In the Shape of Texas

Ah...Texas pride.  It leads to Texas shaped everything.  Found a couple more examples of this at our local HEB...

A texas griddle

And texas cast iron skillets!

Ah man...

This is Texas

THIS IS TEXAS: 2 Skies - 2 Colors - All Within 15 Mintues

These skies both happened last Thursday, not long after a tornado warning had been lifted.  Thankfully it was calm the rest of the night with no further weather.  To be sure we were watching the sky that day!   This is Texas!

Sky Watch Friday

Supermarket State Pride - This is Texas

I've mentioned before how I find Texas stuff EVERYWHERE!  Our local supermarket is full of it.  

Any other place, I'd have to go online to find state shaped cookie cutter (unless I just happen to live down the street from a souvenir shop).  And yeah, you can find cookie cutters online for any state, but try this...go to Google shopping and search for cookie cutters for any state.  By the end of the first page, you run out of things that have anything to do with that state, most likely.  NOT TEXAS...those cookie cutters go on for pages.

They've got landmark cookie cutters too...

I forgot missions were a thing in Texas too.  I remember making models of California missions in 4th grade.  That and Sutter's Mill was pretty much the extent of our California history lessons.  Here in Texas they learn the State Flag, State Bird, State Mammal, etc. have yearly celebrations of Texas Independence (Texas Round-up Day), learn about all the famous people who founded Texas, and that's just in elementary school.  There's a whole class just on Texas History in middle school (I've subbed those several times).  

Anyways, those were things I found recently...here's some that were hanging out in draft form since last June (oops).  

And On the Candy Aisle

Linking up today at My World Tuesday

Join us tomorrow for...

 

This is Texas

Well, the big news this month I would guess is NO NEWS!  NO MAJOR DISASTERS in Texas this month (unless I missed something).  So that means we can get back to our regular business of "enjoying" Texas culture and oddities.  Picked up a lot of fun tidbits for you this month!

June 4
The sun was out, it was a warm and beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, and tornado sirens were going off.  I wonder if they choose to test the sirens on days like this just to make sure no one actually thinks there's a real tornado.  This is Texas.

June 17 - 21
I had a blast dressing up in a Roman tunica and doing crafts with the kids this week in our "Roman" markeplace for our churche's Vacation Bible school.

Now, even in a church where they are trying to make everything look like Rome...

and doing quite well I might add...

...could you still tell that this was Texas?  

Yes, yes you could.

Yep, this is definitely still Texas.

(The ponies only visited one day)

June 20ish -   From my friend's facebook status...

Only in Texas would you encounter this version of a save-the-earth bumper sticker:
"Save Gas.  Ride a horse."

THIS IS TEXAS!

_________________________________

  

Tuesday Around the World

This is Texas

Had several "This is Texas" moments this month.


#1   
Passed an orange Lamborghini with a Texas Longorns Decal on the back.  Now that's school pride!

(For those not familiar, the Texas Longhorns are the mascot of the University of Texas at Austin, whose colors are burnt orange and white.)

THIS IS TEXAS!

#2

Of course, this is also Waco, where the colors tend to be more in the green and gold category.  I had the awesome experience of getting to hear Nobel prize winner Seamus Heaney read his poetry at Baylor University this Monday.    There was a couple distinct Waco, Texas and Baylor moments that night.   For a poet who writes a lot of deep, thoughtful, reflective and serious poems, Seamus Heaney showed himself surprizingly humorous.  He mentioned that his father  raised cows, so he was really enjoying his time here in Texas, "though, this being Texas, the cows here are a bit bigger."    When he announced that he was going to read his poem, The Baler, the whole room erupted in laughter (because of course it sounds like "Baylor" ).  I'm guessing he picked it for exactly that reason.  And he also read an original poem which he had written for the occassions, and which they were selling prints of, which he said "I hope you pay an exorbitant amount for...you know, for Baylor, not for me."  

This is Waco, Texas...and This is Baylor!

You can link up your "This is Wherever" Moments at...

And if those moments take place in Texas, 
you can also link them up at...

(Thanks to Pixabay for the Lamborghini graphic.)

This is (NOT) Texas

There was a quote I once read by Canadian turned Texan blogger Busy Being Jennifer...

" I want a horse! Like really really badly want a horse! I mean come on!! I live in Texas... living in Texas should automatically come with a horse."

