Razzmatazlady

Author: CherylK

  • The Fourth Day Of Spring…

    Well, it’s the first of the week. The weather-person who predicted the snow would all be melted by the first of the week was so-o-o-o-o-o WRONG. It’s 15 degrees outside and last I looked that’s not melting weather.

    The good news is that it’s SUPPOSED to reach 40 degrees today. If that happens we’ll probably have less snow. And less snow is good. It’s sunny – not a cloud in the sky – so that’s a start.

    I haven’t posted for a few days (obviously) because I still have that “bug” I picked up somewhere and I just plain didn’t feel like doing much. I sat down at the computer several times, stared at the screen, mulled over a few pretty good ideas to share but just didn’t have the gumption to put them into words. I was either really not feeling well or I was just being lazy. Or a little of each. Probably a little of each.

    I’m feeling much, much better this morning – yay! Have lots to do. Remember that new kitchen bribe that Jack offered? Planning stage has been launched. A few revisions, though. I don’t want to “gut” the kitchen, anymore. The present footprint is just fine with me. I don’t need a fancy-schmancy huge gourmet kitchen. First of all, this isn’t a big house by any means and it would look silly. Gotta keep the ego out of it. That’s where a lot of people go wrong, I think. That old ego.

    Also, I like the challenge of getting the most bang for my buck so that’s going to play a huge role. A really huge role. It will probably slow me down a little but that’s o.k. If I can make my new kitchen a little “greener” in the process, that’d be great.

    So I’m off with my cup of coffee and my pile of kitchen magazines and all those clippings that I’ve collected over the past ten years. That’s what I’m doing, today.

    It’s gonna be a good week.

  • The First Day of Spring At Lake Mary

    We are back at Lake Mary after a fun-filled (although, as you well know, not without incident) winter. I’m feeling quite ambivalant, truth be known.

    We came home early because I came down with a bug of some sort over the weekend in Kansas. Sore throat, headache, chills. Not the sort of thing a person wants to pass on to anyone. So we piled ourselves in the reliable old Bronco and headed for the frozen North. Little did we know what we were in for…

    On the one hand it’s nice to be in my own little nest. All my own things. Cooking in my own kitchen with my own pots, pans, utensils, spices and herbs, etc.

    On the other hand, this is not what the first day of spring is like in California or Arizona or any of the other spots we visited these past few months. I took this snowy picture (and, yes, this is in color) of the beach this morning from our snow covered deck. It’s approximately the same shot as the sunset picture of Lake Mary that defines this blog.

    Believe it or not, we’ve got several inches of new snow since just this morning and it’s STILL SNOWING! The good news is that it’s all supposed to be melted by the first of the week.

    Um, I’ll let you know how that goes.

    Still, it’s good to be home. I think…

  • St. Patrick’s Day in Kansas City

    It’s a rainy day in Kansas City on this St. Patrick’s Day. Did you know that Kansas City has one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the United States? This will be it’s 35th year, in fact.

    However, it’s “raining on their parade”, so to speak. Thunderstorms are the theme of the day and it doesn’t show any sign of clearing up. Have no idea how the parade went (it was supposed to go from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm.

    Did you know that St. Patricks’ Day parades did not originate in Ireland. They’re born in the U.S.A. Back in the day, they were a way for the Irish in this country to celebrate their heritage.
    I remember St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago. Probably everyone knows that the Chicago River turns green every year on St. Paddy’s Day and has done so for the past forty years! But what you probably don’t know is why the river turns green or how it turns green.

    Here’s the story. And it’s true. As he was walking down a Chicago street, a plumber was approached by a man named Stephen Bailey. The plumber was wearing white coveralls and they were stained a beautiful shade of green – a perfect emerald green, in fact.

    Turns out that it was caused by a stain that plumbers use to detect leaks in the pipes that empty into the Chicago River. The stain starts out orange and turns green. What’s interesting is that when the dye is dumped into the river it turns the water orange – bright orange! Then, like magic, it turns the entire river green. Bright emerald green. Perfect for St. Paddy’s Day.

    There are tons of St. Patrick’s Day traditions in almost every city in the country. I’ll do some “homework” and next year I’ll have something post on this holiday!

  • Addendum to my earlier post…

    I forgot to mention that this visit to Dallas was excellent. Partly because we enjoyed our little friends Pretzel and Kitz, partly because we visited some old friends here and renewed that friendship, partly because the weather was decent (BIG part) and partly because Jack and I both noticed that Dallas is a very friendly town.

    We are impressed with how cordial everyone is. Wherever we went from supermarkets to restaurants to doing “touristy” stuff. And when we walked down the street there was always a smile and a “hello” from those we met.

