San Augustine or San Augustine?

I have made an observance. I say “San Augustine” with an accent on the “San”. People that have lived around here for a long time say ”San Augustine” with an accent on the “stine”. I apparently say “hog hunting” wrong, also. Maybe I don’t put enough gurgle into it or something. :) I have not figured out the correct pronunciation for that because the other party will not quit laughing long enough to explain what I am doing wrong. I will continue to be observant and share more local talk with your later as well as a “hog hunting” expedition I am planning with friends in April.

What are the odds? and Home Again!

We had four encounters with the law this week. What are the odds? I was pulled over twice for speeding and Jeff was pulled over once for speeding. In a way, they did us a favor. Sometimes you get use to the road you are traveling and start bad habits. It was understandable that we were speeding and any good folk would have been caught by the speed in those situations. We were in the little black Vibe, and so we have declared it a bad luck car. Caleb better be extra careful in it when he comes home and starts driving it again. I truly respect and admire police officers and state troopers. They have a dangerous job and pulling over and writing tickets is one way of keeping everyone safe including the speeder. I observed how careful they had to be when approaching my window and how observant they were while conversing with me. I won’t go into detail except to say, I must have an angel face or something, because only Jeff has to pay the piper! I did learn my lesson though.

So I had a fourth encounter with the law. Today while planting lily bulbs in the yard and enjoying the sun, a police officer pulled up in the driveway. I was thinking what now? Did they change their mind about me? Did a camera snap me unknowingly running a red light? Did we play the TV too loud last night? He walked up and said that he was investigating a missing child case. I was immediately heart sick for the parents and wanted to help, but I also had been calling my dog, Maggie, for 30 minutes and really needed to go look for her. The car made an unexpected sound, so he walked back to the car before we could really get into the case he was working on. Then, he let Maggie out! He had found her on a main road and called the “Home Again” tag and ultimately my husband to find out where our “missing child” belonged. I am forever grateful to Officer Blackwell for bringing Maggie home and for the tough job he and the San Augustine Police Department do for the citizens of San Augustine everyday!

You know you are in San Augustine when...

• you live live in someone's house that lived a long time ago and not really at an address.
• you cross paths with deer, rabbits, snakes, turtles, wild hogs, foxes, coyotes, armadillos, skunks, chickens, and roosters on your way to or from work.
• you get a little sugar high from the grapefruit kneehighs at the San Augustine Drug Store.
• an 18-wheeler truck of pine logs, wood chips, saw dust, or chickens is behind you, in front of you, or coming at you. After hurricane season you probably followed a convoy of FEMA trailers.
• everyone there knows everyone there and they share stories that mostly warm your heart.
• you see a row of trees driving down the highway and suddenly it opens to beautiful rolling pastureland and most often grazing cattle or horses or it opens up to rows and rows of big metal chicken houses.
• you see the pine logs stacked majestically 3 stories high at the timber company.
• you see a tractor drive on the square to get . . . . who knows where it went.
• you drop by the Pinto Pony Cookie Factory and can enjoy a free cup of coffee and samples of their famous delicious all natural cookies.

That's how I know San Augustine!

Texas 42

This is a domino game, a Smith family tradition, and the National Game of Texas according to a Texas 42 on-line club site, and at the risk of causing some angst among my family, I am going to be brutally honest and forthcoming. I have never liked 42! Never! I just play because they need a partner so the others can play. BTW, that makes me a bad bad partner. Also, it is a rule at least when we play around here that husband and wife cannot be partners because it will cause arguments and/or cheating because they know each other too well I guess. So my partner is usually anyone but Jeff. It is a bidding game and I hardly ever, I mean never ever bid. I am not known for my chance taking. Bidding is based on the 7 dominoes you pick from the pile after they have been "shook". I grab dominoes from my left and right near my opponents because I figure I will get dominoes they would have bid with and that will give me a good bidding hand. That never works! I try to understand the game, but I cannot think that far ahead or that fast. I cannot stand the dominoes being turned over on the table or when someone (like Jeff) slams all his dominoes down when the game is over and he knows there are no more plays (especially when it is my table). I mean… come on! Why are there no more plays! Maybe one of us can pull a rabbit out of the hat! How come threes are trump, but the six-three domino cannot be played as a six? How come sometimes, I cannot play any dominoes and have to watch my partner get all the glory… or get hammered? Oh, I mean “set”. How come sometimes you stack the dominoes so that you cannot see what is played and sometimes you pull them to the side? Oh well, the game goes on and I’ll figure that out later. How many times have I said that? How many years have I played now? Believe me I am not a good partner. I think that my co-players think that somebody is better than nobody. It boils down to I know I am going to mess up and disappoint my partner… on a continual basis. I know I am rambling but this is going somewhere.

