Wildflowers....

Unlike the wildlife up here (which I loathe), the wildflowers (which I love) are beginning to bloom. Every day, more and more of the pastures are turning blue, bursting with blooming bluebonnets. (Say that three times fast.) There's also a good showing of Indian paintbrushes, and some of the fields are positively crimson with those flowers.

The bluebonnets are blooming around our pond, which is blessedly filled with water (and ducks!) because of the rains we had last month and the month before. I'm hoping that we continue to get rain on more or less a regular basis so the pond stays filled for the summer. (Is that too much to hope for?)

We drove around town today, and further on into Burton and then into Round Top, searching for fields of bluebonnets.  I have to say that we can see more bluebonnets on our own property than we saw today in the fields surrounding the highways.  But there's still hope...... usually, the peak point for the wildflowers is the middle of April, so there's still time.

I seem to have a love-hate relationship with this part of the Hill Country.  There are days when I think we've dropped out of our familiar solar system and have landed on another planet, and then there are other days when the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the wildflowers are blooming, there are no crying baby goats and groaning mama cows and all is right in this little corner of the world.  (Except that I can't find a damn good handyman to save my life... but today is such a beautiful day that I shouldn't even go there right now.)

Hummingbird Cake

I've heard of this cake for years, but hadn't ever tasted it. Seems to be a southern recipe, a must-have at garden parties, tea parties, luncheons and such.  Yesterday, friends came over with a homemade hummingbird cake they had received as a gift, and asked if I would like a slice.  Honestly, how does one refuse an offer of a dessert named after a hummingbird?

They left me with a very generous slice.... and I've been tempted to make it all disappear, but I'm keeping half of it in the fridge so my husband can taste it when he gets home from work. What a glorious cake!  I've already looked up recipes for Hummingbird Cake on the Internet, and there's certainly a variety of recipes to choose from.  I also looked through my own cookbooks, and there's a great recipe in my dessert book by "The Charleston Cake Lady" which I will no doubt try.

The cake from our friends had bananas, strawberries, pineapple, and pecans in it...... the Charleston Cake Lady doesn't have strawberries in her recipe, but I have to say that the sweet strawberries are a nice match with the bananas and pineapples.  And, of course, the pecans. (Is there any southern cake that doesn't include pecans?)  The cake is made in three layers, with a cream-cheese frosting covering the entire cake.

I also looked on the Internet to see why this dessert is called Hummingbird Cake, but I couldn't find a definitive answer.  Delicious cake, though... and by the looks of the recipe, it's an easy from-scratch cake to bake. (Famous last words.)

Bluebonnet watch...

They're baaaaaaaccccck...... the bluebonnets are starting to pop up here and there, a bit earlier than usual, but with the weather we've had these past couple of months, it's so nice to see those blue and white wildflowers along the sides of the highway and right here in our own pastures.

There's a large patch of them at one of the corners of our property..... that particular corner always seems to have a plush covering of bluebonnets, and this year they all bloomed early. I'm guessing they just keep re-seeding themselves so with each year, that corner will have more and more.

When I look at the pastures from the second floor windows, I can see patches of both bluebonnets and red paintbrushes, with a bit of yellow wildflowers tossed in at certain places.  Everyone is hoping for a wildly successful bluebonnet season..... last year's display was a bit disappointing.  Usually, the properties here have an endless ocean of bluebonnets..... last year, we all had small puddles of bluebonnets.  But Nature is going to do what it's going to do, so we just have to take what we get.

Shoe stories.

I would give just about anything if this town had a really good shoe store.  The Palais Royal store does have shoes, but the choices there are limited. You can pick from a small grouping of four-inch stilettos (who is buying those way out here?)... or you can choose from a selection of flats (most of which look orthopedic), or sneakers (an endless variety there), or they have sandals (the kind with itty-bitty straps that will put out a welcome sign to an army of fire ants and scorpions).

The town of College Station has lots of shoe stores, but that's a 40-minute drive from here, which is a long way to go when you just want to browse among the shoe boxes and see what catches your eye and calls out to you that your closet has room for another pair. Or two.

