Pretty Plano Wedding

A couple of weeks ago we returned to Texas for the celebration of Kat and Adam's wedding.

They were appropriately beautiful and  handsome.

The Father of the Groom was appropriately nervous, goofy and loving.

The Groom and his Mother were charming.

This is the first wedding in a long time in which I didn't have an official role.  (Which was appreciated.)  I know that lots of couples don't endure, but I am hopeful for these two.  I like to imagine that they will look into their futures together; not overly in need of sameness or closeness, but being cooperative, supportive and enthusiastic about their individual and collective endeavors.

Dad hammed it up before the toasts.

The best thing about wedding cupcakes is that there is a variety of choices.  YUM.

The winds across the plains made the lanterns dance.

Not even the old folks rocked in the rockers, although the view was beautiful.

BBQ!!!!!

Got to see "old" friends as well as meet some of the participants' "old friends" who became new friends.

Partying after the rehearsal. Listening to bridesmaids' and groomsmen's toasts, boasts and stories.

Mother of the Bride. 

Simply beautiful flowers at the reception.  The wind was flowing the bottles off the tables, so eventually they ended up tucked into nooks and crannies all over the premises... which made a sort of scavenger hunt of charm.

There's always at least one goofy groomsman!

Sometimes Homesick
Originally uploaded by Sultry


I took a photograph of these palm trees the last time DH and I were in Southern California. The sky was pure pure blue as it can only be near the ocean on a clear sunny day and the sun was hitting the palm fronds making some light up and others shadowy. They were spikey and alien looking. This painting isn't finished yet, but I'm a little homesick for the ocean breeze, sound of sailboat lines beating against masts and that salty ocean smell from the beach.
I wonder if former Texans "stuck" near a marina get homesick for the oven-like temperatures with occasional sauna range humidty we're having in Dallas.

Illustration Friday: Ripple

Originally uploaded by Sultry

The word of the week is Ripple, with a sad awareness that we do not know the full extent of the Ripple Effects of the Deep Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico..

I can only imagine how I would feel if suddenly I was suffocating in the place there I lived. If suddenly, I could not find edible food. If suddenly the quality of light and water were dark and vile. If suddenly I had no idea where it was safe to go. Pelican and turtle habitats have been damaged. Porpoises are suffocating. Plants are wilting and rotting. Sea life upon which those creatures and tourists and restauranteurs depend is contaminated. Businesses are dying. Faith in engineers, COO's, mankind and lots of things is evaporating.

In the midst of such a mess, you can be part of the solution and provide a bit of hope, . even if you have to really really look for the right moment.

Some artists at Illustration Friday are offering prints of their art at www.ripplesketches@verizon.net . I hope to get mine uploaded there, but if that is inoperative, I'll do the same thing: Sent me a PDF or copy of your donation confirmation with your address and I'll mail you a print of this on card stock (8.5 x 11).

Sproing!
Originally uploaded by Sultry

The ever popular Bradford Pear trees decided today was the first day of Spring. We had a heavy rain burst this morning, then the sun came out and warmed everything up. The effect of combined moisture and warmth was in FULL BLOOM when we left our favorite pizza joint!

Cold Front Approaching with Moon
Originally uploaded by Sultry

The sky was heavenly again this evening!

Corinth Presbyterian Church
Originally uploaded by Sultry

A friend and I drove around the "neighborhood" this afternoon. She has an affinity for this little church on the Prairie...It appears set apart from the hustle and bustle of suburbia in the middle of an undeveloped field. We stopped to read the historical marker and take photographs.

Oldest church in continuous service, Parker, TX.

IMG_2079-w

The Texas Star:

State Fair's Ferris Wheel

Texas Star: The Fair's Ferris Wheel
Originally uploaded by Sultry

We went to the Fair on Friday.
Perfect weather. Not terribly crowded. Lots of photo opportunities, weird things to eat, and people to watch. Had a great time until my feet, then ankles, then knees, then quads, then hips started hurting.
LOTS of photos available if you click on the image!!

THIRTEEN AT ONCE

I couldn't believe my eyes (and no this isn't a photo... it's a collaged representation!) when I counted THIRTEEN Scissor Tailed Fly Catchers on a fence beside Hwy. 5 between Allen and Plano this afternoon. Perhaps they were having a convention.

ADS YOU DON'T SEE IN TEXAS

I don't think we have any positions like this in the Lone Star State.

Rosemary Against The Wall

The weathermen predicted hail, thunderstorms and all sorts of havoc,

so I took some "before" photographs in the garden.
Good news: gentle rain, no damage!

I'm especially happy I captured the few ranunculus tough enough to reappear this year.

They're just about my favorite flower.

Click through on rosemary image for more.

A Minor Disappointment

DH and I took a drive through downtown Dallas yesterday. I took some photos of buildings in the arts district which are under construction.

At the left is a rendering of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. It looks like the exterior is about 3/4 complete. There's also a huge building that looks like it is mostly stainless steel "blinds". I couldn't find out which purpose it will serve.

Then today I took a couple more of two paintings-in-progress. And then, just a minute ago, when I was trying to upload them and move them from the camera to a jump drive, I DELETED THEM.

