2011/087: Flowering Dogwood
I loved these! My favorites at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
And how lucky that the morning clouds disappeared, and we had this beautiful blue sky in the afternoon.
2011/083: Rainflowers
At least that’s what we called them when we were kids, and if you picked one, it would rain the next day.
2011/081: The Day Has Come
Not to rub it in or anything (I know some of you got to watch the snow fall yesterday), but it’s officially flip-flop weather here! And what better way to celebrate the day, than with a brand new pair of sandals?
2011/080: Bonus – Longhorn Beetle
Although someone might argue that it’s a Six Legged Greater Spotted Horned Beetle Bird! Still looks like a bug to me…. an ugly one. And he looks kinda mean, too!
2011/080: Fred’s Texas Cafe
We made a little trip to Fort Worth on Saturday, and while we were there, we ate lunch at Fred’s Texas Cafe. It was one of the places featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. The kids each had a hamburger, Greg tried the Diablo Burger, and I had the Portobello Mushroom Burger. SO good! Everyone else liked their food, too, although I have to say that the French fries were a bit soggy.
Sorry, no real picture of the food (just the picture of the menu), I was too hungry to take pictures.
2011/078: Laundry
I hate laundry. Hate it, hate it, hate it!! Ok, it’s not the putting a load in the washer or in the dryer part, but the folding part I could do without.
Melissa has been folding hers (although she needs a refresher course), Greg is hopeless, and Sara is just a little too young, but everyone puts their own clothes away. We have a sectioned hamper, and everyone knows where everything goes, so the laundry is already pre-sorted. It’s just that darn folding part.
I can’t remember how old my washer was, but sometime last summer I noticed white flakes on the clothes, thinking it was detergent that didn’t completely dissolve, and switched to liquid. Found out much later that it was a problem with the washer, and not the detergent at all.
Then a few months ago, the loads became unbalanced. It wasn’t anything I did wrong, it was the washer. It got worse and worse, and every once in a while, the water wouldn’t drain during the spin cycle. I tell you, it’s no fun, having to baby-sit your washing machine all day. Running in the to fix the unbalanced load, or opening the lid and closing it again at the start of the spin cycle. That seemed to fix the water draining problem, but there was still this burnt rubber smell if I didn’t make it in there fast enough.
Then finally with the tax refund and Greg’s bonus in the bank, we looked for a new washer (thankfully the old one hung in there just long enough!). It’s bigger than the old one, and a front-loader instead of top-loader, and it’s a high-efficiency model. Not only does it save energy and uses less water, but the clothes come our so dry, it saves about 20 minutes of drying time in the dryer! AND it plays a happy little song when it’s finished. I still don’t like doing laundry, but it isn’t quite as bad as it was before.
2011/077: Fun With Braids
What do you do with long hair that’s always a tangled mess, with bangs that are always in her eyes (while she grows them out)? Braid it of course, and call it a Princess hair-do!
She didn’t like it at first (I think she looks adorable!) so I told her that years ago, all the real-life princesses wore their hair like this… and wouldn’t you know it? She loved it, and even pointed out that her name means princess!
And of course the typical Sara look! 😉
2011/075
Friendship is like a star: You don’t see its light in the brightness of prosperity, but in the darkness of adversity.
~ Anonymous
2011/074: No More Training Wheels
Sara finally learned to ride her bike without her training wheels!
This was at the Junior Highschool track. Unfortunately she fell just a few minutes before I took this picture. She scraped her ankle and the handlebar hit her in the chin, leaving a small bruise. She was close to crying but she didn’t. (Tough cookie, that one!) Even so, she wasn’t happy that I made her get back on the bike before heading home, so I could get some pictures.
2011/072: My Daughter, The Artist (2)
Part 2: Anime
These last three required a little creative editing because the pencil was really light and didn’t photograph well.
My personal favorite is “Hanna”.
2011/069: After A Spring Rain
We had a couple of quick rain showers on Tuesday afternoon, and when it was all over, the sun finally came out again, after too many cloudy dreary days. I grabbed my camera and headed out into our backyard. Good thing I did, because by Wednesday morning the wind had blown most of the plum blossoms off the trees.
Plums
Redbud
Raindroplets on the grill cover
The Daily Click 