Our Addiction

So, Miranda is what is known as an ‘enabler’ in my book. She is the kind of person that leads you to things that you can easily get addicted to and then keeps feeding the addiction. Alright- I don’t know if enabler is the right term, but I seem to remember people using it in the context of drugs so I just went with it. If that is not it’s actual meaning then just pretend like it is for the next 5 minutes, ok? Thanks.

Miranda is an enabler. She has led me down many paths in life and many of these paths have led to addictions and it is ALL HER FAULT! She took me with her to Goodwill and a few thrift stores and now I clothes shop nowhere else, seriously. Besides a few pairs of jeans, I cannot remember the last article of clothing that I bought that wasn’t from Goodwill. Miranda also introduced me to crafts. Not your popsicle stick VBS crafts, but DIY curtains and pillow cases and decorations and designspongeonline.com. Have you been to Design Sponge, oh my goodness gracious holy moly.

Miranda the Enabler, also introduced me to Librivox. It started out innocently-

“Hey Michelle, I am listening to this audio book at work. You should listen to it to and then we could email back and forth and talk about it. Ha.”

“That sounds great, Miranda. How do I listen to the book?”

“Allow me to show you, it is called librivox.org and once you go there you will never want to read another book in your life.”

Gee, thanks.

So, Librivox is this free website with free audio books you can download or subscribe to in iTunes. All of the books are in the public domain which is why you can get them for free and also why everything on there is like 50+ years old. And that, my friends, is the glory of it. Nobody is going to remember trash books in 50 years, so it is ALL good. There are entire books, short stories, poems, hymns, sermons, fiction, non-fiction and anything else you can imagine from authors like Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling, Spurgeon, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, O. Henry, Hans Christian Anderson, Lewis Carroll and everyone else that you have heard of forever but never read any of their stuff.

The books are read by volunteers so it can be hit or miss sometimes with if you get a good reader or not. But there are many of them that are fantastic!!!

I have downloaded and listened to 17 books, countless short stories, and a couple of Spurgeon’s sermons. Many of the books I have listened to several times. It is just so great! I listen to them at work when I am doing something that doesn’t require a whole lot of brain power, if you know what I mean.

Here is the list of the books that I have listened to:

Pride and Prejudice- romance, duh!

Jane Eyre- perfection, my favorite and a great reader, currently listening to for the 8^th time

Les Miserables- hmm, action and beautiful

Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island- just plain girly fun

Little Women- girly, a little romantic, just life

Sense and Sensibility- romance

A Pair of Blue Eyes- lovely, great reader!

Far From the Madding Crowd- excellent, same reader as A Pair of Blue Eyes

The Mystery of the Yellow Room- well- mystery obviously, with a great twist at the end

The Princess and the Goblin- action, caves, goblins, a princess, and brave hero

The Prisoner of Zenda- action, murderous plots, body doubles, romance

The Scarlet Pimpernel- action, trickery, love, disguises

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- weird, short people

Alice’s Adventures, Through the Looking Glass- even more weird

Every Sherlock Holmes ever written- elementary, my dear Watson

And then the short stories! There are so many good ones, but two of my favorites are Wee Willie Winkie and Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling.

You should go to Librivox and download some audio books. And then I can be your enabler, but it will all still be Miranda’s fault!

Peace,

Michelle

John Darrin Barker

John Darrin started taking fiddle lessons again last night. He knows how to play the fiddle very well in my opinion, but wants to get even better. I am so excited that he is taking lessons again. He is so musically talented it is crazy. He plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and drums. *cough-show off-cough*. The drums are his main instrument, and from what I hear from people that know music- he is pretty dang awesome at it! I think that is cool myself. I mean I married the awesome drummer that rocks out and is all cool and talented and stuff. While some of you might have known about how awesome JD is, some might not be familiar with it so allow me to educate you on the awesomeness of my husband (and by proximity- me.)

We will start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. This is what JD looked like when he graduated from San Saba high school.

Now that is some curly hair! He calls them his doo-doo curls. Apparently, being the rebel that he is, John Darrin didn’t particularly like getting hair cuts in high school. This dislike of haircuts carried over into college and with his newfound freedom from dress codes JD didn’t get a haircut for the next three years. That’s right THREE YEARS!

