Trip To Big Bend

December 22 – We got the Jeep loaded, then I took the dogs to the kennel for their vacation. We had to wait on one package to be delivered so that it didn’t sit on the front porch for a week. And then we were off! We made it as far as Junction before stopping for the night.

December 23 – The Jeep barely made it from Junction into Ft. Stockton on one tank of gas – ok, the Jeep is not aerodynamic. We stopped in Marathon for lunch and to get some supplies, mainly a gas can just in case.

(Mark in Marathon)

We got to the park about 3:00. On the way south, we decided to check out Dagger Flats Auto Trail to see how the road conditions matched the descriptions in the guide book. We went in about half way then decided there wasn’t going to be much to see this time of year. And Dagger Flats was rougher than I thought it would be, but ended up being the only one that was worse than the descriptions. We then stopped at Panther Junction to check out road conditions for the rest of the unpaved roads. The ranger saw the Jeep and said the only one we might have trouble with is Black Gap Road. We then headed for Sotol Vista Overlook to see if we could catch the sunset. While up at the Overlook, the wind picked up and there were enough clouds that there wasn’t a decent sunset. A cold front was moving through. Brrrr.

(The view from Sotol Vista Overlook)

December 24 – I had this view right outside my door at the motel (Chisos Mining Company Motel). I just set up my tripod in the parking lot and started shooting.

(Sunrise as seen from the motel)

After starting the day at Kathy’s Kafe, we decided to start our day in the park on Old Maverick Road. We stopped at Luna’s Jacal,

and then on to Terlingua Abaja

Everywhere I saw Santa Elena Canyon, and I have really developed a fascination with this particular formation, so we headed there next.

After Santa Elena Canyon, we stopped at the Desert Mountain Overlook,

(There’s the canyon again!!!)

then on over to Castalon.

Lunch was a sandwich on the road. We headed up the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, stopping at almost all the major overlooks to see what we could see. First up was Tuff Canyon where we checked out the west overlooks.

My second favorite formation after Santa Elena had to be the Mule’s Ears.

At the Burro Mesa Pouroff (lower trail), I got out and hiked the trail up into the wash to check out the views.

And then another stop at Sotol Vista.

(Check it out – Santa Elena is in there yet again)

From there we headed up to the Basin. I was totally amazed at the difference from outside the Chisos to inside the Basin – how much the plant life changed.

We stopped at the Basin store so that I could get a hat and gloves – I had left mine at home and it was pretty cold in the mornings. Then I got Mark to join me on the Windows Overlook trail.

We saw a buck and doe near the weather station on the trail.

It was too early to check out possible sunset shots, so we headed on the road toward the Rio Grande Village. We took the Boquillos Canyon road all the way to the canyon. I hiked the trail down to the river but not all the way into the canyon – some dummy left her hiking pole in the Jeep and I didn’t want to be on the trail after sunset without it.

I did ok on the trail but would have been more comfortable on some of the steps down with my pole. (I hate bum knees!!!) I couldn’t believe how beautiful the Sierra del Carmens were with the late afternoon sun hitting them. We finished the day with Mexican Food at Chili Pepper’s

December 25 – Merry Christmas!!! We started with breakfast at the Gas Station Café. From there we took the Indian Head Road out and hiked out to find the petroglyphs.

There was another couple also checking the area out so we were helping each other find the carvings. We took FM 170 west through Lajitas and over to Presidio, again stopping all along the way to see what we could see.

(River pulloff at Lajitas)

(Contrabando Movie Set)

(HooDoo or Little Penguin)

(Lower Madera Canyon)

(River Rafters)

Unfortunately, Warnock was closed so we couldn’t stop there. We went back into the park to hit Sotol Vista to check out the sunset again. Mother Nature put on quite the show.

We shared the overlook with a professional photographer and his wife. It was interesting for me to talk to him while we were shooting side by side. We finished the day at High Sierra in Terlingua Ghostown.

December 26 – We decided that this was going to be off pavement today. We hit Paint Gap Road,

Grapevine Hills

and then headed north to Old Ore, taking it south towards Rio Grande Village.

I wanted to hike out to Ernst Tinaja, but it was about 5:00 when we passed it and I knew it would be getting dark soon. We stopped at the Rio Grande Village store for a pit stop before finally heading back out of the park.