I've been buying shoes on the Internet lately. Saves a lot of time, and as long as you find a good brand of shoe, there's no doubting what size to order. These days, my favorite shoes are Pikolinos..... made in Spain with real leather, hand-stitched and beautifully hand-made, and so comfortable that I could probably walk from here to College Station without breaking stride. First time, every time.... when you put your feet into Pikolinos, that gorgeous leather wraps itself around your feet, literally hugs your feet, and total foot-comfort is yours.  I first discovered Pikolinos when we went to Germany in 2008.... my city-girl shoes just didn't cut it on the cobblestones over there, and I quickly realized that I'd either have to buy a good pair of European walking shoes or fly back to the US with two sprained ankles and a couple of broken toes.

We don't have many cobblestone streets in this town, but we don't exactly have city-smooth concrete sidewalks to welcome us at every place we go. Hence, most of my city-girl high heels haven't come out of my shoe closet in quite some time. They'll make an appearance if we're having a dinner or a party right here at home, where at least I know that I won't have to jump over cow-patties or tip-toe through loose gravel.

The shoes at Palais Royal are okay, but just not quite as comfortable as I want a pair of flats to be. (And out here, wearing flats has become part of the country uniform, along with jeans in the cooler weather and Capris in the warm weather.)  We do have a PayLess shoe store in town, but I don't much like that store. PayLess. You do pay less there, but as that old saying goes, you get what you pay for. (What marketing genius came up with the name for that store in the first place?)

So the Pikolinos search on the Internet began, and as each pair was delivered, I had to go into my shoe closet and pick out a pair of not-very-often-worn shoes to discard.  My basic rule has always been "One thing in, one thing out."  Doing that cuts down on clutter, eliminates keeping things that I probably won't use or wear again, and the 'discards' either go into my space at the antique shop or they go into a donation box.

Looking through my collection of shoes and picking a pair to either sell or give away just wasn't that easy. The vintage-looking shoes would easily sell in the antique shop, but was I truly ready to part with the red silk heels with the rhinestone hearts on the side?  And what about those see-through raw silk black stilettos with the silver threads.... I had worn those for countless Halloween parties over the years... was it time to just put those into a donation box?

One thing in, one thing out.  Just who made that rule anyway?  (I did.)

Maybe I can just toss a box of toothpicks into the donation bag and call it a day.  There's 250 individual toothpicks in a full box..... that should cover my 'rule' for a good long while.

The week that was...

This week has just flown by... and as that old phrase goes: "I wish I had a nickel for..." every time I've gone up and down the stairs.  Because of my husband's leg injury, he has stayed on the second floor of the house since last weekend. So up and down I went, with meals, mail, iced tea, hot coffee, whatever.  He's just starting to navigate the stairs again because his leg has been feeling better.

Going to work was out of the question for him.... he's been doing everything via computer this week, hoping to get back to his office next week.  The magic of "Skype" helped out a lot... as I'm typing this, I can hear him talking to his computer screen and the voices of his students are coming through to him the same way.  I told my husband that he's been his own 'substitute professor.'

The weather has changed dramatically.... it's been sunny and very warm, and it seems as if the grass has grown two inches in just a couple of days.  I can see tiny bluebonnet buds beginning to burst and it won't be too long till the pastures are just filled with bluebonnets and paintbrushes, and those yellow Texas stars won't be too far behind those.

We had wanted to cut the lawns this week, but that's not going to happen.  There's no sense in aggravating my husband's leg injury by having him get on the riding mower.  For a split second, I thought of trying to do the lawns myself. (For a split second, if even that.) I've ridden that mower, but not as extensively as my husband.  I barely remember how to start it up, and I definitely don't even remember how to put it in reverse. (Let's face it... no matter how long we live in the Hill Country, I'll always be a city girl.) With that in mind, I've already called the man who used to cut the grass here before we bought that mower.  He was happy to hear from us and he'll be by on Monday to do the landscaping. (If the weather stays as it is now, the grass will be another two inches higher by then.)

St. Patrick's Day.