That brings us to the next stage of the life of John Darrin. The stage when he moved to Denton, became a hippie, played in a rock band, and was a scallywag.

Hippie and scallywag at the same time…

Making eyes at his friend, David.

And hanging out with more scallywags in his band, Black River Crow.

Oh, and here is a picture of him playing the drums and looking awesome…

Sidenote- I bought this completely tasteless shirt that I only where around the house (and to my brother’s just to freak him out a little bit) that says “Save a drum, bang a drummer.” I think it is awesome.

I have to be completely honest with you friends and tell you that I had the biggest crush on John Darrin when he had his long hippie hair. It was HOT! For real, super attractive to me. Which is kind of funny because I was never really into hippies that much. Well, John Darrin finally cut his hair in February of 2008 and we started dating in April 2008. This worked out really well for me because my mother always told me that I couldn’t date a guy that has prettier hair than me.

Here is the before and after comparison for you.

And that is my husband now. He loves me, and his horse, and roping, and playing the fiddle, and me, and sunsets, and me, and Bob Wills, and his family, and my family, and me. And that makes me awesome by proximity.

A Great Oak

We went to see John Darrin’s family in San Saba last weekend. It was such a great weekend, as is every weekend that we spend there. His parents live in the house that his maternal grandfather, Granddad, grew up in. He calls it the Home Place. I like that. They have a beautiful house surrounded by pecan trees and some astoundingly huge oak trees. The oak trees are magnificent. Darrin, my father-in-law, estimates that the one in the back yard is somewhere around 300-400 years old. I would guess that it would take 4 adults to reach around its massive trunk. Here is a picture of it:

It is a little difficult to grasp the enormity of this tree. There is another tree on the western edge of their property that is known as “The Wedding Oak.” It is equal in size to the oak in the Barker’s back yard. It is a magnificent tree. Here is the explanation of the name:

“Long before the Spanish invaded this rich San Saba River bottomland, where native pecans grow in profusion, Indian braves and shy Indian maidens met and were united in wedlock, as local legend has it, beneath this oak's sheltering boughs. Later, in horse-and-buggy days, the tree was a popular spot for matrimonially-inclined residents of the area to visit and exchange pledges and marriage vows. The tree was also a legendary place for Indian council meetings.” [source]

One really cool part of the wedding oak is that if you look closely you will see one of the areas the tree to growing over a cut off limb resembles a heart.

Pretty neat, huh?

Between the oaks that we saw this weekend, and Colton Wayne being born and Candace becoming a stay-at-home mom, I am reminded of a poem that I wrote for my mother, a great oak, last year for Mother’s Day. I hope you enjoy it.

A Great Oak

A great oak stands strong in the world,

Tirelessly weathering all that comes upon it.

Weary bodies seek rest below it and protection from storms under its boughs.

And once the rain is gone and the respite taken, they go on their way.

They sometimes thank the great oak,

Though not always and not to the degree merited.

They do not see all that it weathers,

They do not see the burden borne by the tree that was given by them.

The great oak gives all and forbears all, patiently lovingly quietly.

It wants only security for those whom it protects, only joy for those who find rest ‘neath its canopy.

It is all beauty, all grace, all loyalty, and all perseverance.

If it does grieve under the burdens given, the great oak does not let it show.

It embodies love of the purest form.

The love of a mother, unconditional, unswerving, without regard to the recipient’s merit.

The great oak lives to give of itself, to serve those whom it loves so dearly, to comfort those who seek it in distress,

It is a great oak indeed.

Eventually they will see these truths, when they are grown themselves.

The great oak will become their standard, that which they emulate and strive so hard to be like.

They have a great deal to live up to, but the great oak will be ever present, 

To gently guide, softly correct, and strongly love,

Until they are great oaks too.

C-Dub Doodle Bug is here!

My family is all about nicknames. Well, maybe I am all about nicknames. I love coming up with names to call people. My brother, Jason, is Bubba, which is a pretty normal nickname. His wife, Candace, is Candy Butt. (If I were one to cuss I would call her something else, but Candy Butt is suffice.) My father is Papa Bear. My Jeep is Dotty. JD’s truck is Gertrude. And so on and so forth.

