SUNDAY B.S. NEWS.

See how Gene is coming along with the floor? The kitchen is done and he's going pretty fast with the computer room. I'm sure he's totally fed up with it.
I have dreams of taking out the carpet in the foyer. It has the original wood floor under there and would need to be redone...and it's a big space. I guess about 15' by 25'.

Our bush out front has busted out with blooms...pretty huh?

We have quail on our street. They look really funny when they run.
Saw a hummingbird the other day.

My neighbor Sib made this doll and little hat for a baby shower. I love the doll's hot pink hair. She makes all kinds of things. I visit her once a week and we chat about antiques and gardening and crafts. She always seems to give me something to take home: flower seeds, old coke bottles, magazines etc.
She's always going on about my painted flower pots....so i finally got around to making 2 for her and took them over yesterday...and it was so great: COS IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY! (I didn't know.) I wanted to get her in this picture too...but she wouldn't let me cos she hadn't fixed her hair yet or put her lipstick on.
Her husband Bill is a retired farmer. They're about in their late 70's i guess. I love them.

Gene signed the papers for his new job on Friday. He starts Tuesday the 1st.
It worries me that the P.E. Dept. will be much more dangerous as far as fights etc.
When we moved here I didn't kow that this TYC had the most violent inmates.
He had a fight in his classroom last week and had to take down a student while a guard got the other one. There were kids all crowding around and pushing and desks falling over and hollaring and people running in and out of the room....total chaos. He didn't get hurt...the guard did. Jeez....he's a TEACHER and shouldn't to be involved in fights.
We are very relieved...we get to stay!....at least for now since he got the P.E. job.
He's going to the Y.O. Ranch in Kerrville this week Tues.-Fri. for a TYC seminar thing. Alot of other TYC's will be there.

We are getting a bit of rain today...it's about time.

RADIO HOTLINE:
Wanted: Working Pants. (as opposed to pants that don't work.)
Wanted: Crib, playpen, baby walker, gun cabinet. (good combination.)
For Sale: Snake. (no thanks.)
To Give Away: clothes dryer, clothes line posts. (I guess they're not to wash clothes anymore.)

Gene's Mother had heart surgery last week. She didn't even call us...I'm so annoyed about that. She got a pacemaker and a few other things done. I hope it works...she's had heart disease for a LONG time and the doctors have not made much progress in helping her other than giving her medicine.

I guess that's all the stupid news.
We are going to grill a big hunk slamon today.
George is coming over to help us eat it.
George is a big eater.

Love, Mary

FINALLY....MARFA.

It's a turkey crossing sign in Balmorhea.
I've never seen any turkey's there...maybe it's an evening thing.

Marfa: population 2,121. It's about 100 miles from pecos. We went to the mineral and gem show...it was cool. Excellent landscape on the drive.
That's the courthouse...pretty huh?
And the hotel paisano...where the movie stars from "Giant" stayed...jimmy dean-jimmy dean. Yeah...it's sideways...deal with it. I'm feelin' kinda sideways.

Another rough day at Needleworks...and i'm picking up a day tomorrow...filling in for Lucy.
I've been embroidering the Little Miss Cantaloupe Nominee T-shirts....there are 18 of them.

There are ALOT of folks in Pecos who are hard of hearing.
A. They refuse to wear hearing aids.
B. They wear hearing aids and still can't hear.
C. They don't know they can't hear and ask why you're yelling at them.
WHAT???

Love, Mary

WEST TEXAS STORIES.

This first picture is a HUGE stone saw just east of Barstow. I've heard that they quarried this rock years and years ago and have just started it up again. The quarry was reopened in the 90's when the museum here was being remodeled because they needed that particular stuff which was the same as some of the museum rock...and it was from the very same quarry. Cool.

The 2nd photo is at the entrance of a ranch estate sale we went to today in Andrews. They weren't kidding to watch out for snakes...these 2 were killed and hung on the sign while we there shopping. The one on the right was still moving when i took this picture...ew. Andrews is northwest of Odessa and was an hour and 45 min. drive. They had some beautiful things for sale. One was a civil war era gesso/gilt framed mirror that measured 8' by 5' and came with an ornately carved pedestal. It cost $9,800....lots of wonderful antique furniture and a chandelier that i wanted badly....but it was $450.
I missed seeing the "calvery" saddlebags...they were sold...the sale started last wednesday....and tomorrow is "close out" day. Too bad it's such a long drive....i'd go again.
Gene chatted up the son of the deceased owners while i took a 2nd turn around the house. They had cool vintage hats and fantastic antique mesh and beaded purses....and lots of other stuff....good jewelry too. I bought a LIFE magazine from 1969...the feature article is about youth communes.
As we were leaving the house someone asked the workers: "What's for lunch?" All the ladies chorused together: "RATTLESNAKE!"
Well, one said "ground squirrel."

Gene works with a guy who used to be a park ranger at the Monahans Sandhills...it's miles and miles of sand dunes and looks like the beach should be just over the next hill. Anyways one day the rangers were following these snake tracks in the sand because they didn't want snakes in that area. They finally tracked down the 2 snakes near a watering hole. They killed the 5 foot rattler while a group of european tourists watched. Then they found the 6 foot snake eating a huge rat and killed him too. The tourists stopped at the front entrance while they were leaving the park and asked when the next show was....funny huh?

