Sunday Evening -- Remembering San Antonio


Again, I am taking a bit of time this evening to trip down memory lane to my hometown of San Antonio, Texas. The photos I am sharing tonight are of the San Pedro Public Library. My first experience with the library system was at this library, which is located in the historic San Pedro Park. Usually the end of the school year was celebrated with a picnic at a local park. In May, 1959 our picnic was at this particular park and at the close of the picnic our teacher and parent volunteers marched us to the library to get a tour. Those of us who were already eight years old and had a parent with us were able to get a library card. I was thrilled because I was an avid reader and, with the long summer ahead, I knew I would make good use of that card. That visit began a life-long affection with books and libraries and this library in particular.







For some reason, when I visited the library in April, I was struck by this water fountain. It is original and I remember the water being very cold. As a child I didn't take much notice of this necessity but as an adult, seeing it again after at least 40 years, I saw it for the piece of architectural art it really is. For some reason, it struck a sentimental note and I was sorry that it was no longer operational but it does make a lovely planter.





The final photo I would like to share is that of the children's section of the library. It is no longer the children's section -- it is now the adult section and the children's section is currently where the adult section USED to be. I spent many afternoons in the far, right hand corner seeking out my favorite books -- usually a Kate Seredy or a Lois Lenski. It seems that all my favorite were clustered together and as I visited this time I went straight to that corner looking for them but they weren't there. Realizing the flip-flop of the arrangement I headed for the other end -- they weren't there either. When did Seredy and Lenski fall out of favor? Could I really be that old? Well, yes, I could and changes are inevitable but I think there is still room in our lives for the old books and I think it is a shame that they aren't there, even in the far corner.





So, that is where my love of reading began. It was the greatest thing in the world to go to the library after school on a cold, blustery fall day (yes, it does get cold and blustery in the fall in south Texas) and bring home a handful of your favorites and curl up on the couch and just let yourself get lost in the story. One of my greatest memories of all time.

Unconscious Mutterings


1. intimidated: scared
2. brush: Hair
3. masquerade: ball
4. procedure: avoid
5. tattoos: nasty
6. square: peg
7. tuck: nip
8. boyfriend: Charles
9. badass: cool
10. thousand: dollars, Anne of a Thousand Days

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Oh, I can't wait until I have a laptop even though one isn't on the horizon!

2. A chaotic assortment of goodies is the first thing you see when you open my refrigerator.

3. I never leave home without my shoes.

4. If I were a condiment I would be the newly discovered White Balsamic Pear Infused Vinegar because it is fabulous.

5. The irresponsibile overuse of paper in unnecessary junk mailings is really high on my list of pet peeves.

6. The last thing I though of before I went to bed was that HGTV House Hunters wasn't good enough to keep me up so late.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my hubby coming home, tomorrow my plans include baby shower planning and Sunday I want to go to church and maybe just chill and read.

Booking Through Thursday

One of my favorite bookstores burned down last weekend and while I only got to visit there while I was on vacation it made me stop and think:

What would you do if, all of a sudden, your favorite source of books was unavailable?

Whether it's a local book shop, your town library, or an internet shop...what would you do? If it was a local business would you try and help out the owners? Would you just calmly start buying from some other bookstore? Visit the library in the next town instead? Would it be devastating? Or just a blip in your reading habit?


Hmmm....this question certainly paints a vivid picture of an idyllic small town where residents can actually walk to the town center, where there are still locally owned businesses and where the impact of something so devastating as a fire in the local bookstore could actually affect the town economy maybe prompt residents to rally together in a socially conscious effort to help.

Back to reality -- I dont live in a place like that. We have neighborhoods, most certainly, but the concept of mom and pop stores is almost non-existent, except in a few cases. So, one would have to assume that, in my case, we are talking about B&N or Borders. Well, since they are like Starbucks and are positioned just a few miles from each other and other branches of the same store I would have to say that it wouldn't make much of an impact on me personally because I frequent all of them. Of course, this could bring us into conversation about the effects of big business on our lifestyle -- especially for those of us old enough to remember the independently owned business of our youth and who still prefer them. That, however, is a different blog.

If the library were to burn down -- now, that is a different subject. Yes, I could visit another branch but the impact that it would have on the neighborhood environment would be much more important. The children of the neighborhood, as well as the older folks, would be impacted greatly and I would be supportive of efforts to rebuild. Regarding the library, I don't frequent the library enough. I am a slow reader so I tend to purchase my books so that I am not rushed by deadlines. However, I do like to donate books to the library since our library has resale shops that help sustain the system.

