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The day was not an especially nice weather day, as it was cloudy and seemed like it could rain or mist, but it did not. Johnson City is on the way from Austin to parts unknown, and seems to try to get to be like Fredricksburg, but it probably won't make it. The area is where President Johnson grew up, his family had a large ranch here and thus the name of Johnson City was hung on it many years ago. First stop, of course was lunch.  A search of the web showed that the Country Cupboard was a popular spot, and it is located right at the intersection of westbound US290 and US 281.  We did not know it at the time, but on Friday, the catfish lunch is their highlight.  We luckily chose that.  Good fish, hush puppies, French fries and coleslaw. We drove westward to the old part of town, where the county courthouse is located.  Now, Blanco County likes to confuse folks as it has two county courthouses, one in Blanco, and this one in Johnson City.  Both are equal...

From this blog, one can easily see we get a lot of entertainment from short trips to explore the area around us in detail.  After all its the detail that provides the entertainment. Sometimes, you can be entertained by reading the local newspaper. For example, yesterday the local newspaper reported that the Board of Trustees of the local school district approved the filling of 7 new positions in the school system, for a total added expenditure of $325,000. The reporter went on to describe the new positions, because surely the taxpayer will be curious about where this nearly a third of a million dollars will be spent, and on what. One position is for a "credit recovery teacher" because there are "over 150 students who have lost credits and are attempting to recover their credits".  Anyone know about credit recovery? Another request was for four "social emotional learning counselors" to work "within our bullying protocol" and too "make ...

We were "on the fence" on our decision to visit the Jourdanton area on Saturday, but when Saturday arrived and the weather looked good, we were off on our trip.  We had an objective to visit the gun show in Jourdanton, but that would not have been enough incentive for the trip.  We always poke into detail on a trip like this to make it worthwhile. We travelled a different route south this time. Travelled through New Braunfels, to Hwy 1044, then to 175, then to 87 and hit the 1604 loop road south of San Antonio. Then sped down the Interstate to Pleasanton where we searched for food.  We didn't know it at the time, but all the glitz is on the road between Pleasanton and Jourdanton, a stretch of about 7 miles.  Glitsch meaning the array of fast food places.  We did know about two cafes as we researched the trip beforehand, but those two prospects, Lauries Deli and Chris's Café were closed on Saturday.  As a result of our lack of knowledge on all this, we had ...

We recently travelled to Wilson County to buy a few board feet of mesquite lumber for the next furniture project. We had become aware of Faifer as a supplier of wood harvested from some 100 miles around Floresville and so that was our destination. Travelling south from Seguin, the road takes you through some areas of sandy soil  that has attracted some great oak forests, for example, just north of Stockdale.  We were surprised (again) on the lack of commerce in Stockdale---it seems to be declining as a town.  Floresville, on the other hand, is very busy and seems to be in the center of business activity of the area. We bought the wood, chatted with the owners and learned a bit about the mesquite harvesting activity of the area. Back to the topic of personality of an area.  Travel northwest from where we live into the so called hill country and observe the nature of business and the kinds of people who live and visit the area. Then do the same for the area south of...

The Sharp Microwave quit operating on Thanksgiving day, just when we needed it the most.   This is the second time the unit just went stone dead.  The first time, the cause was the very small interface plug in at the back of the unit.  Resolved that problem by buying ten replacements for $1.95 shipped from China. Fixed same and was back in business.  That was a year ago.  When it failed this time, we naturally suspected the same sort of failure, so we hauled it out of the hole in the cabinet, set it on a card table, then confirmed that the problem was the interface connector.  Replaced same and it worked in time for the Thanksgiving Day cooking. But, it was still not in the cabinet but on a card table as we were unable (the two of us) to lift it back into the cabinet hole.  It was easy getting out and down, but lifting it back up and in was beyond our safe ability. So, we thought about it for awhile, then devised a ramp from the card table to the cab...

Amber had been getting her annual vaccinations at a pet hospital on the other side of San Marcos, but this year we decided to move her vaccinations to Four Paws vet place just a few miles up the road from where we live. This veterinarian place has a good reputation so we put Amber into her travel case (she has just about outgrown the case, so it is a tight fit) and off we went.  No screeching this time, perhaps she thought she was going to someplace pleasant. She was comfortable all the time we sat in the waiting room, but as soon as we got her into the medical area, she took every opportunity to hiss and spit through the bars of the cage like a trapped tiger. The vet came in to the room and we took the cover off the travel carrier, and, just like in the past, she stayed in the tray without moving, but taking every opportunity to hiss and spit.  The vet, experienced in all this, determined she was doing this because she was afraid, and not viscious. So, after several minute...

Today we attended one of the seminars conductend by Cindy and Beverly.  They are the Interactive  Genealogy Group and provide seminars on family history rsearch tecniques.  This the fourth one we attended,  the next one being in Seguin on the 20th of January. This presentation was made at the Dripping Springs Library from 10 am to 12pm. We then went to the restaurant Thyme and Dough where we shared  a tuna sandwich and bought a loaf of their hearty multi grain bread.