For the first time ever, and I mean ever, I bid 42 and knew that I would take all but two tricks or maybe one. I figure that is what my partner is for. For some reason, something clicked this night. Was it my new contacts? Was it because I took my vitamin that morning? Was it because I was “dressed for success” and not in my jeans and t-shirt? Or maybe I just have been playing long enough that it is finally sinking in. I still have a long ways to go, but this was a milestone. I took every trick and won the game and added a mark to our score. We beat the guys, 4 games in a row!

So, do I like 42 any more than I use to? Maybe some… I’m getting there. The company, good times, laughter, and sometimes food make this friendly competition worth continuing my training.

Snow!

What a great day! I heard this was the first snow in 10 years in San Augustine. That means that this opportunity for pictures does not come around often. I woke up before daybreak and took a few pictures with a 50mm F1.4 lens and 270EZ flash. The neighborhood was eerily quiet and snow was still falling softly to the ground. I avoided disturbing the blanket of white and snapped away. Several shots actually showed the geometric delicate shapes of the snowflakes, which I am so impressed with. I ended up being able to take the day off and took even more shots after daybreak, including the little birds. They are sparrows or wrens, I think. They seemed more agressive this morning with their feeding. I think cold weather makes me hungrier too. The cat and dog did not really want any part of that white stuff. Children played in the distance laughing and enjoying snowball fights and making angels and snowmen. I drove to the dock after the roads cleared a bit and watched the geese move to the other side of the lake yet again. Tomorrow the snow will be gone, and life will return to its normal grandness -- for San Augustine anyway.

The Kid in Me

One of my favorite things to do is tease the cat! Oh, it is so much fun! She acts so cool and under control, but she cannot resist anything that is wiggling within her eye sight. I buy toys with feathers hooked to a string and I stick my hand under a pillow or cover and wiggle my fingers. She jerks her head first, lowers her body in position with a wiggly backside, then -- pounce! She misses the target by a microsecond and she gets a wad of fabric in her mouth. She cannot resist my dogs wagging tail either. It thrills me to see her loose control like that and I do get a little carried away myself with the giggling and laughing at her. She gets that embarrassed look.

Another thing I love to do is swing in the hammock while listening to music on my IPhone and sometimes singing. I could spend hours doing that. I lay perpendicular on the hammock and swing my leg so that the hammock never stops moving. I examine the clouds going by and imagine what their shape is or look for familiar constellations at night. I was driven out by the cold night air tonight.

I also love to capture a moment in time to see it over and over.... taking pictures. I snap snap away and could do it all day. Here are a few pictures I took today in San Augustine.

Scenes from Hwy 2213 or Liberty.

Late night thoughts

Enjoying nap time.

It has been a few weeks since my last post. I just am not motivated to share anything adventurous lately. I could tell you that I had my sister and her family over today for dinner and picture sharing. Oh, and I did cook the meal for a change. I could tell you that I worked until 10:00 pm with an interesting friend sharing stories and good conversation. I broke up a fight between my cat and the neighbor's cat, so that my cat did not end up in the tree this time. I washed all my laundry... almost. I figured out that my dog scratches because she has become allergic to her food. The TV series LOST has become complicated but is still worth watching especially one episode after another with no interruptions. I searched 2 hours today for a new box of plastic bags that you use to pack things and then take the air out of it to be able to fit more in less space. Never found them. I ran into some smiling and familiar faces at the grocery store. I bought groceries and did not forget a thing. That has been my excitement today. However, what is really heavy on my mind is my son is leaving for a semester study in Greece this week. This will be his adventure of a lifetime and I hope all goes well! Now what is in store tomorrow?

A Joyful Life

I went shopping with someone special, but I might embarrass him if I say who it was. However, this is something I feel strongly about. OK, OK, it was my son, Caleb. We traveled to Orange because of doctor appointments. Anyone that knows me, knows that I like to cross off things on a list and this was the first item of the day to cross off and say "that's done". Then, we ate at the restaurant I chose "Crazy Joses" and enjoyed conversation and watching to see if anyone was in the restaurant we knew, which there was. This was our old stomping grounds for 10 years, so we know people. :) Afterwards, we traveled to the familiar drug store to pick up a few items for his upcoming semester-long trip. Then we traveled to Beaumont with the goal in mind to look at backpacks and walking shoes, but first to the used bookstore. I thought I knew where that bookstore was.... oh yes after a trip around the block and our trustworthy iPhone GPS we found it and it was still open this New Year's Eve at 2:00 pm. We were just a little behind schedule, but both of us seemed to be relaxed and enjoying the day. I thought we would try a back way to the mall and traveled through a beautiful neighborhood of older homes and winding streets. We were still going in the right direction. I thought about the man sitting next to me while I drove. He was not anxious about our detour... in fact, he had not shown any anxiousness or irritation at all. When we talked about my observance, we were in agreement that this side trip was an adventure and learning experience that enriched our life. "Besides", in his words, "You are paying," and "I am driving" I added. We both laughed. It is all in how you choose to look at life that can make it a joy! We had a wonderful day!

