Wal-Mart Doesn’t Do Fabric

I rarely stop at Wal-Mart except when we are traveling.  Probably because our town only has a Target and that’s what I’m used to.  But I was in Gilroy for a Dr. appointment and needed wanted some fabric, so I thought I might be able to find something reasonable there.  Big disappointment – they no longer have a fabric department.  According to the salesclerk I talked to, it was a big money-loser for them.

However, the trip wasn’t wasted because, as I was walking through the garden section looking for onion sets, I spotted these:

 

I’ve always wanted to try growing potatoes and last year I bought a potato-growing bag from Gardener’s Supply but didn’t get around to using it.  I’ve never seen seed potatoes around here and thought I would have to just cut up a grocery store potato.

I also found the onions.  I’ll start planting them next week if the rains hold off.  We’ve had several inches of rain in the last ten days with more expected in the next few days so we are pretty soggy around here.  Not to mention the weeds are thigh-high.

Road Trip 2009 continued

A bit out-of-date, but, hopefully, better late than never.

By the time we were finished with The Husband’s class reunion, I was pretty much running out of steam.  Consequently, no blog entries were made for the rest of the trip.  When we got home I kept putting it off and, the longer I put it off, the more difficult it got to remember the details.  Well, here it is over four months later, and I’m going to try to recreate the rest of our trip.

DAYS 8-10

We left my brother’s place on Monday morning and headed north on I-540.  It was only an hour’s drive or so to our next stop – The Husband’s cousin’s house in Bella Vista, AR.  Again the GPS was right on the money.

The next day The Cousin had scheduled a trip for us to the George Washington Carver National Monument but first we stopped in Diamond, MO to have lunch at the Diamond Cafe.What a gem!  I had the best Gyro that I’ve had since we lived in New Jersey.  When I asked the owner about her accent, which sounded sort of mid-Atlantic to me, she said she is from New York and used to be on the stage. 

 

The exhibits were very interesting as was the film about Carver’s life.  Before today, all I knew about him was that he “invented peanut butter” if that’s even true.  I didn’t realize that he was involved in so many other agricultural, social and artistic endeavors. 

After we saw everything in the building, we followed a walking trail through the woods and along a stream.  Despite the fact that it was still summer, the humidity wasn’t too high and it was so pleasant with all the greenery and the sound of the water.

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But my favorite part was the family vegetable garden.  It was pretty much past its prime, this being early September, but you could still see tomatoes, green beans, and other summer veggies.

The next day we joined some of The Cousins’ friends and drove to Noel, MO to have lunch at Cotton Eyed Joe’s Barbecue.  I do love a good barbecue place and this one is pretty darned good.

The Mystery of the Murdered Mouse

This is what I saw when I opened the door from the house to the garage this morning.  Deader than a doornail, but which gray cat was the culprit?

Luke Skywalker?

Or the Duke of Earl?

Or maybe the ever-vigilant Smokey Joe?

Nobody was talking and Officer Dog was still in bed at the time, so the mystery remains unsolved.  However, it’s a pretty good bet that Smokey Joe is innocent because he has not, in the two months that he has been with us, shown the least interest in hunting.  My money is on Luke.

Once in a Blue Moon

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Days 5-7: Alma AR

After visiting some family graves in Red Oak Cemetery, we drove north to Laurel Land Cemetery to visit the graves of The Husband’s mother and step-father. 

This is a huge cemetery and we haven’t been here since October 2001 but TH went straight to the right area.  He must have a fantastic sense of direction because he is able to do this all the time.  To me, every row looks pretty much the same.
It rained a bit last night and today is cloudy and promises to be humid.  But we are headed north to visit my brother in Arkansas.  I haven’t seen him for about 15 years and I’m really looking forward to seeing him again.
We stopped for lunch in Atoka, OK at a new restaurant called Adam’s Grill.  It isn’t actually open yet but the woman planting flowers by the front door says, “Come on in.  The cook needs the practice!”  We ordered hamburgers and fries; the fries were a little soggy but the burgers were really, really good.  I think they need to crank up the heat on the french fry oil. I think they’ll do okay, though, as they are on Highway 71 which is a pretty busy road.  The address is 807 S. Mississippi Street.  They also plan to have free wi-fi, which is always a draw.

Mural in downtown Alma, Arkansas

The view from the patio.  So bucolic with the two horses in the green pasture and the pond in the background.  You just don’t get this in our part of California.

The GPS took us straight to my brother’s house even though it’s pretty far out in the country.  Brother and Sister-in-law made us feel so welcome, it was like we’ve been seeing them all the time.

On Saturday afternoon, my two nieces came over for dinner.  It was the first time I’ve seen them since they were quite small and we spent Christmas at my Dad’s house in Paradise, CA.  The younger sister is married with two little girls of her own.  The little one is five and just starting kindergarten as is my GS.  When she was asked how she likes school, she did a thumbs up.  The funny thing is that’s the same thing GS did when he was asked the same question. Must be some kind of 5-year old code.

