When I Was a Teenager
30 May 2012 2 Comments
in Aging, Family, Family Memories, Hair, hairstyles, Teenagers, Youth Tags: beauty, cars, high school, memories, style, teenagers, teens, the good old days, transportation, travel, vacation, youth
Just a few observations about teenagers and misconceptions about life. I became a teenager in 1966, got married in 1970 and dropped out of high school. Just the facts there.
When I was a teenager:
We weren’t allowed to wear jeans to school. Only “coordinating pant suits”.
We weren’t allowed to wear PANTS to school until I reached high school.
We didn’t have air conditioning in classrooms until high school, and then only the “new” wing had a/c.
At our house we had “swamp coolers” which don’t work well in high humidity. Finally got a window a/c unit to cool the living room and kitchen. Not the bedrooms.
I wasn’t allowed to date until I was 16. Curious how I ended up married at 17, huh?
On dates, I wasn’t allowed to go to the movies, or to dances. Still curious how I ended up married at 17?
I learned to drive in a portable building full of simulators. Kinda like a gigantic video game.
Video games had not been invented yet, so driver’s ed in the simulator, was just … driver’s ed.
The only phones we had were wired into the wall in a very open place of the house. Conversations were never private.
The word “cell” was rarely heard outside of science class or the county jail. The word “Text” was the first half of “textbook”….
Dragging Main Street was great entertainment on the weekends if you were lucky enough to have a car.
Gasoline was about 22 cents a gallon then.
LBJ was not a freeway in Dallas. Richard Nixon was elected President of the United States.
Yes, he really was a crook after all.
On Saturdays we washed our hair, rolled it on brush rollers, sat under a hood dryer until our ears burned bright red.
For really special occasions, we would go to the beauty shop for a fancy “up-do”. I have pictures to prove this. 
Just normal everyday people, had gun racks in their truck’s rear window, with real guns hanging on them.
No special gun license was needed. Most people had common sense. Most. I am from Texas, after all.
I thought people over 30 were ancient and didn’t know anything about my life.
I was wrong. Everyone has been a teenager.
These are just a few things that come to mind, some of the differences between then and now. I work with a lot of teenagers and I hear a lot of the same complaints I made way back then in the prehistoric age. Please share your thoughts with me!
My fabulous, elegant beauty shop up-do for a wedding! I was 15 years old.
“Bill’s Gray Horse”
27 May 2012 1 Comment
in Family Memories, Cowboy, Family, Babies, Horses Tags: horses, horse trailer training, babies on horses, visiting families
This is a true story my mother wrote about my dad’s horse ……I was the baby in this story, so the year was probably early 1954.
This is me, sitting on top of the horse…..
It’s just me, the littlest cowgirl in the world…..on a gigantic horse! My dad was REALLY hoping I’d love horses as much as he did……..I’m so sorry dad, I tried, I was so afraid of them!
Bill’s Gray Horse
by Clover Kimberling
It was such a nice sunny afternoon and we decided to drive to Bill’s grandmother’s house and visit with that part of the family. It included Grandma, Grandpa and their three grown sons still living with them. They were adult men but were slightly childish in their actions and speech. My husband decided to give his horse some trailer training and let “the boys” admire his prized horse. He loaded the horse into the trailer and I gathered all the essentials for our six month old baby.
My husband was an avid horseman and especially loved this gray horse that was very large and very strong. The trip to their house was uneventful and we arrived, unloaded horse, baby and baby necessities and settled in for an afternoon of showing off our baby and his horse.
As the sun began to drop lower in the sky, we decided we needed to load horse and baby and return home. We were driving on a small two lane road, the sun going down and the car radio blasting out our favorite country songs. Traffic was not bad, but a big eighteen wheel tractor trailer pulled close behind us, blared his loud horn and began to pass us. The loud horn startled the horse and he became extremely agitated and began pawing at the trailer and eventually got his front feet over the front of the trailer and onto the highway he went. He hit the pavement and broke one of his front legs , some ribs and injured his mouth. The big truck continued down the highway and we managed to pull over to the shoulder of the road. The horse was in great pain but was able to hobble to a nearby pasture. There was no way we could get him back into the trailer, so we had to leave him there.
We went home and Bill and his friend returned with a large cattle trailer and wench to retrieve the wounded and frightened animal. Because of the serious nature of his injuries, the horse had to be destroyed. What a sad ending to a day that began as a carefree holiday.
My husband was devastated and when we finally got settled in the bed, I could feel the bed move gently as he sobbed silently, and I knew we would remember this day for a long time.
