§ I LOST an Hour Sleep that I Won't Find!!!

It was a Sunday morning. Typical first day of Daylight Savings Time...it really screws with my sleep habits!! After light of day came about, I could see there would be no yard work, no walking. Rainy, chilly as predicted. Outdoor activity was nixed. After visiting my birding 'friends' who link in over the weekend, I was done for the day. LOL It was gonna be a long day. I called my daughter. We chatted quite a while. Mostly about HER dissertation she is/will be working on for HER PhD. Just think, in a short time, I will be able to state clearly and proudly, that I raised TWO doctors. Doctors of Philosophy [...degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. According to wikipedia]. My son is working on his dissertation on Churchill [for his doctorate degree in Political Science/Government], and daughter is working on her doctorate/dissertation on public policy with social policy cognate, with specializing in a study on raising a child with special needs...a special study on Down Syndrome since that has been her life since our grandson was born. She has written articles on this a few times and one that I know of has been published. In a few minutes I will sit back and read some snippets of what she has so far. Of course, with both kids, this is a several year work in progress. Erik is in his 3rd year, and Irene is in her 2nd year. Once they begin writing their dissertation, the road to a title "Doctor" is a down hill ride, tho a lot of mental work to get a paper published...more challenging than studies the first years. Even tho the expense of it all is extreme, the two are living their dreams. That makes it all worth it!! 

The two of us here in Texas spent most of the day with a movie marathon.  First one watched was Hell or High Water [modern-day bank robbers in West Texas - starring Chris Pine *eye candy photo], Sahara [Archeological search for the Monitor -starring Matthew McConaughey *eye candy photo, which reminds me that recently, in the news, there are rumors of him running for Texas Governor against Abbott....hmmm], and one more movie, the- Phantom of the Opera.  More eye candy and great music compositions!!   I made vegetarian lasagna and all the fixins' for dinner, plus an apple pie for dessert.  The day was done!!

The 2 dozen bouquet of roses was from Bud, a surprise for our 53rd anniversary of first date that I posted about last week.

§ Mixed Photos....

A little over a week ago, I was coming out of Target [munching on my popcorn], and as I turned a bit to walk along the store fronts of the strip mall, I heard a gentleman talking behind me. He was trying to get my attention. Finally, I turned around, looked at him while he was saying something barely audible by then. He had a single red rose in a clear glass vase with baby's breath and a long stem of green leaves bouquet. As he came closer, he said to me "I hope you will accept this gift from me to you. I do this once a month to put a smile on someone's face and make them happy for a short time!" It was a beautiful gesture. I thanked him, and told him he made my day. He smiled, walked away, and after a few feet, he turned and said to me "Have a Blessed Day"! I said "Thanks again, and same to you!" I got it home without spilling much water from the vase, told Bud it was from a complete stranger who does it for an act of Kindness each month. I am now thinking of Paying it Forward, and doing the same!!! To make someone happy and put a smile on their face would make me feel good inside.


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An updated photo of Isaiah taken October 15, 2018....




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Over the past weekend, I had some fun playing with my white cake batter! I decided to marblize it with different colors of Halloween. I used red, yellow, blue and green food coloring to mix up purple, orange and green batter. Then, filled cupcake paper cups that were placed in muffin tins. After cooling them when done baking, I frosted them with sugar free vanilla icing and topped each one with a single candy corn....





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When you live in the state of Texas, you soon come to realize that the residents are a mighty proud group of people!! They love their home. It's evident everywhere. From their sports teams to their flag...all around, car emblems, lawn furniture, there is Texas Pride - Lone Star = gratifying and heart-felt!! Some time ago, while I was at the grocery store to buy some Jimmy Dean Sausage and sourdough English muffins for our Sunday Football Brunch, I spotted "NEW" at the aisle I walked down to get to the meat coolers....I stopped. It was store brand, and I saw "Texas" on the bag. Bud and I both like nachos for lunch, and we haven't had them in years! The store brand bag was a bag of lite corn chips. I picked up a bag, and once in my hand, I inspected the sodium content and sugar content....But, this is what astounded me some. This was carrying the Texas Pride one step beyond my comprehension. But heck, it was a fun meal. Tasted the same as all Dorritos Corn Chips, but in the shape of the ------


LONE STAR STATE!!!



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I think our summer-like temps are finally over for the year!!! And as I type this post for pre-scheduling, there are NO tropical storms nor hurricanes out in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.  I'm so happy. In fact, after months of scorching 100 degree days and 85 degree nights, on October 14th a cold front moved down into the panhandle of Texas and brought snow with it!! A couple days later that same cold front moved farther south to the coast and dropped our temperature by several degrees 90 on Sunday here and....55 degrees high for the next several days!!! Did I say how happy I was?



While waiting for the green arrow left turn light to change for me, I looked to the left as the sun was beginning to rise from the horizon and saw the "fire storm" colors!!