Our Rain Gauge Overfloweth

The meteorologists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have declared our local drought is gone! The lake where we in Collin County get our water, was 17 ft. below level last year and we were put on severe outdoor watering restrictions (once a week during your assigned day, no car washing, no emptying and filling swimming pools). Our beautiful thick front lawn really suffered last summer during the heat and with little water, we lost a lot of it. Our backyard shrubs looked very stressed also. This spring, however, Mother Nature gave our area a very wet, wonderful gift of rain, rain and more rain. Just during the month of May we've had 22 days of this wet weather and about 8-9" of good 'ole rain.

As you can see from the picture on the right, we check that rain gauge frequently after any kind of precipitation. The pic on the left, shows our backyard vegetation looking lush and green and the same for the front. I will never take our natural resources for granted and we both still try to conserve as much as possible. The City Council has voted to keep the restrictions in place and I'm glad. We had 1" of rain yesterday and because it was our evening to water, (we can water 2x a week now) several in our neighborhood were sprinkling their yards as we left to go out to supper. The ground was so saturated, the water was just running off into the street. I hope this good stuff continues at least another month before we really get into the dog days of summer. I also hope Florida has the same weather pattern lay on top of it awhile. I saw where they are really scorched and dried up there. Well, enough of conservation 101. Just remember to always smile and enjoy the good 'ole wet stuff falling from the heavens!

Plano Weekend

The Barrs went to Plano, TX for the Memorial Day weekend and had a great time visiting with family. It rained a lot but believe me when I say that Texas really needs the rain. Still had fun despite the rain. Picture at the left includes the family along with Drew, Hollie's boyfriend, who joined us. Ate my 259th "#3" ChiliCheeseBurger at the Charburger in Kilgore, Tx on the way home. Talked Drew into trying one, and now he's really hooked.

Weekend Update

Wrapping up the Memorial Day weekend and there are a few noteworthy items to mention from the NC reporter. First of all, this day is most likely very painful for many nationwide - those who have loved ones serving our Country in Iraq. John and Beverly's brother-in-law, a father of five, is over there, if I'm not mistaken. And of course, thousands of others are obviously very worried about their sons, daughters and relatives. This is becoming a controversial war, but never the less, our appreciation and support of our troops is there.

On a much lighter note, we made a major purchase Friday night - at least it's big for us. Some sixteen years ago we purchased a 26" RCA console TV. For several years now I have been waiting for something to break so we would have an excuse to buy a newer, more up to date model. Yet in all these years, not one single thing has ever gone wrong with that set and I truly believe it was going to outlive me. So we took the plunge and bought a 46" Sony HD and I am in broadcast heaven. I will be vegetating in front of it at every opportunity. In the meantime we will be taking the old RCA, kicking and screaming, to the city landfill. We got our money's worth of that one.

Early Saturday morning Will got on a plane in Tampa and flew to Honduras in Central America. He will be spending a month there working on his graduate thesis. Then in July, he will head to Guatemala and spend the month there. Phone service is "iffy" and Internet service is available, but not as much as in this country, so we will be waiting anxiously to hear from him from time to time. As we all know, we never stop worrying about our children and with him out of the country it is a little unsettling to me.

Yesterday we went to church and then Tim's Dad came over to spend the afternoon in celebration of Memorial Day. Art is a veteran of WWII as are several of the residents of Brighton Gardens - even a lady living there is a vet. These elderly folks have a lot of interesting stories and lots of history to go along with it.

Finally, today is very quiet and later this afternoon Tim and I will be loading up the bikes to go ride on a paved path a few miles away. Unlike Tim, I have become fearful of bike riding in traffic and actually stopped doing that route months before Melanie's wedding.

I hope everyone had a great weekend - the official start of summer. I long for the North Highlands pool - so many good summers spent there - I can close my eyes and see it all. What's amazing is that it's still there and still in good shape - am I right, John? I wonder if I can still do that jack knife off the board :-) Cannon ball, maybe?

Trip to the Masters Golf Tournament

Hi,

I thought I'd contribute a little to the BLOG. This past April, I had the opportunity to go to a practice round at the Masters Golf Tournament. The tickets to the practice rounds are allocated on a lottery basis and I had been putting my name in for the past 6 years. Well, I finally had my name selected for 4 tickets to Tuesday's practice round. I invited 3 of my golfing buddies to join me and the trip planning was set in motion. We decided that we'd fly into Atlanta on Saturday night and play golf on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and then fly home Thursday evening. We ended up staying in Conyers, GA, which is about 40 miles east of Atlanta, on I-20, going to Augusta, GA, where the Masters is held. We played 3 rounds of golf in the area there and we played our 4th round (Thursday) at Stone Mountain, GA, which was on our way back to the airport. We had great weather for our trip and as well as for the Tuesday practice round.

If you've ever seen the course on TV, it looks beautiful. But in real life, it's absolutely fabulous. All of the flowers and bushes are in their peak bloom and the course is absolutely manicured - not a blade of grass to high nor a piece of trash in sight.

Well, that's all for the spring golf trip. See ya later.

To Chris

Have a wonderful day.

Clippers

This simple nail clipper evokes a story about the previous blogger and two of his siblings. It's been told many times over the years. However, if you hadn't heard it yet, ask my older siblings or Mel. They will be glad to tell it again..and again..and again.

Finally !!!

Ok! OK! You must first understand that I still shoot photos with film. I will one day learn how to use our digital camera, but until that time, I must rely on my friend, KC, to take digital photos, like the one he did here at the Little League park just last week. And we have had internet problems at the house, so I have not been able to "get connected" until just recently. Anyway, I have been keeping up with the postings (at work) and knew even with all the troubles I've been having, I would still beat my 2 brothers to the first "male" post of this blog. And now that I hope my problems have been solved, I should be able to contribute more to this great site. Kids are out of school and should get report cards this week. Hopefully, they did well. Had a great weekend of weather, with mornings in the 50's and highs in the 70's, with very little humidity. Almost unbelievable for Louisiana in late May.