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Slow-Cooker Chicken Cassoulet
03 May 2012 2 Comments
in Family, Food, Friends, Slow cooker cooking
I am not a great cook, I’m a fair cook, and if I try a new recipe, it must be fairly easy, or come to me highly recommended. This recipe is the latter……one of the assistant managers in my store had made this and told me how good it was, so I tried it. That was over a year ago, and I have tweaked it until it’s perfect for us. Just the two of us. This recipe makes enough that we have it two nights in a row and I take it for my lunch two days in a row. Maybe a third day!
According to Wikipedia, “cassoulet” is….a rich, slow-cooked casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat (typically pork sausages, pork , goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork skin (couennes) and white haricot beans.
I use black-eyed peas with snaps, two cans instead of just one. We thought the sun-dried tomatoes were a little strong, so I began using regular stewed tomatoes instead. It was also easier to use the minced garlic from a jar (yes, I’m a lazy cook) and I use a lot more carrots, like a two-pound bag, because I love carrots!
Ingredients
Here is the original recipe, word for word…….I’ll fill in my substitutions below:
Slow Cooker Chicken Cassoulet
1 (15 oz) can navy beans, pinto beans or black-eyed peas, rinsed and well-drained
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 2/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
4 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped
4 garlic cloves passed trough a garlic press
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 T. thyme
2 Tbsp. fresh minced parsley
1. Spread half the beans in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Season chicken with pepper and sea salt. Heat oil over medium heat in a skillet. Brown the chicken on both sides (about 2-3 minutes each side). Place the browned chicken on top of the beans in the slow cooker. Top with remaining beans and chicken broth.
3. Saute the onion, celery, sun-dried tomatoes, carrots, garlic and herbs using the same skillet. Spread this mixture over the chicken. Cover and put on low heat for several hours.
Nutritional value per serving:
Calories 261…calories from fat 57…..protein 24g…carbs 24g…dietary fiber 6g….sugars 3g…fat 6g…sodium 563 mg
Now…..the recipe says “6 servings” and prep time 25 minutes. Because I add more carrots and peas, I’m making more servings, so “your mileage may vary” …….I still think it’s a great dish for when you are watching your diet as we are.
Browning the chicken in olive oil, with salt and pepper. I brown more like 10 minutes, call me crazy.
Below: I have my slow cooker liner in place, these are awesome…..the peas in the bottom, the browned chicken on top.
While my chicken was browning, I was chopping my onion, carrots and celery. After removing the chicken, I sauté these in the same pan, omitting the sun-dried tomatoes. I also use dried basil, parsley and thyme, because, once again, I’m a lazy cook, and these work just fine for me!
It does take about 45 minutes to get from start to finish for the initial prep, but after that, you just set the slow cooker and let it go all day.
After this step, I dump on top of the chicken, add the stewed tomatoes and the chicken broth. Cover, cook on high for about 2 hours, then on low for at least 4 hours. The chicken will be falling apart, the carrots will be tender, and the taste is wonderful. I’ve described this as “like a pot roast, only with chicken”….lol
Last night I served this over some “No Yolks” noodles and some oven roasted red potatoes, it made for a very nice meal. Fit for company, even! I did forget to take a final photo at serving time, because we were entertaining some out-of-town relatives, so take my word for it, it looked as good as it tasted!
And there you have it, my favorite slow-cooker recipe, even if it’s not the fastest, or easiest, it’s definitely worth the effort!
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I Got a NEW TOY!!!!!
18 Apr 2012 3 Comments
in Black and white photography, historical places, Landscaping, Nikon D3100, sightseeing, Texas, The Great State of Texas, Uncategorized Tags: historical sites, photography, Waxahachie Texas
Yes, I’m just like a kid…I got a new toy! I’ve always wanted to be a “photographer”, meaning I’ve always wanted to own a camera that was more than a “point and shoot” cam. Last weekend I took the plunge. I have been inspired by a fellow musician, Pam, who takes the most amazing photos of babies, nature and her grand-kids…..so, as I studied her photos I wondered….”couldn’t I do that, too”? (you can find Pam on Facebook “Portraits by Pam”)
I purchased a Nikon D3100 camera, no extra frills or lenses, briefly read through the instructions, then set out on Sunday to take pics of some local scenery that I thought would be interesting to photograph. I’ll graduate to people later after I’ve had some more practice, because I do have a gorgeous new grandson who’d make beautiful pics….and a 19-year-old granddaughter who is stunningly photogenic. So….be patient!