    I just wanted to mention that. I think it’s important.

  • Southfork Ranch

    The Famous Southfork Mansion Patio

    We did go out to Southfork Ranch on Wednesday. We purchased the tour which lasted about an hour and decided that it was well worth doing even though there wasn’t a Ewing in sight. The ranch is located northeast of Dallas near Parker, TX. We learned lots of interesting facts – the show ran for thirteen years, for example. The first episode aired in 1978.

    Did I really spend thirteen years of my life glued in front of the television set on Friday nights? I guess I must have because there weren’t too many episodes that I missed, I can assure you. That was before Tivo. If you missed an episode, you missed an episode. And that was that…
    By the way, it was Jack’s fault that I got hooked on that show. He was in a bowling league that met on Friday nights. One night I was just looking for something amusing on TV and found “Dallas”. I was one of the thousands of faithful fans until it ended.

    This is a photo I took of the Waterford chandelier that hangs in the foyer. We were told that it is valued at $17,000. There are also two smaller Waterford chandeliers in the dining room which are worth $7,000 or so each. Who knew?
    The original owner of the ranch and his family actually lived there while Lorimar Productions filmed the series. Lorimar was only allowed to film during the months of June, July and August because the family didn’t want to disrupt the children’s school schedule. As time went on the series became so popular throughout the world that the influx of tourists who wanted to visit the ranch became overwhelming and the family sold the ranch and moved away.
    So that was a good day. We’re leaving our housesitting assignment today after Pretzel & Kitz‘ family returns. Tomorrow we’re headed north. Please, please, please let the weather be good when we get home…

  • Pretzel and Kitz and JFK

    We drove into Dallas this morning to see the place where JFK was fatally wounded on November 22, 1963. It’s quite a sight.

    It’s believed that the shot(s) that were fired at President John F. Kennedy came from the sixth floor of this building which is the Texas School Book Depository. It would be the last window on the right side, sixth floor.

    Lee Harvey Oswald was apparently the shooter. Of course, there are those who believe that it was a CIA conspiracy and that Oswald was merely a pawn. That’s all I really know about it.

    The next photo is part of the memorial at the Dealey Plaza right near the infamous “grassy knoll” where there were several witnesses to the assassination. Dealey Plaza is now a National Historic Landmark.

    The picture below that is of the actual JFK Memorial. It’s supposed to represent an open tomb. The picture really doesn’t do it justice. It’s quite impressive but it’s not at all what I expected a memorial to JFK would be. I don’t honestly know what I expected but it wasn’t this.

    We wandered around that area for quite some time. There are lots of restaurants with outdoor tables and some “touristy” shops. It was a beautiful day so it was very pleasant.

    Then we drove up to a picturesque little town called Grapevine. Lots of antique shops, gift shops, art galleries and places to eat. I highly recommend a trip to Grapevine if you’re ever in the area. I wish we would have had more time to spend but we did have to get back to our little friends, Pretzel and Kitz.


    So Ta-Daaa! (or however you spell that) This is a picture of Pretzel and Kitz! Cute little things and they just love us. Especially me. Pretzel is the one in front. You have to be careful not to get Kitz too excited or she piddles. Just give her a quick pat as you’re fussing over Pretzel.

    Tomorrow we’re going to Southfork Ranch – anyone remember the television show Dallas? Well, that’s where we’re going. I loved that show. Photos will be forthcoming, of course.

    By the way, I think I’m getting the hang of this camera.

  • The Meaning of Texas-Size

    Well, we had planned to go sightseeing, today. I was going to take lots of cool pictures. Didn’t happen. First of all, we got a late start and then we didn’t want to get stuck in the Dallas traffic so we decided just to browse around the area.
    There’s a place called Cedar Hill State Park that’s not far away. We sort of found it. Didn’t actually go into the park but we found a “scenic view” area and I took this picture of the lake. Not one of my better efforts, I admit – kind of blurry. I’m still learning about this camera and I probably don’t have the settings right, yet. But I’m posting it to give you an idea about the kind of day it was because, believe it or not, this is actually a color picture.
    When I said we sort of found it, I mean we sort of got lost. Well, not really lost. We just didn’t have a very good map. At one point we wandered into a subdivision of houses that you had to see to believe. That’s what I should have taken pictures of.
    Each house was bigger than the last. Not just big – HUGE! It’s what Texas-size means, I guess. Really, really huge. Let’s see, how can I describe it? O.K., picture a homeowner looking at the newer bigger house next to his and thinking “Well, this just will not do…..” So he’d add another room. Or another wing. That’s what they are like. Big blocks attached to more big blocks. Willy-nilly. With no particular architectural definition. Sort of Contemporary meets Colonial meets Victorian meets Southwest. It was just nuts! I hate to admit it but that was the excitement for the day.
    Tomorrow we’re leaving earlier and going downtown. We’re going to the book depository where JFK was shot. Hopefully, do a little shopping, too. It’s supposed to be a nice day – sunny and warm.
    I’ve tried to take some pics of Pretzel and Kitz but I haven’t been able to get them to sit still long enough. If they see me coming with the camera they scamper right over to me, tails going a hundred miles an hour, jumping up and down and want to be patted. They do not know what “sit” means. I’ll keep trying.
    More tomorrow, I hope.
    If you go to Dallas, here’s the link to the visitors’ guide. http://dallascityhall.com/services/Services_Visitors.html