When Candace was still barely pregnant Momma read online that their baby was the size of a pea or a doodle bug. At this point we didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl, so we started calling it Doodle Bug. And it stuck. Then we found out it was a boy and that the name was Colton Wayne. So, C-dub Doodle Bug he was christened, and C–dub Doodle Bug he shall remain.

Well, C-dub was born on Saturday, August 28^th at 6:00 am. (She wasn’t induced so JD lost our bet by the way!) Being the awesome aunt that I am, I have yet to post pictures of Little Bit on my blog. Today I am here to redeem myself with some never-before-seen photographs of Colton.

In this first picture I personally think he looks just like Bubba, the same chin, eyes, and cheeks.  What do you think?

You can see the resemblance, can’t you?

Ok, here are some actual picture of Colton Wayne and his Grandpa.

Now, you can see the family resemblance, can’t you?

This picture makes me smile. I love my Papa Bear so much. And I love Colton Wayne so much. There is a lot of lovin’ going on in this picture. If you look closely you can see the monkey face on Colton Wayne’s bobo!

Pure content.

He is just so perfect! I love him so much already and he is just my nephew! I can’t imagine the kind of feeling you have when it is your own child.

Daddy has big thumbs and Colton has tiny hands. This pictures makes me say, “hmf” with a sad puppy dog look on my face because it is just so precious.

Big thumb. Little Baby.

I really like taking these pictures in case you couldn’t tell.

Here are some pictures from when Colton was 45 minutes old and Candace had been unpregnanted (a new word created by my mom. Hi mom!) 45 minutes.

She looks pretty happy to me. And very in love. And very lovely. Candace is one of those people that looks good no matter what. Like even after 10 hours of labor she looks good. I don’t particularly care for those kinds of people.

A pretty awesome feeling.

I don’t think that I would be able to take my eyes off of him either.

Well, now that I am restored to your good graces for posting pictures of C-dub Doodle Bug, I am going to go enjoy my three day weekend. I hope you do the same!

Love ya,

Aunt Michelle

Snow on the Prairie

Before writing this post, I had to ask Memaw (my dad’s mother) if our family was the only family that called Snow on the Prairie, Snow on the Prairie, or if that was the universal name. This is a very important question to ask you see, because there are some names our family has for things that are not universal. For instance, inch worms. The green ones with little round heads that look like this: 

A "Brother"

My dad calls these “Brothers” always has. Memaw can’t explain it. He just started calling them that one day and never stopped.

Or the little black and white jumping spiders. My ENTIRE life I have called those Oscar spiders, because their name is Oscar Tewilliger and they are a spider. Oscar spiders. That is just what they are. But alas, I found out in college sometime that they aren’t actually Oscar spiders to the rest of the world. The first time I called one an Oscar spider in front of a non-family member I got one heck of a funny look. This name-change we can blame on Memaw. She is the one who named them Oscar Tewilliger Spiders, and what Big Momma says goes. Needless to say, I now and forever will call them Oscar Spiders.

The first time I was giggling uncontrollably in front of JD, I apologized and told him I had the ya-yas. He looked at me with a confused expression and said, “You have the what’s?” The ya-yas. You know, it’s late at night and you laugh at everything whether it is funny or not and then you try to stop and you laugh even more and maybe snort? You, my friend, have the ya-yas.

Oh, and he didn’t know what  a bo-bo was either! Even when I pointed to my hiney and said, “You know, my bo-bo.” Still didn’t get it. Some people are just sheltered I suppose.

But, Snow on the Prairie is why I am writing to you today. Snow on the Prairie is a weed-wildflower thing that grows here in the late summer. Memaw told me that there is also Snow on the Mountain that looks very similar, apparently they  have a different petal shape. Memaw also told me that the actual name is Snow on the Prairie and that isn’t just some name that our family made up. Snow on the Prairie is very aptly named because when it is growing all throughout a pasture it looks like snow, on the prairie. See how that works? 

What is ironic about the name is that Snow on the Prairie grows and blooms in August, when it is 100+ degrees outside. I think it is God’s way of reminding us that there is cooler weather coming. It is a way of saying, “I know it is as hot as blazes out there now, but someday there will be snow on the prairie again.” It is like our own Texas rainbow; a promise from the Lord that he will not wipe man from the face of the earth by scorching them to death.

