Aren't those beautiful spring flowers? The best thing about them is that they're in our own back yard!!!! Yippee!!! Our cats are still a bit annoyed with us that we were gone so long. Bertha refused to face me for a decent photo and Gus disappeared somewhere to do "manly" things. He seems to have finally forgiven me though as he's currently trying to stretch himself across the keyboard. In other words, it is time to sign off until our next trip.
Terry, if you thought driving to Florida was mind numbing, you should try driving across flat Illinois & Indiana before those corn fields have been planted. That interminable book on Mark Twain begins to sound interesting.
Missouri! Or rather two Arkansas gals next to a Texas guy, sitting together in Missouri. Jeannette & I graduated from high school together (I'm the one with the bare feet that are still longer than Jeannette's.) The handsome guy on the right is Jeannette's husband Don. Not only are they great hosts but they are conveniently located on the path back to NY.
Where is Dwight D. Eisenhower's birthplace?
Thistles be gone! Mother doing her best to eliminate those pesky plants in her yard.
There we are - the B Team (the A Team was the first small group that was here before we arrived cutting all the lumber for us). We waited until the last day for a group photo (perhaps not an entirely good thing since some of our team had already worn their Habitat shirts this week - luckily there was a nice breeze this morning). Our team had folks from Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri & New York. Every year our teams just get better and this was no exception. It's been a real pleasure to work with them all.There we are - the B Team (the A Team was the first small group that was here before we arrived cutting all the lumber for us). We waited until the last day for a group photo (perhaps not an entirely good thing since some of our team had already worn their Habitat shirts this week - luckily there was a nice breeze this morning). Our team had folks from Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri & New York. Every year our teams just get better and this was no exception. It's been a real pleasure to work with them all.
and our team throws in our hammers and turns the project over to the next group.
Jake, our next door Habitat Care-A-Vanner neighbor, had an open house last night to show us his engraving set up. Behind him is the frig & storage & the bath. Next to his set up is the kitchen and beyond that are the beds. (And I thought we crammed a lot into a small space!) If you're interested in seeing what he does, check out his web site http://jnewellart.com/index.html
Thought cousin John & Judy & their crew might like a little algebra lesson. I'm thinking a little Guerrilla Glue. And in case you were guessing it was me because of my dread of backing up - it wasn't... 
Thought you might like a little evidence that we've actually been doing some work. The metal came in (as did the screws) so all except the porch roof is now on. The window also came in so now all the windows are in. And the siding is going up an both one side and the bank. Suddenly it looks like progress again.
Meanwhile, daylight savings time means we have an extra hour of daylight for happy hour at the campground. This go around we even have our own barber/hair cutter as part of the crew (center back in the photo). Bea luckily got her haircut before Betty Jo had that second cocktail! (I suggested John might let her trim those few hairs from the top of his head but he still wants nothing to do with that.) Have to run... tonight is make your own tortilla during happy hour.
Just kidding but they did "twist" our arms to stop for lunch as we were invited to the home of one of the community's many Habitat supporters. It really is a beautiful place overlooking Mason. I thought you might be interested, Leigh, not only in the kitchen but the recessed, artfully painted ceiling over the counter. Some of our crew dined (that's the only word to describe it) on the screened in patio while the rest of us dined in the dining room. Even with our muddy shoes off at the door, we felt a little grubby next to the white tablecloths. But, hey, we know when to buck up and take it in stride when we're being fed!
Pleeze.... tanks is just not another way of pronouncing thanks. Tanks in Texas are what we in the northeast call ponds. This one in the middle of the golf course beside our campground is probably also known as a water hazard (at least we imagined some little white balls in the bottom). The building in the back, in case you can't make out the writing on the roof, is PUNCHERDOME. By the way, the Mason Punchers this year won their first ever state football championship. Not bad for a school with just over 200 students. Go Punchers!
Pleeze.... tanks is just not another way of pronouncing thanks. Tanks in Texas are what we in the northeast call ponds. This one in the middle of the golf course beside our campground is probably also known as a water hazard (at least we imagined some little white balls in the bottom). The building in the back, in case you can't make out the writing on the roof, is PUNCHERDOME. By the way, the Mason Punchers this year won their first ever state football championship. Not bad for a school with just over 200 students. Go Punchers!
A second day of rain. If it wasn't that it's flat outside one might think we were back in NY. So we did what we might have done in NY - visit the library (makes you proud doesn't it Susan?). San Angelo has a wonderful new library downtown, well used today for sure. The photo shows part of the children's area. The bigger cut outs in the wall children use to crawl into and read. They're popular - I had to go to the far reaches to find holes without kids. (Don't want to violate any privacy issues after all.)
Work was called today because of what is normally unthinkable in Texas - rain! Lots of it with a fair amount of lightning thrown in to liven things up and bracing temps in the 30's.
Work continues -
Midday we were invited to The Commercial Bank in town, not a bad thing to do on International Women's Day. This bank was the first started by a woman and the president is still a woman. She did have a bit of a problem yesterday. Someone who had imbibed a bit too much (not an easy thing to do in this "dry" town) tried to drive his pickup through the president's office just after she left for lunch. (If you'd like to try to comment on that one I changed the settings to see if some of you have better luck.)
Here we have Mr. New York, Mr. Minnesota, Mr. Texas. (It's the cookie eating part of the contest.)
"that you try 'ergodic process breakdown' as an antidote to entropy. Pfeh!"
In case you didn't identify the blue flowers in yesterday's blog, they're the first of this spring's famous Texas bluebonnets (not to be confused with Blue Bell, the state ice cream, although where they get the milk to make it is beyond me since I have yet to see any dairy cows in Texas).
Believe it or not, Brady, TX, used to be the turkey capital of the world (imagine with this Texas heat they're more than happy they can no longer lay claim to that distinction). The photograph was taken in 1924 at their annual "Turkey Trot Parade". I particularly liked the outfits the women herders? (what would you call them?) wore but have yet to find any cast offs at the thrift store.
Work continues under clear skies.
Left to right, that's me, my mother, Jessica (my nephew's wife), and Becky (my sister who got another year older today). None of us were born in Texas. The only true Texan in the bunch is the tall one in the middle, Scott. In case you hadn't figured it out, he's the tall one in the middle. Somehow he also managed to pose perfectly in front of the wind mill in Becky's yard giving him an added Native American flair. Scott is my nephew, my mother's grandson, husband to Jessica, & son to Becky. (He has to be tall to put up with all that.)
Did you ever have some weeks when you forget what day of the week it is? Trust me. That doesn't happen on a Habitat build. By Friday we're all counting down the hours until we can relax for the weekend.
Just wanted to show you what's right next door to the Habitat house. Not one but two of those quaint water tower/smoke houses (no longer used). The building right beside them is a daycare that's also no longer used except... the owner is generously letting us use the building for shady brakes. It also means we have actual flush bathrooms!!! (Using a port-a-potty in Texas heat is an act of desperation!)
