§ Monday, Monday...

More about this dog photo, later!! Well, I walked around the largest cemetery on Monday. No spring breakers there! lol The grounds workers were busy doing a lot of clean-up. Why even the 'evergreen' live oak trees were dropping their leaves. It's a mess there. The lanes meandering through the cemetery were ankle deep in leaves at some areas. The trees, for the most part were barren. This has been one odd winter. And I know that I keep talking about it, but it just continues to boggle my mind.

Now, about this dog...I noticed him sniffing graves. Really not paying much attention to me coming up behind him. I also noticed that it was part pit bull breed....you know the reputation they have, don't you? I kept walking, but still keeping my eyes and ears open for it coming up behind me. When I reached the corner of the road, I looked back over my shoulder, hoping I was now a safe distance from it. My guess-timation about 15 feet from where I first spotted it. Not all that far from the area. Not far at all. The walking time was about a minute at the most. When I turned around, expecting to see it following me...it was NOWHERE!! I looked to the ground thinking perhaps it laid down. Nope. I looked several feet in each direction. I looked across the street where the cemetery butts up against a park. Nope. To the right, to the left, my eyes circling in each direction; slowly. No movement, no dog!! The phantom dog!!!! A ghost?!!

I played a bit after I got home and resized the photos I took from my walk, and updated my profile image for my blog. The old one I used mostly is about 5-6 years ago, and really needed to be changed. I'm reading the computer screen and wearing my reading glasses. I thought maybe that was a good time 'cause the glasses mostly hide the crow's feet that dig deep into the corners of my eyes. Yep, it was certainly time for an updated change.

After done with that, I went out in the kitchen and began a long process of making an angel food cake for dessert after dinner.  The cake will be served with fresh wild blueberries and whipped cream.  It's been a long, long, time since I last made an angel food cake.  And now, I remember why.  Egg whites have to be whipped just right, and then, if you fold the whites into the batter too quickly, the cake isn't gonna turn out fluffy and light.  Oh, yes.  Now I remember!  Trust me, it'll be a long long time before I make one again.

At the cemetery, I heard one woodpecker, at a distance from where I walked and spotted only two birds, a white winged dove and a myrtle warbler [aka butter butt]

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PS...Kinda odd, talking about cemeteries and phantom dogs, and then the date pops into my mind as an important one in my life!! I just remembered: 53 years ago today [the 9th] Bud and I had our first dinner date!! Our very first date, actually.

I wore a black chiffon two piece suit, my amethyst pin. And the roses were from Bud. Wow, looking back in time...blond hair now white. Skinny, now? Well certainly not skinny any more. The weight gain has settled in areas I won't mention.

§ A Mystery, a Movie, Mayhem, Matriach, and Myself

Movies:  Long ago, in fact the year was 1959....I was ten!! My mom and dad allowed me to go to the movie theater alone. This movie holds a bit of nostalgia for me since it was the FIRST MOVIE I saw in a theater. I fell in love with Stephen Boyd [even tho he was reported being gay...that chin cleft just about blew me away. He played Messala in Ben Hur...the evil counterpart of Ben Hur]. For a pre-teen the dark hair and those piercing steel gray-blue eyes with Irish good looks, well...the rest is history. Anyway, Erik, our son, texted me that in August of this year, Ben Hur is going to return to the big screen. I anxiously await its remake!! I just KNOW I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat during the chariot race to make his family, enslaved by the Empire, free. Revenge couldn't smell as sweet!! I'm 100% sure I'll see it more than once.

Watch the 2016 BEN HUR Trailer
Ben Hur Synopsis

Murder Mystery:  In 2005 an unsolved murder in Aruba...the prime suspect confesses. We knew all along, didn't we?

