The Museum of Automobiles

The Museum of Automobiles

It always amazes me that wherever we go it seems a museum , car collection, bus collection or car race is somewhere close by so I should not have been surprised when on the lovely quaint country road up to Petit Jean mountain and Mather Lodge what should we pass but “The Museum of Automobiles”.

It looked to be a splendid building with a fountain display outside and a huge car park just waiting for visitors.

Can you imagine going to school in this bus?

So the next day we went to visit and for the sum of $9 each ( seniors) we were treated to just a lovely display of beautiful old cars in a lovely, well kept .air conditioned building with very hospitable staff.

How's this for a food truck?

Most of the cars looked to be really old but we did see a few that even I recognized as being more modern. I think I even saw a 1967 Ford Ranchero but most of the cars date to before 1950 and some way, way before that.

The museum was founded by Winthrop Rockefeller , a governor of Arkansas in 1964 and quite a few of his splendid cars are to be seen here. There is a lovely old school bus and a popcorn van and 2 great cadillacs owned by Rockefeller.Some of the other cars are on loan to the museum.

1967 Cadillac with a sterling-silver Santa Gertrudis hood ornament.
belonging to Governor Rochefeller

One thing I really liked about this museum was that it did not overwhelm you like some museums do. It had just enough cars and different kinds of cars and other small machines to keep your interest . It was a very pleasant experience and well worth $9 .(P.S $10 if you are not a senior).

For any car enthusiasts who happen to read this and want to know more check out their website at http://www.museumofautos.com/

The Story of Petit Jean.

The Story of Petit Jean.

The Arkansas river from Petit John Mountain

The state park in Arkansas where we stayed is called Petit Jean State Park.

The story starts with a young French nobleman called Chavet in the 1700s who came to explore the Louisiana territories. At that time he was engaged to be married to a young French lady Adrienne Dumont. She wanted to get married immediately so she could go with him on his trip but he refused knowing of the hardships that would lie ahead.

So secretly and without telling him, Adrienne disguised herself as a young boy and managed to get a job on the ship sailing to the Americas a a cabin boy. The crew called her Petit Jean which translated means Little John . Even Chavet did not recognize her in her clever disguise.

Another view

The ship sailed up the Mississippi and then the Arkansas river landing on the mountain in Arkansas. The friendly Indians of the area invited Chavet and the crew to spend summer at the mountain. At the end of summer the ship was readied to sale back to France and the crew boarded ready to set sail.

That night Petit Jean became deathly sick and the departure was delayed. During the course of her illness , Petit Jean's identity became known. Adrienne begged for forgiveness of her deception from Chavet and asked if she died to be buried on a grave on the mountain overlooking the river. So when she died at sunset the indians carried her back up the mountain and buried her.

The grave of Petit Jean

So the grave is still there and if you ever go to this beautiful mountain you can see it high on the mountain side overlooking the river.

Blogging continues... Our vacation

Blogging continues... Our vacation

Mather Lodge.

The idea was to continue with my daily blog each day I was on vacation even if it was only a photo and a caption but this didn't happen as finding a internet connection proved to be difficult and using a tablet to blog even more so. So I gave up and decided to make up for it at the end of the year.

Lodge Entry

We had to cut our vacation road trip back to a week because of illness. We had been going to visit Toronto in Canada . The long road trip with all the places to visit on the way would take about 6 days but that was not to be this year. So for a mini vacation and a calming period we decided to visit Petit Jean state park in the hills and mountains of Arkansas .

View from the back of the lodge over the valley

This is a beautiful area , very peaceful with hiking trails and a lovely lake and above all a beautiful mountain lodge which fortunately had a place for us to stay. 

To be continued.....

Autumn

Autumn

So Autumn finally got here and with it a very welcome change in the weather. After a very long hot and dry summer in our part of Texas, we woke up to a less humid day with the temperature only in the 6os and sun shining through the trees. The day was a perfect Autumn Day. The only thing missing were the colored leaves. They are still either brown ( dead) or dark shrivelled green. The best part is we had a good downpour of rain also a couple of days ago and that will freshen the leaves up and so the colors of Autumn will soon be coming.

Shirley at camp with the Girl Guides

Shirley at camp with the Girl Guides

Our Patrol- Shirley and Ann first row on left
What a motley crew!!

