Ice Cream Cone House - Memorial Day

The "Mom" Banner has been replaced with a "Remember" banner that reads, 'All gave some ~ Some gave all'.  A weapon, like an M76 with a soldier's helmet on it was also added.

All topped off with an American flag kite.

Happy Memorial Day

When I was a youngster, the last Monday in May was always the day that hailed the beginning of summer break.  Memorial Day conjures up memories of the opening of public swimming pools, picnics, parades and going to the cemetery to put flowers and American flags on graves of the brave men and women who lost their lives fighting for our country's freedom.

That is the real meaning of Memorial Day.  It's the day we give tribute to the fallen.

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die.

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.




 

The Ice Cream Cone House

There's a house in Corpus that my friend Karen and I call the Ice Cream Cone House.

This is  why...

This was the first sighting.  My guess is it's decorated for an anniversary or maybe just announcing to the world that Jessica and Clay are a hot item.  It looks as if the cone is made out of fiberglass or wood.  Who knows...

Here are other sightings with the cone decorated for different seasons and occasions.  It's very interestink (said in my best imitation of Wolfgang the German soldier from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In).  Am curious to know what their neighbors think of this.

Celebrating Halloween as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West

It's a little hard to see but there is a bunny painted in the middle for Easter and around the base of the "soft serve" are Shamrocks, for St. Patrick's Day

Cinco de Mayo.  This cracks me up




Mother's Day


Should be a new one right around the corner, possibly with a patriotic theme??

Roadtrip - Washington, D.C. Part IV

On our last full day of our visit Lovey and Char spent a day shopping, exchanging and returning.  An after Christmas ritual that I try to avoid at all costs.

While they were out I stayed home with the kids and their dad.  I cherished the time I was able to spend with them.

It was cold and sleety/snowy outside so we stayed in and played Hungry Hungry Hippos and basketball and all sorts of fun things.

We did some arts and crafts stuff and finished decorating holiday sugar cookies.

Miss Muffet creating a masterpiece with her Lite Brite

After a full day of shopping Char took Lovey to the Maine Avenue Fish Market in D.C. and brought back some really great sea food.  Lovey said the fish market was absolutely fabulous; I was a little envious he got to experience it.  We had seen it the night before while looking at the monuments at night.

Miss Muffet was a big help in the kitchen.  She was very skeptical about the crabs but slowly warmed up to them and decided they were safe to hold.

Especially when she found out they were dead!

Early the next morning Char made us coffee and we loaded up the car and began our journey home.  We were sad to leave.  Char and James were the best hosts and we loved our time with the grandkids.  One thing I am taking away from this trip is the joy in seeing how much love this young family has for each other.

I can still see Miss Muffet and Sweet Pea at the Air Museum, chasing their mama and squealing with delight as Charlotte turned and chased them in return; catching them and covering them with kisses.

Road Trip - Washington, D.C. Part III

With kiddos at home with their dad, Char tooled Lovey and I around the city to see the monuments at night.  I had never seen them lit up.  What a lovely perspective to see them in!

 Jefferson Memorial

 One memorial that I have never been to is the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial.  I would love to see this sometime during the day.  Instead of a building it was an outdoor nature walkway with waterfalls and vignettes that reflected different times and philosphies during his presidency.

I had Lovey stand here so you could get a perspective of the size of the bronzes

The Soup Line.  This was very humbling to see.  Lovey and I realize that it is only by the grace of God that we are not in that situation.  So many still are today.

Father and daughter

Washington Monument from the Tidal Basin

A jaunt across the bridge to get a photo of the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sitting at the top of the hill.

 The United States Botanic Gardens all decked out for the Holiday

As was Union Station.  Gorgeous wreaths.  Next trip out I want to see the inside of this train station.

 Our nation's capitol is beautiful at night!

Road Trip - Washington, D.C. Part II

Char took us to the Udvar-Hazy Center, part of the National Air and Space Museum.

Aaaahmazing place.  Even if you are not into planes you can't help but be in awe over everything inside.

 The Space Shuttle Discovery

The Enola Gay.  The plane was named for Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot.  I strive to keep this an educational page.

An Air France Concorde.  Flying on Concorde was on my bucket list until the fleet was retired.  The closest I got was watching Concorde take off and land several times.  Lovey was fortunate to have flown on it twice. 

The Clipper Flying Cloud - the world's first pressurized commercial airliner.  This was one shiny plane.

The Spirit of Texas - the first helicopter to complete a round-the-world flight

The Airphibian - part plane / part car.  This is how you avoid those lines at the rental car desk.

A Boeing Stearman - the type of plane my father-in-law soloed in prior to his B-24 training during WWII

Lockheed Blackbird. A side note...during one of Lovey's flights on the Concorde, the pilot notified the passengers that there was no worry about traffic, at their cruising altitude of 60,000 feet, because the only other craft that was up where they were was this impressive reconnaissance aircraft.

This is the Rheintochter RI, an experimental antiaircraft missile built for the Luftwaffe in the last years of WWII.  What fascinated me was that the "wings" or whatever they are called are made of the most beautiful wood.

The Restoration Hangar

Planes, planes, and more planes!

Starting to get a little worn out.

A little refreshment and a rest.  This momma loves her babies!

We had a wonderfully good time!!!

Road Trip - Washington, D.C. Part I

Some of my friends looked at me funny when I mentioned that Lovey and I drove to the D.C. area the week after Christmas. Drive???  Why not fly??  Well, there are several answers to that question.

If we have the time, we enjoy driving; to see and enjoy this beautiful country of ours.  We can stop at different places; discovering new ones and re-visiting familiar ones.  We can try new eating establishments that we read about or learn of from the Food Network and Travel channels.

When we head to the Carolina and Virginia area we prefer to go "the northern route" which is Dallas picking up I-40 in Little Rock all the way through Tennessee and either up to Virginia or over to NC from their.

This year our route was altered to "the southern route" due to Winter Storm Euclid running along our northern route.  The southern route is through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia then we turn north in Atlanta.  By the way, can anyone tell me when they started referring to winter storms by name? 

We had enough snow in the DFW area to give us a white Christmas.  This is what it looked like until we reached Shreveport.

This is just north of Richmond, VA on I-95 our second day on the road.  Wasn't that a quick trip?

Several hours later we reached our destination and got to see these sweet things.

What a blessing it is to be a Mimi and GranDad to these cutie-patooties.