If we DID have an independent bookstore that I visited regularly which, if we DID have one I would, I would certainly try to help in anyway I could to put it back! We have lost enough of these sorts of businesses as it is but they seem to have just disappeared, evaporated not destroyed by some natural disaster -- just a big sucking sound made by big corporate entities.

As far as the internet goes -- well, I have to admit that you can buy anything from Amazon and if it disappeared, I don't know what would replace it. However, with that said, I browse ebay from time to time and there is an elderly gentleman from down South Texas way who can pretty much supply me with anything I am looking for so, I would continue to correspond with him.

At the end of the day the fact is, I am a reader and I would find some venue to feed my habit. I mean, just looking at my reading habits from childhood show adjustment and adaptation. I went from the classroom library shelf to the public library. Then, I discovered the paperback racks at our local convenience store and grocery store. Now, in my mid years the bookstores are a comfortable place to spend the evening and the internet is always open. So, all these changes have taken place in the last 50 years -- we adjust and I am sure we will continue to do so. My suggestion would be, however, is to put a sprinkler system in all the bookstores across the country so we wouldn't have to suffer such devastation to one of our most precious resources.

Sunday Evening -- Remembering San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas is the place of my birth, my parents births, my children's births, my extended family's births -- it is home and always will be. I haven't lived there for the last eighteen years but everytime I return I long to stay yet know I never will again.

My last trip to SA was in April. My husband, who still does business there, had a meeting so I tagged along. He took some vacation time and we made a long weekend of it. Of course, my over productive genealogy gene won't let me get out of the city limits without some form of documentation of my life there. In the past, I have trekked through cemeteries, scoured libraries and cursed myself for not going to the health department to retrieve vital statistic records for every one of my relatives. This time, however, I decided to do something different. I decided to photograph places that were of some importance to me during my years there. Most of these places don't look like they did during my childhood and most have different purposes now. Sadly, a number of significant places in my growing up time just aren't there anymore at all. Most of these places are very old and time hasn't been kind to them. However, I think it would be fun to share these photos in my posts here. I might even throw in some from past visits.

We stayed at the Marriott Rivercenter which is a lovely hotel right on the San Antonio River. In fact, the River is accessible from the lobby of the hotel. We were on the 15th floor so I was able to get this lovely picture of downtown San Antonio.




It just so happened that we were there during the week of Fiesta de San Antonio. Fiesta is a week long celebration honoring the heroes of the Alamo. It began in 1891 when a group of citizens decided to honor both the heroes of the Alamo and those of the Battle of San Jacinto with a "Battle of Flowers" -- a parade where floats were bicycles and horse drawn carriages that were decorated with flowers. Over the years it has expanded into several parades including a night parade called The Flambeau, The River Parade and The Battle of Flowers Parade. There are other activites going on also such as A Night In Old San Antonio -- a food fest in La Villita -- the original San Antonio and the carnival. Below is a picture of the carnival as taken from our room. Fiesta has a Queen with a Court made up of the young women from old society families and every year a King is crowned King Antonio. In my youth, he would go to all the schools and give out King Antonio medals to all the school children. I think I still have one but I don't know if he does that anymore.



So, just click on the photos for a larger view and enjoy!

"The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place" by E. L. Konigsburg

For another entry in the Young Readers Challenge I have completed "The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place" by E. L. Konigsburg. This book is about Margaret Rose Kane, her two great uncles Morris and Alexander Kaplan, the towers and probably the most eventful summer in Margaret Rose's life. It begins with her first visit to summer camp. Her parents had gone to Peru for an archaeological dig -- and other things -- and had planned to leave Margaret with her great uncles for the month. Margaret stayed with her great-uncles a great deal and even had her own room so she was looking forward to the stay. However, her uncles suggested camp. It didn't go well. Margaret was rescued my her uncle to remain in their care for the duration of her parents absence. She loved her uncles house because it was special -- it had the towers. The towers had always been there and were magical. And there was Tartufo, the dog that had come from Italy and her new friend and conspirator, Jake. The story is centered around the changing town of Epiphany -- urban renewal and renovation -- and how the new "neighbors" didn't think the towers were appropriate for the new look of "Old Town" Epiphany. The uncles had fought the city council decision to have the towers demolished but it took Margaret, her mothers childhood friends, her camp enemies, her new friend Jake and Tartufo to turn things around, make everybody happy and save the towers for future generations. There were things, however, that couldn't be saved and some very ironic twists but I won't tell you about them, you will have to read the book yourself.

This book is labeled for 10 yrs. and up but Konigsburg has such mature characterization that I think more like 12 -14 would be a good starting point. I completely enjoyed the book and didn't feel like I was reading a children's book. The characterization is impeccable, the settings so well depicted that you recognize them immediately, the mood is consistent with the action and flow. It is a good read and I would recommend it for the aforementioned age group as well as adults.