In all the confusion over my husband's leg injury, St. Patty's Day was just a blur, without even a hint of green.  We've given a lot of parties for St. Patty's Day over the years, but we had nothing planned for today. Thank goodness, because a good deal of the afternoon was spent at the doctor's office.

My cousin F in NY told me that the mayor of NYC refused to march in today's parade..... his protest against the gay groups.  Give me a blessed break.  Does he think that a gay person has never ever marched in the St. Patty's Day parade over all these years?  And does he think that they don't have the right to march in any parade at all?  The mayor doesn't need to get rid of the gay groups...... NYC just needs to get rid of that mayor.

I wish I had remembered to wear green today. The closest I got to green was an aqua sweater. (Not close enough.) Oh well..... there's always next year.

St. Patty's Day.... a day when every Irishman (and those who want to be) should wear a green carnation.

Man plans.... God laughs.

I've heard that phrase over and over again along the years, but it sure does hit home at times.  And each time those four words ring true, it's a lesson in learning to just go with the flow.  Whatever plans you happen to make, sometimes the universe takes over and brings you down another path.

My husband had a pain in his knee the other day... came out of the blue, he didn't fall or hit his leg or anything at all like that..... but the pain persisted.  By yesterday, he could hardly walk.  I sent a text to our friends, asking if anyone had a pair of crutches, and the angels were smiling down on us and I drove over to get them.  Amazing how a set of crutches can make the simple act of walking attainable.

We went to the doctor's office today..... seems there's a torn tendon/muscle/whatever it is at the back of my husband's knee.  She gave him a shot, a prescription for pills, and a knee brace.  An MRI would have told the doctor exactly what was going on, but my husband didn't want to do that.  With the shot he was given, we'll know within 24 hours if the tendon-thing is merely inflamed, or (worst case) torn.  If it's torn, then the healing period will be four weeks or more.  The shot and the pills will get him back to walking without the crutches in just a couple of days, as long as the knee is simply inflamed.

The cats are afraid of the crutches.... they saw my husband making his way across the kitchen and Gatsby and Sweet Pea ran into the TV room with their tails down and their eyes as big as saucers.

I told my husband to just stay upstairs for a couple of days or even more.... no sense in navigating the stairs with crutches when I can easily bring everything he needs up to either his office or the bedroom.  Every time I walk up and down the stairs now, I realize how much I take walking for granted.  Without a thought, just put one foot in front of the other and just go.  Easy as pie, until something happens and you just can't.

And this is a simple injury...... an inflamed (or torn) tendon. Gives you an entirely new perspective on all the handicapped parking spaces and ramps and such.  You think they're an inconvenience until the day you need them.

Imagine...

This is a quote from John Lennon that I found on the Internet recently:

"When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.  When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.'   They told me I didn't understand the assignment.  I told them they didn't understand life."

Thank you for the best best day....

Miss C called me this morning, and that's what she told me...... "Thank you for the best best day last week...."

Her friend E is now back home in Ohio...... C is back at her job...... and while her 'real' birthday day is over, when she got to work this morning, her co-workers had decorated her cubicle with ribbons and a birthday banner... they made her a cake, and also arranged a special lunch for her today.  "I feel so special," said C.  I reminded her that she is indeed special.

C told me that she wants to come up here again, to have a visit by herself, without bringing anyone with her. Miss C is definitely not a city girl.... she's a country-loving, horse-riding, cow-cuddling country girl. Just give her a pair of boots and some denim and she's perfectly content, and the more mud that gets on her boots, the bigger her smile will be.

When C was here last Thursday, telling her friend E about all the holidays and parties we had when we lived in our other house, she looked at me and said: "I'm telling you right now that I will be up here for Christmas this year, so get ready.... I miss having Christmas with y'all."  (With each word, C pressed her finger down onto the dining room table, as if punctuating each word with an exclamation point.)

If someone ever asked me to draw a picture to represent Miss C's personality, that's what I'd draw---- an exclamation point, with a little heart at the bottom of it, instead of just a little dot.

Shaterrica...

Sometimes you have to wonder if the universe really does put you in the right place at the right time..... or if everyone is always in the right place at the right time and just not paying enough attention to make a difference.