Mayhem:  Or, another "M" word comes to mind...'mogul'...[I quote from another website] "It will probably come as no shock to you that Donald Trump owned 14,000 apartments by the time he was 27. He owned them under the Trump Management Corporation which he built almost single-handedly (with only a small $1 million “loan” from Daddy Bigbucks)." He is 69...born in 1946.  Of course, his name pops up hourly on the social/news media....but I keep thinking of the historical event from the past....Could the Republican Party be headed to yet another Brokered Convention?  It's a scary thought!!

source

Matriarch: My sister, the oldest living female in our "clan", has been matriarch for nearly 22 years [since my mother's passing]. Annually, for the last two and half decades, the two of us have set aside the 18th of March as Sister's Day. We celebrate with small tokens of sisterhood; sending each other gifts, an early night toasting of champagne with our synchronized clocks to each. I, facing west to Colorado, Sharon [my sister], facing south to Texas. "Here's to Sisterhood. Live long, Live well!" By the way, I can't let her outdo me....I am matriarch of my married name....I am the eldest living female on Bud's side of the family since his sister passed away a couple of years ago. Does that make me feel special? No, not really. But, with sibling rivalry, I can't let my sister have ALL the glory. *wink*

Myself:  48 years ago this month, Bud and I had our first date. Three months later, we were married!! Talk about livin' on the fast track! I guess, for the both of us, tho we knew of each other for over a year...it was love at first sight! Bud, a retired Federal employee with Navy under his belt...Me, before marrying, and working with the school job placement program my junior and senior year, I was head office receptionist at a Chamber of Commerce; during our children's school years I was Office Supervisor at the School District so I could have holidays/spring/summers off when the kids were home during their breaks, then, a retired coordinator for a psychiatric facility. Two children -1969 and 1972- Irene and Erik [a safe house counselor in Missouri and a former Marine Corporal now a college professor in Houston] two grandsons -1989 and 1996- a grandson's engagement this year. It all equals a grand 48 years this coming May 11th, when we celebrate our life together as one. ...This is a repeat posting of my photo; posted each March on my blog at some point.

Also, today,  linking to: Willy Nilly Friday and Five on Friday

§ Wouldn't you keep it? I've fractured a law or two...

44 years ago today, Bud and I had our first date!! March 9, 1968 -Dinner at a Posh Restaurant in the city...two dozen long stemmed roses awaited me at the table we were to dine at---a beautiful evening. By the end of the time we spent together, he then told me he loved me.

Magazine: My Texas Life March issue is online now --this month some great Texas Recipes!! LINK on SIDEBAR

So, I'm reading a newspaper article on the history of ship wrecks, rich people inhabiting part of the island near my home...all long ago. AND...all about finding treasure; like in gold, silver and jewels. Yet, near the end of the article, I read where one hidden treasure of the wealthy Singer family [his brother inventor of the Singer Sewing Machine] lived on what is now Padre Island National Seashore [federal national park reserve]...and had to research on Google the saga. I found this, which is quite interesting. But, keep in mind...now that this is a National Park...metal detectors are strictly prohibited. Darn!!!

The Singer family was wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, making larger and larger investments in their cattle business. At some point, John became a bit concerned about having all that gold and silver at the house, so he located a hiding spot where he buried his fortune. The hiding spot was on a large sand dune that became known as “money hill.” There were also rumors of a second hiding spot. Unfortunately for the Singers, the U.S. Civil War started in 1861, putting the Singers in a precarious position. They were wealthy northerners living in an area that could become a high profile area for the military. They relocated to the mainland and remained there for four years, until the end of the war. As the war progressed, the Union Navy arrived at Padre Island and U.S. Navy troops used the Singer house. By the end of the war, they had destroyed the house, apparently for firewood. Additionally, several storms had hit the area, some quite severe. The money hill was no longer identifiable! John made several trips back to the island to try to find it, but with no success.

I'm thinking that perhaps with the troops using their home for firewood and such, perhaps maybe the soldiers found the treasure? Wouldn't it be fun and thrilling to find such?!!! Of course, Texas law says you must return it to the state. But, really...who would tell?

Also, many shipwrecks and Spanish gold from the 1500's are being found still today along the entire length of Padre Island!!! Again, property of the state.

Another shipwreck was the S S Nicaragua in 1912 ---it was found, and being part of an archeological exploration. It is said at LOW TIDE some ship parts are visible!!!

I WOULD LOVE TO FIND A SPANISH COIN on the beach. I would keep it. Never tell anyone. Yep, I've fractured a law or two in my day, and this wouldn't be the last, I'm sure.

And last: Remember the overnight sensation of Britain's Got Talent and Susan Boyle with her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream [from Les Miserables]? Well, a news segment in the entertainment issue online had this video of a 2nd one that was wondrous in my opinion--this time it's American Idol. And a 16 year old; Jessica Sanchez singing I Will Always Love You [to skip over all the whoopla at the beginning...use the scroll horizontal bar on the youtube video and scroll to 57 seconds, then play arrow:

...besides, I LOVE the deep rich cobalt blue gown she is wearing! LOL




Read more on the Singer Family Treasure HERE
Online Article found that is the same printed in our local paper.

