MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM WEATHERBY HOUSE, PECOS TX.

THIS IS BESSIE'S CHRISTMAS TREE.

Bessie is Debbie Thomas' Mom.
Debbie (of course) is the director of the museum.
Bessie is amazing with her home decor and is an expert quilter, to mention just a few of her creative outlets.
I was visiting her this evening and durn it....I wish I'd snapped a few pictures in her quilt room...especially for Bobbie (another quilter in Kyle) to view.

This is short.
I'm very tired.
It was a long day at Needleworks.
I was there by myself today....and needed roller skates.
Monogramming, waiting on shoppers, wrapping their purchases and the phone would NOT stop ringing.

Goodnight dear bloggers.
Goodnight ROSIE!!!

Love, mary

PECOS SOCIAL LODGE CHRISTMAS PARTY.

Gene is in San Antonio so he missed the Christmas party last night.
So, it was me, George, Jamey and Scott who is here from San Marcos to treat our house for termites.
They had a pot luck dinner and chinese gift trade.
You take a wrapped present and put it in the pile.
You draw a number.
The person with #1 goes up and picks any present and opens it and shows it to everybody.
Then all the "present pickers" that come behind can either "steal" someone else's present or unwrap a present from the pile.
Jamey unwrapped little knives that Scott stole from her.
Then Jamey stole $30. from someone.
George got a signed picture to "Too tall Jones".
That's the Lodge barmaid Jessie with the certificate for liquor...there were 3 or 4 of those.
It was alot of fun and some presents got traded around 3 times which is the max.
Then there was the poor guy who unwrapped a cake plate which he fortunately got stolen from him by a lady who admired it.
But THEN he got to unwrap another present and it was a pot holder and cookie makin's and he never COULD get anyone to take it.
That's Bubba the cowboy pictured with Jamey.
The last picture is George and Jamey getting ready for a ride on George's new Buell Harley Davidson.

That's all.

A FUNNY CHRISTMAS CARD.

This is the best card I've ever received. I think I'll have to display it all year. They are San Marcos friends of Jamey's. Thanks to Dana and John Tipps and baby Rice.

GIRL SCOUT CHRISTMAS PARTY.

There are now 7 girls instead of nine.
We had a good time....they are all getting so grown up.
Their ages are from 8 to 11 years old.
They sang carols and exchanged gifts and had pizza and lots of sweets.
This was their 3rd Christmas to come over.
I always make each girl a Christmas necklace.
This year we all pinned jingle bells to our socks.
They were also awarded their prizes for selling girl scout cookies...hence the teddy bears etc.
Another thing I always do is to send them home with a little bag of Christmas candy and toys.
I made Rice Krispy Candy for their bags....Mother's have been making it since 1939.
Each girl had made me a Christmas card...the handmade ones are so much cuter and funnier than a bought one.

I am continuing my verbal education here in Pecos.
I found out ,last week at work that a knit cap is called a "beanie" and that a sweatshirt is a "sweater".

A bird pooped on the doorknob.
What are chances of that?
Of course I put my hand in it.

We have a new liquor store....there are two now.
Gene asked to see the wine area.
The owner pointed him towards to Boone's Farm...seriously....that's ALL they had to offer!

RADIO HOTLINE:
Want:
A transformer costume.
Baby bathtub ring. (Haha...WTF?)
Found:
Old, long haired dog.
Give:
A pumpkin.
For Sale:
Whirlpool water $50. (HAHA...something's missing on that one.)

Love, Mary

NINE DAYS WITH JAMEY.

We had a wonderful visit.
Jamey always falls into the "Pecos Way/Mood" fairly easily.
She sits around doing nothing pretty well and enjoys it.
Very different from the GO-Go-Go lifestyle of Manhattan.

Her time with Gene was spent throwing horseshoes, riding bikes and watching football.
She and Gene pedaled by the museum yesterday and visited with Debbie.

Her time with me was spent shopping and bonding in the kitchen.
We ALL spent alot of time in the kitchen breaking in the new stove/range.

We visited our friends Rosie and Randy for a few hours...Rosie hadn't seen Jamey since she was a little bitty girl.

George was over here alot during Thanksgiving weekend (and he went with us to Alpine.)
The four of us played some games...that was loud and FUN!

Ate mexican food...it's the law.
She'll be back in a few weeks for Christmas and then we'll drive to Austin/San Marcos/San Antonio for four days or so with dogs in tow.