December 27 – On the way to Glenn Springs Road we found these guys hanging out on the shoulder of the main park road.

We drove down Glenn Springs Road,

detouring onto Black Gap Road just far enough to check out Glenn Springs.

This was one area where we actually saw water in the park (other than a little in Terlingua Creek and the Rio Grande of course). We continued down Glenn Springs to where it met River Road.

We took the River Road west

stopping at Solis for lunch and to admire the river

then on to Mariscal Mine

before heading back east toward Rio Grande Village. We then headed west, touching base with Big Bend Chat’s own moderator, Richard. I wanted to do a little of Lost Mine or the Basin Loop, but by this time it was getting cloudy and colder because of the wind, and I didn’t know what Mark would do for that time, so I forgot that. Because it didn’t look like we were going to get a decent sunset due to it being cloudy, we decided to head back to the motel for a shower before meeting Richard at the Lodge for dinner. Of course, as we are driving back into the park, the sunset was fantastic!!!

The very last of the sunset was disappearing as we pulled into the parking lot – if we had gotten there 10-15 minutes earlier, I could have gotten some good shots from the Windows Overlook. And yes, Richard and I live 15 minutes apart, but we had to travel almost 700 miles to have dinner with him J

December 28 – We had to say goodbye to the Big Bend. After our last breakfast at Kathy’s, where she told us we were now locals after breakfast 4 out of 5 days there. We headed north up FM 118 to Alpine and then on up to I-10 where we headed east.

All told we hit all the paved road in the park, drove down at least partway Dagger Flats, Old Maverick, Croton Springs, Paint Gap, Grapevine Hills, Old Ore, Glenn Springs, Black Gap and River Roads. I also hiked on Burro Mesa Pouroff, Boquillos Canyon, Indian Head, the ranch at Paint Gap, Windows Overlook, and explored around Santa Elena Canyon and Glenn Spring.

June Blog Train for NDISB

Natural Designs In Scrapbooking is having a blog train this month and I've been lucky enough to already play with the kit and create a couple of Quick Pages with it.

Here are previews of the kit:





And here is my contribution - 2 Quick Pages created using the kit:

(Preview is clickable)

Next stop on the blog train is at Cre8tvlyYrs Designz by Gina Arzaga

And if you get lost, or want to see the whole list of stops on the blog train, you can always check out the NDISB Blog.

Fallen Heroes

Easter Sunday, two Houston firefighters lost their lives battling a house fire. One was a 30 year veteran, a captain. The other was a brand new rookie, battling his first fire.

Their public memorial services were this morning at a church very near me. I pass it on my way to work every morning. The service was at 10:00, but at 6:30 the area was already very congested as firefighters from all over the city and state (maybe even from out of state - it's not unheard of) began gathering. I was lucky to get through before they closed the roads.

They marched from a fire station about a mile away from the church, processing as one blue line to honor their fallen comrades. The pictures are an amazing testament to the strength of the bond and fellowship that firefighters feel for one another:



I was a volunteer firefighter for one of the plants I worked at for 9 years. I could not do what municipal firefighters do every day - put their lives on the line by entering burning structures. I fought industrial fires out in the open. I found out during fire training that I am claustrophobic and entering a smoke filled, dark structure with full gear on totally freaks me out. To those that serve in this capacity, I salute you.

Rest in peace, Capt. James Harlow and Damion Hobbs.

Audreyisms

Audrey and I spent a week together this week for her Spring Break. We went to Washington, D.C. While there we went to several museums and monuments. When I asked Audrey what her favorite was - "Bionical Garden" (Botanical Garden).

We rode the Old Time Trolleys around as our transportation. These are narrated tours throughout the city. Audrey almost had the narration spiel memorized. One night we were trying to remember the tune to Hail To The Chief. They played it everytime we passed the White House. When Audrey finally came up with the melody, she said, "I know that tune, they played it all the time during Obama's irrigation!"

I love that kid!

Happy Birthday, Mary!

Today Mary would have been 43. I can't believe she's been gone almost 5 years now. Today, it goes without saying I'm really missing her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY!

