Mya's Thanksgiving table

 I love, love, love Mya's art! To see more, follow her on Instagram at myasageart. She does some amazing drawings and works in clay. This year, Papa Tom, Amon, Fox, and I celebrated Thanksgiving with take-out Indian food from Saffron for the grown-ups and for Fox, mashed potatoes and roast.

Praying mantis (November 27, 2022)

So happy to be visited by a praying mantis. In some cultures, a praying mantis can be a sign of good luck or fortune. Native Americans believe the insect came before the creation of man and Earth. Paintings, inscriptions, revered symbols and carvings have the insect depicted as a symbol. The bugs represent wealth, success, large families and the cycle of life.

Waiting for Esther's Follies to start (November 26, 2022)

We all laughed so hard! Fox wants to go back and sit on the front row in hopes of being chosen by magician Ray Anderson to be part of the act. The very reason I WON'T sit on the front row.
 

Chomping raw jalapenos (November 26, 2022)

 Why?

Fox and TC (November 22, 2022)

Fox and Tiny Chef aka TC aka BJ (per Papa Tom, for "Black Jack" as in the one-eyed Jack of Clubs/Spades, when TC's eye was shut due possibly to a swipe from Colette) He's a healthy 13-pound sweetie.
 

Texas Rollergirls Thanksgiving mashup (November 19, 2022)

Papa Tom, Fox, and I took in the Texas Rollergirls Thanksgiving mashup with a Dallas team.  Gotta love the turkey hats on the judges!

The Texas Rollergirls' logo adorns the blue jean vest. 

Chaos Constant grabs Backlash

 

The wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Jones (November 11, 2022)

Tamyra and Eric were married at their home in San Marcos on November 11, 2022.

LaWanda flew in for the wedding and was the official photographer. Tamyra is her cousin.

Papa Tom, LaWanda, and me

Tamyra and her Dad Lawrence

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Jones!

LaWanda and a guest from Houston

Eric wearing Tamyra's coronet

 

Astros win the World Series! (November 5, 2022)

Papa Tom has been an Astros fan for decades. He and his Dad Clyde used to go to games at the Astrodome when Clyde and Evelyn lived in Houston. He brought out his vintage Astros cap to watch the victory parade. Aside: the 60-year-old abandoned Astrodome won't be torn down after all, due to its historic significance. The Astros played there until 1999. In 2005, Katrina "refugees" (my Dad objected to being called a "refugee") were housed there.

Picking persimmons at Cornerstone (November 5, 2022)

Papa Tom discovered several Texas persimmon trees loaded with fruit when we checked on the bees. Persimmons are sweet, like grapes, but loaded with seeds like you'd find in grapes.

We left tons on the trees. Bird food?

 

November kitty cats (November 2022)

Twins at the kitchen window

They always find a box to plop down into

Caught in the act! 

King of the greenhouse

Yes?

Railing face off

 

Happy Halloween! (October 31, 2022)

 Papa Tom and I love, love, love Mya's Halloween art. So many details!  I love that her shopping list includes Band-Aids for her knee.

Portland (October 26-31, 2022)

My favorite Lincoln Cardinal at the study desk in his room

Thursay night's ukulele group around the fire pit at Micah's house

On Friday, we picked up Micah's 1990 Ford F-150 from a dealership in nearby Lafayette, Oregon.

Lara (Freda Kruger) and Micah (Scare Bear) ready for Saturday's Halloween party.

Micah putting on his Texan for Sunday's Texas day at the Landmark Saloon. Are there special days for other states? Do we have Oregon days in Austin? Ah, the Texas mystique.

Re-enacting Otis's newborn photo

Micah cradling newborn Otis's head

 

Meanwhile, back at Alguno Road....(October 24, 2022 or so)

Sweet 100s cherry tomatoes are back with the cooler fall weather.

TC checks out Georgie, our semi-regular drop-in diner.

Beto for Governor campaign literature leftover in Max after Brandy and friends spent a weekend working for the candidate.  I returned the handouts to Beto's headquarters before the end of October. Gov. Abbott was ahead in the polls and was ultimately re-elected in November.
 

So good to spend time with Martin (October 18, 2022)

On our way back from my high school reunion, we stopped at El Venado in Houston for lunch with Martin. Donna rode with us then flew back to NOLA. Martha and Craig drove down from Shreveport.

Tom and Donna.  OK, for future generations who might wonder what Donna is doing.  She's looking at her phone. Tom's is on the table in front of him.

Martin's roommate Sammy, an IT engineer from Pakistan; Craig and Martha, phones within reach.  We all keep our phones within reach because we might get a text or need to Google something. To future generations: Google is a verb version of the company name Google, the storehouse for almost all human-generated knowledge.

The Sistas pictured with that party animal, El Venado. 
 

Ben Franklin combined reunion: Classes of '71 and '72 (October 16, 2022)

About half of our class of 111 made it to the 50th reunion, postponed a year due to COVID. We decided to have the next one in 3 years, not in 10 years, because. . . .

Joan (middle) is retired Navy and a Spanish teacher. Beryl (right) was in my car pool and is a retired CPA from Freeport-McMoRan. 

Martha is a college professor in Portland, Maine. I wish I'd known that when there in the fall of 2021!

Kent Courtney is a musician and Civil War reenactor.  

Left to right: me, Loretta Dunne (retired optometrist); Harvey Bressler (activist in San Francisco), Sue Pitcher (deep sea diver), Camille Romero (belongs to the NOLA divas, protecting the endangered pleasures).
 

Ben Franklin High School Class of '71, 51 years later....(October 15-16)

Ben Franklin's statue greeted us daily at the old school at 719 S. Carrollton. He graces the front hall of the new campus at LSUNO. We met students and toured the building before the Franklin v. Luscher football game.

After Franklin lost the football game (still not a powerhouse team), we stopped at Cafe du Monde in City Park for beignets and chicory cafe au lait. 

Our alma mater, formerly the Carrollton Courthouse built around 1850, is being converted into a senior citizen living center. We joke that we could be seniors once more, on the old campus!

I stared out this window in Papa C. J. McMurdo's English classroom many a day. We had no air conditioning so could hear the streetcars pass. When we studied McBeth, he typecast me as Lady McBeth. I thought he was wrong then and I still think so. I've been ambitious but not murderous--so far. Still, troubling to me that he thought that.

Hallowed halls. Plaster was removed, exposing brick. 

Trish and I have known each other for right at 60 years. She lives in Ft. Lauderdale and is also a retired attorney. We had to have po boys at Parkway Tavern.