I took a drive on friday the 13th...that was my "3 hour tour."
I went to Crane, Grandfalls and Coyanosa. It was a big rectangle actually.
There's ALOT of nuthin' out there.
I didn't see a house for 30 miles or more.
I didn't even see any animals for a long time but then spotted some horses and cattle on the last hour of the trip.
There was just alot of oil pumpers and electric wires marching across the landscape.
There's alot of nuthin' out there.
I'd never seen a yellow traffic sign that siad "Watch Out for Sand on the Road."
I DID see some pretty wildflowers but not the kind we have in central texas.
You can look out on the road ahead and it streches for miles...no cars.
You can look in the rear view mirror and see behind for miles...no cars...it's rather creepy.
I saw a BIG pecan orchard in Coyanosa. They grow alot of cantalope, watermelon, onions, wheat and jalapenos there.
Coyanosa is so small that there city sign doesn't even list a population.
Mrs. Weatherby had a ranch out there...and i think her daughter-in-law still lives there.
There's alot of nuthin' out there.

RADIO HOTLINE:
Wanted:
baby crib, stroller, playpen and gun cabinet. (good combo there.)

That's all for today bloggers.
love, Mary

SOME NEWS AND SATURDAY PICTURES.

that's george burning the ribs.
and alonzo and gene playing washers.
they are both teachers at the west texas state school.
we had fun.

tiny news:
the mosquitoes here are AWFUL! even during the day...even in the sun.
the pecos city skeeter spray truck just went down the street.
we saw a migration of 200 to 300 BUZZARDS.
another truck accident: this one was carrying ice cream. they tried to get another refridgerated truck out there to pick up the ice cream...and couldn't. so another radio announcement of free ice cream brought out so many people there was a traffic jam that created another accident.
there's ALOT of trucking and trains out here moving all kinds of goods across america.
our electric bill was joyously small for march.
my boss peggy's favorite expression is: "you can do it! you can do anything!"
i helped serve lunch to a busload of old folks at the museum last week...rode my bike over there much to everyone's amusement.

RADIO HOTLINE:
For Sale:
women's bra size 40 D. (as opposed to a MEN'S bra?)
1959 ford pickup truck $1500.

the insurance adjuster was here today.
the glass replacement guy will here next wednesday.
the T.V. dish guy is supposed to come tomorrow...our dish is all cockeyed from the wind.
today the wind only blew 45 mph.

that's all.
love, mary

HOUSE WIND DAMAGE.

JEEZ...my blog today was sposed to be about my "3 hour tour" AKA "There's nuthin' out there.".....but it must be set aside as that story does not compare to what I found waiting at home.

We had 55 mph winds today...and we've had much bigger winds in the past...but today the north side of the house lost alot of siding and the picture window in the living room blew out....glad all that glass was in the yard and not in the livingroom. The cats got scared and barfed all over the place...nice!

I didn't want to deal to Gene's conniption fit by myself when he got home in about 30 minutes so I called out the troops. Platoon #1 was Alonzo his co-worker. He wasn't home yet...I left a message. Then I called Debbie at the museum and said "her" house was falling down and to send over her husband Neal (platoon #2)...the platoons out here are only one man each by the way.

In the meantime I gathered up siding from the street and frontyard...why? I don't know because it's more than 20 years old and very britttle and broken. Debbie said maybe the fix it guys can use it as a pattern whenever we get around to repairing the siding....yeah right...whenever THAT will be! The blown off part is about 30 feet up and would require scaffolding. The stuff underneath doesn't look so bad.

Both troops and Gene arrived within minutes of each other....glass removed, plywood purchased and installed...that's a good thing since it's going to be in the 30's tonight.

At least the problems are just cosmetic and not structural.
THIS is going to stir up the ghosts!!!!

Love, Mary

P.S....the previously pictured tree is a salt cedar.

A NEW BLOG THING.

Apparently my blog server INSISTS that i tranfer to their new set up...so i guess i have a new blog address.
EVERYBODY...PLEASE hang in there with me!!!!

A silly picture of my shoes from Easter.
And Harold kitty enjoying the fact that this big plant was back in the house due to snow.

I am learning how to use the embroidery machine at work..it's scary and about 3 or 4 times bigger than a regular sewing machine. It is computerized and you can use 1 or all six of the needles and same amount of spools of thread. First i made t-shirts for the Golden Girl nominees. Then I did the brucking bronc pecos logo on some jackets for city employees.
Peggy, the owner is getting a ton of orders for "press down" family reunion t-shirts. I used the press down machine the other day...it's like doing iron on numbers and names and "pecos eagle" logos.
Peggy is in her 60's and kicks my ass every monday...she is very hyper!
She broke 6 ribs in a car accident in January and then got a collapsed lung and her kidneys shut down a month later...AND she's diabetic.
The doctors say it'll be a year before she's up to par again.
Gee....i'm scared to see how hard she works when she's feeling 100%!
Tuesdays Peggy goes to her other store in Alpine...so it's just me at the store here...and then i can recover from monday some.

We are enjoying the NETFLIX gift certificate that jamey gave us for christmas. Pecos only has one mooovie store and it sucks.

I'm so excited...patty and toby are driving out here on the 20th!!! YAY!!
It's the Marfa gem and mineral show that weekend...so hopefully we'll finally see the town of Marfa.

I rode my bike to the post office and over to needleworks today to shop.
There was an old man in the post office who was singing "git along little dogies" to himself.

I've been asked to volunteer for an evening of rehearsals for the Golden Girl competition...i think it's in june.

Our neighbor brought over 4 red bell peppers yesterday. A semi truck had turned over and there was produce all over the place. She said there was an announcement on the radio for folks to come on down and get it.

uh-oh...i see a few flies!!!!!!!!

RADIO HOTLINE:
Wanted:
Someone to remove bees.
Fishing Poles. (where? where's the water?)

I'm getting pretty cranked up about going to new york next month.

I better go do some chores.

love,mary