And when they wouldn’t sit level,

I found a solution.

Does anyone else enjoy finding a solution by using something on hand

as much as I do?

I Love Limes

I love limes.

Not Florida limes ladies.


I love small Mexican limes.

Mexican limes are WONDERFUL squeezed into iced tea,

or

into

a

very

cold

beer…

while sitting on my patio listening to my Ipod.

You are ALL invited.

And you can

NEVER

eat avocado without it.

It is one of life’s great pleasures.

Simple Instructions:

Peel a ripe avocado.

Mash it on a plate with a fork.

Sprinkle it with Nature’s Seasoning.

Squeeze a small Mexican lime over it.

Stir.

Eat.
***

I’ll be waiting on my patio.

 

Papel Picado

If you have a reason to celebrate ,

and you have an HEB Plus in your area,

banners of papel picado are $4.99 in the party section.

Papel picado looks wonderful hanging outside.

Aren’t the colors wonderful?

The only thing missing is  homemade quacamole, pico de gallo,

tostados,

and a mango margarita.


Enjoy!

Dear Daughters: Easter

Dear Daughters ,

Once a sense of urgency takes root in my thinking,

you know it is hard to ignore.


After a wonderful trip with family and friends

to Round Top Easter weekend,

doing one of my all-time favorite things (exploring with you)

I felt dissatisfied and

full of motherly wants.


Yes, I was with you all,

and yes the sight of the three of you walking in front of me

at Warrenton made me smile,

both inside and out-

yet

I came home wanting more.


Here are my wants:

Even though we all live apart,



*I want Easter to be about Easter.

*I want us to ALL go to church together.

*I want us to ALL be together.

*I want to set a beautiful table.

*I want to plan an Easter Sunday menu for weeks ahead of time.

*I want to see your new Easter dress.



And so in the dramatic fashion I am prone to use-

we must all beware of the alternate plan,

the easier way,

the let’s do this instead.


Just a thought-

Love, Mom

Just Doing It

I think one of the great adventures/obstacles in decorating (not my favorite word)

around the house,

is

JUST DOING IT.


It is so easy to get paralyzed by doubt,

or ideas of perfection-

or sitting,

or procrastinating.

But then one day something happens-

usually a sliver of a thought-

an idea-

a glimmer of a plan-

as in

I’ll put green and silver in the kitchen.

What happens next is a lesson straight from

my high school English class :

practice builds fluency.


Doing creates doing.

So…

Let’s all act as if.

Hop up.

Get up.

Move something…anything.

Try something.

Doing creates doing.

Is green in my kitchen

perfect?

Good grief no-

I’m just doing it.

You can too.

Run!

(my yard before the storm)


I hope you all have a wonderful Easter with family and friends.

You are all such a blessing and just know-

that no matter where you are,

no matter how you feel,

everything is going to be OK.

And when you are handed your Easter basket for your family Easter egg hunt,

go back in time,

when you were a young girl,

and your cousins were all lined up around you with fire in their eyes,

wiggle your pinching shoes ,

mash your petticoat down

and

RUN!

***

Blessings to Dallas and Fort Worth bloggers who withstood terrible storms and tornadoes today.

My daughter was there with you, watching over her students in the hall of the high school where she teaches.

They were in good hands.

Hunting Easter Eggs in the 50’s: A Confession

 

My list of special Easter  memories

is as vivid and sharp as if it were yesterday:


* the sharp smell of vinegar when dying eggs

*my new Toni home perm

* a white stiff, crunchy feeling Easter hat

*white ruffled socks and my Spring dress shoes

*Mamaw’s (my maternal grandmother’s) lush carpet grass in her backyard on Alice Street in Kingsville

* the blue plumbago blossoms I liked to stick to my ears as earrings

*my mother’s sewing machine whirring while she made us new dresses

and

*the dilemma I faced as a little girl hunting Easter eggs.

(my worried expression tells it all)

What dilemma might that have been?


I wanted to win… to find my share of the eggs,

while appearing otherwise.

I wanted to run fast with my petticoat bouncing and my shoes pinching.


I wanted to beat my cousins to every single egg, without seeming like I wanted to.

I wanted to demonstrate the importance of ‘sharing’

while grabbing with the best of them.


I wanted to show that I had learned that

‘company goes first ‘ lesson I was taught,

while winning it all.

And then Mamaw and Papaw would shout “GO!”,

and I forgot about it all.

***

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