Bolivar - 5 Months Later

Mark and I went to Bolivar a week or so ago. We hadn't been since Hurricane Ike and wanted to see for ourselves how bad it was. Bolivar has been one of our favorite places to go because Mark can drive on the beach there. And there are places we can take the dogs and let them run and play. Well, it was amazing and very sad to see how thorough the destruction truly was. From the moment you get off the ferry from Galveston and still see trash caught on the fences. Just to the left is a junk yard for cars and another one for appliances.

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

We went down to the beach where we normally cut over - by the Audobon Society Preserves. All of the viewing decks are gone. And then we started to drive up the beach - fully 80-90% of the houses are either totally gone or so badly damaged as to be uninhabitable. At first, you would think the house was just missing a deck, and then you realize you are seeing through to the kitchen. Or all that is left is a pile of rubble or the pilings.

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

Several places along the beach, there were huge mounds of sand - probably as big as my house. What they were doing was scraping the beach, then sifting the sand to remove the debris. The clean sand was then being dumped to form the basis for the dunes that were destroyed. That was another thing - I'm used to seeing the dunes, yet this time was it was so totally flat!!!

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

But there were signs of strength and the fortitude of the residents. You could see American flags when there was nothing else.

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

And there was signs of rebuilding - it's going to be slow, but Bolivar will come back!!!

From 2009-02-07 Bolivar and Galveston

Photo A Day

I think I'm going to try the Photo A Day Challenge again this next year. I started in 2008, then fell off the wagon before the end of January... bad Maggie. Of course, I was also going to try to blog daily and that didn't work so well either.

So now the question is - do I create another blog for capturing my photos, or do I use Flickr or Picasa? Of course with Picasa, I can easily dump them to a blog.... hmmmm - decisions, decisions!

SNOW!!!!!

We have snow in Houston tonight!!!! How cool is that!?!?!?! The last time we had snow was Christmas Eve, 2004. So it's only been 4 years. And I can't believe both of them were in December - usually if we have snow it's usually later in the winter. I mean it's not even officially winter and winter comes to TX so much later than the rest of the country!

Anyway - I'm excited and thrilled! I love watching the flakes falling and swirling! And they are big fat flakes, not the little pellet things.

I know that if the temperature drops very much tonight and we end up with ice, I won't be so excited. But for now - I'm going to enjoy the experience!!!!

Good Night Moon!

Dear Audrey,

When you were a toddler. your favorite book was “Goodnight Moon”. You wanted Mommy to read it to you every single night. It was part of your bedtime ritual. After you were in your jammies, Mommy would gather you and the book, and your blanket and would sit down in her rocking chair. She had inherited the rocker from her grandmother, so it really meant a lot to her to be able to sit in that chair and read to you. You would point to all of the pictures and name the items with Mommy as she read to you. It got where you knew the story by heart and if Mommy would try to ad lib, you would say. “No Mommy, that’s not how it goes.”

Mommy had to have her surgery while this was still part of your bedtime routine. She couldn’t hold you in her lap for 2 months, and you were too young to really understand. I was there the first few nights, but you didn’t want me to read to you. I would read the book to you, but you wanted Mommy to read it with you. She finally hit upon the idea that she could sit on the floor and you would sit on the floor beside you. Then she could read to you, “Good night, moon! Good night, room.” “Good night, kittens. Good night, mittens.” Then it would be time for your good night kiss and someone would have to put you in the bed for Mommy.

WooHoo!!!!

Guess who's got lights? Guess who's got air conditioning? Guess who gets to take a hot shower in the morning (hopefully, too soon to check out the hot water situation) Guess who has cable TV? Guess who has internet access on her own laptop? Guess who? Huh? Huh?

After 10 1/2 days - we were sitting out on the driveway before the mosquitos drove us inside when I looked up and saw the street light come on. We had the main breakers turned off just in case there was a power surge when the lights came on. So we hurried inside and started unplugging extension cords and slowly turning stuff back on. And it all works!!!!!

One Week Ago Today...

One week ago today, we were sitting in front of the TV trying to decide whether to stay or to go. I had packed up my family keepsakes and photos and thought I was getting caught up on laundry (how could I forget jeans?). We finally decided based on the information we had at the time to stay since our hotel reservations were just on the other side of town.

