3/31/10

Lucky To Live In TEXAS


Here it is the Last Day of the Lucky Month of March.

This GRIT has Blogged and Bragged alot this March about being Lucky.

Yep, I've been Lucky with the Thriftin Finds, Lucky with Antique Shoppin, and Lucky with March Madness.

So, Here's My Signs!



On The Blown Around Texas Road Trip, I blew right into Houston in time for This Sign>>>>>>>>>>>>.

And as a Lucky Texan, who you'd think would be Cheering for a Texas Team....Baylor....I'm on a Full Court Press for Duke.  A North Carolina Team....not even from the South. 

Sorry bout that all you GRITS! 

But, this GRIT's Brother's favorite college BasketBall Team is DUKE....and I mean he's passonate about that!  And, believe me you don't mess with Texas Guys about Basketball Favorites....especially when they are Six-Eight to your Five-Eight.  I'm talking height...as in TALL!  Yep, we Raise Em Tall in Texas....at least in this GRIT's Family!

Yep, there's always enough for a PickUp Game  or a Highly Competitive game of HORSE!  Here my Grandson is about to Pop the Net....get ready Cousins....ya'll are going to get a Spellin lesson!
How did all these LongLegged  Basketball players get those long legs? 

It all started with Mama and Daddy!
Here's  Mama with her Five LongLegged Kids. 

We start the Height Bar at Five Eight and raise it off the Scales at Six Eight!

The Gals...Mama, Sisters and Me were Basketball and Volleyball Players and Coaches.

The Guys...'The Squirt' (right) played Basketball and Baseball and Stacy...TheDukester...was all Basketball!

 At Six-Eight, he was Coach Moore's dream player.  He'd already coached this GRIT and knew BB was in our Tall Genes and LongLegged Jeans!


I placed this Prayer Button on my SideBar last week knowing that My Blogging Friends would Pray for Stacy!

I'd like to Thank You for your prayers and thoughts! 

Stacy's treatment and  surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center was successful.  We are back home for R&R and will return next week.

We are very Lucky to Live in Texas where MD Anderson is a place of  Faith Hope and Love.  Thank you for your prayers!

3/26/10

Mama Told Me....You've Got Lucky Lips!!!

When I was just a little girl
With long, silky curls
My Mama told me, Honey
You've got more than other girls

Now you may not be good looking
But you'll soon wear diamond clips
And you'll never have to worry
Cause you've got Lucky Lips.

Yep, this GRIT has Lucky Lips!  Well, maybe just Lucky!  That was my first thought when I spotted this booklet in an antique shop in Fredricksburg, Texas. 


GALE STORM aka My Little Margie!  OMGosh I had this Paper Doll booklet when I was just a little girl with long, silky curls.

What a fun find and such a surprise.  Even bigger surprise was the $20 price tag.

So out came the camera to get pics of all the pages of Gale's fabulous clothes.  That was a thrifty bit of paper doll shopping with a savings of $19.85.  The original cost of the booklet was 15 cents. 

After feeling so Lucky, my next thought was, "Look at that Pink Formal...it's perfect for a Pink Saturday Post".  I would have been singing "Lucky Lips" if I had remembered that as being one of Gale Storms hits in 1957.  Course as a ten year old in 1957 I was more interested in Gale's Pink Formal and Pink Cape than her Lucky Lips.


I found out about Lucky Lips when I Googled Gale!

OMGoogle....Gale was a GIRL RAISED IN TEXAS!!!

She was born in Bloomington, Texas in Victoria County and raised in Houston, Texas. 

Yep, my Blowin Road Trip blew me right to Josephine Owassa Cottle aka Gale Storm's home town of Houston, Texas.

Ya'll can read all about Gale's Movie, TV and Recording career HERE and visit her Official Website HERE.  To HEAR Gale's UTube Video of Lucky Lips click HERE.

For the rest of this Gale Storm Pink Saturday Post I'll share the rest of the Paper Doll Booklet and Gale's Fabulous Clothes. 




PS...I sure hope this Paper Doll Booklet is still at the Antique Shop in Fredricksburg when I go back through on the way home.  I picked up $20 bucks betting on March Madness.  Go Duke!!!

Thanks Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for being the Hostess with the Mostess!  Pink Saturdays list of Pretty Paper Doll Pinkies is HERE!  See Ya'll There!