Or maybe this is just a coping device that I made up.

This is a close-up of the flower (weed as Papa Bear would call it).

Snow on the Prairie

Pretty, isn’t it? Now picture this multiplied times 1000 and spread all across a pasture at sunset. Having trouble? Allow me to help…

That is Snow on the Prairie, and it makes me smile.

Adios,

Aunt Michelle (that’s right I’m an aunt!)

Italian Cream Soda

So, I have been a slacker this week and to make up for it I am going to show you how to make the best drink on earth. Seems like a fairly even trade to me! What makes it even better is that it only requires three ingredients, all readily available, AND to top it all off it is extremely addictive! So, if you haven’t forgiven me by now, I just don’t know what to say to you. Well, besides pretty please, will you forgive me? I am really sorry and I promise I didn’t forget about you.

I know that I mentioned making Italian Cream Soda in my post about Memaw’s Cinnamon Rolls, but it is so delicious I believe that it deserves its own post. That and I don’t want you to miss out on this experience in life. I first learned to love Italian Cream Sodas when I was a wee lad, about 2 months ago. My cousins, Katie and Anna, and I meet for bible study every Monday at Art Six in Denton and they make these there. It is a super cool coffee shop that is in an old house. It is actually where John Darrin and I had our first date! He asked me if I would like to go get coffee with him and I said yes! I didn’t mention that I despise all things coffee related. I ordered hot chocolate.

But, that story isn’t why we are all here. We are here for Italian Cream Soda. Here is what you need: 

Perrier carbonated mineral water, Vanilla flavoring syrup, and half & half. That’s it! See, it is even healthy! I got fat free half & half because it is easier on my sometimes volatile stomach. And the Perrier is just water, or as their website says, “Perrier contains only mineral salts and carbonation (CO2). It contains no sugar, caffeine or calories.” And it is French, so you know it is good! And finally, the Vanilla flavoring syrup which probably isn’t great for you, but it sure does taste good!

Here is how it all goes together.

In a super cool 7-UP glass that your grandfather that you never met made from the old bottles and you found in your grandmother’s garage about to be thrown away so you rescued them and brought them home and have a nine piece set that you adore- put some ice. Next put maybe a tablespoon of vanilla syrup and about half of the .5L bottle of Perrier. Doesn’t it look delish?

But we can’t stop there! Next pour in about a tablespoon of half & half and stir.

It should look like white water.

Mmm, now taste and see if you need to add any more of anything. I like it when it has a very light vanilla flavor. It is super refreshing and gulpable (definition of gulpable: easily gulped).

So there you go! I hope that you make this soon. You will love me even more than you already do, and I know you already do.

A few tips: Perrier is found in the water aisle at Wal-mart and the vanilla syrup is next to the coffee stuff (yuck).

I hope that you have a great weekend! We are expecting a new baby in the family any day now! I will keep you posted!

Love ya,

Michelle

White Trash on 75

I'm from Arkansas.  Many Texans like to "comment" about my origin with stuff like "Any of your cousins married?",  "Know anyone with a full set of teeth?",  "Did you wear shoes to school?", get the picture?  Most of the time I just let them roll off my back, but if I'm having a bad day watch out!  Anyways, I usually respond that 'yes, you will find rednecks in Arkansas, but there are rednecks everywhere!  Including Texas!'  Well, as I was running errands the other day I happened upon striking evidence that rednecks do exist in Texas.  Low and behold there was a woman tanning on the back of an ole' beat up truck!!!  I was about to pass them when I saw this, I burst out laughing at this crazy attempt, and then I scrambled for my phone to take some pics, and here they are...

If you can't tell she was laying on a mattress with her earphones in and sunglasses on, also she had cool refreshment in her igloo cooler beside her.  Notice her other friends did not want to join her and smushed together side by side in ole'Bessie (that is what I'm naming their truck).  Also, take note of the essential redneck touches like the back flap (Michelle, whats the name for this?) instead they have stacked some 2 x 4's as a stand-in.  Goodness gracious.  So next time any of you Texans want to poke at the interesting characters that reside in Arkansas why don't you take a minute and look at the characters in your own state.  ;)