April 30, 2012. Jackson, Mississippi. The Christmas Gift.

Tonight we celebrated Christmas.    Part of our gift to Dave and Irene is to take them out to dinner at a restaurant of our choosing.  The only trick is that they must come to the place were we are living at some point in the year.   Last year, we dined at Lane's in Nova Scotia to celebrate Christmas but this year they decided to come to Mississippi to visit Andrew and Christina and to receive the last part of their Christmas gift from Ken and me.

Tonight we dined at Mint, a lovely restaurant in the new Renaissance shopping mall.   Christina recommended it and she was right.  It has very good food.  Excellent service and fine food.  New Orleans has a big impact on Jackson dining, all for the good.   Andrew and Christina,  Dave and Irene, and Ken and I,  were a merry party celebrating Christmas together and enjoying the wonderful food.   None of us were together for the Christmas season so we all enjoyed our time together.  The poor girls got to stay home alone.

It is a new tradition that we hope will continue for many years.

April 29, 2012. Jackson, Mississippi. The Restaurant..

The restaurant is situated right next to a fabric store, in a nondescript strip mall.   The looks of the place is not appealing.   Ken and I would probably never go there for lunch or dinner.   We were taking dinner out to Eleanor and Jim's new home in Madison and we did not want to go downtown to a restaurant we knew, so we asked for a recommendation from John.  He recommended The Mediterranean Fish and Grill.  I phoned and placed an order and the next day we picked up the food.

You can not tell a book by the cover and you certainly can not tell the quality of a restaurant from their sign and location.  The food was wonderful, tasty and tender.   The restaurant is in Ridgeland where we live, so it is five minutes from our home.   We will go there again.  Thanks to John to giving us the tip.  We would never found the place by ourselves.

April 28, 2012. Jackson, Mississippi. The Recital.

The children were wearing their best and looked beautiful.   They all looked nervous.   Their teacher is Russian and is very strict.  I was looking forward to hearing and seeing the piano recital this morning, held at The Municipal Art Gallery.  It was a lovely event.

24 budding pianists performed beautifully.  Everyone made an error or two but kept their composure and continued their playing.   Kate and Mary Frances have been taking lessons for only two years.  They both play very musically and most importantly, they enjoy the playing of the piano.   Of the 24 budding pianists,  most were girls.  There were 8 Asian students, three of them boys.  And  of the rest,  all were girls except 3 Caucasian boys.

All children played well within their capabilities so the pieces were all played well.  The parents and grandparents were pleased and so was the teacher.   In addition to parents, our row held 3 grandparents and 2 grand aunt and uncle.  We clapped hard!!

April 27, 2012. Jackson, Mississippi. The Condo.

The place is bursting with life.  A pair of Canada Geese have six goslings and guard them very carefully.   They hang out right in front of our place and work hard to keep everyone away from the babies, which are very cute.  They are still yellow and fluffy.  And we have two pair of Mallards raising three ducklings each.   The babies are gray and also sweet.  They climb in and out of the water together.   The whole thing is comical and fun.

Today, Dave and Irene came for lunch to our condominium, the first time they have seen the place.  They liked it.   We toured the condo,  which took all of three minutes as it is so small, then we walked around the grounds right along the shore.    It is a lovely short walk which was perfect on a warm day.  To a Canadian, 84 degrees is a hot day.

On a sad note, a female Mallard duck died in the bushes right in front of our patio.  I wonder if she will be there tomorrow?  I will look.  But the rest of the condominium grounds are bursting with life.  And the blossoms and bushes are lovely.  We are enjoying our little place.

April 26, 2012. Jackson, Mississippi. The Natchez Trace.

Today we drove the Natchez Trace from Natchez to Jackson.  It was a lovely drive.  Dave and Irene commented that it was similar to driving around Stanley Park in Vancouver except  no water right beside.   The trees were big and lush as was the grass.  The traffic was nonexistent.  We saw about ten cars all morning, at least until we got to Jackson.  