One week ago today, we were sitting in front of the TV watching the waves already wash over the west end of Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula, essentially cutting them off, and watching the waves already crashing up over the Seawall on the east of Galveston.

One week ago today we were sitting in air-conditioning with lights and TV going without the overriding sound of a generator engine.

One week ago today we were worried about what was coming, but not too worried - after all it was only a Category 2, and I had rode out Alicia which was a Cat 3 without too much trauma.

One week ago today we watched the winds begin to come up before dark, but it wasn't too bad and there wasn't any rain yet. The lights started flickering, but would come back on - not too bad so far.

One week ago today we watched the winds start to really slam the area - we still had TV, so we laughed at the idiot reporters that have to get out in the storm just to show people how bad it is - we know already! You jkust look ridiculous!

One week ago today I started to get scared - this was not really like Alicia after all. Would the house hold? Would we have serious damage? Would the lights eventually go out altogether?

One week later - the lights did go out about 1:00 in the morning Saturday morning and haven't come back on to this point. We never had the eye go over the house so the winds never quit blowing all night. The roof held, although we lost some shingles and the turbines shifted off the standpipes, allowing rain to blow into the attic - as a result, we have some ceiling damage in the kitchen and in the hall bath.

The fence blew down in three spots - it's now held up literally with clothesline and tree stakes. If Jasmine ever chases a squirrel across that side of the yard, she will probably find out how secure the fence isn't. However, we probably won't have many squirrels in the backyard anymore since the one tree, a 15 year old red maple that I planted the week I moved in fell across the fence and is resting on the neighbor's elm tree. At least the fence on that side hasn't come down yet. The neighbors lost their pecan tree - it was probably 30 years old and huge. It come up from the roots - scary.

We are so fortunate - yes, we are still having to use the generator for lights and fan, and to keep the refrigerator running. Yes, cold showers in the dark are getting really old. The lines to get gasoline haven't been much fun either - but at least we aren't at the mercy of the ice, water, and food lines at the FEMA PODs. Yes, I worry that we will get thunderstorms coming in before we are able to get the roof replaced. But we have had mild temperatures since Ike passed through, we have a roof over our heads, we do have some electrical power due to the generator, gas lines are decreasing and restaurants are opening up - life is getting back a lot closer to normal.

Things To Be Thankful For

Hurricane Ike - no, that's not what I'm thankful for. That sorry storm could have just fizzled into thin air and I would have been perfectly happy. No, what I'm thankful for regarding Hurricane Ike is that even though he was Category 2 sorry so-and-so with a Category 4 storm surge, and that instead of the eye passing over, the eye wall went right over my house, yeah, all that - in spite of all that, we came through with our lives and still a roof over our heads.

Ok, so the roof has a little wear on it and some missing shingles and two openings where the turbines decided to move over just a little - just enough to let rain get into the and through the hall bathroom ceiling, oh yeah and the kitchen ceiling. Oh and the red maple tree in the back yard decided to crack and fall about 6-7' up - but it fell parallel to the house. The fence - well that's another story. It came down on one side - or at least 3 panels came down. Those panels are now held up with thin rope and a tree stake. If Jazz ends up chasing a squirrel across that side of the yard, it's history.

Ok, I'm not thankful for having to take cold showers in the dark because here it is Wednesday and we still have no electricity - I don't think anyone would be thankful for that - wait, I have a friend who has no running water and has to go outside and down to the corner to the "blue chalet" when she has to get up in the middle of the night. She might be happy to have a cold shower in the dark.

We have some minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of things, and my bank account is going to take an unplanned hit covering my deductible (I hope that's all I have to cover) - but when I consider how bad it could have been and how much worse other people have it, I praise God that I'm alive as are all of my family friends and that even though it's a little battered and worn, I have a roof over my head. Oh and I have a generator so I have a few lights, a fan, the TV (OK, when you don't have cable and have to put up with either round the clock hurricane recovery coverage or inane sitcoms that may not be something to be thankful for), and I have access to the internet through Mark's Verizon Air Card!!!! Thank you, God!

My Third Grade Years

Dear Audrey,

You are now in the Third Grade. I can't believe how fast time is flying and how much you have grown up.

