Rain, Rain, Rain

September has been a very rainy month.  Very rainy.  I think it rained everyday for over two weeks straight.  All that rain worked wonders in the yard.  The sweet potato vine is fuller than ever;

My spider plant is growing a number of spider babies;

Mushrooms and clover sprouted all over the place;

And everything is green, green, green!  September has been a very rainy month, and I love it.

Dog Day of Summer

According to the internet, today is National Dog Day.  I've seen unreliable and/or questionable information on the internet before (gasp!), which causes me to question the genuineness of National Dog Day.   The National Dog Day website promoting DogTV and calling National Dog Day a Fourth of July for Dogs doesn't exactly assuage my authenticity concerns.  Nonetheless, in honor of National Dog Day, I share with you Chris's sketch of Doug that exaggerates Doug's physical and behavioral characteristics.  Happy Dog Day, Dougie!

Oh Baby

A married, childless woman in her thirties feels a little societal pressure to procreate from time to time.  It's as if people don't appreciate my furry, four-legged dependent as a real addition to my family unit. Maybe this instruction card, which I secretly hope to use at a baby shower someday, will lighten the conversation.   The baby in the fish tank is my favorite, although the man nursing is a close second as it touches on the unknown purpose of man nipples.    

Power Outage

What's a girl to do when she has a hungry husband and no power at home?  Does she offer to make a lame peanut butter sandwich?  Maybe she does, but that's not the point.  The point is that a camp stove works just as well in a kitchen as it does in the woods.  In fact, unlike a camp site, the kitchen is ready to go with utensils, a clean workspace, and a sink, all of which make use of a camp stove so much easier.  This is significant because if you are anything like this girl, easier to cook = more enjoyable to eat.

Cena

What to do if you are planning a fancy Mexican food dinner:

(1) Drive to downtown McAllen to shop for the proper attire.  Pretend you belong there, even if you are the only tall, blonde person who prefers to do business in English.  Ask for prices in U.S. currency, not pesos.

Downtown McAllen

(2) Purchase the proper accessories, which will likely include cotton lace, images of Christ, or both.  Try not to laugh when you find these accessories, or when you try on pants that match the carpet.  

(3) Invite friends who like to cook yummy Mexican dishes while dressed in Mexican attire.  Don't forget to hang a Mexican flag around your dog's neck, or on a random window.  

(4) Stay in character, even if your stomach is so full of horchata, nachos, fideo, rice, beans, enchiladas, chili relleno, flan, and tres leches cake that you just want to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.  

Recent Events

Every now and then I feel compelled to compile a list of recent events.  Now is one of those times, so here they are in no particular order.

1.  Last month I went to Hondo, Texas, for what will likely be my last visit.  Hondo is the small town where my aunt and cousins lived for many years.  I have so many wonderful childhood memories of visiting the farm house in Hondo, and it was a real blessing to have family nearby in Hondo when Chris and I lived in San Antonio.  If you ever find yourself driving through Hondo, be sure to keep an eye out for the iconic welcome sign.   

My Beautiful Mom with the Welcome Sign in Hondo.

2. Last weekend, Chris and I hosted a whopping 49 people in our house (Chris counted).  It was by far the largest gathering of people our house has seen since our arrival last fall, and the largest gathering Chris and I have ever hosted (aside from our wedding).  While our one guest bathroom proved to be insufficient for a crowd of 49, our food miraculously multiplied to accommodate everyone.  Being blessed with a close community makes the isolation of living in south Texas easier to bear.

A Full House.

One of our guests of honor.  Good Luck Joneen!

3.  This week I've been enjoying lovely gladiola blooms.

I planted gladiola bulbs in my garden this spring, which required pulling countless weeds, aerating the soil, digging numerous little holes, and watering dirt for weeks.  Eventually, little green tips broke through the soil and grew into tall plants, many of which required staking to withstand the nonstop Valley "breeze."

Unfortunately, the tall plants did NOTHING but sway in the wind, which means those lovely blooms pictured above are not the product of my hard work.  Instead, I had to buy some cut gladiolas at the grocery store last week in order to enjoy these lovely flowers.  After all my hard work, I deserve some blooms, even if I have to buy them.

4.  Summer is here, and summer makes me want to travel.  Yesterday I started making a list of the top places I would like to visit.  So far I have Niagara Falls, Machu Pichu, Iguazu Falls, Mt. Fugi, Seychelles, the Netherlands, and Disney World.  I will soon be able to check one of those places off my list!

Getting Excited!

5.  The other day while working the yard, I reached for our catch-all bucket and screamed when I saw what I thought was an oversized rat sitting at the bottom.  The rat turned out to be a baby Opossum.  Chris spared the opossum's life and cautiously tossed him into the alley for me.  The bucket now stays inside when not in use.