FYI.
O.K. I'm going to HAVE to start carrying around my camera EVERYWHERE I go.
They were delivering the Christmas pinatas to La Tienda the other day....unloading them out of the back of a pick up...it looked cool.

There is only one place now in town to get an auto inspection sticker.
My friend Lucy's vehicle was 74th in line last month...jeez...think I'll go elsewhere...like Monahans or Odessa.

Radio Hotline:
For Sale-
Trash compactor with boys. (Huh?)
Piano $50. (Oh COME ON...a piano for fifty bucks?)
Wanted-
Mistletoe. (I haven't seen any out here.)

That's all.
love, mary

A DAY TRIP TO ALPINE.

Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross University....and just "around the town".

THANKSGIVING: DAY 2.

Same people....same station...same channel.
Spiral ham...not pictured...bacon wrapped jalapenos....and much other etc.

Got moisture from the sky last night...briefly.

We eat...therefore...we are....

Love, Mari

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2008

HI EVERYONE!

Darling Patty (from San Marcos) was here for 2 nights last week.
She had been to Big Bend Nat'l. Park and swung by here for a visit before heading home.
THANKS PATTY!

Jamey arrived from Manhattan Friday evening and will be here for 10 days.
Toby and his friend Scott will drive from San Marcos late, late Wed. night and will stay till Sunday.
Gene's friend George will be here for thanksgiving dinner too.
I'm looking forward to hosting a great feast!

Scott is going to treat our house for termites while he is here.

That's all.
Love, mary

HARD UP FOR A BLOG-PICTURE!

Everything about this picture is bad....lighting, hair, etc.etc...but note the paint brush behind my ear....makes it O.K.

I had a local newspaper with a picture of the breaking of ground for the new animal shelter....and forgot to save it....Grrr.
It's going to be out on IH 20 by the county jail.
Cost: $275,000.
Will keep you posted.

George gave me a dutch oven.
I'm gonna dig a hole and make biscuits....and maybe other stuff too.
I guess that will be the next blog picture.
Stand by.

Gene made the absolute BEST pork ribs last weekend.
Now that we have an oven to pre-cook 'em in....and then toss 'em on the grill....Mmmmmmm...perfection!

I'm a FREAK!
Because I don't like football.
Local, college, NFL....who cares....I HATE IT!
Thus....I'm an outcast.

It's been in the 20's on and off for 4 nights...and we STILL have flies.
Where do they go?
In a hidey hole with coats and fly sized heaters.
We hadda buy new fly swatters.

RADIO HOTLINE:
For Sale-
full blood wolf. (who would want that?)
Found-
A goat.
Wanted-
Western cowboy party decor.
Lost-
Great white pyranese dog, from cattle guard #17, 4 miles north of Wickett. (well, THAT's out in the middle of f-ing NOWHERE!)

M.D.P.

MY VIEW REGARDING PROPOSITION #1.

> > > 12 million dollars!!! Pecos is already so poor.
> > > A remodeling and expansion of the golf course.
> > > Renovations and expansion of ball fields at Maxey Park and a new
> > > north side splash park, which is going to include: fun/splash park
> > > (whatever that is), jog/walk trial, exercise stations, covered
> > > seating and a play area.
> > > A local businessman will then build a 9 million dollar hotel,
> > > restaurant(s) and entertainment center (whatever that is).
> > > All of this is supposedly going to increase the "quality of life" and
> > > promote tourism in Pecos.

> > >
> > > How can we increase tourism in Pecos when the town looks so awful?
> > > The trash and especially the dozens of abandoned and falling down
> > > buildings is a disgrace.
> > > I am more interested in cleaning up the town and preserving it's
> > > history.

We have some local business folk and a judge who really like to spend money on what (in my opinion) are unnecessary things.
What say you?
> > >

VICTORY FOR OBAMA! Edited.

It's all over finally....yet just beginning.
I was surprised to learn that 52% of Reeves county voted for Barak Obama.
I generally think of Pecos as a VERY conservative and somewhat prejudiced town.
Why anyone would WANT to be president right now is waaaaay beyond me.
Give him a year or two and let's see what he can accomplish.
Gene and I early voted...the second to the last day.
There were 3 people ahead of us. (Dan and Bobbie waited an hour and a half in Kyle).