Boo hoo.

Why isn't anybody reading this?

I thought I was through with politics now that the election is over. But, of course, there is always a (morbid?) fascination with power, evil, cheating and how they overlap.

This book was published in June of 2008, and somehow I completely missed it. I suppose it came out just before the national party conventions and may have been usurped by a halcyon Journaling Convention I attended in Denver.

PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.

Whether you are conservative or liberal, the "other side" could do this to YOUR side. The tactics for trying to establish a "third Reich" or PERMANENT Political Party in Washington are out there. If Rove hadn't mis-judged himself so often, he might have succeeded. If Bush hadn't been such a bungler at key moments, Rove might have succeeded.

GHW Bush doesn't come off squeaky clean either.

And if you live in Texas, like me, wait till you read about John Cornyn, and Rick Perry. Or Channel 8 in Dallas. And journalists who knew that Rove was stretching the truth or fabricating facts and because they couldn't prove the negatives that he put forth, felt it was appropriate to publish the stories anyway.

(Alone the lines of "John Doe says he has not been beating his wife." What great publicity for Mr. Doe, right?)

If you live in the wake of Katrina, my sympathies are with you. It was politics even more than "Brownie," or FEMA or poor planning that hit harder than the storm.

A pre-1999 primary article, called All Hat, No Cattle by Mr. Alexander in Rolling Stone is on-line HERE.

Keep questioning what you read. Read lots of opinions. Voice yours. Vote.

Here endeth the RANT.

Sunday Drive to McKinney

What a beautiful day! So much so that we eschewed anything indoors, like Starbucks or a bookstore and drove North. I didn't have my camera out when we saw a BIG hawk sitting on a fence post. We turned around to get another look and he entertained us by gliding to the tippy top of the tallest tree in a windbreak. Possibly a red tailed hawk (because the underside of his tail was red), but possibly something else because this guy was BIG!

I sat in the square and tried to draw these corbelled bricks. HA! (see results below.

I had better luck rendering this chicken.



Drawing is fun.

Crape myrtle
Originally uploaded by Sultry

Not a lot of ice, just enough to make things interesting.
These are crape myrtle berries left from summer.
Click the image to see the rest at Flickr.

Another food find in Plano, Texas!

The Fillmore Pub on 15th Street.
Reminded me of Dublin. Smithwicks and Irish Stew!

Return to Texas

I'm back! While we were in New England (which was mostly PAST the colored leaf stage) color arrived in North Texas. It was a seductive greeting as we attempt to return to normalcy after days of sleeping late, eating out, and spending quality time with the "children."
After we picked up Puppy from the Kitty hotel, we took off one a typical Saturday "adventure" consisting of book stores and places we've been meaning to visit. A yarn store that I don't go to very often seems to have evaporated. But we did get to "DWR" in a tony area called Knox/Henderson. DH and I liked the oversized desk lamp, but not the prices.

I squealed like any little girl when I saw Santa (surely the glint in his eye meant that he wasn't The Grinch" on a Segway at the Apple Store.

It's always a little sad when Santa leaves.

After almost two whole weeks without Tex Mex, we stopped by our favorite spot, El Norte, for fajitas, an enchilada and a tamale. Yee Haw, Y'all.

Stay tuned for a retrospective travelogue of Boston, Plymouth, Harvard and some new artists I discovered.

Big Tex
Originally uploaded by Sultry

Today was the opening of the Texas State Fair.
I've never gone on opening day before, but I think it was a good choice. As a friend said, the workers AND the grease were fresh!

The special new food "treats" this year included:

Fried Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Fried Banana Splits
Chocolate Covered Straberry Waffle Balls
Deep Fried S'mores
Fire and Ice (deep fried pineapple ice cream)
Fried Chocolate Truffles
Chicken Fried Bacon
Texas Fried Jelly Belly Beans

There was also deep fried alligator.

I skipped ALL of those, but DID have a genuine

Fletcher's Corny Dog.

DH had his first! He liked it!!

I thought there would be sheep judging because the on-line schedule said "light, medium and heavy wool" judging under "livestock." We were fooled. No sheep, but LOTS of Llamas.
Black, white, brown, tan, appaloosa, saddlebacked, tri-colored. I couldn't quite tell what made a Blue Ribbon Llama, but watching how the handlers and Llamas worked with each other was enchanting.

We also walked through the Goat Barn. I haven't studied lots of goat species... but we saw Nubian goats (the ones with the long ears) and LaMancha goats which came with either Gopher ears (which looked to me like NO EARS AT ALL) or Elf ears (which are teensy little elfin ears). Very nice FFA girl who explained these distinctions to this city girl.

There was a sign by one group of pens that said: "Gay Bottoms." At first I thought that was the name of a breed, since other signs had said Nubian, or "Dairy" etc. Can't make that stuff up. Should have known that was the name of a successful goat breeder, Linda Gay Bottoms. I must have a dirty mind... or still have been thinking of sheep.

There were plenty of concerts, shows and events that we missed, but it was a beautiful day, everyone was happy and friendly, and I walked farther in one day than I have in years.

The Fair is Open until October 19.
See all the photos at Flickr by clicking on Big Tex.