The first seven photos were taken in historic Waxahachie, Texas. There’s also a section of town full of Victorian houses, on the “Gingerbread Trail” that I would love to shoot. Maybe later……
Feed Store
M-K-T Depot Waxahachie, Texas
Pedestrian bridge parallel to Highway 77
Katy Depot
Railroad crossing, look out for the cars, can you spell that without any R's?
Bridge on walking trail at Getzendaner Park, Waxahachie
It was raining intermittently, so this shot was snapped through the windshield of the car, and I thought it was kinda cool.
These photos are from my own backyard…..
Windmill in motion....this little windmill is in my backyard
Budding Lily
The other budding lily....lol....they need to BLOOM already!
Sunrise above the rooftops......it's hard to do in town!
Ertle the Turtle, who is really a "pot hanger" but looks so cute sitting next to the succulent.....
That’s the extent of my photography as of today….I’m still reading blogs and websites for tips and inspiration.
Coming soon…..pictures of my grandchildren!
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A Work in Progress
12 Apr 2012 2 Comments
in Gardening, Landscaping, Uncategorized Tags: above ground pool, flowers, gardening, Knockout Roses, Pampas Grass, planting
We built a new house in 2001. It was one of the most exciting and frightening things I had ever done in my life. I was also 47 years old and this house was my very first *real* home to own. We moved in right before Memorial Day weekend so it wasn’t long before I was looking at my barren backyard with thoughts of a green, lush, inviting space that I would create with my own two hands and lots of back-breaking labor. The first thing I bought was a swing, I love to relax in a swing and watch the world go by. Never mind that there’s a six-foot fence around the yard, I could see my kitchen bay window and imagine the flowers that I would plant. Next year.
This backyard has undergone several transformations since that first summer. In 2002 we put in a 15×30 above ground pool and this became my haven for the summers to come. I dug up some earlier laid stones and started a real patio. Talk about difficult work, wow, this was it!
I managed to do this during a week of vacation in the spring. By myself, thank you very much!
The finished patio, complete with blooming Cannas that I planted a couple of years earlier.
In 2005, I added more stones to the patio to enlarge it and as soon as I finished, we had a storm the very NEXT day and the straight line winds took out the fence on the north side of the yard! Really, Mother Nature?
Summer storm 2005
Fast forward to fall of 2008, I had a total knee replacement due to wear and tear aggravated by arthritis, and my mobility decreased somewhat. Summer rolled around and I had great difficulty climbing up and over the ladder to enter the pool. We decided to build a deck to make access to the pool easier, and we covered up the patio that I had worked so hard to build!
a
I have to say, I have really enjoyed the deck.
Finally, last spring, 2011, we were able to replace the rotten old fence with a beautiful new fence, with metal posts anchored firmly into the ground. We also expanded the yard out about 20 feet toward the sidewalk to give us more *yard* since the yard was all deck and pool!
New fence! Thanks Home Depot....
This is the south side of the yard, in 2003 I believe. This is the view entering the front gate, and I didn’t like it so barren and boring. I tried to hide the pool pump with the white fence, but it wouldn’t stay secured.
I also wanted to hide the ugly utility box in the corner behind the pool. I succeeded there…..you will see how farther down.
I planted a 5-gallon Pampas grass in the corner, not knowing how big this thing would be. It swallowed up the other plants and even the wheelbarrow!
In about 4 years time, it was at least 12 feet tall, quite beautiful…….however, in August, when the stalks plumed out, they would shed when the wind blew…..right into the swimming pool. I spent the rest of the summer skimming the cottony mess off the top of the water. Brilliant idea.
In 2007, I planted Knockout Roses along the side of the house, in front of the pool pump; and Encore azaleas along the fence.
2007
Two years later the roses were huge…..also, the Pampas grass in the back corner had become a monster! The azaleas didn’t fare so well and last summers record heat finally took them down. I pulled them all up this spring.
2009
I took this photo this spring, 2012. My project for this year is to get these bushes cut back as far as possible, even if it means killing them in the process. I don’t think it’s possible to kill them, though.
2012...out of control, and killing the grass.
I cannot find pictures of the front of the house before we planted the trees and took out the shrubs, however, we added the castle wall blocks around the trees for planting beds and made a huge bed across the front of the house. That planting bed has had many looks over the years, and now it’s mainly evergreen shrubs because it gets the relentless afternoon sun from the west.
That Bradford Pear tree is now a beautiful full tree…..the other one never did grow much, even though we bought them and planted them at the same time. They were exactly the same tree. Don’t think so!