How could we have missed this all these years?   Dee was reading in the local newspaper about an antique car club meeting at Martindale on Saturday the 11th of November after which the car club was to motor to the Kingsbury Aerodrome for a judged show.  We had to take that in for sure. We drove out of SM on highway 621 to Staples, then on to Kingsbury where we jogged  to the east just a half mile or so on Highway 90 and then south a short bit to the location of the aerodrome. The aerodrome is really the grounds of the Pioneer Flight Museum.  Its a volunteer group that runs a large tract of land that has a grass runway, and a large area for display of war relics and such.  The attendees were mostly aficionados of aircraft and of restored cars and were spread out over the large area so that no area was too busy to chat with people at our leisure. We chatted with one 72 yr old fellow who had similar childhood experieces to ours.  He went to a one room sch...

Well, it was a nice day on Saturday, the 28th of October, so we decided to go to Seguin to see what the craftspeople had to show us on the square. But, as usual, first we had to have lunch at Kirby's Korner.  Not much, but okay.  Then, on into the center of Seguin via US 90 business route.  We found a good parking place and then, us usual, we had to have our after lunch coffee at Court Street Café.  They have pretty good coffee and it is a pleasant old time café---even though it is not old. Oh, yes, we also had a cinnamon nut muffin, which was shared. Off to the square with two interests, one was to find Jordan, the jewelry maker and the other was to see if there was anything of interest in all the other booths. Things change.  This two part festival has a second contingent at the heritage park north of the Interstate.  We used to make that out must first stop as they offered a turkey dinner lunch for 8 $ which was really great.  Then, we could wal...

Just found the photos from the Serbin Picnic of 2016, so had to create the post---the one I apparently forgot to do.  So, recognize that this post is a year late. The Serbin picnic was the same as the one we attended a year or so ago, but this one was really minus a lot of key players----- the people who demonstrated their crafts.  We believe this Picnic was lacking these craftspeople because the weather this weekend was really threatening with forecasts of flooding. The band is always a centerpiece of the eating hall, and they are always dressed in their old time outfits. This is the first time that we walked the distance to the back of the property  and visited the inside of the church.  A brightly painted church, but not quite like the Czech churches known as the "painted churches". The society operates a museum of period house hold items.  The music area of the museum is especially interesting.  It was in this museum a year or so ago that a ...

Hurricane Harvey hit and was heading right for our home, but then turned tail and went back to the coast.  The eye came to within about 50 miles of our location.  It brought a fair amount of rain, measuring about 12 inches over two days.  The ground was so dry and the rain so steady that virtually none of the rain collected in the sloughs, so we concluded that most or all of it sunk into the ground.  The best rain that has occurred in this area, as far as ground soaking goes, in a long time. Others got more, much more than they needed.  This rainfall, of over inches in some areas, caused rivers to get to near record stage and flooded many areas.  It will be long time recovering from this.

We had an interesting conversation with Glenn Keith, an architectural welder from Wimberley.   He was born in Wimberley, not far from the center of town.  He recalled many interesting occasions, one being that his mother made mustang grape wine and he peddled it to the students of Texas State--long before it was TSU. Here's the back of his business card, it shows just one of his projects---a front entrance gate. We concluded that he should jot down some notes of the history of the area, but Glenn was not too enthused about all this. He was full of good practical information, such as reminding us that we have very few ticks because we now have all these fireants.

It always gets dry in central Texas, but this is as dry as it has been even compared to the drought of 5 years ago. One measure of the drought is when frost weed wilts and keels over. The animals really suffer and we have not seen but one or two butterflies so far, and here it is mid July.  We had to dig several plants that we had put in the ground about two months ago because when watered, some animal dug them up thinking it had found a source of water.  Those  plants are now in pots in the breezeway. Two bird baths filled with water one day are empty by morning. The vegetable garden is finished, the flower garden is all but finished Last rain of any merit was April 17th

On occasions we go to the KwikSave market at the Exxon station in Wimberley for coffee and light lunch from their food selection.  Plus, they have gasoline prices competitive with the lowest in the area. Its always interesting to find some local people to chat with who come to the store for drinks or food.  Some sit to rest and eat, others just buy snacks and leave. Recently two men and a small boy arrived in two large dump trucks.  The trucks were red, rather new looking and really well maintained.  They parked out in front of the gas pumps as that is the only place to park vehicles this large.  The drivers and the small boy came into the store and as they were about to leave, walked past our table.  I could not resist commenting on their trucks and how well they were maintained.  That seemed to spark their interest in conversation, so we chatted at length. Seems as if they were drivers for a local man who owns the trucks.  What was especiall...

The following rhyme recalls the school day recess activity of about 1954 in Carl School.  It was written about 1965 by DGTusch.

