WELCOME MARCH!

March came in like a lamb Saturday, with a high of 81 degrees F. The lion showed up Sunday with rain, sleet, snow, and overnight lows of 14 degrees F.  Yes, this is normal for Texas.

Darling Daughter 2 remembers going to the movies with a date several years ago about this time. He wore shorts because the weather was pleasant. When the movie was over, temperature had dropped 30 degrees in the hour-and-a-half they were in the movies, and the guy nearly froze. Yep, more normalcy for Texas.

March is Irish-American Month. Many people in the USA are of Irish descent, so St. Patrick’s Day is a well-celebrated occasion. In San Antonio, Texas, the river through town runs green. In Dallas, there’s an Irish Celebration at the State Fair Grounds. On Dallas’s Greenville Avenue, there’s another St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Towns all over the country have parades on St. Patrick’s Day. I suppose the most famous is in New York City.

State Flag of Texas

March 2 was Texas Independence Day. Not a big holiday unless you live in Texas or are a displaced Texan.  “Remember the Alamo” has a great deal of significance to Texans, even to those like me whose relatives showed up in Texas a few decades later. I’ve heard that’s also where the saying “One Ranger, one riot” originated.

The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas

March is when the Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” is held to raise cancer awareness and research money. Darling Daughter 1 is a breast cancer survivor, , Hero is a subcutaneous lip cancer survivor, and I’m a thyroid cancer survivor. You can bet that we are in favor of cancer research and early detection awareness - and hoping Darling Daughter 2 escapes this disease!   

So, whether your weather is snowy or sunny, celebrate the month that finally brings spring on March 20th.

Please come back tomorrow for a visit with THE MOON SISTERS and author Therese Walsh.

Thanks for stopping by!

SPRING FLING IN A GARDEN

What a glorious time is spring! In spite of my allergies, I love spring. This past weekend, Darling Daughter 2 took me to the annual Chandor Gardens Spring Fling in Weatherford west of Fort Worth TX. As we approached, we saw that cars lined the street outside the gardens and filled the parking lot, but we scouted parks anyway. Luckily for us, we caught someone leaving and scored the perfect park closest to the garden walkway. How often does that happen?

Are these blue bells?

Once we were inside the gardens, the brisk wind didn’t reach us, and we enjoyed our time among vendors, flowers, artists, and a lovely setting. The sky was the gorgeous blue seen only in the Southwest “land of the tall sky.”  We found a handcrafted jewelry vendor and DD2 bought a couple of necklaces and I bought a small metal cross.

Too bad I didn't bring a book. This is
the perfect place to curl up and read

Although I enjoyed browsing the artists selling their paintings, I didn’t buy. My home’s walls are already too crowded.  My wallet was safe there and Hero was relieved to learn I hadn't "lugged home" something else.

Japanese Fountain with twin dragons

While DD2 visited with friends, I spent a few minutes seated on a bench near the Japanese Fountain. Overhead, a large tree spread its branches upward. Nearby a man selling handcrafted flutes demonstrated his wares and provided delightful melodies that reminded me of Native American flute recordings. We were there early—too early for the Jazz Band from Weatherford College, but I was content with the flute’s gentle strains.

I love purple iris because they were my mom's
favorite and remind me of her.

Renowned English artist Douglas Chandor moved to Weatherford from England to please his wife, the former Ina Kuteman Hill. Chandor counted among his famous portrait subjects the Queen of England, Winston Churchhill, and Dwight Eisenhower. Chandor Gardens used to be a showpiece at first called White Shadows Gardens.  For many years, the gardens were open to the public at certain times, much like stately English homes, and became a locally famous tourist attraction.

Flowers line walkways. 

The estate is four acres. The house sit on a hill overlooking the city. Chandor directed work that surrounded his gardens by an elaborate network of walls that enclosed an array of plants and trees, Chinese pagodas, a Japanese water garden, and a miniature replica of Mount Fujiyama. Although his claim to fame was his talent as an artist, Douglas found his real passion as a gardener. He once told Ina that his talent for painting was merely a means that enabled him to fulfill his dreams of building a "living artwork."  

This Chinese lion and his mate stand guard at a walkway

Water is almost as much a focus as greenery. Wherever you look here, there are fountains, Koi pools, and man made streams. Benches dot the gardens at spots perfect for meditating and enjoying nature. Seeing the gardens today, realizing they were carved from a pasture on a chalk hill is difficult. Chandor's vision created beauty.

Secret hideaways are tucked in to surprise the visitor.

After Douglas Chador’s death, Ina eventually had to be placed in a nursing home for an extended stay. Her nephew was in charge of her estate, but was eventually forced to sell off most of the treasures to pay her bills. By the time of Ina’s death, the famous gardens had become overgrown and disheveled.  For years, the estate stood in sad disrepair.

No, these aren't remarkable. but they remind
me of those my grandmother grew each summer.

Eventually, a civic minded couple, Charles and Melody Bradford, restored the home and gardens. I hope karma repays them a hundredfold for rescuing this property! The Bradfords sold the restored estate to the City of Weatherford at a bargain price. Now the city maintains the gardens and rents out the home for weddings and receptions. The former groundskeeper’s cottage is reserved for brides to change into their wedding gowns. What a lovely setting for a garden wedding.

