Brrr...Little House on the Prairie

If you have kept up with the weather, a winter storm has been hovering over Texas for the past 48 hours. Over 300 flights were canceled, roads were sanded, the wind howled, and there was no electricity or water when frozen limbs fell on electric lines. Utilities were out for about 10 hours and literally, living in a log cabin, I felt like Laura in Little House on the Prairie. I got up to no heat and went out to gather wood and build a fire. Honestly, it was refreshing to read by the light of the sun and build a fire and not be bombarded with noise from the TV or Computer. I wish I had more days like this to simply enjoy life. However, I will admit, when my cell phone went dead, I went out to start my car and left it running to de-ice it and charge my cell phone. :) I met up with my nieces and parents around lunch to have an inside weinie roast - yep: hot dogs and smores. You forget how much electricity is part of our everyday lives. I enjoyed the challenge for the day but prefer to live in the 21st century.

0007 ZooLoo Whiskey

I have rarely been known to do things spontaneously; however, I tried to "just do it" this Christmas. Here you can see the Cabin at Christmas with my girl Brady. Two days later I hitched a ride on this Diamond Star with Brenner Campbell over to Alabama to see my good friends Elizabeth and Forrest Williams (and his parents, and his grandma, and his uncle, and his cousin and his sister and her family)...their philosophy was "the more the merrier." Brenner is a pilot and was going to go to West Point for some racoon hunting with Forrest. I volunteered to be his co-pilot. Here is his plane with us ready to go. It only took a little over 2 hours to get there. It was so fun to be in a fully loaded (GPS system, auto-pilot - see top picture) plane with an excellent pilot. After we got to West Point the family time began. Honestly, that is the way holidays should be - laid back and inclusive of family and friends.

It was fun to be there and to experience Christmas the William's way. Some serious gifts, some thoughtful gifts, some funny gifts - all were meaningful gifts. Here's one little example of a sign given to "granny williams" whose real name is Joel. I can't show Sylvia's gift from Arbelle because it might be used to incriminate the innocent. And I would show you Elizabeth's gift...she got for the Clement's Athletic Banquet - for one whole dollar - but you know how it is...family secrets must stay in the family.

The one thing I thought over the course of this little southeastern adventure are actually the words to an old gospel song: "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God; I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood. Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. ~~ You will notice we say brother and sister around here; it's because we're a family and these folks are so dear. When one has a heartache we all share the tears and rejoice in each victory in this family so dear."

Take the 405 from Huntington to Westwood

Happy New Year! I finally found my camera cord - you know, it was in that safe place, right where I put it when I had to stash the junkie stuff when it was party time. Over the holidays, between December 14th and December 19th I flew (commercially) to California to see my family. The day I got to Huntington Beach, we piled into my uncle's "Duffy" to take a self-guided tour of the Huntington Harbor. Each year those who live on the water light up their boats and bayside homes and they hold a parade of lights. Here are two pictures from our tour.

Later that week, I got on "the 405" and headed up to the University of California at Los Angeles to watch the Lady Bears take on the UCLA Bruins at the famous Pauley Pavillion on Wooden Court. Such basketball history was made here by legendary Coach John Wooden. His "Pyramid of Success" is well-known to coaches and administrators alike. It was amazing to see the banners and experience this storied court (at this time the UCLA men are ranked #1 in the country) and of course to watch the Lady Bears take control of the Bruins - a good time was had by all.

Family Time

HOWDY & Merry Christmas!

I am so far behind on the blogging, partly because I cannot find my camera cord to download the pictures and I know you don't want to only read but see as well. So here you see me and my brother and sister at my dad's retirement celebration in November. It was a good time and honoring to my dad who has given 39 years of his life to Baylor, 23 to the US Navy, and 47 to my mom.


My brother(Rick) is married (Heather) and has two sweet daughters (McKenna & Mia) and lives here at Scottwood. My sister (Kelly) is married(John) and lives down on the Gulf. It is hard for all of us to get together but of course none of us would miss this amazing event.
So here's the 2006 family picture.

Bosque Riverwalk

Some of you who know me or have been to the Ponderosa (at Scottwood) have heard me say that I am going to "walk to the river." About a mile behind the cabin you come to the bluff which overlooks the North Bosque River. It is a beautiful place for down time no matter if it is cool or warm outside. Our property goes all the way back to the bank of the river and we have an old gravel and dirt road that leads back there. We have cleared out an area and put in a fire pit for campfires. You can see my Golden Retriever - Brady - here at the firepit on the bluff. You can also see a shot of the river. Last Sunday, on the way back, I couldn't believe what I saw...the seedlings of bluebonnets in the field adjacent to my house. These usually don't show up until February...but until last week it has been in the 80's. I am included a picture of bluebonnets that bloom in the last spring for those of you who do not live in Texas. Tonight it will get down into the mid-20's so I think winter has finally arrived in Central Texas.

The Gift

Last night I had the opportunity to go to a Jim Brickman concert. If you are not familiar with Jim Brickman, he is a pianist - mostly the 'adult contemporary' style. He was at the historical Waco Hippodrome downtown. He played many of his old familiar songs and added some friends, one on the violin and two on vocals to give the show some variety. He has several Christmas cd's out and one if his most famous songs is called "The Gift."
Lyrics: "All I want is to hold you forever. All I need is you more every day. You saved my heart from being broken apart; you gave your love away, I'm thankful every day for THE GIFT." If you click above you can scroll down to the bottom and find a clip of the song. The things I like about Jim's music are that the instrumentals are very inspiring and calming and the songs that have words can all be used for that one on earth that you love and they can double as songs from/to the Lord. There is no doubt who inspires his music.

Hokey Pokey

Wow! What a week. We have had 5 basketball games in 6 days. Where should I start? Baylor Basketball... both the men and the women are doing well/gearing up for one of the toughest basketball conferences in the nation. I have worked part-time with Athletics since I graduated from Baylor; but this year, I became the "Official Scorer" for the Lady Bears. The pressure is on to document points scored, fouls & timeouts called, change of possession, and the time on the game clock that all of those occurred. I also am required to "wear the stripes" at the desk. Attractive huh? Anyway, the most exciting time was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the then ranked #16 Lady Bears beat the #9 ranked LSU Lady Tigers. It was a grudge match of sorts when our student held up the sign that read: "YOU GOT HOKEY POKEY AND WE GOT A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!"

Let's see, what's next...the Jim Brickman concert.....stay tuned....