I started trying to remember my Third Grade year so that I could compare with you. But you know what, I don't remember that much about my actual class time anymore. It's amazing how some things you think you will never forget slip away as the years do.

I went to Third Grade at Mading Elementary in Houston. I remember being in a "temporary" classroom. I put temporary in quotes because it seems like in every school, the "temporary" classrooms in "portable" buildings seem to end up permanent structures on the school campus. I don't remember my teacher's name, but either she had a baby or she got married, and left mid-term. I ended up with a substitute teacher for the rest of the year.

I remember that was the year I learned cursive - and thought I was all grown up since I could write in cursive. I'm sure I had math, English, science, and probably geography. But I don't remember that much about my coursework.

Grandy was pregnant with your mommy when I started Third Grade. Kathy was just starting Kindergarten. It was definitely a year of change. Grandy's daddy, my Granddaddy died on October 1, 1965 - just about a month after I started school. Your Mommy was born on February 27, 1966.

We moved to Pearland in April of that year, but since it was so close to the end of the year, Grandy and Grandpa Harold decided that Kathy and I should finish out the school year at Mading. So Grandy would make 3 trips a day from Pearland into Houston to take us and pick us up. It was 3 trips because Kindergarten was only a half day back then. She would have to pack up your Mommy and the diaper bag each time.

I remember one of my friends in Third Grade, Cheryl Heflin. And I think the reason I remember her the most, is that when I started school in Pearland the next year - there she was - at Pearland as well. Another girl that I got to be good friends with in Pearland, Pam Rabon, had also gone to Mading.

Comfort Foods

I had a really rough day. I was at work from just after 7 until well after 6 tonight - 11 hours at least. We are undergoing an audit and this my first external audit to be in charge of. It was a long grueling day, and I didn't even get my "real" work done.

So when I left work, I just wanted comfort food. Nothing healthy, nothing low-cal, nope, none of that stuff tonight. I had chicken fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes (yes, 2 different kinds of potatoes) and sweet carrots. For good measure, I had not one, but 2 yeast rolls with butter and on the last one - lots and lots of honey.

I feel better now. Fat, but happy!

Ooops!!!

I've gone over 6 weeks without blogging! Bad Maggie! Well, I do have a couple of excuses, whether they are good or not, well that's a whole other story! I'm still without my laptop and it's been almost 8 since my laptop went into the shop. And then we've had internet problems. It's gotten so bad that dial-up looks good right now - yeah, it's really that slow!

And I went out of town last weekend. Mom's birthday was yesterday and Audrey started school Monday, so I wanted to see them. Audrey is looking so grown up sometimes. I took this pic of her while we were at the airport waiting to pick up Mom. Turns out, Mom had to go to Houston last week for some dental appointments and ended up coming home almost 9 hours after I got there. So Audrey and I spent the afternoon together, went to dinner, bought school supplies, then picked up Mom at the airport.

Vacation Serendipity

Mt. Hood From The Airplane

I just got back from vacation to the Pacific Northwest. I went with my friends, Debbie and Beth, and Debbie's friend, Kathleen... four women sharing a room for a week, and four women packed for a week + vacation - it made for interesting times in the hotel rooms, especially since we stayed no more than 2 nights in any one hotel. It was hilarious!!!! Suitcases everywhere. And the electronic devices - all needing charging! It was wild trying to find enough plugs in the rooms for the cell phones, camera batteries, DVD players, laptops, etc. - not counting the blow driers and curling irons!

Wonder Woman Pushing the Luggage Cart

Four Women, Packing for One Week Equals No Room To Walk

We started out planning going to Seattle and Vancouver. Quickly, we realized we needed to go to Vancouver Island as well. Well, it was $400 cheaper to fly into Portland, OR rather than Seattle. As it turned out, I think Portland and the area around Portland was actually everyone's favorite. We spent 2 days in the area and saw the Portland Zoo, Columbia Gorge Byway/Mt. Hood and the International Rose Test Garden - everything was just WOW! And on the drive from Portland to Seattle, we went to Mt. St. Helens, it was so totally fascinating!

So for the savings of $400, we added an especially fantastic stop to our trip!!!!