Darling Daughter 2 photographs the grotto.
In order to make the rock work visible, I
had to cut out the curved benches intended
for reflection while listening to the water.

For DD2 and me it was a day to enjoy one another and the gorgeous setting. I hope you have the occasional luxury of time to spend enjoying loved ones. The hours will renew your spirit.

Thanks for stopping by!

SPRING AND A SNEAK PEAK

Has spring arrived in your neighborhood? Right now, we have spring temperatures, but this is Texas. The saying is true, “If you don’t like Texas weather, wait three days.”


Still, I’m hopeful. Perhaps you noticed I’ve put the spring redbud photo back as my header. My friend Celia Yeary said the snow scene made her cold and she requested I put the redbud photo back up so she wouldn't freeze when she visited the blog.

Daffodils are in bloom, and the redbud’s buds are swelling. Unfortunately, the elm and cedar are pollinating. Ahhhhchoo! Cough!

Hero and I watch our bird feeders
and bird houses from our breakfast table

Spring is my favorite time of year. It holds such promise! The blue birds are nesting in our birdhouses. Baby bunnies are appearing. Our grass has greened up (and the weeds) and early flowers are blooming. Dandelions and vetch do count as flowers, right?



Darling Daughter 1 brought me a
starter plant of this wild rose
from her wild rose hedge.



Several rosebuds are on my Earthkind roses. Roses are my favorite flower. All in all, I’m a happy gal all spring.

Farmer's Market = Work!

This year, Hero and I plan a small raised-bed vegetable garden, about four feet by eight feet. A few years ago, we planted several acres of vegetables and melons for us and to sell to the farmer’s market. We don’t want to sell produce now. Yikes, is that ever work! What we want is food for our table. Good, fresh, organic food.

Similar to my blue ribbons

In past years I won blue ribbons at the State Fair of Texas for my canned jams, jellies, and veggies. Okay, only one blue ribbon for green beans, but several for peach jam, grape jelly, cinnamon crabapple jelly, and blackberry jelly. Seeing my jars on display with a blue ribbon was exciting.

My worst experience was the year we had a bumper crop of pomegranates. My sister in Fresno puts the juice in ice trays to use with a sprite or seven up. She also uses it in pumch. Hero and I decided that was a great idea and we'd  extract the juice for jelly and to drink. Bad, bad idea. We had no idea how that juice stains! And it sticks to everything! We cleaned our shoe soles and mopped the kitchen four or five times, but our shoes still made sticky whop whop sounds when we walked. I think my sister only works with a few pomegranates at a time. We went way overboard. 

Better than winning a blue ribbon at the fair is seeing my books for sale. I love writing, and love having people tell me they enjoyed my books. It’s an addiction but there is no Writers Anonymous or 12-Step program. So, I’m hooked on writing. I’m only a week or ten days away from publishing a new western historical romance on Amazon Kindle. Here’s a sneak peak at the cover.

Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s from Jimmy Thomas and Novel Romance Covers. He’s a very popular cover model and I’m sure you recognize him from many book covers. Both independent publishers like me who publish on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords as well as large publishing houses use his work.

Obviously, the book is titled BRAZOS BRIDE and it's the first of the MEN OF STONE MOUNTAIN series. BRAZOS BRIDE is the first of a trilogy of three brothers and is set in 1870 North Central Texas on a ranch beside the Brazos River. Stay tuned for the launch date.

Thanks for stopping by.

SPRING BRINGS PROMISE AND HOPE

Spring is my favorite time of year. Everything is green, flowering, and beautiful. Even the high winds and fires nearby can't eliminate my delight with the season. Every flower encourages me. The song of each bird lightens my mood.  

You can imagine my pleasure last week when Darling Daughter 1 and I visited a nearby botanical garden. The day was perfect--cloud cover to cool us but no rain. I'm sharing the photos I took and will share Darling Daughter 1's photos later. Her photos are much more professional than mine.

That's a white swan grooming herself on the lagoon's bank

"The most important word in the English language is hope." Eleanor Roosevelt.

Wise woman, and I so agree. As a romance writers, I sell hope through my books. Readers know that no matter how hard the obstacles, the hero and heroine will overcome to reach a happily ever after conclusion. Their success inspires readers facing their own obstacles.  Reading a story with a foregone conclusion gives the mind a break while the reader enjoys the read.

Pink poppies with roses
in the background

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." -Helen Keller

And who better to know that a woman both blind and deaf? If she could succeed, there's hope for each of us!

Poppies and snapdragons with
lavender near the hedge

 
"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Jeanne Bice

So true. Stop rehashing the "if onlys" and "I should haves" thoughts that drive us nuts. Begin with today. God gives us a brand new begining each morning. Don't waste it.

A fountain donated by
 friends of the garden

















"Spend some time alone every day." the Dailai Lama

This is important. If I'm not comfortable with myself, how can I be comfortable with others? Sometimes we need to be still and think, evaluate, and/or pray--maybe all three.

Walking trail through the gardens

Because this is a sacred season to those of us in both the Christian and Jewish religions, I'm sharing my favorite Bible Scripture: "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord...plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
Isn't that appropriate for Spring and this religious weekend?

Please return on Monday when my good friend Celia Yeary will pay a visit.