Only one crazy woman - another trip south

Friday -

I had some business to do and my brother was going to be traveling too, so I packed my bags and left home with indeterminate plans.*

We arrived in time to conduct some of the business and go to the homecoming game. We sat with generous friends who continue to share their season tickets and amazing spirit with us. A storm passed by, close enough for a 35 minute delay in the game.

It was a beautiful sunset.

As the stadium filled the thunderstorms moved in from the north.

Folks, that is lightning!

So is that!

Then insects swarmed and attacked**

No, that is not a "halo" around the stadium light...

Those are insects swarming. (We later wondered if the electric charge in the air had something to do with the crazy bugs.)

But the game turned out to be an amazing one. Both teams played a clean game. The officials called a good game. A deserving homecoming queen was crowned - demonstrating the spirit of the school and the town.***

Saturday -

BREAKFAST TACOS! OK. I know you can purchase breakfast tacos almost anywhere, but this taco stand has been making tacos as long as I can remember - at least 40 years and probably longer. Everything is homemade. The tacos are huge and delicious...(sorry, no photo - you will just have to trust me).

After our tacos and coffee came a trip into the country where a friend has opened a hat shop.**** But it isn't just a hat shop. DV uses traditional equipment, tools and methods to hand-make beautiful felt hats (you can get "straw" there too, but the felt hats were the ones that drew my attention).

Special order hats in progress

Instrument of torture or hat iron - you decide.

There is a technical name, but I would call them hat "blocks" or "lasts."

Wonderful industrial sewing machine

Hat room.

These are some beautiful hats!

My daddy used to wear a hat like this.

A different view of the workroom.

We talked and learned and my brother was measured for a fedora (I will bring DH, if he can free up his schedule to travel sometime). We visited with the "neighbor" who owns the house where the shop is located. I wish we had taken photos of his gardens. The flower beds were thick with aloe on one side and spider lilies on the other. The aloe had bloomed out, but the lilies were busily blooming red and yellow.***** I have one red lily that blooms every now and then, but I had never seen the yellow before. [Lily envy!]

The fall garden was just up in a field next to the house - kale and some unusual cauliflower, among other things. And because the wind blows strong out of the south there, the gardener had set up old license plates as wind blocks to protect the tender plants.

We then lunched with our nephews/niece at a restaurant new to us before RF had to get back on the road. [I try not to be that person who posts food, but I am doing this for DH. He needs to see what he missed.]

My chicken fajitas

Very cheesy nachos.

Little tiny beef tacos with onions, cilantro and lime - beautiful!

Is there anything better than a warm homemade flour tortilla? I didn't think so.

Charro beans - give me a bucket!

Quesadillas.

I was left to watch my first Harry Potter movie and work geometry problems with the youngest of the nephews, JRF. I am not sure how these two fit together, but let me say only that I was successful with Harry and not with Pythagoras. Actually, one should consider the geometry problem like a bag of popcorn or box of Junior Mints. It was something for the intermission. But neither of us were focusing enough attention on the problem. We were distracted by information included as a ruse. So we just guessed. We were 5 degrees off in the measurement of an angle...and while close, it is still incorrect.

Yeah, we tried it twice...bummer

Sunday-

A day of farewells, church,****** another lunch, a gift of period clothing for future projects and a drive to a small city to the north, our mother's hometown.

When we were children, we used to take this drive at least once a month. Mom would load us all up to visit Grandma. We would play our "car games," looking for the first sign of the old highway just to the east of the new, watching for trains, mouthing irritating noises as we drove under old "erector set" bridges, and "killing" the cat.*******

I missed the blood moon and eclipse due to an overcast sky, but I saw the hot red sun setting and some beautiful sky.

I stayed where I have stayed before and was treated like an old friend. My room was close to the desk - considerate for a woman traveling alone. Coffee was available and one last chocolate chip cookie waited for me to arrive!

Monday - 

There was no rush. I completed my business, dealing with polite and efficient clerks at the tax appraisal and tax assessor/collector offices.


And, because I finished early, I thought I should, perhaps, check on the demon forsythia my sister and I so recklessly assaulted during our trip last month.  With each visit it becomes easier to navigate some of the crazy winding roads in town and I found the cemetery with no trouble...only there was a car parked in my way.