Everything is a work in progress and ever changing as my abilities allow. I’ve always maintained that my body and my finances couldn’t keep up with my imagination when it came to my landscaping!
Collage of plantings 2007
If I’m not in the pool, my next favorite place is on the patio underneath the arbor that my dad and my husband built for me in 2003.
There is beauty in nature and I love growing things….I love the renewal in the spring.
Happy digging!
Letters to my Mother
09 Apr 2012 6 Comments
in Aging, Antique Graphics, Children, Daughter, decorating, Family, Family Memories, Home improvement, Original songs, Parent Tags: aging, children, diy, family, forney texas, home, keepsakes, letters, life, memories, motherhood, music, musician, young, youth
Yesterday, Easter Sunday, we drove up to visit my parents like we usually do. We enjoyed a nice, quiet lunch at Cotton Patch…..okay, just kidding, that place is so noisy, you have to yell to carry on a conversation. Afterward, we visited more at the house, and my nephew, his wife and their adorable 3 year daughter came by to visit.
I had asked mom for some letters that she had kept from the time my kids were small, so yesterday, she handed me a large envelope full of letters and some photos. YAY…..more treasures! Oh, but wait….maybe not. The first letter I opened was from El Paso in 1986, after I had moved there with my boyfriend. It was quite sobering, even though I was sober to begin with. How my life has changed since then. For the better, of course.
The rest of the letters were far more entertaining, written in the early 1980s when we had moved to the country and were living in a ramshackle farm-house that we were renovating. Renovating is really an exaggeration. Trying to keep it from falling in on our heads, is more accurate. Most of the time that we lived in Forney, Texas, we didn’t have a home phone, so I wrote letters to keep my parents informed of our general progress on the house and the kid’s activities. Just an aside…..the postage stamps ranged from 20 to 22 cents on these letters.
The farmhouse....we paid $2,500 cash for the house and had it moved around the corner to our 2 acres.
The house did look better about a year later, and was still standing in spite of the wood-burning stove in the living room. Luckily the house did not burn down the winter that everything froze up for more than a week. We endured cold winters, and very hot summers in that house….and lots of dust, dirt and construction. Whew.
The best thing in the envelope was a hand written poem, that was once set to music, that I wrote for my mom for Mother’s Day 1979. I actually don’t remember writing this down and decorating it like this, but I did.
And she kept it.
All these years.
And people say *I* am a hoarder!!!
This is quite fragile as it’s written on construction paper, and I even made an envelope from the paper also. Who knew I was so thoughtful and resourceful?
So, the most funny thing was a handwritten list, I must have been as young as 13-14…..titled “My Real Life Problems”….
I particularly love #15 and #18……my little brother was quite a brat back then. You can see I had a very low self-esteem, and I outgrew that for the most part. It does sneak in every once in a while to try to bring me down. I’m not sure about #14 as I never had trouble with my complexion, I was blessed with good genes in that department! Still, pretty funny to read now and see how insecure I was then. (this proves that I have always been a really good speller!)
When I began writing this today, I had intended to scan some of the actual hand written letters and include them; however, after re-reading them, they seem intensely personal to me, so I changed my mind. Some things are better left un-shared, I think. But, these letters reinforce my belief that my life has gone through a great many changes in the last 30-40 years, and I have come out on the other side a better person. The once painfully shy first grader who wouldn’t speak a word for six weeks, somehow morphed into a musician who loved to entertain on stage, and then became a force to be reckoned with in the retail world.
So, thanks mom, for keeping these for me. I am sorry for the many times I’ve let you down, and I’m thankful that you always forgave me, and you never gave up on me.
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Accent? What accent?
10 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in Beautiful, Family, historical places, Moving, Relocation, sightseeing, Texas, The Great State of Texas, Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, Washington DC Tags: beautiful town, blue ridge parkway, grand ol opry, grocery business, redbud trees
In 1999, the hubby’s company moved us to a strange new land. “Virginia” they called it…….I actually had to get out my trusty atlas to see exactly where Virginia was on the map. Yes, Geography was another subject in which I failed to excel. We were nonetheless excited about this new adventure in a new place. I had never lived outside the Great State of Texas, but Mike had lived in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and last, but not least, Oklahoma. His company flew us out to look for a place to live, and we leased a beautiful new 2 story townhouse; then we checked out local places and the scenery. All the Redbud trees were in bloom while we were there in late March, so we could hardly wait until we got properly moved, in less than a month.
The beautiful town-home!
Outside of the beautiful town-home!