Unconscious Mutterings (284)

1. notification: principals office, information

2. cheat: game, test

3. top ten -- those record rating sheets we used to get from the record stores that came out on Friday or Saturday

4. draft: beer, board, pattern, quilting

5. unbelievable: my age

6. cheap: nothing

7. spontaneous: fun, trip, outing

8. harass: annoy, bother

9. lipstick: ugh

10. transpire: happen, event

Hmm....these all sound like definitions! Are definitions my first thoughts? How dull!

Unconscious Mutterings --

As a holdover of our childhood, anything JLSHall does, so does boyett-brinkley. Except for climbing and hiking -- I draw the line at that. So, here is MY Unconscious Mutterings -- http://subliminal.lunanina.com


1. lonliness -- sadness

2. Traffic -- DFW hell

3. Chaos -- DFW traffic

4. Burp -- baby

5. 500 -- Miles, Sonny and Cher

6. movie -- "Saturday Night at The", date

7. coma -- unconscious

8. Bark -- dog

9. Stare -- dazed

10. Angelina -- Jolie, Ballerina


Hmmm...not very interesting. Blah.

Friday Fill-Ins

OMG~ I forgot the Friday Fill-In! Well, it isn't my fault -- yesterday didn't feel like Friday -- it felt like Saturday which would explain my confusion today. Anyway -- here goes!

1. Holidays in the summer are much, much easier to plan for.

2. Filet mignon and shrimp are my favorite things to grill.

3. My thoughts are usually pretty random -- just ask anybody trying to understand a conversation with me.

4. Seeing Nathan is what I'm most looking forward to this weekend.

5. My favorite book so far this summer is the one I am reading now, "The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Street" by E. L. Konigsburg. It is on my Young Readers list but I am just now getting around to it and it is really pretty good.

6. Sitting outside on the patio with a cuppa tea is the best way to begin a day. Well, actually, waking up is the best way to begin the day and then, after you are thankful that you DID wake up, sitting outside with the tea is fabulous.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending the fourth of July with my kids, tomorrow my plans include going to the shooting range and Sunday I want to go to church and then to Bri's house to see her new fans.

Ta - Da!

Texas Summer in 1956~

Doesn't this look like fun? Don't you wish we could do this again? Well, I guess, theoretically we COULD do it but it wouldn't be the same. There was just something about playing outside in the hose/sprinkler -- not worrying about getting sunburned or washing off the sunscreen, not worrying about germs but tasting how great that cold water was out of that hose, laying on big towels drying off in the sun, eating cherry tomatoes that Granny grew just outside that fence. Life was good in 1956.

Happy Anniversary to me -- Again!


Today is my wedding anniversary. A and I have been married for thirty six years. We "went together" for seven years before that so we have been in each other's lives for forty three years. My, that sounds like a very long time. But, it has been good. We have been healthy, have two healthy, accomplished kids, one really cute little grandson and a granddaughter on the way. Life has been good to us.

However, looking back over the "special day" I think of all the things I would have done differently. I wanted a different kind of wedding -- I wanted a private wedding with just parents, immediate family, jlshall and M and then have a big, party like reception. I wanted to wear a short dress and preferably no veil. However, A and my mom thought I would regret it if I didn't have a traditional wedding and reception so we carried on with their plans. Now, thirty six years later, I still like my original plan and, if I could do it over again, I would have my way.

In thinking back over the way things went, however, if I absolutely had to have a traditional wedding, I would still change some things. I wouldn't get married on the fourth of July weekend. People complained that it conflicted with plans like barbecues and trips to the lake. I wouldn't wear a long sleeved dress in July in South Texas. Why? Well, it is inevitable that with a l/s dress in July, the a/c in the church would break down, now isn't it? It did. I would choose a photographer whose pics wouldn't change colors. Now, of course, these pictures are in b/w because my scanner is a b/w scanner but they are in color. The bridesmaids wore lovely peach colored dresses and white gloves and cute bows in their hair. They were all a little past the "bow" age but hey, it was the early 70's, bows were popular.

The one thing I wouldn't change is the groom. He is a good guy and takes really good care of me and always has. So, I guess, at the end of the day, where it happened, when it happened and how it happened doesn't really matter -- the only thing important is that it DID happen.

The first photo is of my bridesmaids -- l to r : My cousin, Penny; Sheila, A's sister; me; JLSHall (also cousin to Penny); and the little one is Sheri -- the flower girl who didn't want to throw the flowers -- typical.

The second photo is obviously of DH and me.