3/24/10

Texas BlueBonnets...Sign of Spring!!!


Here I am on the BlowinRoad Trip.  Left the BlowinWestWinds for the BreezyBlown of South Texas. 

Along the way, which in Texas is a loooong way, the Grays of the West faded with the miles, and the Greens of Spring were keeping true to the TimeChange of Springing Forward!

Early Spring in Texas is Bluebonnet Time! 



The Bluebonnet is the State Flower of Texas
It is considered a Wild Flower and floods the fields and grassy areas of most parts of Texas.  I say Most parts....cause in West Texas it is a sparse and short season for Bluebonnets.
So, guess what flower this GRIT does NOT have in her flower beds or grassy lawn, that have been randomly sown with seeds guarenteed to produce the BiggestBonnets in Texas. 

That's riiiiight.  No Bluebonnets!  Whereas, others can grow them in the cracks of the sidewalks and along the curbs and pavement where they are runover, flooded with gunk and hacked out by the City Pothole Crew.  Who BTW, need to go back to Pothole School.

Conclusion....I'm going to jack hammer my sidewalk, dig up the pavement, throw out some seeds and flood with road gunk water.


PS...I do have a BackUp BlueBonnet for Easter!!!

Just in case the Pothole Guys somehow get their PotholeAct together and permanently cover up my new BluebonnetBed!


3/20/10

The March Winds Are Blowin In Texas!!!


The Wind is BlowinInTexas!!!

So, it seems like a good time to be Blowin Around In Texas!!!

Yep, it's a BlowinRoad Trip!!!

I'll be BlowinBy the Windmill Farms in West Texas  around Rankin, McCamey, Irran and Ozona!

When the Wind Blows in Texas, lots of Stuffy Nose Blowin goes on, too!

I'm prepared for Nose Blowin.  All the needed stuff for stuffy nose and allergies are packed! 

The most important stuff is packed, too.  Ya know, the 'Projects' and the Laptop!

Yep, outta the baskets and into the bags are a few Works In Progress to finish and of course enough yarn and thread to start a couple of new projects.  Just in case I really finsh the WIP...riiiiight!





I have big plans to crochet my way across Texas.  The Pineapple Pincushion pattern is packed, and  I'm wonderin how many I can crochet in the wind.

Then there's the Triangle Knitted Shawl that was suppose to be done last September...missed that deadline and vowed to be done for Christmas.  Now, it's for Easter!  I think I'll make it....I'm crocheting the edging...with Dolly's permission...

Now, while I'm out Blowin Around Texas, Ya'll be workin on your Easter Frocks.

I haven't decided if I'm going to wear the white pinafore or the red check dress.

For sure, Mama said I would wear the new Saddle Oxfords.

I was hopin for some cute white shoes....it'll be time in Texas for white shoes.  Oh, well, I know Mama's right...I'll get alot more wear outta those ugly Saddle Oxies.

3/19/10

Raisin TexasBubbas on RiceCereal N Peaches!!!



For Thirty-eight years the Raggedy Ann and Andy plate and silver spoon has served Rice Cereal and Peaches for Breakfast to my Babies!

A few things have changed in those thirty-eight years.  Like the Rice Cereal and Peaches containers.   I remember the cereal in a box and the peaches in a jar. 

Some things never change for Breakfast at Nana's.  We still need a Bib and a spoon and a Baby.



I just happen to have everything needed for a Rice Cereal and Peaches Breakfast this MarchMornin!

Yep, The Two Bubba's had a sleep over at Nana and Papa's, and it's always time for the Raggedy Plate and little silverware for breakfast.









The BigBubba has graduated from Rice Cereal to Biscuits and Gravy and takes his Milk straight outta the jug!




The BabyBubba takes his powdered milk mixed with water, shaken...not stirred...and straight outta the Bottle.

Yep, this Girl Raised in Texas has been raisin Little Texans on Rice Cereal, Peaches, Biscuits N Gravy and Lots of Texas Lovin!


Today, I'm joining MizMollye for Fragment Friday Memories!

This special little Blast from the Past Memory sure started my Friday out with a Smile remembering ExtraBigBubba, and fixin his sons... BigBubba and BabyBubba their Rice Cereal and Peaches on the RaggedyPlate!

3/17/10

A Tisket A Tasket They're Not EggsActly Egg Baskets....