Mike had driven his truck to Christiansburg to get to work, and left me behind to oversee the movers, then he flew back and we drove the car to Virginia, stopping on the way to see The Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville. We spent about a week in a hotel waiting for our belongings to arrive, and when they did, we started getting settled in the beautiful new home. Mike’s new store was to open in June, so he was busy hiring a crew, and I started looking for a job. Kroger was opening a new store in nearby Blacksburg, and due to my vast experience in the grocery business, they hired me right away. (Too bad the pay was not commensurate with my experience, but that’s a story for another day)
On the weekends, we drove all around, looking at the scenery, which was breathtaking. I loved the mountains, it seemed like you could literally see forever. We made friends with a couple who were happy to show us all the sights that we might never have known about. They took us on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which runs for 469 miles through the southern Appalachians of Virginia and North Carolina, linking Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountain National Parks along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
View from The Blue Ridge Parkway.....stunning!
One of the most amazing places on the Parkway was Mabry Mill , a historic water-powered grist mill which was originally built in 1910. I snapped this photo below, and I swear, it looks just like a picture postcard. We visited there again when Mike’s folks came to visit us in September.
A perfect shot, if I say so myself!
When my parents visited us in August, shortly after we had moved there, we took them to Natural Bridge:
We lived in Christiansburg for about 7 months, then were transferred again, and moved again….whew, to central Virginia, and Mike’s next new store was in Lexington, which is a wonderful historic place, however, we couldn’t find any place to live, so we rented a house in Stuarts Draft.
Stuarts Draft, in the valley this time....
This was about 30 miles north, in the valley; there were a great number of beautiful Mennonite farms there, and the people were exceedingly friendly and polite.
Now, I say they were all polite and friendly, however, there was this teeny tiny misunderstanding about who actually had the southern accent….ME….or THEM! Of course, I have a Texas accent and Mike does not, since he was born in Alabama; so I’m not sure why they picked on me for MY “alleged” accent! The women didn’t carry “purses” they carried “pocketbooks” and I told them that if I came back to Texas and said “pocketbook”, I’d get laughed out of town! But, they still teased me about my accent…..and I had no choice but to take it in stride, hence my nickname “Texas Twang Debi”……see, if you can’t fight ‘em, join ‘em!
Just across the mountain to the east of us was Charlottesville, home of Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia which he founded. We toured Jefferson’s home, Monticello twice while living in the state, and it was my favorite historical site. I learned so much about American history while living in Virginia because everywhere you turn, there’s another historic site.
Monticello
Monticello was amazing....
While in Stuarts Draft, I worked at the Kroger on Lew DeWitt Boulevard in Waynesboro, and we were just a few miles from Staunton (pronounced Stanton for some reason!) home of The Statler Brothers! We toured their museum and I got very up close and personal with gold records and Grammy Awards! The closest I will ever get, no doubt!
After about 8 months in Lexington/Stuarts Draft, we moved again….sigh…..this time to the less idyllic locale of Warrenton, about 40 miles from Washington D.C. The people were less friendly, the cost of living was much higher, and the scenery was not as pretty, although, there were several horse farms that we saw that were nice.
The house we rented was stuck in a 1970s time warp, but the rent wasn’t too outrageous. Plus, we were only 40 miles from our nations capitol. We went twice to DC….Mike’s favorite site was Kennedy’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery.
Me and mom....
In November of 2000, we had enjoyed as much of Virginia as we could, because we learned that each time Mike’s company moved us, our two years started all over again…see, they had said “go there and open this store, and in two years we’ll move you back to Texas”. He opened two new stores and then moved again to take over the top store in the district.
Hmph.
That’s all I’m going to say about that.
I was quite homesick by this time, so we made a joint decision.
Like I said, I was homesick……lol…..
We had a MASSIVE garage sale, even sold the truck…..loaded up what was left and headed home to The Great State of Texas. We didn’t have jobs to come home to, nowhere to live, but my sweet and practical brother said “y’all can live with us while you get jobs and find a place to live, 90 days ought to do it”…..LOL…… That 90 days evolved into SIX months, because we built a new house, and it took that long. Good thing they lived in a huge house……we had a blast staying with them, though and felt a little lost when we had to move out! (Thanks PK and KK)
Our new house!
Like I said earlier, the lovely folks in Virginia made fun of my accent, but I loved the time we spent there, and I think about it every time I grab my PURSE, not my pocketbook, but my purse and leave the HOUSE, not my “hoose”…..lol
Virginia may be for lovers, but when I die, I want to STAY in Texas!
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