In England, when I was young, one of the activities you could join was the Girl Guides , I think it's called the Girl Scouts in the USA. It was a fun thing to do. You got to play games , wear a uniform, learn to do all sorts of things that you didn't get taught in school and if there were some kind adults available, have a chance at going to camp sometime in the summer holiday.

Going to camp was not like going to camp as the kids do today.

You really went to basic camp. You had to pack your own kit, pitch your own ( huge) tent which you share with your patrol,and cook your own meals over a fire . Add to that you were only allowed to start the fire by collecting wood from the nearby land and then only allowed 2 matches to get the fire going. I still remember how to do this.

I remember a very special camping trip when we went to a place for about a week. Most of the week it rained. It was England after all. The tent pitchers were not well trained and the tent spent a lot of the time being blown down, leaking water and being repitched.( not sure if that's a word).

My best friend Ann and I were given the job of cooking a huge pot of cabbage. When we went to drain it over a waste area, the whole pot spilledand the cabbage fell into the pit. We got a fit of the giggles and ended up scooping the fallen cabbage back into the pot.What a mess! We daren't tell anyone. We felt sure we would be sent home in disgrace. We were certain someone would be ill from eating the cabbage.But it all ended okay. No one was worse the wear from eating the cabbage . Both Ann and I didn't choose to eat cabbage that night.

It still makes me smile just thinking about it.

Ah those were the days....

Unusual Ideas

Unusual Ideas

I always appreciate ideas which are simple and useful. On my facebook page I found this very interesting site called http://theownerbuildernetwork.com. It has all kinds of interesting photos of all kinds of things for the home and interesting articles. Check it out.

Today I saw a coffee table which is such a good idea that it would be very nice to have one of these. ( hint, hint).

I can see it being used for not only a lap top and an office area but also for those times when you want to have a meal watching the TV. We don't do that often because it's really hard to balance shepherd pie and /or soup on your lap!!

The Barley Moon

I have never heard this term before so I listened carefully yesterday evening when our local weather man on TV said that yesterday evening would be a barley moon. Also he added it is sometimes called a corn moon or even a harvest moon and actually if you want to see it at the best time you should look to the western sky at approx 6.30 am Thursday morning.Not my favorite time of day.

I happened to mentioned this fact to Mike in passing.So I really should not have been surprised this morning when I was in a blissful sleep and I felt a nudge and a voice asking me “If I had seen the moon yet.” In a dreamlike trance I muttered something , fell out of bed, open the shutter on the window and there it was shining brightly in the sky framed by the branches of the dark trees.

Pretty yes! Bright yes!

Made me want to sleep some more so I crawled back to bed and went straight off back to dreamland.

When Mike brought me a cup of coffee he asked “Did you see the moon?”

“Yes” I said,” it was just like any other bright moon, big round and yellow”

I thought it was him that had nudged me up out of a dream to see it but then maybe not.

I did look up today to find out why it is called a barley moon and it seems it was so called because it comes in September and is the time when the barley is being harvested. A corn moon is also bright and full but usually comes in August. The "Harvest Moon" is the full moon closest to the beginning of Autumn .

Binky's Life Change

Binky's Life Change

I heard over the weekend that for one dog ( Binky) her life did get changed forever..

I had been watching this little cocker spaniel mix at the shelter and she was such a sweet little thing that I felt for sure her owner would come and pick her up.A couple of weeks passed and Binky was still there. 

Binky

I had a phone call from the shelter worker to take Binky off the adoption listings as she had developed kennel cough. Usually when a dog gets kennel cough at the shelter it means that they will be euthanized as no one will adopt a dog with a cough. It can be cured with medication but it takes a while . I was very sad for Binky.

I went over to the shelter about a month later to take some more photos and to my surprise in one of the back runs was Binky. She seemed to have lost some weight but there was no sign of a cough and even better, she was going on the adoption list again almost 2 months after she had come in.

I took some more photos and rewrote a description to personalise and show this sweet little dog to the best advantage hoping that this time she would find a new loving home. 

The great news is by the weekend I heard she had been adopted to a lovely family .So in this case the saying above did come true.

I do wish it could come true for lots more.....