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CONNECTING TO:

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INDIGO FANTASY is what I titled the art effects image. The original photo is the small inset to the right. This is one of my solar lights that I just bought---I just took a photo of the box it came in and will make a post about it later...

The effects used this time in Paintshop Pro is:

Pastel
Sandstone filter
Brightness/Contrast
Illumination [on wings]
then, as always my gold nameplate






CONNECTING TO:

Monday, March 9th, 2009
12:40 A.M.


Fun Monday is directly below this, in the same blog entry for today....


41 years ago today...actually tonight....Bud and I had our first date. He took me to a posh restaurant and we dined and had a wonderful time. It was a snowy night. [Of course, it was Colorado, can't expect anything different than snow in the month of March. One day it's balmy and the next day you could have a "Spring blizzard"] Anyway, when I got home from work to get myself ready for the dinner out with him, after a few minutes of being home the florist came to the door and delivered a dozen long stemmed red roses [no, the roses in the photo are not the roses Bud had delivered to me...mine were RED].....

This is a photo that my mother took of me about 1/2 hour before Bud picked me up. The outfit was a black chiffon two piece. With black pantyhose, black shoes. The gold pin on my left shoulder is one that was from my grandfather [I no longer have it that I know of---been ages since I've rummaged through my jewelry], and it had amethysts: my birthstone. After dinner at the restaurant we ended up back at his bachelor pad and had a drink and just sat around and talked way into the night. When he took me home, at the doorstep he asked me if I'd like to go out with him again sometime. Obviously y'all know the answer by now. The next time we met, he said to me "I think I'm falling in love with you"....I said "Where's my ring"....we got engaged and in May we married....in Paul Harvey's words, now you know the 'rest of the story'....

I was 19!!! He was the man I loved. I think it was 'love at first sight' for the two of us [tho we both knew each other being of the same town, we'd never actually, formally, 'met']. Awwwwwwww, to be 19 again. I think, no, I'm positive that I'd do it all over again!!!


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Our hostess for Fun Monday has come up with a difficult challenge for me in so many ways but, I promised I'd think about it and try to answer as best I know how on a personal level

So here's your challenge:
What are you and your family doing to deal with the current economic situation on a personal level? Obama's got a plan for the nation, but how do you/will you deal with your own economic stress?

For me, personally, I have not felt any stress, as yet. Luckily, we have retired, so our income has been a 'fixed income' for a little over a decade now. And we have been frugal with our spending habits over the years. But, for now at least, we don't have the worry that most may come across during the years ahead of us with the bad economy. I guess the thing that we do now-a-days is stray away from over spending...tho, to be honest, I've always been that way. I don't buy anything that is not necessary...as in 'BIG over the budget' purchases. Even when we both worked out of the home and had two incomes, the only big things we bought were spending on vacations...to Hawai'i, many trips to Old Mexico and around the United States. Years and years ago, we got rid of all our possessions such as 'gas guzzlers' of vehicles. One, even the expense of tax and license plates, was a hindrance...so, we liquidated. And I'm glad we did...it was before the Bush era, and we saw it coming...the economic woes of this country and future. I don't think we'd have been able to sell a huge motor home in today's times without LOSING money on it. All it takes from us now is the foresight to acknowledge that we don't over spend!! Why tear out the carpet in the house when the stuff ON the floor right now is perfectly fine....why trade in for a new car when the others still run just fine...things like that. The old adage is "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" Today, I don't need anything but my health, my family and my home. And I feel quite secure in that; that I still have them...it's all I want.

One stress factor I have is during hurricane season, I tend to catastrophize a bit; wondering....if we should have extreme damage on our home during something like last year's IKE that hit Galveston/Houston or the infamous storm of the past, Katrina, will we be able to get a government loan for repairing? Or is the economy so bad, that it'll be nigh on to impossible? But, we'll cross that bridge if we need to when the time comes. Then, there is stress [again, catastrophizing, 'cause it hasn't happened yet, tho I still 'think' about the 'what if's'], and that's my grown kids having to deal with the possibility of lay offs on their jobs....not to deal with it yet, but it looms up in my mind.