The Commonwealth

This weekend Tim and I took a short trip to Virginia. We went to a concert in Salem to see Alison Krauss and Union Station. They are one of our favorite artists and sound just as good live as they do on their albums. Note: they are featured on the sound track for the movie "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" - see previous post. She has the most beautiful voice, plus she is beautiful.

Here I am with Cheryl Dolby, an author, sculptor, and craftswoman. This is at the Historic Farmer's Market in downtown Roanoke where she had a booth. I only met her briefly and we chatted a few minutes, but I really connected with her. I bought one of her books. She is such an interesting woman.

This was hanging in the window of a bar in downtown Roanoke. What prompted this sign? Sounds like a country song.

Tim found a place for lunch. Mmmmmm.

And finally, after Roanoke, we drove a few short miles to Blacksburg, the home of Virginia Tech. What a truly beautiful campus this is. It's hard to believe it was just a little over 4 weeks ago that the terrible massacre occurred. This is one of many memorials on campus. The building where almost all of the shootings took place, Norris Hall, was completely roped off and inaccessible. We wonder what will become of this building - perhaps one floor will be made into a permanent memorial. Many people we saw walking around were wearing purple "Hokies United" t-shirts. So sad.

O-O-O

O BROTHER(s),

WHERE ART THOU?

I'm an iMom

Yesterday we drove to Cary to spend Mother's Day with Melanie, Jason and Will. They surprised me with a gift of an iPod Shuffle in my favorite pink color and also an iTunes gift card. I certainly never expected such a hip gift, but I was thrilled when I opened the little package. This Apple version of the MP3 player is so tiny - about the size of a large postage stamp. Last night Will helped me load my favorite music so now I'm ready to enjoy it. In addition to this great gift, Jason treated us all to a wonderful meal at Brasa, a really neat restaurant which serves delicious Brazilian food. The whole day was perfect and I was very honored on this Mother's Day. Thank you to my precious children and my wonderful son-in-law.

Mother's Day '07

Happy Mother's Day, Rosemary

Tom, Jerry, Chris, Peggy, and John

Biking Buddies

I'm just like Tim and enjoy biking so much. This is a picture of my friends, Lorraine and Karen. Every day in the summer for many years we would meet at this bench in a park about 3 miles from my house. The hike and bike path just down the street from the house led right to it. Many times our husbands would join us. This was a fun way to exercise and we made it very social. From the bench, we would proceed back down toward the house and then on to Starbucks. After a java break we were ready to go again. Our personal best for one day's ride was 21 miles. Karen has since moved to Austin and Lorraine doesn't bike anymore. Mel and I, however, still enjoy getting out on the beautiful paths of Plano.

Two wheeled transportation

This is Tim leaving for work this morning at 6:30. Weather permitting, he rides his bike to the office instead of driving. For safety purposes, part of his gear includes several blinking lights - one on the stem, one on the back of the helmet, one on the back of the satchel and one on the back fender. He thinks he probably looks like a Christmas tree riding down the street, but that's the whole idea. Drivers are more likely to see this illuminated cyclist and share the road as is required by NC law. Some may think he does this to save on the high cost of gas. While this may be a good reason, he really rides his bike simply because he enjoys it so much. Plus, it's good exercise.

North To Alaska

Mel and I are planning a cruise to Alaska and we would like to invite you to go with us. (Sorry, we can't pay your way unless we win the Texas lottery by then.) We plan on going the summer of '09--departing from San Francisco for a 10 day round trip to Alaska. We've never been to the Northwest and want the experience of going up that beautiful coastline. We're planning to get a balcony stateroom to enjoy this view. Would love for all my siblings and their families to join us. Details of the trip can be found at princess.com Let us know if you're interested and we'll coordinate all the bookings in the future so we can have rooms together (adjoining balconies can be opened up so you can mix and mingle). We've taken cruises on this line and enjoyed each. The ship pictured is the last one we were on in Feb. Bookings for Alaska need to be made by summer of '08 for best selections of staterooms, etc. Hope you can all join us on the upper deck for the bon voyage party.

Walkin' the dog

This past weekend I went to visit Melanie and Jason at their new home in Cary. They jokingly called the guest bedroom the mother-in-law suite. Call it what you will, it was very lovely and very comfortable as was the entire house. Behind their wooded back yard is a wonderful paved walking trail that extends for a few miles. Saturday we took Sydney the dog on a long walk ... well ... a long run. Sydney is still in the puppy mode so a leisurely walk is not an option for her right now. Since I am a long time cat owner this was new and different for me. I loved getting to know my new granddog.

Giving Thanks

I am experimenting on how to post text and pictures. This is a sweet picture of our grandson, Jacob, giving thanks at a family meal. Mel and I give thanks to the Lord daily for both our grandsons--Jacob and Joshua.

Wicked The Musical

• Missy took me to see Wicked today (an early birthday present) and it was fabulous!! It's all about the Wicked Witch of the West before Dorothy went to Oz. If it is coming to your city, I recommend you go. Our newspaper reviewed it as being just as good as the Broadway production. There are a few quirky twists to it that make it really interesting. Loved it and thanks to my sweet daughter.

Sisters

This photo is undated but is probably around 1949-50. Hand written on the back is Chrissie and Peggy. Back then print photos were few and far between so this one is a treasure to me. To this day my sister and I joke about the funny name we had for each other. We both still love to laugh and have a good time.