I was in one of the shops in town today..... looking around at books, looking for things that I could re-sell in my space at the antique shop......not really finding much of anything, but taking my time and just looking.

What I did find was a pair of black Capris for myself that I needed to try on.  I wear Capris for most of the year, except when we have stupid cold snaps that disturb the warm weather.... and I'm always looking for a classic Capri that doesn't have crazy embellishments on them.

That particular store has just one dressing room, so you have to wait your turn to try on clothing. I thought the dressing room was empty because the door was ajar, but when I opened it, I saw a few dresses on the hook and a pair of jeans and sneakers tossed onto the chair.  Clearly, someone had been trying clothes on and then stepped out to get something else.  I didn't want to take someone's 'turn' away from them, so I just waited outside the door.

Within seconds, a young girl walked back towards the dressing room with a dress in her hand....... I asked her if she was the one using the dressing room and she said yes.... that she had gone back to the rack to look for 'something that would fit.'  I told her to take her time.... I'd look around the store again while she was using the room.

I don't know exactly how many dresses she tried, but when I walked back to the dressing room to see if she was finished, she had just come out of the little room and she was walking towards the long mirror.... she had on a beautiful black and white dress... a silky fabric with white flowers near the top of the dress and the same flowers along the hem.  That young girl stood in front of the mirror and twirled in that dress and the smile on her face just broke your heart...... she was as happy as anyone I've ever seen..... the dress fit her..... it looked beautiful on her, and she looked beautiful in it..... and at that very moment, she was in love with that dress and she knew how pretty she looked.

She saw me watching her twirl in front of the mirror..... and I just had to tell her how beautiful she looked. "That is the perfect dress for you!"  I told her that all she needed was a pair of black shoes, and she could add a pretty necklace that was short enough not to cover the flowers at the bodice of the dress. "What color necklace should I get?" she wanted to know.   I told her that since the dress was black and white, she could pick just about any color..... she said her favorite color was pink, and I told her that a pink necklace would be perfect. She asked me if black flats would be okay... she said she couldn't wear heels.  "Black flats would be just fine," I told her.  And she smiled.... she just smiled and looked beautiful and she twirled in front of the mirror again.

The girl went back into the dressing room to change into her jeans and sneakers (which had bright pink laces on them!) and I went back to looking at the books while I waited for the dressing room to be free. Shortly after, the girl was at the counter, asking the clerk if they could hold the dress for her.... she would have to wait till her mother got home at three o'clock so she could ask if they could afford that dress.  The lady behind the counter said that they could only hold items for one hour.  Clearly not enough time.... it was 11:00 in the morning when this was happening.

I was near the counter at that time, and I saw all this happening.  The girl couldn't see me because of a tall display shelf, but I could see the deflated look on her face....... she found a dress that fit her, and it was beautiful on her. More than that, it made her feel beautiful, and that was the most important part of that dress.  It made her feel beautiful.  The lady behind the counter was reaching out for the dress, and the girl was holding onto that dress as if it was her entire world.  And who knows... at that moment, for a young girl of her age, maybe it truly was.

I didn't want to embarrass that teenage girl..... but I also knew she did not want to part with that dress, and I was certain it just meant the world to her.   The clerk was asking her for the second time if she wanted to put the dress aside for an hour...... and I told the clerk that it wouldn't be necessary to hold the dress, that the dress was being purchased right then, right now.  The girl looked at me and said "You're buying this dress?"  And I told her  "Yes I am... but I'm not buying it for me.... I'm buying it for you."

And within a blink of a second, the look on that girl's face was the same beautiful expression that had been on her face when she had looked in the mirror and twirled in that pretty dress.  "You would do that for me?" she asked. "Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do..... that dress is beautiful on you, and you are beautiful in that dress, and you just cannot leave the store without it."  Well, she gave me the biggest hug...... and the biggest thank you, and the biggest smile.   She asked me what my first name was, and she smiled at the spelling of it.  Then I asked her for her name........... "Shaterrica."    Such a beautiful and unique name, for a very beautiful and unique girl.