Plum, Texas  6.25.2017 Plum is a small town just to the west of LaGrange.  It is an historic town settled by Americans and German immigrants in 1869 along the MKT railroad track. The first settlers established the Baptist Chuch.  Later it was a favorite place for Czech immigrants to settle, and with a larger Czech population, the community was able to build the Catholic Church.  The stone for the Catholic Church appears to be transition limestone, which is quite flinty and much harder than one typically knows limestone.  It was quarried at Muldoon. The Catholic Church, Sts Peter and Paul, has hosted a feast every year since 1927, so this year was the 90th year that they put on this fund raising effort. The food was good, maybe the best of all the church picnics so far this year.  It featured fried chicken, sausage, smashed potatoes, sauerkraut, beans, and dressing, along with tea and a dessert. The dining area was small, and the tables were close toge...

Schulenberg, Texas 6.11.2017   We another good picnic at the Knights  of Columbus Hall in Schulenberg, right alongside Hwy 77 just south of the city downtown.  This KC hall was large and they had a very efficient serving line.  The food was really good, consisting of fried chicken, sausage, sauerkraut, green beans and smashed potatoes.  All with dessert for $9.00 Here is a photo of the inside with the many people enjoying the outing: Since this is a fundraiser for the church, they also had a silent auction and a regular auction.  The items in the auction were those that were donated to the picnic by individuals and by local companies. Outside, there was a really tuneful Czech band: We listened to the music for maybe 30 minutes and then the band took their break.  We sat next to a couple who were visiting from Fort Worth, the lady having grown up about two blocks from the church, so it was a homecoming for them. While we ate our lunch...

The Cat, aka Amber, has taken up a position at the front door side windows for the last few months. These side windows go all the way to the floor, so she can crouch there and look out at whatever happens outside. There has been a stray cat that wanders by on occasions and we often wonder if the stray cat is what she waits for each night.  Not at all sure how a cat who has only seen her mother some years ago can recognize another cat out the window, but that is a whole other story. So, we happened to think that maybe the raccoon is her nightly visitor.  So, last night we put the game camera on the front step, and sure enough, there it is. We wonder what the raccoon thinks when it sees the cat grinning  through the glass pane?

For the third year in a row, the Leopard Frog has taken up residence in the water tub under the front eave.  This year it was early, but that may have been because we went several weeks without any rain and the surrounding area was getting dry---definitely not frog habitat. The frog continues to sit on the plank, partly in the water.   There are times when the frog will leave for a few days, and so we are watching to see when it takes a short trip out of the tub again this year.

This year, without any doubt we constructed the best garden ever at this location.  It came about because we built raised beds for the vegetables and we were diligent at keeping the weeds under control. We planted tomatoes, 3 varieties, three kinds of squash, cilantro, parsley, turnips and beans.  They all got off to a good start. And then the deer found how to get into the garden.  No we were not so naïve to think that this nice new garden would not need protection from the deer, so we had built a six foot high fence all around, except the part accessible from the breezeway. We went through about ten iterations of building a more secure fence, each time finding that the deer (we think just one) located another way to get in, either by jumping or crawling through some small hole. The last move on our part was to extend the fence to 8 feet high.  This was determined to be needed because one night I spotted the deer in the garden, opened the door to scare the cr...

Small show, but a good one nonetheless The show had about 40 cars, here is one that was exceptional: This car had jackups and so here, was sitting on its bottom, so to speak.

What a treat, following not too long after the visits by the B-24 and B-25. The Ford TriMotor is one of six left in the country, this one now owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association, on tour.   One could take a ride for $75 which was quite a bargain.  We didn't take them up on it, but many did. The wing was exceptionally thick and so the luggage compartment was in the wing.  One could access the compartment through this drop down door. The interior had a look of old time luxury.  Some of the TriMotors had wicker chairs for seating.  Also on the parking area was this old plane in excellent condion.  It was a C-??

The Collings Foundation makes a once a year tour of America, showing off the few remaining aircraft used in WWII. These are in excellent condition and one can walk right up to them for inspection, both inside and outside. There was as B-24 Liberator. This is Dee and the pilot of the B-24.  He was about to take off and take the plane to an airport in San Antonio. Here is a B-25, small by comparison.

This was a picnic that we had never attended before.  It was at the Lutheran Church in Hostyn, about two hours drive from home. We arrived in good shape, weather was good and not too warm. The food was as bit different, having been heralded as sausage and pork with all the usual trimmings.  The usual trimmings means green beans and sauerkraut.  The pork was a surprise.  At picnics, we only know pork as BBQ pork---but this was small cubes of pork of which more than half was fat.  It was in a liquid broth and scooped out onto the plate.  Others later told us that it was pork belly cooked in water with seasonings.  Need to avoid this next year. We sat alongside a lady who was from the area many years ago and now lives in Dripping Springs.  She was a wealth of information, and did show us a lot of her work as an artist.  Did not get her name---should have.  She was on the lookout for any one she might have known from her childhood in the...

Here at Texas State University, we joined  a group of about 200 to hear two panel discussions on the significance of the Inaugural activity as a tradition, a tradition based on civility.  It has been a long standing tradition that peaceful, civil handoffs is one of our hallmarks of a democratic process. Here is the agenda for this conference.  It was presented in a well moderated manner and only an hour after the time of the 2016 inauguration.  This was a presentation which taught us some important traditions of our government.