The Natchez Trace is an old road, used by Native Americans.   Then it became a path for returning boaters walking back up north to return south again on the Mississippi River with more goads to sell at New Orleans.   The thieves and floods made for a dangerous path but with the advent of steam engines and trains, the Trace fell into disrepair.  In 1930, folks began to restore the old Trace and by 1995 it became a National Parkway.  You must drive 50 mph.  if you keep going, you would end up in Nashville.   The distance from Natchez to Jackson was perfect  and all four enjoyed the journey.

April 25, 2012. Natchez, Mississippi. The Town.

There are over 500 anti-bellum homes in Natchez.  Most are in excellent condition.  This afternoon, Dave and Irene and Ken and I took a horse and buggy ride around the historic district, just like good tourists should do.  Our guide was interesting and informative.  One thing was most apparent.   In the whole of the journey,  no other people were in town.  Nobody wandering the streets going in and out of the store as you see in Fredericksburg.  I began to wonder where all the people?

Natchez homes are beautiful and a tribute to it's past and it's people.   But apparently it is a dying town without all the tourists.  For instance, there is a Jewish Synagogue, built in the early 19th century.  It is big with an impressive plaque.  Today,  five Jewish families live  in Natchez.  A Rabbi comes once a month from Cincinnati to have service.  I wonder what will happen to that synagogue?

A trip to Natchez is worth a visit, especially if you are interested in it's history.

April 24, 2012. Lufkin, Texas. Farm Country.

On secondary roads we drove across Texas, through lush farm lands.    I did not know that this part of Texas had such productive farms.  We saw fields with hundreds of large round bales of hay stretched over the whole acreage.  Our highway for the most part was 21, finally ending on 103 into Lufkin.   At the Rio Grand Valley, you expect productive, lush farms, but today it came as a surprise.  Of course, last year it would have been a different story.

Lufkin seems to be a booming town.  With nothing special happening in town, the first Motel was full, and at The Best Western where we are staying, they had only three rooms available.  Actually, the first motel, a Marriott,  had one room with two beds, but we passed.  We four are too big and too old to sleep in one room, so we drove another half mile down the road.

We could never have found our route without the GPS.   But here we are, having driven along lovely sparsely populated highway on the way to Natchez.  So far so good.

April 23, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. The Last Supper.

Once again, we will celebrate and say goodbye.  It is a mixed blessing.  On the one hand, looking forward to a new experience and place is always enticing and exciting.  On the other hand, we leave behind people and places we love, which makes me sad.   In my mind, the future always wins out, so we give thanks for our time in Texas but cheerfully look forward to our journey to Mississippi.

Tonight, after the lacrosse game, Dave and Irene will take us out to dinner at Maggiano's.  David and Suzanne and the four girls plus the four of us will make for a festive event.  We will celebrate our visit and remember the past.   And tomorrow,  we four will get into our Escape and drive to Mississippi, which is a drive of about ten hours.  We expect to arrive on Thursday, visiting along the road and driving on secondary roads,  stopping for a walk every two hours.  I am looking forward to the journey but feel badly saying goodbye.

April 22, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. The Lake.

It is beautiful here at the lake.  When we arrived yesterday the color of the water was turquoise.   It was an easy drive.  After eating lunch, David arrived with Sarah and Abigail.  The twins and Suzanne went to Brownie camp.  Immediately, David launched the jet skis, and the girls took off.   Then David came down to the water and took the girls tubing.   It must be fun.

It was a relaxed weekend, sitting around talking and eating.  Beautiful weather.   Easy dinner of mixed grill and red beans and rice, eaten all together at the dining table.

This morning, Sunday morning, Ken cooked bacon and biscuits, while the girls slept in.  Finally, David and Abigail took out the jet skis and drove as far up the river as possible, while Sarah slept until 12:30.  She must be ready for a growth spurt.  It was a relaxing pleasant weekend.

