Painting the Country Purple

A blogger friend of mine (only via email) calls herself the Homesick Texan. She writes a food blog but her current blog hopes for HOPE. She made it out of hoe cakes. A bit loony but it's a gentle political blog sort of, hoping for our future. That whoever is elected will stop being partisan and step up and be the President of the United States of America. Not just the President of the Democrats or the President of the Republicans. I want a MODERATE as President, whether he be Obama or McCain. I think the answer is Obama, but I have listened to both sides before making up my mind intelligently about who reflects my hopes and dreams for America AND who shares my values. That includes respecting the right of women to control their reproductive lives... birth control and having a choice! Since anti-choice is a big plank of the Republican manifesto aka platform, I can't vote for any Republicans. It would be against my conscience.

However, I would vote for painting the country purple! I'm in the minority here in Texas. It's no fun being a Democrat in Collin County Texas... only Republicans run for office, so I never get to select them as I don't vote in their primary. ;-) I think all local/county/school board/judge offices should be REALLY non-partisan, not just lip service to being sort of non-partisan. That's the state of Texas politics in my neck of the woods (prairie).

Stop and Go 75

Chuck invented a new term today... "stop and go 75". It was ridiculous. The traffic stopped and then started up fast again and then stopped again. Over and over. Such is life on I-35 in Texas, heading north from San Antonio to Dallas today. It was a tiring drive.

We had the good fortune to stop by and have some of Texas' best BBQ at Smitty's in Lockhart, again. We've decided that they are our favorite. A big plus was that they were open. The other famous BBQ joint in Lockhart, Kreutz Market, was closed on Sunday. We got some yummy smoked shoulder beef, an inch thick smoked pork chop and two rings of "hot" (sausage). The sausage is made by Smitty's and is fresh and loosely packed inside the casing. It's the best darn sausage in Texas. :-)

Fall in the Hill Country

This weekend has been spent in transit. Friday we drove from Plano to San Antonio. Today from San Antonio to Kerrville and back. Tomorrow reverse Friday, detour by Lockhart for some of the best damn BBQ in Texas.

I love the Texas Hill Country. True we don't have beautiful trees with fall colors... wrong state for that. Unless you find the Lost Maples State Natural Area in Bandera County. It's glorious there. But today we saw some of God's country aka the drive to Kerrville on I-10. I love that drive through the hills. It's a beautiful view of the hill country. It brings me back to my paternal family roots. My great-great-grandfather Phillip and gr-gr-grandmother Margaretha were German immigrants to the hill country of Texas. When I'm in this area, I think about them and their lives and those of their children and grandchildren.

My great-grandparents - Helwig & Anna lived in the hill country too. Probably had a "town" house where they lived when in town... the small town of Boerne Texas. My grandfather Albert started the exodus from Boerne as a young man. He went to seek his fortune in Mexico around the turn of the century (1900) at age 20. He didn't marry until 1916. His bride was a young woman born in 1895. They had a Victorian romance in 1915-16 and exchanged love letters between Mexico and Texas when he went home for a visit in 1915. Mary was born to an Irish immigrant mother, a school teacher and principal of a private "french" school in Mexico City. Her father is a mystery. We know his name but his heritage is mostly unknown. His last name, Bauche, is thought to be Bohemian (Czech) or Austrian. His mother was probably Spanish or Mexican. We don't know... too much time has passed and nothing was written down. But I have the love letters. Some day I'll write their love story to share with the world. Today I shared the letters with my cousins and some Aunts who didn't know that they existed. It was a special day in the hill country.

One Day at a Time

What a cliche, but how true! I'm taking it one day at a time now. I'm still thinking a lot about Blarney's life. My memories of him as a puppy and young dog are especially coming to my mind. He was a little rascal. I remember him chewing on everything! My wooden kitchen chair bore scars on their legs. His "nanny dog", Lady, put up with a lot from him, but she would also teach him how to behave. My friend Barbara said that he's probably in heaven playing with Lady now. I'm visualizing some games of fetch with my Dad also. My Dad is the one that first played fetch with him. Hard rubber balls were about the only toy that would last. All other toys got chewed up quickly. I would buy those little doll shaped fleece toys with a squeeker in them. He would chew on it until there was a hole. Then pull out the squeeker and all the stuffing (all over the floor). He would happily keep the empty toy and chew on it for weeks. Just being Blarney.

Working through my tears

I've been pretty good today. Haven't had too many tears. Everyone (at work and friends online) have been incredibly nice and supportive of me. It's great that people understand that a pet is an important part of your life. Life does go on. So will I. It's just that there is a very sad place in my heart where Blarney resides. I'm happy that he's out of his pain though. I will work it out and stop crying eventually. Until then, I'll be working through my tears.

A Tribute to Blarney

Please read this piece by my hubby http://chuckbloom.blogspot.com/2008/10/this-good-dog-goes-to-heaven-1990-2008.html where he write a sweet sweet piece about my dear departed dog Blarney.

Best Endorsement Yet... Colin Powell

I don't know how to embed a video clip.. so visit my friend Bill's page to see it.
http://12tutufondue.blogspot.com/2008/10/sometimes.html

Palin Flow Chart

http://bizarrocomic.blogspot.com/2008/10/flowing-fool.html
Check this out. A funny diagram by one of my fav cartoonists - Dan Piraro of Bizarro.

Here's another political one for you... twisted and funny
http://bizarrocomic.blogspot.com/2008/10/hi-treason.html

Good-bye Dear Canine Friend

Yesterday, our vet, Dr. Ward, said that it's time to say good-bye to my friend... my canine friend. Blarney has been with me since 1990. That's eons in dog years. So why is it so hard to say good-bye. He's been around longer than most of my friends, co-workers and husband. I don't know how to say good-bye to him. It's like loosing my child almost. My dear husband is afraid this will "undo" me in a big way. I think I just need to have a period for my grief to pass. It might be a long time, but I'll get through it. It's not like Blarney is suddenly sick. He's been having problems now for months. I have been dreading this day. Now I have a weekend to come to terms with it and Monday afternoon it will be over. We've given it the good fight. He's had lots of pampering, love and attention over the years. And I'll miss him, even his bad behaviour. Barking in the middle of the night. Peeing and pooping on the floor. Being a bit testy at times, but never biting. I plan to have him cremated and his ashes will join Natchez in our small atrium. Two really good dogs. Both loyal and dear. Good-bye dear friend.

Funny Guys!

New favorite blogger Dan Piraro, cartoonist of Bizarro fame.
http://bizarrocomic.blogspot.com
I've loved his cartoons for a long time, having a semi-twisted sense of humor myself. His work reminds me of my beloved Far Side cartoons that I used to treasure. His blog is funny and shows some insight into his personality. He's also a liberal and posted about his views on the current Presidential race also. Another reason to love his blog.
P.S. If you want to read some anti-Palin stuff click on the Bloom Blog listed in my favorites on the right side of this blog.

Wash On, Wash Off

I spent a bit of time yesterday uninstalling Internet Explorer 8 Beta. It turned out to get corrupted by some other software that I installed. Plus it was starting to get fatal errors all the time. Sometimes it seemed to be in a loop because it tried to restart automatically when an error occurred. I think I understand why end users without a computer degree get so frustrated with computers. I'm finally in the category. There is more that I don't know than I do.