Now I can read E books!!

Now I can read E books!!

If you read my blogs from time to time you know that I love to read and average reading between one or two books each week.

When I got my tablet I was looking forward to being able to read an E book I knew my library had a service that I could join which was just like a regular library. You just borrow the book for a certain time

.

A while ago I tried to set this up to read on my lap top but it seemed too complicated and also not a very pleasant way to read sitting at a desk or with a computer balanced on your lap.

 Now with my tablet this should be a lot better .I can sit on the couch or even read in bed. So today I took the plunge and went into the library and a very helpful librarian, walked me through all the steps and within minutes there was a book waiting to be heard on my tablet. Yes I said heard because you can order audio books as well. I ordered A Reluctant Queen from the list that appeared really just to see how it worked. Normally I would read through the synopsis to see if it was a book I wanted.I'll let you know later how this worked out and if it is a god book to listen to or ro read.

When I got home I tried it out and it worked just fine and I spent a pleasant hour after lunch just listening to the start of a story of Esther ( of Biblical fame ).

I also downloaded 2 other books which are regular books and soon I shall see how they work. It will be very nice to be able to enlarge the font size as well as it seems to me books are being printed in very small print these days especially paperbacks.

Or maybe I am just getting older.

Horse painting

Horse painting

my painting

I have 2 friends who specialize in painting pictures of horses and do a great job.See their paintings here http://bradburyjb.blogspot.com/

Horses are such beautiful creatures that they really make you want to paint them and take photos of them or even just look at them.

So I saw this photo of a horse and I really thought it was such an an interesting and unusual shot and just wondered if I could paint it. I have painted dogs and cats before but I think horses are much more challenging.

So I got my water color paints out and had a go. It was difficult especially the legs but I imagine that is always the trouble with getting proportions right on a horse as they have such robust bodies on delicate legs so It's difficult to make them look right.

Changing out the Firescreen

Changing out the Firescreen

New painting of Beach Cove

I am tired of my original painting that I made for my fire screen. It was okay but a change is as good as a rest I think. O I set to and Painted a scene form my latest vacation at Monterey.It is pretty large -2.5ft by approx 2feet all on a very bumpy piece of wood . I did prepare the surface by slapping on a couple of coats of gesso and then went at it with thick acrylic paint.

Old painting ,sunlit pool in snow

It was a challenge as the original photo was very gray looking and I wanted something brighter. Not sure I really like how it came out.

I might have to find another piece of wood I think

Shirley, the skater

I loved to skate .When I was about 11 years old I had a pair of tin roller skates that you actually had to put under your shoes and hold them on with leather straps. The wheels were very plain and no ball bearings so to actually skate was quite an effort. But it was fun and in those days there was so little car traffic on the road where we lived , you could skate all over the road just outside your front door.

This photo was taken when we went on a summer holiday ( vacation) to Clacton one year. I remember we stayed in a caravan ( trailer) which was actually a bus ride from the beach and the seaside but it was a holiday away from home for a week and it also had a funfair. The best thing for me was there was a skating rink and for not much money I could borrow skates and skate on the rink for an hour or so. I think my parents and sisters just went off and left me to do other things but I liked skating the best.

these were the kind of skates I had

Later on I tried ice skating as well but the nearest ice rink was in Wembley which was a rather long bus or train ride away from where we lived so I didn't do that much until we went to Montreal when I was about 30. That didn't last long either just when the kids were little. They soon were much better than I would ever be. I did get a lovely pair of white skating boots when we were first there but it's pretty cold skating in a Montreal winter outside on the ice rinks. I think I left the boots in Montreal when I moved to Texas.

I never tried the inline road skates but now I think I'm a bit too old to try .

The Biggest Lie

The Biggest Lie

It does get worse as you get older but I think everyone suffers from it to some extent. You don't bother to write something down you need to remember because you tell yourself” Oh I'll remember that!” . So you get to the store , you pick up the things you need but at the checkout counter you just know that there is something else you know you were going to buy but what was it? There is no way you can remember it.

Don't worry. 

I know as soon as you get out the store you'll remember it.