April 21, 2012. Harper, Texas. The Dinner Party.

It must be as old as the hills, but is as pleasant as always,  to invite neighbors for dinner in order to see  visiting relatives.  Last evening Robbie and Joyce came for dinner so the four of us could renew acquaintance and enjoy time together.   It was worth every once of effort on Ken and my part.   We six must be in a long line of successful dinner parties held in the Hill Country.

The Top House is an easy place to entertain because everyone is together all the time so the conversations continue even though the food is being cooked or the table cleared.  No one is left out.  Except we forgot to cook the broccoli.  After eating the salad, I brought the food to the table, only to discover that the vegetable was raw.  Everyone laughed.  I just added another course.  While to broccoli was cooking, we ate wild rice and pork loin and sausage, then enjoyed broccoli as a separate course.  It actually tasted good on it's own!!

I hear of other societies who do not entertain each other in their homes, but they are missing a treat.

April 19, 2012. Harper, Texas. Fredericksburg.

It is a charming German town.  In the mid 19th Century, Fredericksburg was founded by  folks from Germany, who arrived on a boat in Galveston,  then proceeded to walk to the area that became Fredericksburg.   At the same time, a group from the same boat walked to New Braunfels.   The people were hard workers and the community thrived, until the mid 20th Century when the population decreased and it appeared to everyone that the town was dying.

A meeting was called and the decision was made.  They decided to concentrate on their German background.  The downtown was returned to it's roots and the new store fronts removed.  The old stone work was uncovered.  The old church which had fallen into disrepair was restored and moved to a park, right on the main street.   And the restaurants started to accentuate German food.   Many people were surprised that the whole thing became a success.

We four spent the day there.  The whole place looks German.  People come from far and near to shop or eat  lunch.  Several buses unloaded their people.  Today, this is a busy town, an interesting little town full of unusual stores and excellent restaurants. we four enjoyed our day in Fredericksburg.

April 18, 2012. Harper, Texas. The Soot.

It is enough to gnash your teeth.  The soot covering every surface of the farm house was totally preventable, but no one noticed until too late.   Something fell down the chimney and occluded the flue so what normally would go up the chimney and outside, was instead backing up into the house.  It was most noticeable in the basement and on the top floor but probably no one noticed.

The most interesting part was dealing with the Insurance Company and the Cleaning Service.  Everyone knows us and everyone knows or is related to the Jays, who work our farm.  My first call was to the Insurance Company.  When I gave Denise, the nice lady I was speaking to, the phone numbers for access, she gave me the last four digits for Helen Jay before I could give them to her.  Turned out that Denise is Helen's sister-in-law.  The Insurance adjuster Steve called us first thing the next morning.  Before he switched jobs, he sold us a tractor and actually delivered it to the farm, so he has seen our farm and the old house and has known Alan and Helen "for ages".    Before he even saw the house, he authorized me to hire Dixie Young, the cleaning service, to start work, based on the word of Helen.

Dixie Young had a Spring Cleaning for us after the construction of the top floor and the kitchen, so we knew her and most importantly, she knows us.  The work will begin on Friday.  I hope by the time we return, everything will be clean.

April 17, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. A Family Reunion

It was a festive dinner at David and Suzanne's home, a real mini family reunion.  Dave and Irene arrived  in a cab from the airport, just in time  to have a glass of wine before dinner.  While the girls completed their homework, the adults sat in the living room and talked.

Suzanne prepared a lovely dinner:  cheesy potatoes, green beans and pork loin roast, with two different sauces, and hot bread.   We dined in the dining room complete  with linen napkins and napkin holders.  One napkin ring was different, won by Allison.  Once upon a time, this Salvation Army crest napkin holder was owned by my Mother.   Allison, by winning the different napkin ring,  was given first choice for desserts.