Sometimes, the universe puts you in just the right place, at just the right time..... and if you're paying attention.... you can change someone's perspective, you can change the way they see themselves, you can change their immediate world in a very small way that may eventually change their life in a very big way.

We all need to pay more attention to the whispers of the universe.

Visit from Miss C...

We expected "our" Miss C to drive up here tomorrow with her friend E, but their schedule got changed around a little bit and 'the kids' came up this afternoon.  It's been a good few months since the last time we saw C.... she worked in Yellowstone National Park for the summer, and then she started a new job shortly after she got home.... and then the holidays came.  So we had to make up for lost hugs between then and now.

The house is so much more alive when C is here....... she talks and laughs and tells me about her friends and her job..... and her happiness just bounces from one end of the house to the other.  She was a very special little girl, and now she's grown into a very special young lady.  Tomorrow is her 23rd birthday, so we celebrated today with chocolate cake that I baked yesterday and frosted just before they drove up the road.

I wish my husband could have been here for C and E's visit, but he was working.... he would have loved hearing all of C's stories about working in Yellowstone. Her friend E worked there also--- that's where they met. Between the two of them, they had me laughing most of the day and I couldn't believe how quickly the hours just disappeared.

When we lived in Clear Lake, C was in and out of our house all the time.... we had holidays together, she and her parents came to our parties, C had sleep-overs at our house, my husband took her and her friends to the Go-Kart rides.... we took C to the theater in downtown Houston.... the list just goes on and on.

I truly miss those days.  But C and I keep in touch with the phone, so it's somewhat the same.  We still share the same heart, just not the same neighborhood.

---This is from C's Facebook page... a quote from Charles Dickens:   "Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts."  (That quote alone says a lot about C's character.)

Peanut puppy.

About eight months ago, we almost bought a tiny poodle puppy that we were going to name "Winnie The Poohdle." We debated that possibility for weeks, all the while wanting that cute little bundle of fur, but not wanting to tie ourselves down to another 15 years of being dog-parents.  We finally decided not to buy the puppy, and I reluctantly gave our final decision to the woman who was selling 'our' Winnie.

Being in such a small town, you hear news from all the corners.... and we heard that the manager of the telephone store had bought that last poodle puppy.  A couple of weeks ago, I had to go into the phone store for an attachment for my phone, and I asked to speak to the manager there.  I told her that we had almost bought the little puppy that was now hers, and she knew about our story right away, having heard about our decision-making process from the woman selling the puppies.

She named the little dog 'Peanut' because he was so tiny when she brought him home, plus his fur was the color of a peanut.  She said that the puppy was like her shadow when he was little, following her all over the house, always under her feet and couldn't have gotten closer to her if he'd tried.  As he grew, his personality blossomed and she and her husband both agree that Peanut is the best dog they've ever had, for the simple reason that he's just so sweet.

I asked the woman if she had a photo of Peanut with her, but she didn't.  I was so curious to see if that cute little puppy-face grew into an equally adorable doggie-face, but maybe it's just as well that I didn't see a picture of him.  I think of that little puppy from time to time, but in my mind's eye, all I see is the tiny ball of puppy-fluff that was so small and cuddly, making him very hard to resist.

Before I left the phone store that day, the woman asked me what had made us finally decide not to buy that puppy. I told her only part of the truth..... that our last dog Gracie had been such a big part of our lives that we weren't sure we wanted to diminish her memory by adding Winnie The Poohdle to our family.  She smiled at me and understood, because she had also gone through periods of grief over pets they no longer had.

"The easiest way to get over that kind of sadness is to get another puppy," she told me.   I agreed with her, but didn't mention that neither my husband nor I had wanted to make another 15-year commitment to another dog.  Most people don't even think of that....... they see this positively adorable bundle of puppy-fur and that's all they see.  They don't think about all the training, the care, the walking, the brushing and bathing, the feeding, the work, the work, the work.  All they see is the puppy. And the puppy-love.

Maybe that's the trick..... you have to concentrate on the puppy-love, and forget all the work that goes with that bundle of fur.