We even have an ingenious device which Mike made from an idea given to him from his friend Bernie. We have this pull down shopping list where we are supposed to write items down as soon as we know we need to buy them. Mike is good at doing it but I think “Oh yes I'll write that on the shopping list in a moment when I go into the kitchen” But then I forget and of course shopping time comes and the item is forgotten.

Same way with these blogs. I think of a good idea for a blog but I don't write it down and then I just can't remember it. Or even worse I write something down such as “ car and carrots” and then have no idea what I was thinking about.

Now what was I supposed to be writing about???

Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman

Freud's Mistress

I honestly don't know much about Freud or his philosophical theories but I thought this book might be an interesting  historical novel that might give me some knowledge of this time in Europe.

The novel is based on the rumored affair of Sigmund Freud with his sister in law Minna. Freud's wife Martha is the domesticated and mothering type , very upright and just the right kind of person to advance Freud's career. She is considered a beauty and very desirable, She   attracts  Freud and they get married and have a family. Freud takes little interest in the children as he is constantly working on theories of the mind and so the household and family is managed by Martha.  Minna the other sister,  is just the opposite to Martha. She is also attractive but intellectual and questioning. When she falls on hard times she comes to live with her sister Martha and Freud supposedly to help look after the children. You can easily guess what happens. Freud welcomes this avid listener to explain and discuss his theories especially as his wife couldn't care less about his work . Freud is quite a lady's man and the obvious happens. 

The plot is very direct but strangely enough it holds the reader.It is well writtten and researched.

Intertwined in the novel comes Freud's rise to prominence and discussion about his theories.

I did enjoy the book. It is easily read and the source material seems very well researched.

The Annoying Popper

The Annoying Popper

I don't know whether you can buy this toy anymore but I can assure you it is one of the most annoying toys you can have in the house and furthermore young ones at the toddling age REALLY love them. I can remember it was our boys' favorite toy soon after they had learned to walk. As the child pushed the toy along the little wooden balls would bounce up hit the plastic top and make a lovely loud noise, POP . All day you would hear this pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, crash , various noises of a child getting vertical again and then pop, pop ,pop, ad nauseam. 

 It is one of those sounds that get on your nerves especially if you are a new mum and would love a bit of peace and quiet.

There was just one advantage to this toy. You always knew where your child was.

I was so glad when the first one we had broke. I think the handle came off and we threw it out in case a little boy stuffed the balls down his throat .I was not so glad when Grandma thinking she was doing us a big favor, went out and bought another.

Shirley the child

Shirley -the child 

And what a very plain little child at that!!.I think this photo was kept hidden away for years. Those are not special effects around the edges .It's the real stuff- mildew. I must have been about 7 to 8 years old I guess when this was taken. I had the little girls' favorite hairstyle ,the plaits bordering the head and I still remember the struggle to get the hair all parted out and put into plaits and the ribbon on the end every day. 

I can tell from the homemade clothes this must have been soon after the war as the jumper ( sweater) was no doubt knitted by my Mum. Just everyone knew how to knit in those days and the skill was put to good use in making sure the kids were all clothed in warm woolies. The pinafort skirt has all the marks of being  home made as well.

I remember this time as being a pretty happy time- too young to realize what was going on in the world , enough to eat and a home which was safe and warm. Friends to play with and time and freedom to be a regular kid. We lived in a neighborhood where everyone knew each other and all the mums helped all the kids and a sense of belonging prevailed. The only thing that was miserable were sweeties ( candies) were still rationed and you got them only once a week.! I remember it was about this time when I saw a banana for the first time. I had never seen one before.

Our Furry Visitors

Our Furry Visitors 

"Another walk PLEASE!"

This week we have 2 more doggy visitors staying with us. Chloe and Natalie, our son and daughter's 2 huge golden retrievers have joined us while their owners take a vacation. They are very used to staying with us as ever since they were pups they have visited with us and played with the pets at our house. They really are no trouble as although they are very large they are gentle and well trained and do fine with our 2 dogs and also the 4 cats. So presently we have 4 big dogs and 4 cats which makes for a pretty “furry house”.