All girls and adults sat together in the living room for dessert.  Ken and I prepared dessert and served brownies, cinnamon rolls and chocolate bites, all purchased at Super Store in Startsville.   Everyone was delighted to be together and we related several stories of times past.  It was fun and funny.  Even mini family reunions are a pleasure.

April 16, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. Time.

Time is such a relative thing.  An event can take ages or can fly by in a flash, even though the actual time elapsed could be the same.

Yesterday morning, on the way to San Antonio when I was driving, both Ken and I saw the sign at the same time.   "Expect delays.  Use alternate routes."  The only problems was that by the time we saw the sign, all alternate routes had been passed.  We were doomed to construction traffic.   From three lanes we merged to two lanes,  then to one.   The intersection at 1604 was under construction and as Sunday is not a work day, the construction crew expected light traffic.  We drove very slowly, finally arriving  on the other side of 1604 and back onto 281 with three lanes of traffic.   It seemed to take for ever.

Just then, Allison called to tell us about the construction and suggesting an alternate route.  "Too late", said Ken.  "We have just spent 45 minutes getting through that traffic."  It certainly seemed like 45 minutes but I looked at the clock as we were arriving.  By the clock. our  drive to David and Suzanne's home took only 15 minutes more than normal but the slow driving seemed to go on forever.  Time is so relative and our memories are fallible.

April 14, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. Television.

Our fancy system for television is not working, just at a time when we need it.   The  race for the Stanley Cup is underway.   Hockey is part of the DNA of most Canadians, us included.  We enjoy watching the playoffs.  Now our system is working some times and not working other times.   It is clearly not acceptable.

We purchased this portable satellite dish in order to avoid the monthly fees which we are forced to pay even though we are only in residence for a couple of months a year.  The theory was that the portable dish and box goes with us in the truck.  When we arrive at a new spot, Ken sets it up and we watch TV.  But it is not so simple.   A southern exposure is required, free of branches and trees.  When it works, it is wonderful but when it does not work it is infuriating.   "Loss of Signal" signs  appears on the screen and everything is black.  We groan.

 We don't watch much TV, but when the Caps are playing the Bruins we want to watch the game.  But today, the screen was black so we watched on my IPad.  This is definitely not acceptable, not at playoff time.

Beds

April 13, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. The bunk house.

Now It looks like a little house that you could live in.  The new bunk beds were delivered this morning and the men assembled the three new beds.  It is not as easy job as there must be several hundred parts.  And Chris the carpenter brought over the bed from the ranch house and put it in place.  Now we have four bunk beds all ready for eight little girls.

The place was a beehive of activity this morning at the bunk house.  Carpenter Chris was finishing installing the sink, broken when the electrician stepped on it, while the two delivery men were working.  At one time there were four men working in that small space.  I loved it.

Two tasks remain:  the permanent water line and the new electrical service.  As soon as the Pedernales Power installs the new system, Pat the electrical will run the wires and install the plugs for the trailers.   And Alan will run the new water lines.  Then the bunk house will be ready to be used.  Hope the girls like it.

April 12, 2012. Harper, Texas. The Carpenter.

Chris was referred to us by David, the man who sold us the bunk house.   When I first spoke to Chris,  I thought he was young and David spoke of him as young.  All our contact was via phone or e mail so today was actually the first time I had seen him for any length of time in person.    Carpenters are interesting these days.  Almost always they wear long hair and are skinny, possibly because they smoke.  And tattoos are everywhere.  They look like they could not do a lick of work.  But that image would be wrong.  Chris is not really young.  His 12 year old son was with him today, the youngest of three children.  And he works hard.

He installed all the interior wood and trim in the bunkhouse, before it was delivered.   He did a great job, so we asked him to install shelves and a skirt in the bunkhouse.   Today he was here ready to work before we got up.  Now it is closer to being lived in.  He hung the towel racks and pegs too.  I am always so impressed when a person comes in and sets to work and gets it all done.   Tomorrow he will return as the vanity sink broke when Pat our electrician stepped on a corner.  Never judge a book from the cover would be the rule with a carpenter.  Chris is a good carpenter and he works hard.  Hats off to all carpenters, who actually know how to do something.