-- Quoted from another blog, Mommy Made, about Jennifer's old blog,  Finding My Way in Texas

Of course, that's a bit of stereotype.  But stereotypes are just exaggerated grains of truth.  Sure, not everyone in Texan owns a horse, but that doesn't mean  a  random group of horseback riders won't come riding through your local playground (just speaking from experience).  And not everyone in Texas wears cowboy boots...but I never saw a toddler wearing cowboy boots in California!

That goes for my home state's sterotypes too.  Not everyone in California surfs or knows a movie star, but...well, just using myself as a random sample,  my dad worked in the movie industry, so I met a few celebrities even if I wouldn't say I "knew them"....and my husband surfed even if I didn't.

All states have their stereotypes.  Here's a funny 2 minute run-down of stereotypes in all 50 states (yep, this post is brought to you by YouTube today!): 



So, what's some stereotypes about where you're from? Is there some grain of truth to them?

You Might Be a Texan If...

I stole some of these from Jeff Foxworthy...the green ones are my own, or at least significantly altered by me.  I'm NOT a Texan...just a Texifornian, so...well, just feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.  Feel free to suggest some of your own!

You might be a Texan if...

• If someone in a Lowe's store offers you assistance and they don't work there. 
• If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time.

(If you've ever worn shorts, a parka, and Sorels...you might be a California mountainer)

 <- sorels="sorels" span="span">

• If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend (DOES NOT apply to most Texifornians!)
• If you've ever gone "offroading" on the median to escape a traffic jam.
• If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
• If you keep a gun to protect your house...but leave it unlocked.
• If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph, you're going 85, and everybody's passing you (can I have an AMEN!)
• If you think more than 2 inches is "a lot of snow." 
  
• If you have no idea how to drive on snow or ice.
• If you find 60 degrees 'a little chilly,' 

(If you find 70 degrees 'a little chilly,' you might be a Texifornia)

• If you don't see the problem with eating breaded friend vegetables with your breaded fried chicken.
• If you're eating Black Eyed Peas today!  (Happy New Year!) 

If you actually understand these jokes, and share them with all your Texas friends, you definitely live in Texas .

I assumed by that last line that Jeff Foxworthy WANTED these passed on.  But if that's not the case, Mr. Foxworthy, just let me know I'll take them down.   

 

 

 

California ...through Texas eyes.

This Sunday at the park I met up with a mom about my age, and her 6 year old son and 18 month baby girl.  Her son talked about hunting with his dad, and "how he wanted to get a gun, at least a BB gun."   It was definately a "This is Texas" moment. 


Though I know it's not just a Texas moment, as I tell the boy how  my dad bought me a BB gun when I was little, but I was all into Bambi and wasn't interested at the time.  He had guns and wore a cowboy hat, but he was Californian born and raised.

Later we meet up with the boy again on the swings and somehow it comes up that I'm from California.

"California?  It's hot there isn't it" he asks.

"Yep, sometimes," I say, "But it can be cold too.  When we went out in August last year, it was cold at the beach." 

He was a little surprised about that...probably as surprised as I was to hear a Texan talk about how hot California is.  I mean, compared to Texas in summer, Califonria heat is nothing.  

A few minutes later he says, "I know they don't have a lot of cars out there, in California." 

"Sure they do," I answer.  "Just as many as here." 

"Do they ride horses?" he asked.

"Yes, but probably not as much as out here." 

"Oh, well I've never been to California.  I'm a Texan." 

I'm sure if you had asked me about Texas when I was 6, what I would have said something just as sketchy and far-fetched about it.  I probably wouldn't have said "I'm a Californian" though.  I don't think I even thought of myself as Californian until I left. 

There's a difference between saying, "I'm from California" and "I'm a Californian."  The first is just about where you live, the second takes ownership.  It says, this isn't just the place I occupy--it's who I am (or part of it anyways).  Its why I can still think of myself as "Californian" even though I've been out here over 10 years and don't have plans to move back.  It's why my mom still calls herself a New Englander, even though she hasn't lived in New England since her teens.  It's why I'll probably never be able to say, "I'm a Texan" no matter how long I live here.

But you don't have to be born someplace to have that kind of ownership.  Some people who move to Texas really do become Texans...they own it.  Like how we became "mountainers" when we moved to the California mountains.  We didn't move there because we had to...we FOUGHT to get there.  We had been longing for that place with every vacation trip we took there, and when we got there it was home.  It still is home.  And I still miss it.   

(And I miss my Dad.)

Texas Clouds

I love the clouds in Texas...anywhere in the Midwest actually.  I don't remember ever seeing these puffy Simpson's style clouds out in California.

But even cooler is how these clouds move...