  • So This Is Dallas…

    Here we are in Dallas, Texas. We had a fairly uneventful trip from Phoenix. There was a crash of some sort coming into El Paso, Texas and we were rerouted around the city. It was notable only because the “loop” route that we took went high into the hills and we had a birdseye view of the city. That was as exciting as the trip got. Sorry.

    There can’t be a more desolate place than western Texas. Hundreds of miles of prairie with nothing growing other than an occasional nondescript shrub.

    Well, there are the refineries, too. When you’re traveling at night they look like something from another planet. Yellow lights trimming all of the refinery structures. Quite eerie, actually. Sort of like something from outer space. During the day they’re just big, industrial looking buildings and tanks and pipes and who-knows-what.

    There are a few interesting facts noted in the AAA Tourbook on Texas. For example, Pecos, Texas is the place where the first rodeo was staged. It was actually a competition of sorts between various ranches and their ranch hands. Now it’s held every year around the Fourth of July.

    Just when you think you’ll go bonkers, you come to the “hill country”. Very pretty. Lots of rolling hills and a teensy little bit of color other than beige. Must be really nice when it starts to green up.

    Then you arrive in Fort Worth/Dallas and you’re back in civilization. I think I’m gonna like it here. (Sigh of relief… )

    We met our new little charges two little mini-dachshunds – Pretzel and Kitz. They are the cutest little things (both girls) and I think we’ll really have fun with them. I’ll take some pictures today, if I can.

  • On The Way To Dallas

    Prickly Pear Cactus at Tohono Chul Nature Preserve in Tucson
    Saguaro Cactus in Tucson, Arizona

    We’re back in Arizona. Got here on Sunday. Believe it or not, the trip from Los Angeles was uneventful. Boring, actually, except for the Santa Ana winds that were incredible. We did not blow off the road, however, so I think the “travel curse” has been lifted. On the other hand, it could just be toying with me and we’ll get nailed somewhere between here and Dallas – ha!

    The Arizona desert is so unique. Traveling to Arizona I am always excited when I see the first cactus. Coming down into the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix) from Flagstaff it’s the prickly pear cacti that you see first. You’ll spot one or two all by themselves and then a few more and a few more and before you know it they’re all over the place!

    If you’re driving from California, the first cactus you see will be the saguaro (pronounced sah-wah-roh) about an hour or so from Phoenix. Just one or two. Here and there. Then you know you’re nearly there. I think you either love the desert or you hate it – there’s no middle ground. I love it.

    We’re leaving for Dallas tomorrow for another housesitting assignment. Two mini-dachshunds. Should be interesting. I think it’ll be fun. More to come…

  • On The Road Again and Housesitting Info

    Well, we’re leaving L.A. in an hour or so and I might not be able to post again until Wednesday or so.

    Still haven’t found my camera but we’re all pretty sure it’s somewhere amongst all the antiques. Jen has one that she says she never uses so she’s letting me have it. If we find the other or if I buy a new one, I’ll send it back to her. I’m so happy to have a camera, again!

    The apartment is looking good. We’ve got drapes up and pictures hung and all of her little stuff here and there. Bought a really nice buffet at a thrift store that she’s using for a dresser in her bedroom. The nice thing about it is that there are eight drawers – two of them have dividers in them – great for sorting stuff like socks, etc. Hard to describe but take my word for it, it’s great.

    I’m a huge fan of thrift stores and resale shops and garage sales, etc. It’s the ultimate recycling.

    A comment from Lori on yesterday’s post about housesitting made me realize that I haven’t ever mentioned my other Squidoo Lens. It’s all about housesitting. So here’s the link. http://www.squidoo.com/houseandpetsitting. There’s lots of info there.

    While you’re at it, I’ve updated my other lens (My Quest For A Greener Life) at http://www.squidoo.com/QuestForAGreenerLife and I’m working on two more.

    So stay tuned…