April 11, 2012. Harper, Texas. The Call.

I knew it was not good when I had an e mail from Suzanne to call Tammy, our farm manager in Pennsylvania.   There were three calls on my cell phone but my phone was out of juice.  This is not a call you want to make.  You know something is wrong.

The furnace in the old farm house had malfunctioned and spewed soot all though the house on all four floors.   Tammy said that every surface is covered.   Unfortunately, friends were coming this weekend to stay in the farm house.  Tammy had called Pete, our heating contractor, and he will come tomorrow to check it out.  I e mailed  Connie to tell them to cancel their visit to the farm.   I also left a message on their cell phone.

Before we contact the Insurance company or the Cleaning service, we need a report from Pete.  We have hot water heat at the farm house, so this is a puzzle.  There is always something with these old homes.

April 10, 2012. Harper, Texas. Walmart.

Today, Walmart was the perfect store for us.  We needed new sheets and blankets for the bunk house.   Three new beds will be delivered on Friday morning, adding to the one we will move from the children's room in the ranch house, meaning that I need eight sets of single bed sheets and eight blankets.   As the bunk house will be used  intermittently, I wanted to purchase inexpensive sheets and blankets.  So off we went to Kerrville to Walmart.

I have never understood why people hate Walmart.  It is a wonderful store, especially if you are not rich.  Today I bought 8 sets of sheets, each for $9.   And I bought 8 blankets, costing $5. each.  No wonder I love Walmart, especially when they are having a sale.

The best part is that while I was shopping for sheets, Ken was in the hardware department buying his stuff.  We meet at the assigned bench, and home we go, happy as clams.

April 9, 2012. Harper, Texas. Jesse Jones.

The title of the book is  "Unprecedented Power: Jesse Jones, Capitalism and the Common Man", by Steven Fenburg.  It is a fascinating book about a man that has been forgotten.  Until I read the book "The Common Man", I didn't know his name  but he was mentioned many times in that book.  In fact, President Franklin Roosevelt called him Jesus Jones.

Jesse Jones was a Texan who built most of Houston in the early 20th century.  And he built many tall buildings in New York and Chicago.   He must have had a huge amount of energy but he always wore many hats.  I love to read success stories, and this is the real thing.  The depression made him famous as he worked for the federal government during that time, in charge of the RFC, which doled out loans to banks and companies and other countries.   He was a man of enormous talents although he quit school at the 8th grade.  

David and Suzanne attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, just north of Austin.  One of the large buildings is called Jones Hall, because in 1920, Jesse Jones donated  $100,000. to the University.  He had a big heart whether or not you approved of the RFC.    And it is a worthwhile book that I am enjoying.

April 8, 2012. Harper, Texas. Easter Past.

First it was Sunrise Service.  In Canada it is chilly at 7:00 am, so singing and playing in the cold air was difficult, but sing and play we did.  Very often, the Salvation Army joined with several churches for the Sunrise Service, probably to provide the music.  For some reason, the service was always held out of doors so we were subject to wind along with cold air.  I distinctly recall not enjoying sunrise services.

But then we all went inside for a bountiful breakfast, served by the ladies of the Home League.  This I did enjoy.  Then we just hung around waiting for church.

Sunday morning service was held at 11:00, when we sang and played all the difficult Easter songs and hymns.   Everyone wore new hats on Easter Sunday, and they wore new clothes too.  I never understood the connection between Easter and new clothes and new hats and Easter eggs and chocolate rabbits.  It made no sense to me and my family never followed the custom.  In our family, we went to church on Easter Sunday three times.  Once for the sunrise service, next for morning church and, back again for evening meeting.  No wonder I loved my Easter Sunday today.