Doug is never far from the action

6.  Chris modeled some glasses one recent Sabbath during lunch.

Okay, so Chris is not the only one who tried "the glasses look" recently.

Where's Wenda?

These nerdy pictures make me think of an old picture of Lubbock friends.  Here's proof that Chris and I are I not the only ones who look nerdy when wearing wide-rimmed glasses:

Ryan and Amber

7. I have been learning to study the bible in unexpected ways.   A few weeks ago while working with a group, the group was challenged to write a song about Joshua 1:9.  Joshua 1:9 states: "Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you where ever you go."

My group wrote a catchy little song with the following lyrics:

Be strong,
For the Lord will be with you where ever you go.
Be courageous,
For the Lord will be with you where ever you go.
Do not be afraid, do not be dismayed,
For the Lord will be with you where ever you go.

It is now three weeks later and I still remember that silly little song.  More importantly, I remember the powerful text.

Last week, I attended a small bible study and was challenged with drawing a comic strip based on Jeremiah 29:13.  Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek for me with all your heart."  I drew a rather silly series of pictures depicting a visually impaired person searching for an object without his glasses.  This exercise taught me two things: (1) my people-drawingskills have evolved little since the fifth grade, and (2) I do not even begin to seek for the Lord until I seek with all my heart.

I love learning to study the bible in new ways!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I previously mentioned that the Sias house came with some lovely, mature trees but nothing more than weeds in the planters.  For the first few months in our house, I talked about attacking the weeds but I was too timid to take any action.  Then, during the last weekend of March, I had an ambitious moment: I bought a rake and a hoe and I started digging.  

At first, working in the yard was a novelty; I suppose I watched too many 30 minute miracles on HGTV.  The novelty wore off quickly and I then realized that working in the yard IS A LOT OF WORK!  I mean, dirt-on-your-face-, sweat-on-your-neck-, muddy-shoes-dirty.   

I even mowed the grass for the first time in my life (and the second time and the third time and the fourth time and the fifth time and so on).  I love that people on the street slow down to gawk at my 100% human powered lawn mower, even though it means they are also gawking at the profuse sweat running down my face.

With a little perseverance, working in the yard has become a hobby and I've started to see some success.  Of course, some plants have succumbed to caterpillars, ants, heat, over-watering, under-watering, lack of sun, too much sun, and/or general gardening ignorance, but I won't post pictures of those sad cases.  Instead, I'll share with you some of my biggest successes in the form of then-and-now pictures. Enjoy!

   

Going Home

After Chris and I got married and moved to Lubbock, I was looking forward to our first visit "home" as a married couple.  A few months later we returned "home," and I discovered that some of my favorite things had changed a lot in a very short amount of time.  Since then, I've lowered my expectations when returning to visit a place I used to live.  I still look forward to seeing old faces and old places, but I go into it knowing that the faces and places may have changed a lot in my absence.

This summer Chris and I visited Lubbock, and so did several of our Lubbock friends who had also moved away over the last three years. Of course, some things had changed a lot over the last three years.  For example, I learned that our old neighbor Bill passed away (see Our Neighbor Bill).   Despite changes over the last three years, however, being in Lubbock with almost all of my Lubbock friends again felt so familiar and so comfortable that I felt like I had returned to an old "home."

When I told people I was moving to Lubbock, people would say, "I'm sorry." After I moved, people would congratulate me on getting out of Lubbock.  What all these people don't know is that I truly enjoyed living in Lubbock because of the very special people I met there.  Reuniting in Lubbock three years later was an awesome blessing.  I praise God for the amazing opportunity to experience on earth just a taste of what we will experience in heaven someday.

Friday Vespers at the Dixon House

Saturday Church Service.

Saturday after Church

Saturday Evening in the Youth Wing.

Our Neighbor Bill

I recently learned that my old neighbor in Lubbock passed away.  His name was Bill.  He was a lonely, old man who had severe C.O.P.D., who rode around the apartment complex on a motorized scooter, and who lived two doors down from Chris and I.  Bill spent most of his days sitting outside in the parking lot watching people come and go.  He had a pair of binoculars on the windowsill in his apartment, which I presume he used to keep watch when it was too cold to sit outside.

Bill didn't always have a motorized scooter.  I remember the day that he invited me into his little apartment to show me his new scooter.  Bill later told Chris that transporting the scooter to the apartment was somewhat tricky, requiring Bill's son to tow the scooter behind his car while Bills sat in the scooter steering it.  Bill's son apparently drove too fast while towing Bill across town, but Bill was unable to relay this information to his son because his C.O.P.D. prevented him from being able to yell.  I can only imagine that other motorists on the road were astonished to see an elderly man on a scooter being towed behind a car at a high rate of speed, with the old man unable to do anything about it.