See more beautiful skies at

Sky Watch Friday 


 

Texas: Most Likely to Secede

Our pride about our home state is the proudest pride indeed
And we're proud to be Americans, until we can secede

  -  From Stupid Texas Song by The Austin Lounge Lizards

So, have you heard...there's now over 100,000 signatures on a petition asking to grant Texas the Right to Secede?   Here's my thoughts:

A).  Really, Texas?  He's only here for 4 more years!

B).  A move for secession right after a presidential election?  Like THAT'S never happened before.  What could possibly go wrong with that?

C).  Honestly, even after 100,000 signatures, I'm not particularly worried.  There are more Texans who want to stay in the United States than want to leave it...I'm absolutely convinced of that.   To the Texans who signed this, if you go ahead with this to the point of fighting, realize that you'll be fighting against some of your own.  If you think I'm wrong consider the number of people here who have moved from other states, and the nearly 40% of Texas voters who voted for Barack Obama (oh, yeah, and a bunch of folks from our state capital too) .  Yeah, that may be less than half, but even if those are the only people who would oppose you (it isn't--believe me) do you really want to fight 40% of your fellow citizens WHILE warring with the rest of the country? 

If you want to read some more about what would happen if Texas really did secede from the United States, there's a great post on that over at Milehimama.  I learned some things!

I'll just touch on these two legal gems: 

• Congress is not allowed to declare war on states, but the President is allowed to  "put down insurrections," so declaring secession actually gives the President the constitutional right to wage war on Texas, without congresses consent.

• Oh, and here's one more thought for Gun Owners in Texas:  Did you know signing this thing could make you loose your right to have a gun?  Not sure if that would actually be enforced, but according to US Law, anyone “who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship” is prohibited from owning a gun. 

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this!  Comments welcome!

This is Texas

I was with my kids at the park when all of a sudden five horseback riders came galloping through the park, slowing to a nice trot near the playground. They stopped by the restrooms there and a couple of them stood outside and held the horses while the others went inside.

I brought my littlest, carefully, over to see the horses.  There were two horses being held by one of the riders, and one of them seemed restless not to be tethered anymore.  He kept stomping his foot, and I held my little one's shoulder's firmly.  

Another rider was holding a single horse nearby, and this one seemed more calm.  I asked if we could pet him.  "Sure," he said.   "No worries.  He doesn't bite." 

Then the man looked down at my son and asked me,  "Would he like a ride." 

Soon my son was being helped up onto the horse and carefully lead around.  He gave rides to to several other children on the playground,  including one of my older sons before he left.  I was touched by his graciousness and the pure wonder of the moment. 

This is Texas!

Throwback Thursday

Bluebonnets and Tornadoes - This is Texas

I had my Wherever Wednessday post all planned out this week. I usually talk about quirky Texas stuff and a lot of it is the stuff I DON'T like about Texas. This week I was gonna brag on one of my favorite things about Texas, namely this...

The gorgeous color-fest which is Texas spring!

But Texas spring also brought something else yesterday,

namely this....

Texas Tornadoes!  NOT one of my fave Texas things.

But they are amazing.  Though I am horrified at the damage they cause, these storms leave me awe-struck too.  I have to admit I watched that video several times gobsmacked that wind, just wind, can pick up a semi like that.  I was thankful to learn no one was in it. 

The tornadoes that came through Texas yesterday missed us  (we did get some golf-ball sized hail though), and no one we know was hurt, thankfully...though my sister-in-law's car got hail damage  (she didn't say how badly...just said "We're ok...our car, not so much.")

Anyways, hope you all are doing ok out there.   If you weren't affected yourself and want to help out those that were hit, Charity Navigator has started up a list of places to donate and you can find a list of places to voluteer, bring canned goods, etc. here.  And, please,  if you know of any other food or clothing drives or anything like that in your area, let me know and I'll share it here.

Oh, and if you like poetry, you might want to check out the poem posted yesterday at Red or Gray.

  

 Stay safe ya'll.

This is Texas

This is Texas

Yes, that's right...that is a truck/limo sitting there next to the Sports Bar at the mini-mall.  This is Texas.

I'm linking up to my favorite linky, This is Wherever Wednesday.  Also linking this up for Wordless Wednesday at  It's Ok to Be Weird, The Lack's Boat, Laugh Quotes, and Planet of the Aples.

This is Texas - Roads

We went up to the Dallas Arboretum this weekend to take some family pictures for my husband's parents 40th anniversary.  It was beautiful out.  The kids were even fairly cooperative--smiled and stood still and everything (most of the time). Don't have any pictures to share myself because I figured the photographer (who happened to be my husband's cousin) would take more than enough. 