We don't use voting machines.
We ARE the machines.
We get a paper ballot and color in the oval next to the candidates we want.
Then we drop our ballot into a big 'ol black, metal box with a big padlock on it.
There were 3 bond issues up for votes.
It was SO close.
One of them was 49% "yes" and 51% "no"...the other two were almost as close.
Two passed: one for a new library.
And one for a stupid recreation thing...improvements on the golf course and a water park thing etc.
THAT'S THE ONE WE ESPECIALLY DID NOT WANT TO PASS!!!!
Actually, we didn't want any of them.
I had to edit this post because I had seen that only the new library thing had passed and found later that I was misinformed.

Ew. I am monogramming these webbed harness thingies for the Pecos EMS. The bossman asked me to put the stitching lower....near where you would bind the feet of a hurt person on a board for transport...because it'd get LESS BLOOD ON IT THERE! O.K....but Ew. And there are about 15 of them. Gee, that should last Pecos about 10 or 15 years. Unless maybe there would be a horrible oil field explosion....or a nasty tornado etc.

Yes folks, news is slow here....so on to weather.

It's been 88 degrees and 90 one day last week.
Both days...those were the warmest in the state.
Today: high 67 and tonight 32 degrees.
I'm about to bust out my flannel sheets.
Gene and I are both sorry that our fireplace was closed up many years ago.
The chimney doesn't even stick out of the roof anymore.
We enjoyed our fireplace in Kyle very much.

Ya know, I used to cringe whenever I heard someone using really terrible grammar.
I must be getting used to it...now, I find it rather charming....depending on the person.
A recent overheard expression: "Lord, she had money....but Lord, she was tight. Lord, she was as tight as bark on a tree!"

Radio Hotline:
Found-5 gallon bucket of white paint. call to identify.
Wanted-2 Biblical costumes.

That's All.
Mary

270 miles of nuthin' & other odds-n-ends.

Last Friday was my birthday.
I was 54 years old, so was born in 1954...what does that mean?
I planted some pansies and it made me think of my Mom...she loved them.
One of my earliest memories is of she and I planting pansies in a round flowerbed in San Antonio.
I made an orange spice cake in my new oven and was pretty proud of it.
Actually I made 2 cakes.
One for us and one for the museum bake sale.
We went to the Pecos Social Lodge and ate steak and took the cake and shared it.
Had a few drinks and were home by 9 p.m.
Big Deal.

Then on Saturday we drove to Seminole, Texas to the trade days there....thus the 270 miles...round trip.
The only interesting thing worth taking a picture of was this cool clock on the town square.
Lots of red dirt, dozens and dozens and dozens of oil wells and fields of cotton.
You go East to Odessa...then north to Seminole and thru Andrews on the way.
Trade days wasn't much....I was expecting alot more antiques...it was just mostly crap.
But we DID find a booth that had the BEST homemade tamales...we got a dozen.
We came home the back way...(not on IH 20)...thru Kermit and wink and Pyote....lots of sand dunes.
I much prefer to travel West and/or South where the mountains are.

OMG!!
The radio played a song by KAJAGOOGOO the other day.
I almost fell outta chair.
First of all it's an OLD song and second of all that band is rather obscure.
Actually only Jamey will probably care or recognize this paragraph.
R-12!!!

For mi familia only: I was tempted to put a dime in my birthday cake.

Radio Hotline:
For Sale:
2 year old philly. (nice typo!)
Lost:
Shotgun.
Red and white goat with a blue collar.

I'm cold.
We got our first big front from the North today.
The wind is blowing around alot of dirt, trash and tumbleweeds.
It's going to be in the 30's tonight.

That's all.
Love the World.
Mary

OUR CATS AREN'T VERY SMART.

I don't know where Harold goes at night but he's a dirty boy.
He wears his dirt proudly....it's his Halloween mask.
And if you click on his picture...and make it big his eyes look CRAZY...like he's blind or they are marbles.
Missy sleeps on ROCKS and acts like she has a broken neck.

Speaking of Halloween....some people in town have had their Halloweenie decorations up for weeks, which is silly.
But even sillier is that some people now have their CHRISTMAS lights up already.
Jeez, just because Walmart has their Christmas trees out doesn't mean it's time to put up Christmas lights.
They just skipped Halloween altogether.
My idea is that these people are anti-witch and think Halloween is evil....and that they are big bible thumpers.
What do you surmise?

We went to the Pecos Social Lodge monthly pot luck dinner last night.
There were only about 8 other folks there besides us.
They have discontinued the Wed. night shrimp alfredo due to light turnout.
The Monday night burgers may go the same way if more people don't go.
The best attended food night is the Friday night ribeyes.
We love the Tuesday night chicken frys...but can only afford to go to the lodge once a week.