My nieces seem quite interested in the family history, although they only know about the Arthur Harper line.  So I’ve decided to write something up for them about the Lamb and Trott lines as well.  I tried to tell them about Walter Harper and the Aunt Frances letters, but I got so emotional that I couldn’t talk.  Old age seems to have had that effect on me.  I get all choked up so easily. Of course this is such a sad story that it would probably reduce anyone to tears.

Brother had to leave on Sunday for a job in California, so S-i-L took us sightseeing in the Fort Smith area. 

Downtown Alma, Arkansas. 

Spinach Capital of America/The World

S-i-L is in the Master Gardener program and these herb beds at an historic house in Fort Smith are her project. 

The labyrinth at St. Scholastica’s in Fort Smith.  I’ve always wanted to walk a labyrinth but this was my first opportunity.  It took a lot of concentration as the paths are pretty narrow.  And when we got to the center, we discovered that we would have to retrace our footsteps to get out again.  Since it took us a good 15 minutes, and it was a somewhat humid day, we decided to just walk straight out.  Is a half-labyrinth as good as a whole?

Road Trip 2009: Day 4 Vega TX to Red Oak TX

At Amarillo we left Interstate 40 and headed southeast on US 287. Shortly after that, we started seeing acres of cotton plants. All I could think of is yards of quilt fabric.

We stopped at a roadside rest near Medicine Mounds.

Very clean and modern. This is near the town of Quanah which brought to mind the story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped by Indians in 1836 when she was 9 years old. I am undecided as to whether her story is truly a sad one or not. Read it and let me know what you think.

We’re on our way to Montague County (pronounced Mon-tegg) to do some genealogical research. The Husband’s great-great grandfather Spencer Stout lived here for a while and is supposedly buried here. His mother Eveline Maurine Witt Stout, who lived to be 97, also died and is buried here.

The Montague County Courthouse was built in 1912.

This chute is apparently still used as a fire escape. TH has told me about a similar system that was used in Lincoln School where he attended kindergarten through fifth grades in Centerville, IA. That one, however, was totally enclosed and a couple of times a year all the kids had to bring waxed bread bags and sit on them to slide down. That helped keep the surface smooth in case it was needed, which it wasn’t during his time there.

Spencer’s death certificate says he is buried in this county but we couldn’t find any mention of it at the library in Nocona. The book there did say that Eveline is buried in Montague Cemetery, but darned if we could find a stone. We did find an interesting Probate case regarding her at the courthouse.

Our research here was finished by mid-afternoon, so we decided to head south through Dallas and find a motel in the Red Oak area. TH wants to visit some family graves there and then visit his Mother’s grave at Laurel Land Cemetery nearer Dallas.

Road Trip 2009: Day 3 Gallup NM to Vega TX

Ever since Flagstaff, the weather has been fair and much cooler.  I don’t know if it’s the altitude or what.  New Mexico seems to be working on all their roads.  Probably those stimulus funds.

Our extra for today was the Sandia Peak Tram in Albuquerque.  The distance is 2.7 miles and it rises to over 10,000 feet.  I’m usually leery of heights but this didn’t bother me a bit

We took our jackets because 56 degrees is pretty cool.  But when we reached the top either the temperature had  gone up or the altitude made a difference because we didn’t need the jackets at all.  It was mild and not at all windy.  The Albuquerque area was very hazy, so our view wasn’t as spectacular as it could have been.  But amazing even with the haze.

 

  The base station as seen from our tram.  The ride was smooth and not at all scary.  Might have been a different story if there had been any wind.

We had lunch at the High Finance Restaurant on the peak.  Despite the name, the prices were reasonable.  And the food was quite good. 

At Exit 47 on Interstate 40 in New Mexico we cross the Continental Divide.  From now on all rivers we cross will ultimately flow into the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Pacific. Now I really feel as if I’m away from home.

We had planned to stay the night in Amarillo TX but were a bit behind schedule, so decided to stay in Vega, TX -  just a bit short of Amarillo.

Dinner at Boot Hill in Vega TX.  Old West theme with the servers dressed as dance hall girls.  Our server however was dressed as a gunslinger.   But she was good.  Since we are now in Texas, I have to order Chicken Fried Steak. 

  Yummy, but the portion was so large I could only eat about half of it.  Notice the lack of veggies, other than parsley.  To be fair, they did serve me a salad before this.

There was a table with several Texans who were talking football and going on about how good  the Cowboys are and how badly the 49ers are going to get beaten in their pre-season game this coming Saturday night.  As we were leaving, the Husband walked by their table and said, “I don’t want to spoil your fun, but………………. Go Niners!”  You should have heard them scream as we got out of there fast.

For the last couple of days we have been seeing signs advertizing Dairy Queen’s Blizzard.  The husband has been salivating but I convinced him that this treat would be best saved for when he actually was in Texas.  Wouldn’t you know that this tiny little town would have a DQ!