Croatia also has traditionally hand painted eggs. This is the first of my new collection...and made of wood! (The pretty blue backdrop is the my view of the Adriatic from my Dubrovnik apartment.)
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Souvenirs
When I lived in Hungary I collected hand painted eggs (the egg was
drained through a tiny hole) painted in the traditional folk colors. It
was one of my favorite souvenirs and we used them to
decorate our Christmas tree. One year, when my son was a toddler, I found
him hiding under a desk. When I bent down to look, I found a pile of
tiny broken egg shells. I asked him what happened and he simply
shrugged his shoulders and said, "No chickens." These delicate beauties
survived a trip across the Atlantic but couldn't survive the inquisitive
mind of a toddler.
Croatia also has traditionally hand painted eggs. This is the first of my new collection...and made of wood! (The pretty blue backdrop is the my view of the Adriatic from my Dubrovnik apartment.)
Croatia also has traditionally hand painted eggs. This is the first of my new collection...and made of wood! (The pretty blue backdrop is the my view of the Adriatic from my Dubrovnik apartment.)
Monday, April 7, 2014
What I Miss Most About Texas
What’s so great about Texas, you ask?
After two months away from Texas the homesickness is
starting to creep in. Of course, I’ve
missed my family from day one.
Skype, Facebook and email has kept me in touch as much as it reminds me of what I'm missing. So, I thought it would be rather therapeutic
to share what I love about Texas with you.
Recently, I had a conversation with a man named Gus from
South Africa. He told me when he
travelled abroad and met someone from Montreal they would say “I’m from Canada.”
When he met someone from Pennsylvania they would say, "I’m from America.” But when he met someone from
Texas they would say “I’m from Texas.” He tilted his head and said “It’s as if they
consider Texas its own country.” Gus had
no idea how right he was.
Texans are full of pride and why shouldn’t we be? We are
some of the friendliest people anywhere in a state full of outdoor beauty,
history, a strong economy and lots of sunshine.
I think most Texans would be surprised to learn that people
around the world think Texas is one big desert.
And I think most people around the world would be surprised to learn it
isn’t. As a matter of fact, it’s less
than 10% desert. The state is so big we
have an extremely diverse landscape. We
have the desert, the swamps, the hill country, the beaches and everything in
between.
Our Texas highways that get you to all of these places is a
landscape in itself. Bluebonnets and
Indian Paintbrushes are native Texas flowers that decorate these highways every
spring. Having your photo taken in these
wildflowers is a rite of passage for every Texan.
Farmland also offers a fun and interesting backdrop
to the scenery. It is common to see people pulled over on the side of the road taking pictures. This is one I took on Interstate 35 to Austin.
The Texas Hill Country is in the central part of the
state with rolling hills, beautiful rivers and acres of wildflowers. Every summer it brings thousands of people for
“toobing” the rivers of the Guadalupe
and Comal. This is a lazy day of floating the river in the inner tube of a tire. After a lot of rain, rafting and kayaking are popular when the water is faster moving over the waterfalls.
The most famous Texas beaches would be Galveston, Port Aransas and South Padre Island. However, my family’s favorite is the best kept secret in Texas…Matagorda. Only 5 hours from Dallas/Ft. Worth, this quiet beach is perfect for families. We have gone there every summer for as long as I can remember. Matagorda Island is very remote, not much more than one row of beach houses and a campsite for fisherman. No grocery stores and no restaurants. But that's the way we like it. The bay's shore is close to the Colorado River delta, creating a thriving habitat for wildlife. Because of this, it's a fisherman, bird watcher, seafood lover and photographer's dream. There have been times, while lying on the beach, as far as I could see in any direction we were completely alone. Well, except for the fisherman lining the pier.
Fort Worth is one of my favorite cities. Where else can you find Picasso paintings, a daily longhorn cattle drive and a 100,000 square foot night club? The Kimball Art Museum is a free museum with free parking directly across the street on a beautiful piece of property. Sixty seconds after you walk in the door you are in a room with paintings by Picasso, Cezanne,
Bernini, Degas, Monet, just to name a few. We never get used to how something so amazing is made so accessible to the public. Next, in the Fort Worth Stockyards, is a twice daily cattle drive of Texas longhorn. Not only is it thrilling for the kids it is a reminder of Fort Worth's roots from not so long ago. Then there is Billy Bob's of Texas. Dubbed as "The Largest Honky Tonk in the World" this western night club has 20 acres of parking, 30 bar stations and its own recording label.
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| Daily Cattle Drive on Exchange Avenue |
Sports is
serious business in Texas. Locally, we
have our Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys and the two fabulous stadiums
that house them. Cowboy Stadium boasts a $40 million big screen TV, weighing 600 tons and 30 million light bulbs. (everything is bigger in Texas)
I’ve never really
followed sports but I love going to a Rangers baseball game. It’s easy to get caught up in the lights of
the game, the crack of the bat, hotdogs, peanuts, Frito pie, stomping your feet
to "We Will Rock You" and singing “Put Me in Coach” every 10 minutes. College ball is big, too. Rivals Texas Longhorns and Texas Aggies not only sell out seats to every single game but sell out hotel rooms months in advance. But let’s not forget high school
football. This is one ferociously
competitive sport that has earned its own segment on the nightly news.
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| Frito Pie |
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| The love of the game! |
Tailgating: A tailgate party is a gathering around the open tailgate of a truck before a sporting event. It is usually held in the parking lot of the stadium. Grilling food, drinking and predicting the outcome of the game is involved. It’s become so popular that it is extremely well organized with people bringing big screen TV’s, elaborate tents, generators, and expensive grills. It used to be only during collegiate or professional sports but now it is common to see it at highschool and even middle school sporting events. What can I say? Texans love any excuse to grill meat, drink beer and talk football.
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| As you can see, the actual truck and tailgate are optional. |
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| Tacos, enchilada, refried beans and Spanish rice |
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| Margarita |
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| Nachos |
There are hundreds of other reasons to love Texas. I can't possibly list them all but if you are interested in reading more about Texas here are some great links. The first 2 are my blogs I wrote last year on Calvert and Arp, Texas.
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