I worked yesterday...I HATE to work Saturdays.
I had 3 customers in 6 hours....booooooring.

I guess that's all the teeny news.
Love, mary

Four pictures that have nothing to do with each other.

Photo 1: The market in Vollidad, Mexico...on the mainland of the Yucatan near where our friends Trudy y Antelmo live.
Photo 2: A scorpion taken by Bobbie Guerra on her summer vacay.
Photos 3 & 4: Bobbie took these pictures last weekend. They are before and after shots of the house Dan grew up in....Hitchcock,Texas. Heartbreaking! Hurricane Ike came and went and has sort of dropped from the news but SO many people continue to suffer the effects. It's so very sad. Keep those folks in your thoughts and send good, strong karma their way.
It makes me realize how very lucky we are to have so much.
Bobbie and Dan live in Kyle and Dan's family now live in Texas City and the Houston area. We have known them forever and love them very much. They are the greatest friends to have. They took us in when our river house in San Marcos flooded in 1998.

There's a sinkhole on the museum grounds. There are alot of sinkholes all over Pecos because there are...or were underground caves. Anyways the city workers have been digging up the sinkhole to repair it etc. They have found a ton of shoe parts. Debbie thinks there used to be a cobbler shop there and they have dug up the cobbler's trash shoe pile. Wonder what else they'll find? Next Friday the 17th is the annual museum fundraising bake sale...they always sell every crumb! Goody...I get to try out my new oven!

The hummingbirds are gone.
"Blue" the parakeet is still around...it's been about a year and a half since he's been our escaped guest.

We are SO happy and proud!
We haven't had the A/C on for 4 weeks!
Our electric bill was only $138.!!!!
That's SO much better than $300 or $400 or $500.
My Mom would say I'm rude to mention dollar amounts....whatever.

We've been going to the Pecos Social Lodge about once a week...usually for Friday night ribeyes...which are GREAT!
But we've recently discovered the Tuesday night chicken fried steaks. WOW! They are huge and handmade right there in the lodge kitchen buy 2 hard workin' ladies....and served with homemade mashed potatoes and a vegetable and salad. The potatoes have a few lumps ...I like 'em like that.
I'm usually too tired from work to go there on Tuesdays.
We missed a dance (they have very few dances) on Sept. 27th...I'm STILL bummed about it. They'll be having a Halloween party and New Year's party.
The "PSL" is right by our house and a fun place to hang out.
Membership for a year is $75. per couple.

RADIO HOTLINE!
For Sale:
10 John Wayne figurines.
2 donkeys.
male llama $300.
pencil sharpeners. (huh?)
'94 Chevy Suburban with a cowboy conversion package. (what's that?)
golden retriever dog. (as opposed to a golden retriever CAT?)
mens' dress. (hahaha!!!! I'm sure it was sposed to be men's dress shoes or suit or jacket...but the typist forgot something!)
Wanted:
a floppy eared rabbit.

That's all the bloggity tonight folks!
love, mary

FLEA MARKET IN FT. DAVIS.

Set the alrm clock for 5:15 a.m. to leave by 6 to arrive by 7:30.
Market starts at 8....till 4.
Woke up at 4 a.m....couldn't go back to sleep.
Got up and the dogs wondered..."WTF"?

Driving the 75 miles there in the dark was not fun.
Luckily we only saw one deer and no other animals in the road.
Had a fast 15 min. set up and sat around watching the sun rise...see photo...and watching the other 9 vendors setting up forever.

Photo 2: Our booth with Ft. Davis in the background.
Photo 3: Geno suave.
Photo 4: A cool truck that came to the flea Market and attracted quite a few admirers.
Photo 5: Darling Little Annabelle who "runs" a junk booth while her "Mama" helps sometimes.

Well the day was pretty much a financial bust.
We sold one table and one snake.
Enough to pay for the booth fee and gas out there and home.
Nevermind...if I had not done it...I always would have wondered if my art would sell there.
There was only one other actual artist there....a lady from Ft. Stockton who paints the most amazing gourds...she wasn't selling anything either.
Good junk though.
We had alot of foot traffic early in the morning and everybody greatly admired the snakes with alot of kind and amusing comments....just no buyers.
We finally adjusted our chairs to admire the mountains and fort.
Wish we lived THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, mary