Family Survey - Part 2

Here is my second set of questions from the genealogical survey:

11. What is your earliest childhood memory? My earliest memories revolve around being sick and in the hospital. I had kidney and bladder problems and ended up having major surgery on my bladder before I started school. I spent a lot of time at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. My aunt was friends with a lady that played a character on a local children’s television program, and I remember her visiting me in the hospital after my surgery and bringing me a picture of Cadet Don – the main character of the program.

12. What kind of games did you play growing up? In Houston, I remember playing with dolls, and playing games on the driveways of my friends in the neighborhood. We also played ball in my front yard. I had Barbie dolls when I was little.

When we moved to Pearland, we played outside a lot. We played jump rope and hide and seek and ball games in the circle, especially 4 Square or dodge ball. I would play jacks with my best friend, Susan on her front porch. Or we might play cards. I know we also had all kinds of board games including Monopoly, Clue and Mouse Trap.

13. What was your favorite toy? Why? I don’t remember any one toy as being my favorite, although I did have a doll for many years that was just about life-sized. And I still have my first teddy bear packed away. It’s pretty raggedy and hard to tell it was pink.

14. What did you do for entertainment (movies, beach, etc.)? Which was your favorite? I remember going to drive-in movies with my family. Mom had a station wagon, and Kathy and I would be in our pajama’s and we would pack pillows in with us in the back of the station wagon.

Since we lived pretty close to Galveston, we would go down there occasionally. I remember Daddy’s company had company parties down there. In those days, there was enough beach below the seawall that you could drive down on the beach from the seawall. The men would pull a big seine net through the surf, and we would all gather around to see what they had caught, but I don’t ever remember eating any of the catch. We learned how to hunt for sand dollars in the surf, and of course we played in the water and made sand castles, etc.

Mom would take Kathy and I to the zoo a lot while we were little. The zoo was free in those days, so she would load us up with a picnic lunch that we would eat at Hermann Park. We would save bread to feed the ducks at the duck pond. I remember especially watching the otters and monkeys play, watch the elephants get a bath and go through the giraffe house. Hi-C sponsored the giraffe house and I remember Hi-Cecil and Hi-Cecilia.

I think my favorite was probably the trips to the zoo.
15. Did you have chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite? When I was little, I had to make my bed and clean up my room. I remember helping Mom do the dishes – Daddy had drafting stools that I would sit on to be able to reach the sink.

As I got older, we had to clean the kitchen after dinner and clean the bathroom in addition to the other chores. We also had to fold laundry.

Mom went to work when Mary Lee was about a year old – I was at least 10 then. So in the next few years, I learned to cook, and helped with dinner, then had the responsibility with Kathy to cook and clean the kitchen. The one who cooked didn’t have to clean, so we would fight over who got to cook. Neither of us liked to clean the kitchen – I still hate it.

I babysat Mary Lee and Kathy during the summers from the time I was about 13 or 14. I did get paid extra for that.

16. Did you get an allowance? How much? Did you save or spend it? I did get paid an allowance. I don’t remember what it was when I was little, but as a teen-ager, it seems like it was $5 a week, plus I got $20 a week for babysitting ($0.50 an hour times 40 hours – yeah, babysitting was cheap back then). It was for most all of my normal extra expenses like snacks and toiletries. I did save some of it, but the allowance was more for expenses and less for saving.

17. What was school like for you? What were your best and worst subjects? School was for the most part easy for me. I enjoyed going to school. My favorite subjects were math and science. My least favorite was English and Literature. However, I won’t say that they were “worst” subjects because I made good grades in school – mostly A’s.

18. Where did you attend grade school? Middle School? High school? College? I started Kindergarten in Beaumont. Daddy was working on a job there and Mom, Kathy and I went with him. I finished Kindergarten and then went through Third Grade to Madding Elementary in Houston. The last few weeks, Mom had to drive us in to Houston from Pearland, but since it was so close to the end of the year, they didn’t want to transfer us.

From Fourth Grade on, I went to Pearland Schools – Pearland Elementary for Fourth and Fifth Grade, Pearland Junior High for 6th – 8th Grades, then Pearland High School for 9th – 12th Grades, graduating in 1975.