They're Baskets In Waiting...


They're Baskets Full of Wool...


They're Baskets of Lace, Crochet and Knitted Wonders...


They're another COLLECTION !

This GRIT has collected baskets for many years, and it all started quite accidently and innocently!

It was my only childs 'First Easter Basket'.  I had to keep it.  I'd kept His every FirstThingie.  Therein was the Innocently!

Accidently, I used the FirstEaster Basket to display HIS FirstStuffed Stuff and OFS (other first stuff)!

The FirstFull EasterBasket led to the SecondStuffed FullBasket and, well, you get the Full BlownBasket Picture!

I don't know why I'm explaining my Basket Case!

I swear, on a stack of baskets, that I never WasteBaskets!

Like this Victorian Sewing Basket.  OMGosh,  I can't tell you how much I paid....chaching, chaching!  But it really is Victorian, hand woven and painted, and in excellent condition. It's PRICELESS!

Yes, Honey, I said  It's Priced to Sale!
NOT!!!


So, one basket led to another basket and soon to HANDMADE Baskets! 

 I can tell you what I WOULD have paid for the Handmade, Signed and Numbered Longerberger Basket if I'd bought it off eBay....$47 plus shipping....chaching!  At the Salvation Army Store...$5...Nearly PRICELESS!!  Yes, Honey, I said I'd Sale it for $57 and not a PennyLess!  Not and Double Not!!!

This Handmade Basket is the most treasured basket in my collection.

*The Pine Needles are from a 50 year old tree that stood in my front yard.
*The tiny white beads are bird bone beads, the white disk beads are hand carved antler beads, and the turquoise chips are all pieces that are over 1200 years old that I dug out of the ground.
 *The basket was made in a Basket Making Class at the Bead and Button Show in Dallas, Texas, twenty years ago....by this GRIT! 
Yes, Honey, I'm glad you agree that this one IS PRICELESS!
...And Yes, Honey, I'll be sure and tell them I'm a Big BC!!

PS...I am a Basket Collector...NOT...a Basket Case!

I'm in good company with the Other Collectors and Suzanne at ColoradoLady for Vintage Thingie Thursday.

Ya'll will really enjoy visiting there, I sure do.

3/16/10

Tex Muldoon To The Rescue...A WeeBit of Texas Blarney!

Barty was trapped in a bog East Texas Swamp and seemed a goner when Big Mick O'Reilly wandered by.

"Help!" Barty shouted, "Oi'm sinkin'!"
Don't worry," assured Mick. "Next to Tex Muldoon, Oi'm the strongest man in Erin, Texas and Oi'll pull ye right out o' there."
Mick leaned out and grabbed Barty's hand and pulled and pulled to no avail.
After two more unsuccessful attempts, Mick said to Barty, "Shure, an' Oi can't do it. Tex Muldoon could do it alone, mebbe, but Oi'll have to get some help."
As Mick was leaving, Barty called "Mick! Mick!

D'ye think it will help if Oi pull me feet out of the stirrups?
Pat and Jimmy-Joe met and one said to the other,
"Have ye seen Tex Muldoon lately,Pat?"
Pat said, "Well, I have and I haven't."
His friend asked, "Shure, and what d'ye mean by that?"
Pat said, "It's like this, y'see...I saw a chap who I thought was Tex Muldoon, and he saw a chap that he thought was me. And when we got up to one another...it was neither of us."



D'ye think me 'BlogginFriends' that Irish Texans are 'Sittin Tall' in the Saddle on Saint Patricks Day?

Hills as green as emeralds
Cover the countryside
Lakes as blue as sapphires-
And Texas' special pride
And rivers that shine like silver
Make Texas look so fair-
But the friendliness of her people
Is the richest treasure there.


Happy Saint Patricks Day!

3/14/10

Time in Texas for the TimeChange

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of  their country 'Daylight Savings Time'.

Wow!  I typed that in record Time! 
Remember the Times when you practiced typing that sentence Time and Time again?

I'm pretty sure I hold the Texas record for the fastest Time known to woman kind in 1965 in Mrs. Walker's Typing Class.

But that was another Time and now it is Time to show you this GRIT's Collection of TimeKeepers.

And by the Time I finish this TimelyPost, Ya'll will be well informed of the TwiceAYearTime Switcheroo!