We are having a few extra problems this time as Natalie has just had knee surgery which means as she is still recovering from her surgery and so must be kept so she doesn't run or use her leg too much. She walks fine most of the time but we were cautioned to keep her on a leash to walk her because if she sees a squirrel , or raccoon or possum she will rush out with the rest of the dogs and there goes the knee joint again. So this has meant walking the dogs 4 or 5 times a day just around the yard and keeping the doggy door closed. Normally we have the door open and so the dogs would usually spend a lot of the time out in the yard but with it closed ,the dog fur keeps building up.

Good job I have a good vacuum cleaner!!

Remembering “Blanko”

Remembering “Blanko”

A lot cleaner than they were!

Yesterday I did something I have been meaning to do for a long time. Clean my running shoes. When I say running shoes , I never actually run anywhere in them but I guess these days they are called athletic shoes .This kind of footwear has many many names.( I think I wrote a blog on that once!)

I finally have found a pair that I really like Avia Archrockers.They have an enlarged padded innersole and even came with a video to explain how beneficial they are. Once you get used to them I really think they help your feet and leg muscles.

Now my pair are getting old and I have looked all over to find a new pair with no luck. I thought I would clean them as they were looking grungy because I do sometimes forget and wear them when I do gardening. I thought about putting them in the washing machine but I haven't had a lot of success with that method in the past as they get really squashed out of shape. So I set too with some Fantastic cleaner and a little scrubbing brush and worked hard to get them to look fresh and clean again. I did as best as I could and then put them out in the sun to dry.

I remembered in “the good old days” we used to use Blanco to keep our shoes ( plimsolls) looking clean and white. This was like a thick white paste that you painted all over the shoe. I bet it's not even sold now. It certainly did the trick.

In those days you looked after your shoes. You did not go out and by new ones.

PS. I just looked Blanko up on the web and in fact you can still buy it. What a surprise!

Baby Shirley

Baby Shirley

I thought for a bit about what I could write and came up with the idea of finding all the old photos of me and writing a bit about each one. Not very thrilling for anyone reading this blog but when I have to come up with something to write/draw/paint/photo each day and I have done this now for well over 230 times this year it gets to be a real challenge not to repeat myself. 

May be interesting to my kids and grandkids if they ever read it.

So here goes.

Shirley- the beginning.

I couldn't find many baby photos but that is probably because I was born in Ipswich,England in 1938 at the start of WW 2 so I can imagine life was difficult then for my parents. They had just come through a difficult time during the depression years and cameras and film were expensive. This was probably a studio photo and nearly everyone born at this time had one of these taken. I'm just happy mine wasn't the type where the baby is lying on a fur quite naked!!

I  was a very small baby only weighing about 2.5lbs when I was born. I guess that was because I was induced prematurely as my mom had toxemia or I think that is what happened from what she said. I probably spent quite a little while in the hospital. I know on the back of this photo in pencil it says 'Shirley- 4 months". I can see I was very little at 4 months compared to most 4month babies but maybe that's what was meant to be as I have stayed little since then. Anyhow, after a uncertain start , that was the beginning.

Past Memories- Cape Cod

Sunset in Cape Cod

Sunset over the Bay at Brewster

One of the many beautiful sunsets we saw on our vacation to this lovely part of America.

Brilliant Idea ( if only we could do it.)

Brilliant Idea ( if only we could do it.)

I saw this on facebook.

When I saw this sign I thought that would be a marvelous idea. All through my vacation I looked for places where I could find a WiFi connection. Most of the trains we traveled on didn't have it. The Amtrak coast Starlight had if for a short time but just mostly around the LA area . At Union Station the only place I could find a connection would be at Starbucks and that was crowded out. There were even a few people with their lap tops sitting on the floor just outside Starbucks as well .Naturally the Texas Eagle and the Sunset Limited doesn't have it either. They are the ugly ducklings of the Amtrak family. Considering how much everyone uses the internet these days the connections to be found are very limited.

Trees however are not. Most places have some kinds of trees. Think of all the opportunities we would have if we made Wifi available on all trees or even just some of them.Now you would really think some bright geek with knowledge of all that technical stuff would be working on WiFi trees.

I bet this would make someone MILLIONs.

The Sanctuary by Ted Dekker

The Sanctuary by Ted Dekker

This is a book that is an intense thriller written by a well known author who writes very unusual , complicated thrillers.

The Sanctuary is the name of a prison that is one of a kind and is using a new way of rehabilitating prisoners. The warden thinks of himself as GOD and he makes the rules and uses torture to emphasize the rules he makes.