What is proper cemetery etiquette? Well, I don't know. But I stopped my car and decided I could always back out if the car ahead did not move. Then I noticed the driver and he walked over. "Do I need to move my car?" he asked. "Oh, no," I said. "I can walk from here. Will you be staying long? If so, I can back out when I am ready to leave."

Now, those of you who really know me know that I am more than cautious about strangers in deserted/sketchy places. But this guy was "covered" in cameras and was wearing credentials of the local paper. It seems he is a new reporter there and was between stories. He likes cemeteries. He was taking photos of older headstones to research for future stories.

So, I told him some tales.

And we exchanged contact information.

And I backed out - through the open gate.

The stone for Mr. Solomon Cohen. He was born in Dublin in 1815. His information is written in English and Hebrew. There is a story in this. He is not ours, but he is.

My grandmother's half-sister's family. She is one of many half-siblings. I intend to find them all.

Then I debated  - lunch or junk stores? Junk stores won. I hit an antique mall. They had many familiar things - some to make me laugh and some for which I wish I had room.

I loved these readers. The Catholic schools used the "New Cathedral" editions with John and Jean and Baby Judy - not Dick, Jane, and Sally.

I went hunting for these a few years ago (and yes, I have them). This volume includes the story I remembered and wanted - about sharing. [In the story one child shares the flowers from his garden and the garden flourishes. His sister refuses to share her flowers and the garden goes to seed.]

Wow! If I could sell egg plates for $20, I might clear out my cabinet. [For you, PJ.]

This old photo of a farm family so reminds me of my forebears - many children on the farm.

The Salvation Army had a few good books (two steps forward, one step back - we are down hundreds of books due to our donations each week, I can get a couple of mysteries) and a few other interesting things.

Another old egg plate (exactly the same style, probably the same "vintage," and about one block away).

My grandmother had these crimp-edged pie plates. I have one of hers in the cupboard. I cannot remember the last time I made a pie.

I have decided that the hoarding instinct can be handled by taking photos of the object(s) and enjoying the memory/joke. Thus, there were only three books purchased, but more photos taken.


The trip home seems an easier drive handled this way. I was an hour closer, feeling accomplished, and definitely well rested. And, while I skipped lunch, I had remembered to pack a raisin bagel from breakfast. Perfect.

OK. Another "antique mall." It was a pit stop, but still had some fun things. I love "Wild Animals I Have Known" and "My Friend the Dog." Great titles here.

Surprise! Another egg plate! This one was about $12 or $15

And another. Seriously, is it not clear that people don't want egg plates? This gold edged (won't go in the dish washer or microwave - though why one would put it in the microwave) milk glass plate was $12.

I have a few more of these trips coming up. But next time I must remember to email more thoughtfully and pack the loppers and shears. That forsythia has budded out and is growing.

"Manicured" forsythia shows old growth (light green) and new growth (dark green near the middle).

The new growth is starting from where we cut.

NOTES:

*One is supposed to let one's family in on at least the known plans, call when one arrives, and let loved ones know ETA and such. Somehow I kept getting distracted and was not very good at notifications. This will not happen again.

**An assassin bug crawled up the leg of my jeans - attacking me after we returned to the house (prompting a long e-consult with an entomologist friend).

***Her sweet daddy was her escort and he cried as her name was announced.

****Chiltipin Creek Custom Hats - https://www.facebook.com/ccchats?pnref=lhc

*****Spider lilies (Lycoris radiata) - you can see a photo here - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2109/

******Visited my father's church and sat with family and friends. My former MYF leader was there as was the new minister who is a new friend. Blessings.

*******The high school mascot, a bobcat, was featured above the opening to the stadium. We took aim as we drove by.


Stuff I forgot:

For some time I have noticed that everywhere I go, clematis of one variety or another is growing/blooming/seeding. Um, they are everywhere. So, here are the clematis for this trip (they even bloom in a junk store).

I told one nephew I would come home from homecoming with my tiara. I didn't. But, if I had a tiara THIS is what I would want.

I stopped for gas when I saw this sign (much better than the $2.09 I paid on the way down).