One time Bill told me that he had to sell his prior home because "all the Mexicans" moved into his neighborhood.  This statement surprised me because Bill knew Chris and seemed to genuinely like Chris.  I kindly reminded Bill that Chris has Mexican heritage, to which Bill responded with some comment about Chris being a "different kind of Mexican."  Yes, Bill had a few racist slips here and there.

Just before I moved, Bill told me that he was going to miss Chris and I.  He told me that we were good people, and he asked to take a picture with me.  I obliged his request because if God wills that I live to be a lonely old woman someday, I hope that some nice, young couple living nearby takes the time to befriend me. 

Sias House Sitting

Nothing says "welcome home" after a weekend away like a table littered with paraphernalia.  Perhaps Chris and I need to  qualify the phrase "make yourself at home" when we ask a friend to house sit.

If only Doug could talk.

Back Yard Movie Night

Have I mentioned that I love my backyard? 

We have two big trees perfectly spaced for a movie screen.

We celebrated my friend Rachella's birthday.

Pre-movie festivities.

Getting ready for the movie.

Good food and drinks!

Theater candy and cupcakes, microwave for popcorn.

Ready to watch The Artist.

Happy Birthday Rachella!

Happy Birthday

This month I turned 31.  After the impressive birthday celebration Chris planned last year, I expected this birthday to pass quietly and without commotion.  That's why I was very surprised to come home from the mall on the eve of my birthday and find several friends waiting to celebrate.  The theme of the evening was Alice in Wonderland, and it was fabulous surprise to find my backyard filled with lights, candles, balloons, and banners!

When it came time for cake and ice cream, I insisted that Chris put 31 candles on my birthday cake.  The result was what appeared to be one large flaming cake and a lake of melted wax.  Aging is hard on everyone, even birthday cakes.

As if a surprise celebration was not enough, Chris made reservations on my actual birthday for us to eat at the only restaurant in the Valley that serves beef wellington.  Beef wellington is steak wrapped in puff pastry, something that Chris and I have wanted to try for a while.  The beef wellington was good, but I discovered that a twice-baked potato wrapped in puff pastry is even better.  This girl prefers vegetables over steak any day, even on her birthday and even when wrapped in puff pastry.

All said, I had an absolutely lovely birthday.  Thank you to Chris and everyone else who made it a special day!

Summer Travels

Only a few weeks into the summer and I have already spent a considerable number of hours on the road.  Over Memorial Day weekend, Chris and I went to Corpus Christi with our friend Brian.  We watched a movie in 3D at the Imax (it was a huge screen), toured the retired aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington (a very patriotic thing to do on Memorial Day), and spent a day at the Texas State aquarium (where I saw teeny, tiny baby jelly fish).

The first weekend of June Chris and I drove to South Padre Island with our friends Gabe and Rachella. The weather was hot, but the water felt so cool and was clear enough that even I went for a swim.

Last weekend, Chris and I drove to Fort Worth to visit the usual suspects.  It was a long trip made bearable by (1) Chris driving while I finished a good book, (2) a quick and expensive stop at Ikea, and (3) two pit stops at Buc-ee's, the largest and cleanest convenience store/gas station I've ever been to.

I love summer traveling, but I am looking forward to a couple of days at home this weekend. 

Potatoes Four Ways

Yesterday I ate potatoes four ways: creamy potato soup, spicy french fries, perfect mashed potatoes, and a twice baked potato wrapped in puff pastry.  It was a good day.

Valley Life

This makes me smile every time I drive by.  Every time.  

Mystery Fruit

One reason Chris and I purchased our house is because it came with mature shade trees.  While we can remove dated finishes inside the house in a relatively short amount of time (theoretically), mature trees take decades of patient growing.

Like the front yard, our backyard has three large trees.  Additionally, in the corner of the back yard sits a smaller, rounder tree with leaves of a different shade, shape, and size.  The tree has an unattractive shape because one side is missing a considerable number of limbs.

Two weeks ago, Chris and I ate Sabbath lunch under the large shade tree nearest the smaller mis-shapen tree in the backyard.  While we ate, we discussed the possibility of removing the mis-shapen tree to make room for a pool.  The plans included sketches and rough measurements.  That poor little tree, no doubt listening to our conversation, responded over the next two weeks by producing several tiny fruits. The couple who sold the house to Chris and I never mentioned anything about a fruit tree in the backyard, which makes me certain that the tree needed a few death threats for motivation.

I can't wait for the fruit to mature and reveal it's identity.  Until then, the pool plans (i.e. daydreams) are on indefinite hold.  I would have a hard time cutting down a good shade tree, much less a good fruit tree, to make room for a silly pool.