Into this setting comes a reformed priest who has pled a plea of non violence after he had  murdered many pedophiles who he saw as sinners .He is sent to this prison. His girl friend,  who he loves and depends on him, receives threats from outside the prison .These are linked in someway to what happens inside the prison and the book involves a intricate tale of intrigue and mystery . It is very unbelievable in some parts. I also found it sadistic and not pleasant to read.

It does keep you hooked on reading it once you get started and I did finish the book but really not sure why. Not an enjoyable story to read. Obviously the author was trying to define the morals of violence and good and evil in this book and also to write a mystery.

Beach Portrait Painting

Beach Portrait Painting

My attempt at the challenge painting

The challenge painting this month was a lovely lady . When I first saw the photo that had to be painted I thought “Oh no, I can't paint figures and look at that complicated background!” So I decided to put the lady on a beach background.That made it a lot easier.

The original photo painting challenge

The figure was hard to sketch but really not difficult to paint.I chose watercolor this time as there were a lot of fiddly bits to this painting.The face and hat in the deep shadow was the most difficult. Mike thinks there is something also  wrong with the horizon of the sea as well and he might be right. I enjoyed doing this painting and I think I am getting slightly better as well.All these challenges may be seen also at http://paintanddrawtogether.blogspot.com/

A stop-over in Fullerton

A stop-over in Fullerton 

The beautiful hibiscus in the garden

On our way home from Monterey by train we had to change trains in LA which gave us a chance to see our friend Karen in Fullerton . We knew we would not have much time to chat as we would arrive late in the evening and have to leave the following afternoon to rejoin the train to Fort Worth.

Little Kandie painting by Shirley

Karen has a new little dog, a cute little chiweenie ( chihuahua/dachshund mix) called Kandie who she has recently adopted from a rescue group. The little 5lb dog is now in her element . She sleeps on 3 cushions piled high or on the bed next to Karen. She has her own specially designed doggy yard and doggy door. She has lots of love and attention and a walk every day. Karen on the other hand has unlimited love and affection and pleasure from her new best friend.

Valencia Oranges

Karen has only a small yard but it is really filled with all kinds of lovely plants and this being in California, you know they grow and bloom so beautifully. Mike took some lovely photos . I will need to get the paints out to paint the lovely hibiscus. It was also a delight to see the oranges growing on an orange tree and Karen told us these were Valencia oranges and were very sweet. They grow well in this part of the country and once this part of California was home to many orange groves.

Always a delight to see an old friend and soon after a lovely lunch we were on our way back to the train to finish our journey home.

Racing Old Cars at Laguna Seca

Racing Old Cars at Laguna Seca

The 2 historic Mini Cooper S

The main reason we went to Monterey this summer was to see our son Trevor race at Laguna Seca, the lovely racetrack set in the hilly country close to Monterey. Trevor had once owned a racing Mini Cooper S car , which he had sold to another enthusiast Robert. The car was part of a pair of historic Mini Coopers that had raced together in the early 60s and obviously had done well. Robert the owner now of both cars , which he had restored and prepared for racing, invited Trevor to race one and Robert would race the other. It would be like the old days.

As it was Trevor's birthday as well we decided to make a vacation around seeing the race and visiting the area. I'm so glad we did.It was most interesting.

Although my whole family is very much interested in cars of all kinds and have all dabbled in racing, I am not an enthusiast. This was very different though. The cars that would be racing were all historic cars and it would be a very selective group of cars that you see at these races. There is great competition to get a chance to be selected to race here.

Watching the races I was surprised at how fast these earlier race cars can go and even though all the race drivers are still very much into winning, they are all taking more care not to have any accidents or scrapes with another car because without doubt these cars are all worth a great deal of money. The fun part for the racers was to again race these historic older cars and they certainly did just that. The races were not long just about 10 minutes for each group of races and the track is so designed that you can see really well for a great part of the action. We sat in the stands and enjoyed the atmosphere .( but not the noise,- you really needed ear plugs!!)

It was also very interesting to walk around the paddock as well and see all the other beautiful old cars. I was very interested in the really old ones and especially the pride of the owners and racers in these magnificent beauties.