I started college at Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, TX. I had been admitted to Texas A&M in the Geology Department, but got a scholarship and grant to go to TCU. I could be in band at TCU, and it was a smaller school, so I felt it was a better place for me to go for at least my Freshman year. I majored in Chemistry. But I did transfer to A&M the next year and graduated from there in 1979 with a BS in Chemistry. A&M really was my first choice, and once I realized that I could survive in a new environment (I felt really shy and insecure in high school), I was glad that I made the transfer.

19. Tell me what activities you participated in – sports, drama, etc. I wasn’t really good at sports, although I did try out for the Girl’s Volleyball team both in Junior High and High School. I did play softball and tennis, along with the volleyball for fun.

I was in Girl Scouts until about 7th or 8th Grade. I started in Brownie Scouts in 2nd Grade in Houston, and stayed in when we moved to Pearland. I went through Juniors and was a Cadette.

I was in band, starting in 6th grade. I played Bb clarinet throughout Junior High and High School, and in my Freshman year in college. I marched in Marching Band and played in the Concert and Symphonic bands.

I was active in Future Teachers of America – I thought about being a teacher in high school.

I tried 4H for one year. I did mostly homemaking activities.

I was in Rainbow Girls for about 3 years, until I felt Band was more important and had priority on my time.

And I was active in Methodist Youth Fellowship, MYF, from 6th grade on. We met on Sunday evenings, and had social activities as well as Fellowship, We also had a choir that sang at the 8:30 church service.

20. Tell me some of your memories from school – any really great stories? Any honors? Most of my memories from school revolved around Band. We played at football games, both home and away, had band contests, concets, and band trips involving competitions.

Academically, I remember placing in a math competition when I was in Junior High, probably 8th grade. We had to answer these math problems, but couldn’t do any of the work on paper. The only thing that could be on the test sheet was our final answer. Back then, I was much better at doing math problems in my head. Computers have spoiled me in that regard.

In High School, I was a National Semi-finalist for scholarships based on the PSAT scores. I didn’t make high enough on my SAT to be classed as a finalist, but it was still an honor. And I did really well on my SAT, especially the math portion. And I did make Who’s Who Among American High School Students while in High School. I graduated in the top 10 of my class.

I was Who’s Who for the Math Department my Senior year. There was a boy in my class who was Who’s Who for the Science Department. He and I were neck and neck for both departments, so he got one and I got the other. We both thought we should have gotten both honors. Wonder who was right?

We got extra points for taking Accelerated classes. And I remember the way my schedule was working out, I wouldn’t have all the Accelerated English classes for my senior year. We were on the quarter system. I took a 4th Quarter of English so that I could get my extra credit in, but didn’t realize the last quarter didn’t count in class standings. Well, I took 2 Accelerated English classes my last quarter – and remember, English was my least favorite subject. If I had done it the middle quarter, I would have placed higher, I’m sure.

One of the proudest moments in High School – we were at Marching Contest. Pearland always did well in Marching Contest. We were a military style band, marching 6-to-5. We were known for our diamond drills. This year, we did our routine, then finished up the routine by turning into the stands in a concert formation and played the final march (it was either American Patrol or American Post) just standing on the field in this concert formation – totally unheard of, especially for a military style band. We blew the stands away and got a standing ovation. I still remember the feeling of pride as we stood there afterwards with the applause.

Family Survey

I received a family survey as part of the genealogy challenge on Natural Designs In SscrapBooking (www.ndisb.com). It's a series of 72 questions that you can send to relatives that you don't know very well, and learn more about the family history, not just dry facts. I've started filling out the survey myself - I figured if I got people to fill it out for me, they might want my story in return. Anyway, I'm up to about question 23 right now. I keep going back and adding to earlier answers - I'm going to end up writing a novel.

I thought I would post my responses here as well as have it available for my "family" - some of them are really distant relatives.

1. What is your full name? Margaret Ruth Sanders

2. Why did your parents pick this name? Margaret was my paternal grandmother’s middle name and the name she went by. Ruth is my mother’s middle name.