April 7, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. Sarah.

When you are a grandmother, you can sit back and enjoy your grandchildren, without worrying about their morals or manners.  The parents do the training along with the anxiety.  This weekend we are all at the lake, and I was laughing with David and Suzanne about the changes we have observed over the years with Sarah.  At the moment, she is a lovely fourteen year old.  She is pleasant and polite with us and with her parents and siblings but mostly she wants to read or drive the jet ski.  She excuses herself after dinner and reads in bed, and when asked to join in the conversation on the deck, she joins us cheerfully, but only stays a short time before requesting to be excused.  She is becoming a typical teenager.

When young Sarah was energetic and enthusiastic, always organizing and arranging.  and she was determined.   Ladders for Sarah were meant to be climbed.  Once, Ken and Sarah arrived back home after a walk.  Her face and hands were scraped and bleeding but she was happy as a clam.  Ken explained that Sarah wanted to climb through a culvert, so he told her OK.     Now Sarah is a tall, slim teen, just as determined and well organized as ever, with just as many ladders to climb as ever.  She works hard at school and she plays on three school teams, but adults are a bit boring to her.  But for me, it is such a pleasure to watch the grandchildren grow up.

Wildflower Farm

Ranch Wildflowers/Weeds

April 6, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. A Lazy Day.

It is a busy but lazy day at the lake. At the present time, Allison, Samantha and Abigail are going down to swim in the lake. Sarah is fast asleep, after reading for a couple of hours. David and Suzanne have driven the jet skis over to Pappa Docs to fill up with gas. Ken is reading and snoozing on the lower deck. All is well with the Dickie Family at the lake. This is a weekend to get ready for the summer. This morning, David charged the batteries in the two jet skis and Sarah took off with them, shooting around for a couple of hours. They love zooming around together, Abigail generally going very fast. But boats are difficult at the beginning of the season so even though the boat was de-winterized this morning, when we went out on the boat after lunch, it did not drive well, so David and Suzanne pulled the boat and took it back to the re-pair shop. Now we are boat less. But that is what this weekend is all about. First thing this morning, after breakfast and while Sarah and Abigail still slept, Samantha and Allison went swimming while I watched from the shore. One by one the older girls joined them, eventually swimming out to the far boat tie. It was a happy time. These lazy busy days are just lovely and I am enjoying watching the action, here at the lake in Texas.

April 5, 2012. Canyon Lake, Texas. A Book.

I can't imagine who told me to read this book, or why I down loaded it onto my I Pad.  It is a melodrama, straight from the soap operas.  It has everything you want in a Western, except it takes place in the twentieth century.  It has everything you ever wanted in a book:  unfeeling husband deceiving the good wife, corrupt and rich rancher trying to obtain the land of his neighboring ranchers,  two nasty sons willing to do the will of the greedy rich rancher, and the hero, who finally wins the love of his true sweetheart, of course after she was divorced from the bad husband.

If I had read the actual book, I would have skipped to the end to find out what happened but I was forced to read every page.   I must have read a review.  As the book takes place in Texas, I must have wanted to read it.  But in this first novel, by Kimberly Lewis,  every action is predictable, just like all the old westerns.  All the good guys win and all the bad guys are shot.  It is very heart warming but not much about literature.  The title of the book is When The Heart Falls.

April 4, 2012. Harper, Texas. Harper.

Driving through Harper takes just a few moments, but it is long enough to let you know that once upon a time, Harper was a busy place. The antique store is closed as is one barbecue joint. Several old commercial buildings have been abandoned. The beauty shop and barber shop appear to be operating, except neither is open at any time. Clearly, this little town of Harper once was a more active community. But first appearances would be wrong. The school system has some of the best schools in Texas. At every level and in every subject, the test scores are over 97% when compared to other Texas schools. The Library has moved to a larger a facility and seems to have a lot of activity. The Longhorn Cafe has new owners, who have just moved to Harper from Kerrville. The chef, the husband owner, once was the head cook at Mammacita's. They moved so the children could attend Harper schools. We have a grocery store and 2 gas stations, along with a feed store and a Taxidermist. On weekends, the barbecue restaurant is open, at least until they run out of food. Come early for lunch or you will go hungry. I am pleased to have Harper close by even though it is but a shadow of it's former self. We even have our car serviced there, so the little town is very convenient. Driving through town would fool you. There is lots of action, right under the surface!!