This Frying Pan Clock will not be Springing Forward this Spring. 

The Spring Thingie is Sprung and hung at 4:35.  That's OK! 
 It's done it's TickinTime and deserves a rest. 

Made in 1975 by Burwood Products Company...

I wonder how many Times it Timed baking, cooking and getting everyone out of the kitchen on Time to catch the school bus and get to work.

It hangs over my stove...and it looks like it's Time  for a good cleaning! 



Also,  above the stove, is the China Cabinet Clock!  It could Spring Forward, however, the hum and buzz it makes when plugged in, would drive the Calmest Cook right outta the kitchen in NoTime! 

So as not to Confuse the Cook, the Time has been set with the FryingPan Time.

How do I keep up with the Time in the Kitchen? 

Digitally....on the Stove TimeKeeper!



Time to Spin and Sew!  If only I could really Spin the Spinner Thingie that changes the Time.  It's Stuck in Standard Time!  That's OK!  I'll always know what Time it was last Fall and what Time it will be next Fall.  It does keep accurate Standard Time just like it did in 1980 when it was made.

 
Where do I spend a good deal of my Time?  Right here on CollectInTexas Gal  where I have a GreatTime with all my Bloggin Friends!  If I haven't told Ya'll lately how much I enjoy the Time spent with you, I'm tellin you at this Post in Time!  That'd be March 14th, 2010 at 7:45 am...Daylight Savings Time...SanAngelo, TexasTime.


And now it's Time to go have some Rice Cereal and Peaches with this Little Guy!
Time Flies when you're having fun with Grandson!
See Ya Next Time!

3/13/10

Crochet Mrs.B's Way..MyWay..or The HiWay for PinkSaturday!!!


Let me just ask Ya'll a couple of questions before I get into this Pink Saturday Post....

Did you ever want to make those Crocheted Doilies like my Grandma Minnie had on every table top, sofa, and dresser?

You know the ones that were starched to the max with every ruffle standing at attention and with tiny flowers caught up in a spider web of delicate string.

Do you head straight for the collections of old crochet and linens at Thrift Stores, Antique Shops and Garage Sales?

You know those places where Discarded Doilies might be found, and if you're really lucky, a stack of old crochet books with patterns like 'The Ruffled Pondlily" or 'The Pineapple Pincushion".

Well, I Did and I Do!!!


I so wanted to learn to make one of those doilies, so I talked my HomeEc teacher into doing a unit on crochet....you see, I was a StarSewingStudent and Mrs. B was not.  She was a StarCookingTeacher, but she did know how to crochet.  So in the spring of 1962 I purchased my first TinyHook and ThinThread.


Much to my disappointment, I was not a StarCrochetStudent!  My Doilie was a Dud!  Now, don't get me wrong, Mrs. B tried every trick known to those who mastered the TinyHook and ThinThread Tension.  At the end of the lessons, my classmates had doilies and I had  Jigger Covers.  You know, those thingies that fit around tea glasses....except mine weren't that big.  Yep, this GRIT suffered from THTT TensionItist!  So, Mrs. B put me back on the Sewing Machine where the Tension was Permanently Set! 

So, a while back...we say that in Texas when we don't remember when it was...I found a stack of old Crochet Booklets in an Antique Shop.  And, there it was, the pattern for the Pineapple Pincushion. 

I've seen them a few times in Antique Shops, but never added one to my Collection of Sewing and Crochet Stuff.  Mostly because I just knew that I could make one...afterall, Mrs. B did teach me the basic stitches of making a chain, single and double crochet.  How hard could it be?  It's flat!

The thing about the Pineapple Pincushion that really intrigued me was the RIBBON!

To make a PinkPost come to the Point, here are the results of my  Crocheted Pineapple Pincushion.  And I have to say that I Did it a LittleBit Mrs. B's Way....a LittleBit the Pattern's Way....and a Whole Bunch MY Way!  The rest of the Pattern???  It hit the HiWay!!!

If you would like to make The Pineapple Pincushion the Pattern Way, I found it on the InterNetHiWay HERE for FREE.  I paid $3.00 for a booklet that in the 1940's cost 10 cents.

For a really good PinkFix hop on over to Beverly's at How Sweet The Sound.

My Pinkie ShoutOut goes to Cindy at FairyTale Cottage where Pinkness is all about Easter.