3. What is your nickname? When I was younger, it was Tootie. Now, it’s Maggie

4. How did you get your nickname? When I was a baby/toddler, my father came home from work and asked how I had been. My mother said I had been a real toot that day – and it stuck, at least for family and childhood friends. I used Margaret throughout school. But my sister Kathy tagged me with Maggie after the Rod Stewart song “Maggie May”.

5. When and where were you born? I was born at Houston Baptist Hospital in downtown Houston, Harris County, Texas on March 15, 1957. The hospital is no longer in existence.

6. When did your family move there and why? My dad moved to Houston from Lafayette, LA for a job. My mother moved from the Rio Grande Valley with a girlfriend from home to find a good job.

7. Were there other family members close? Who and where? My dad’s sister was in Houston as well when Mom and Dad got married. There was no other family at the time, although my paternal grandparents moved to Houston prior to 1966, then moved to Pearland in 1968 – 2 years after we did. At various times, all of my dad’s siblings have lived in Houston. Three of my mom’s brothers have lived in Houston at different times, although only one is currently in the area – and he lives on the other side of town from me.

We made the trip to the Valley to see my maternal grandparents a lot while I was growing up. It was about a 7 hour trip, and we would leave on Friday night and come back on Sunday night.

And we occasionally traveled to Lafayette to see my paternal grandparents as well. I remember once riding in Pappy’s Mayflower truck – I think we were going from Houston to Lafayette.

We didn’t take a long vacation every year, but every few years we would take a 2-3 week trip, and would visit family during the vacation. In 1964, we went to the World’s Fair in New York. Dad had a pickup truck and we had a camper on the back. We took Kathy to stay with Nanny and Pappy in Lafayette, then Mom, Dad and I headed towards Washington, D.C. Dad’s brother, Raymond, lived in Hagerstown, MD with Pat and Ray, Jr. We toured Washington and Virginia before heading to New York. Mom’s brother, Cooper, lived on Long Island with Ruth, Susanne and Gary. Mam-ma and Granddaddy drove up with Mom’s sister, Iris, from Texas as well. We did the touristy things in New York as well as the World’s Fair. I remember seeing the UN building and the Statue of Liberty.

8. What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? The first house that my parents lived in in Houston was at 8503 Medford. It was a small 3 bedroom/ 1.5 bath house with asbestos siding, no central air conditioning, and hardwood floors throughout. It also had a 1 car garage. I shared a bedroom with my younger sister, Kathy.

In 1966, we moved to 2703 Robinhood in Pearland. It was a brand new 3 bedroom/2 bath with central air, formal living and dining rooms, carpet in the bedrooms and the living/dining rooms. When we first moved to Pearland, Mary Lee was 6 weeks old, so Kathy and I still shared a room, although eventually, as the oldest, I got a room to myself and Kathy and Mary Lee shared a room until I went to college. I would give up my room when we had company. The yard was much larger than the house in Houston and the house was on a circle. The circle became the playground for most of the kids in the area since we didn’t have to worry about a lot of traffic. We would play 4-square or jump rope. We would also play hide and seek throughout the neighborhood.

9. For those born before 1945 did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones? This isn't applicable for me, unless you count not having central air in the first house I lived in.

10. What do you remember most about your home? For the Houston house, it would have to be the attic fan that kept the house bearable as we only had a couple of window units. And the house had a lot of pocket doors.

For the Pearland house, I think it had to be the yard – we had a huge back yard. Also, we had a laundry room in the house and we had a dishwasher and drier. I think having a second bathroom was pretty cool and the hall bath was divided. The sink and vanity was open to the hall with the door closing off the toilet and tub. That way, the 3 girls could share one bathroom and getting ready for school all at the same time.

Fresh From The Garden!

Tonight's blog prompt is what is your most favorite food straight from the garden. Well, I love lots of fresh fruits and veggies, so this one is actually really tough. After all - fresh squash, zuchinni, green beans - those all add to a fantastic summertime meal. Fresh strawberries, peaches, grapes, watermelon - yep those are all great! But I think my absolute favoritest food straight from the garden (and one thing I can actually grow) are tomatoes - oh, yummmmmmm! With a little salt, take a great big bite out of a tomato and eat it like an apple.

Wait - what about blueberries right off the bush? Hmmmmm - tomatoes or blueberries.... now, I'm hungry!!!!