April 3, 2012. Harper, Texas. The Hummingbird.

I heard a sound.  A bird had hit the window of the Top House.  This was unusual, because the house has porches front and back and on both floors, so most birds stay well away from the windows.  The sound is often heard at the farm.  Our home on the hill has windows top to bottom and often the birds hit the windows.  Fortunately, the birds are stunned, but quickly fly away.

This bird today was very small with a long beak.  When I walked over to the window I was fearful for the survival of the tiny bird.  It looked to be in an awkward position.  But I watched.  Finally, the bird moved so both wings were stretched out to the side.  And finally, he flew away.  This tiny creature was a hummingbird and was about the size of my little finger.  It was an iridescent blue/green.  I have no clue what type of hummingbird it might be, even though I looked at my books.

You feel very helpless, watching the tiny bird lying on the concrete of the porch.  But the bird looked after itself.

Ranch Bunkhouse and Field

David's Garden and Massage

April 2, 2012. Harper, Texas. Musicians.

I have spent the better part of the day talking with musicians, trying to find just the right kind of music to play at our 55th anniversary celebration.    It turns out that many musicians don't book events that far into the future, at least not the quality of musicians that I can afford.   One jazz guitar player flatly refused to consider a date in October, 2013.  He would like to do the job but he wants me to contact him in January, 2013.   At that time, he would be happy to put our date into his schedule, unless he has gone on a European tour.  So of the four different events where I want music, two are booked, one player has not responded and the fourth is a definite NO.   I can not wait until 2013 to book a musician.

Now I am really going out on a limb because I have not heard any of them play, but the caterer gave me the names of the musicians and she has heard them all at various events, so it is not the same as looking them up in the yellow pages, at least I hope it is.   But time will tell whether or not I have made mistakes.  So far, I have half the events covered so I must continue the process and hope more musicians have calenders for 2013.

April 1, 2012. Harper, Texas. Warren Harding.

Warren Harding is due another look.  All you ever learned anything about him as The President is that he was a bad one.  It turns out not to be true.  I am almost finished reading a new biography of Warren Harding and although it does not come close to being comprehensive, the book is informative.  The author is John Dean, a name you would recall from Watergate times.  The book is short and breezy and interesting.

The most important lesson from this book is that if you die in office, which President Harding did, be sure you have someone like Jackie Kennedy who will tell the world what the world should hear about the dead president.  If not, the press will say whatever they wish and forget all the good deeds.   This book is one of a series of presidents and a welcome revisionist biography of Warren Harding.

March 31, 2012. Double D Ranch, Harper, Texas. The Spa.

Today I was given a spa treatment, given by Samantha and Allison.  They raided their Mother's bathroom and set up a system for soaking and massaging feet and hands, all in the comfort of their own backyard.  This grandmother was appreciative.

First they soaked my feet in soapy scented water.  While my feet were soaking, my shoulders were being massaged.  Then when Samantha rubbed one foot, the other girl blew bubbles to entertain me.  Then they switched.  The entertainment bubbles were a big hit.  Finally, they rubbed my feet and ankles with cream, also my hands and arms.  I still smell lovely and feel soft, thanks to Samantha and Allison.

Our afternoon and evening with Suzanne and David and the girls was just fine.  We all just hung out, sitting on the deck and talking with  hamburgers for dinner watching the first basketball game.  It was a perfect relaxing time with the family.