Happy Birthday Rice!

Nice article about Rice from the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Rice-University-celebrates-100-3925035.php

Space Shuttle Endeavour

Anca took these pictures from the parking lot in the building where I work.  We all went outside hoping to get a glance of the space shuttle and were really surprised when in went directly over us.  It was so close we could only see the bottom of the 747 until it made a turn towards the Astrodome.  

Cinco de Mayo

Today would have been my father's 96th birthday. He loved that his birthday was on Cinco de Mayo, a day filled with lots of parties and celebrations in Texas.

My dad with my sister and me

My Mother's Autobiography

I found this autobiography my mother wrote, probably as a school assignment in the 3rd or 4th grade. Today would be her 94th birthday.

Daydreams of a Young Girl

Here are a few poems my mother wrote when she was 15. The title on the front of the little book she put together was "Daydreams of a Young Girl."

My Cousin Beverly

Beverly with her husband Tracy and children Shannon and Julie







The last 4 pictures are of Beverly, my sister Margaret, and me. Beverly was closer in age than my other cousins so I usually spent time with her when I visited my aunt in Raymondville. She was the coolest person I knew and let me hang out with her, even letting me go on a date with her one time. I also visited her at Baylor once and stayed in her dorm room.

Disney World

Here are some pictures from a trip my daughter and I took to Disney World many years ago. This was probably our 4th or 5th trip there but the first time we went together as adults, and instead of me taking pictures of her she took pictures of me. The last picture was taken by me of my daughter on a human gyroscope.

Balsamic Marinated Tofu

Whole Foods has a tofu dish I really love, Balsamic Roasted Tofu.  Lately however it has been hard to find and the taste isn't always consistent so I decided to try and make it myself.  All I did was buy extra firm tofu, cut it into cubes, drain the water out of it and them marinate it in Balsamic vinegar and a little garlic.  Whole Foods roasts theirs but I decided to put mine in a frying pan (no oil) and just let it simmer a bit.  Mine is so much better than the WF version even though they add rosemary and roasted red peppers.  I would have done that too but I didn't have any and it really doesn't need anything else.  I made enough for 5 lunches with one block of tofu which cost me under 5 dollars so it's a real bargin too.

Aunt Vada and Uncle Robert

One of my favorite things to do as a child was to visit my Aunt Vada and Uncle Robert in Raymondville. Aunt Vada always had lots of cats and kittens and I have always loved cats. Most were outdoor stray cats that she fed (much like I've always done) but she usually had at least one indoor cat and sometimes kittens. She also had a wonderful swingset in her backyard and lots of fruit trees so there was always plenty of fresh squeezed orange and grapefruit juice. Aunt Vada also introduced me to alternative medicine, probably inadvertently, when we drove out to the country to a little shop that had the kinds of stuff you only find in health food stores now. I remember seeing a book there about treating cancer with grape seed extract and I wondered if this could help my mother who had ovarian cancer. I also loved spending time with my Uncle Robert. He was a bowler and would often take me bowling with him. He also got me interested in coin collecting. Every night he would come home with rolls of pennies from the bank and we would look through them for wheat pennies. I still to this day look for and collect wheat pennies. I can still picture him sitting in his recliner in the family room smoking his cigar or pipe. I love the smell of cigars and pipes because of him.

   Aunt Vada at age 63

                                                             Aunt Vada with Eileen
Robert Pitts

Job Creation under Obama

Happy Groundhog's Day

Here is a really, really old picture of me with the official Punxsutawney Phil statue in Punxsutawney, PA. J and I were in PA to see his family and enjoy the beautiful fall colors. We stopped for lunch at the Hotel Punxsutawney and this was taken in the park where the real PP resides.

Robie House

I finally finished my Lego's Robie House, all 2,276 pieces. The roof comes off so that you can put little battery powered lights inside to illuminate the house.

Americans make up half of the world's richest 1%

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/04/news/economy/world_richest/index.htm

Poor Texas. Forrest Homer Simpson is Coming Back.

I found this on Texas Kaos.
Poor Texas. Forrest Homer Simpson is Coming Back.

My Cousin Russell Dan

Here are a few pictures of my cousin Russell Dan Herring. I don't remember ever meeting him or his family. The only memory I have is of 2 Christmas presents I received from his family when I was very young. One was a tiny make-up kit and the other was a homemade sock monkey made by his wife Barbara. Barbara and Russell Dan had 6 children, Kay, Beth Ann, Danny, David, Jennifer, and Kelly.


With my mother.



All the cousins.


With his wife Barbara.


With son Danny

Ginger and Her Kitty

Although Ginger doesn't look too happy here, I think she really enjoys it when her kitty comes in for a visit.

My Cousin Eileen's Wedding

My cousin Beverly, Eileen's sister, is on the right.

My mother made my dress.

Hard to tell from the pictures but the dress is a dark turquoise.


What a beautiful bride.


Eileen at age 14

When I was 3 or 4 I was asked to be a flower girl in my cousin Eileen's wedding to Jerry Paul Cobb. I don't remember too much about the wedding but I do remember that after I walked up the aisle I still had rose petals in my basket so I turned around and started going back down the aisle. Everyone in the church thought this was cute and I heard the story over and over again as a child.
Eileen and Jerry Paul have 3 children, Derek, Michael, and Jerri Lynn.