On our way there we spotted something that drove me crazy when I first moved out here....TEXAS sized road bumps.

You know those little safety disks that they put on the middle of the road or the edge of turning lanes?  They're usually about the size of a half a tennis ball...if that.  Well, in some parts of Dallas and Fort Worth, the "safety bumps" in the turn lanes are about the size of salad bowls.  These things are intimidating.

Here's a picture I found on flickr:

Picture by  Diorama Sky 

Here's some other features of Texas Roads and Texas Driving:

• Do Not Drive on Median You'll see these signs on the edges of highways and freeways.  And you know why they need a sign?  Cause people do...frequently.
• Useless Turn Signals.  My biggest pet peeve about Texas driving (specifically Dallas driving) is that no one uses their turn signal to change lanes...they just inch over.    I don't take "inching over the line" as a sign you're about to turn...I take it as a sign you're drunk.  But the reason people don't use their blinker to show they're moving over is probably because if you do people often speed up to close the gap and keep you from coming into their lane.  UG!  Texas civility ends as soon as people get in a car.
• Roads With Multiple Names.  It's not unusual for a road in Texas to have both a name, and and number.  It's also common for one road to change names several times, even in the same city.  I've gotten lost due to road name changes many times, and it makes asking directions really frustrating. 

This is Texas State Pride

If you were blindfolded and flown from another state to Texas, it wouldn't take you long to realize where you were. There are reminders everywhere.

Like this plate I found over Christmas...

Yep, that's Santa in a cowboy hat holding Christmas lights like a 

lasso in front of the Alamo.  Where did I find this?  Some cutesy little souvenir shop next to a state monument?  NOPE!  I found this at the grocery store. 

Oh yeah, there's LOTS of state pride to be found at the 

grocery store!  Check out this "Lone Star Pasta" with little

macaronis in the shape of Texas, boots and stars.

 Browsing down the aisles of my local HEB I also

found chips and crakers in the shape of Texas.  Didn't get 

a picture of that, but Texas Type A Mom got one of the chips...

and a lot of other Texas Pride she found around town.  Actually, 

it took her TWO POSTS to share all the stuff she found.

Want more?  Here's some stuff I posted earlier here:

1. A Texan Birdfeeder, 2. Texas-Shaped Grill, 

3. Texas Waffle 4. Texas Brick

Found that stuff on Flickr.  I've also seen a Texas shaped jacuzzi 

and a whole sidewalk paved with Texas Shaped bricks.  And the number of 

Texas flags and Texas stars I've seen decorating people's houses

are countless.  

Never saw anyone put a California State flag outside their house.  When I lived three I'd occassionally I'd see something with California Poppies on it, and sure, you'ld see surfer and palm tree stuff.  But I've never been to a state where I've seen AS MUCH state pride as I've seen here.

What about you?  What symbols of "State Pride"  have you seen lately?  (Or City Pride, regional pride, etc.)  You can just let me know in a comment, but if you want to do a whole post on it, I'll share a link (and pics if its ok to share) on this blog next week. PLUS, it would make a great post to share over at Whatever Wednessday.

This is Texas

Well, much of this was supposed to be posted LAST Wednesday, but I spilled tea on my keyboard, effectively killing it, and so couldn't type.   


First, what my friend posted on Facebook October 19th...

ATTENTION, residents of Houston and surrounding Harris county areas: As of 8:52 a.m., Wednesday the 19th of October, local news authorities and governing officials have announced that it is now SAFE to move out from in front of your ice blocks and portable fans. I repeat, it is now SAFE to venture out. You may walk out to your vehicles now without fear of heat stroke, sudden evaporation, or melting mascara. This concludes this public service announcement.

Ha ha...that's true in Waco too.  We've finally seen some reprieve.  It is now SAFE to go outside without suffering heat stroke!  Hello fall!  This is Texas!


And my mom sent this e-mail last week.  You have to understand, I live less than 30 minutes from Crawford, TX (home of former president, George W. Bush).  My mom lives even closer.  So, here's what she wrote:

JUST got back from my favorite Mexican restaurant not a mile from here, pulled out of the parking lot and whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, 3 State Highway Patrolmen on motorcycles sped past me going the other way and then a large dark SUV and whosh whosh two MORE State Highway Patrol.  Around these parts (not 15 miles from Crawford) that's a pretty sure sign SUMbunny impotant is on their way out there.  Caught me off guard.  Different from an AMbush.  "BUSHED!!"  Pretty cool!

This is Texas!