Christmas Smiles

Jeff captured my joy when I picked the perfect gift (that I did not get to keep, btw).

I have a new camera, a Canon Rebel T1i. It is more complicated than the Kodak Easyshare I have used for all my photos until now. I have also decided to branch out and try taking people pictures and portraits. Friday night I practiced taking shots of people enjoying a Christmas Party at the our parent's church. I felt a little guilty trying to capture shots of people while they are having a good time and being relaxed. However, no one seemed to mind and the party went on. We enjoyed finger foods and the gift stealing game where you get to pick a gift from the pile or steal a gift from someone else. When the party was over and we were cleaning up, the preacher and I talked. He told me he was glad someone took pictures, because that would be a great gift for his wife. His wife has Lou Gehrig's Disease and could not attend the party --probably her first Christmas event to ever miss at this congregation. I immediately felt that I had done a good thing. Saturday I worked on editing the pictures and creating a PhotoStory of that night with his wife in mind. I wanted to help her be joyful in this Christmas season, but something unexpected happened to me... I saw all the smiles, all the happy faces, and all the joy. I watched the project over and over to get the transitions and music just right and so I watched the laughter and smiles over and over. It was ...... an emotional thing to be watching the evening unfold. I also remembered that these smiling friends stole my gift 3 times.

Collage fun

A mixture of photos, each having its own story. (done with Picasa)

Syrup Day

On the first Saturday after Thanksgiving every year there is a day dedicated to making syrup near Calcasieu, a small town in Louisiana. My parents invited us and we followed their lead to the farm where this celebration takes place. It seemed we kept going and turning and going down a long curvy road, until suddenly I saw the sign "Syrup Day". Throughout the entire day the air sounded with music and old time gospel singing. I quickly found the syrup vat and saw that it was boiling over a fire. The cook and owner of the property said that at 1:30 or there abouts, the syrup would be ready. In the meantime, we watched corn shucking, hay baling and corn being milled into corn meal. Turnip greens and pork cracklins were cooked over an open fire and other helpers were demonstrating how sugar cane is processed to make the syrup. There was a small cabin set up with a dog-run, old time kitchen, and the wash tub on the back porch. There were probably over 300 in attendance. We were all served a lunch of gumbo or taco soup, corn bread, dessert, and drink around noon. The demonstrations continued and I was able to get lots of pictures. The owners/organizers asked for only a monetary donation to help finance the following years Syrup Day. This is an annual event and a wonderful experience and education. We bought several jars of syrup to share and enjoyed watching all the demonstrations.

A Thanksgiving to Remember

This Thanksgiving has to be the topper, the one I can say is the most memorable, and the one that truly captured what Thanksgiving is all about. We gathered together (about 35 in all) some traveling from as far away as California, Arkansas, Georgia, and Louisiana. There were surprises, family photos, games, stories, singing, and of course food.... food that represents the abundance of blessings that we have had over the past year, the abundance of love that we all share, the abundance of faith and thankfulness in the power greater than all, friendship, and memories be what they may. It was especially nice for me because members of my side of the family were there enjoying the same camaraderie that I have been around for over 30 years. And my 2 sons and future daughter-in-law made it to this occasion making my family whole again if only for a couple of days. After eating until we were as full as a tick, we sang songs mostly from memory and definitely from the heart about our love and thankfulness to God. All 4 singing parts were represented plus some extra harmonizing. A few of us enjoyed a campfire with some abstract intellectual thinking and problem-solving conversation that many of the Smith clan seem to have. We shared stories and plans and heartaches. A family this large, this loving, this dedicated to God and to each other is probably a rare thing and something to be cherished and praised and says a lot about the matriarch and patriarch of the family (D&C). It was time to leave and go our separate ways all too soon.

A National Thanksgiving Day is established

Today will be an adventure and heartwarming time for our family. Today we celebrate Thanksgiving, a time we pause and do the things that George Washington and Congress established for Americans in 1789.

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness":Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplication to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, AD 1789" ---George Washington

copied from http://americanrevival.org/documents/other/thanksgiving.htm

Meeting Congressman Gohmert

Sometimes a topic is so dear to one's heart that you cannot put your thoughts on it to paper or even talk about it in such a way that does it justice. However, I will try. Representative Gohmert spoke Sunday evening November 22 at the Center Middle School auditorium in a special community church service. He had a message that I wish could be heard by students in our schools. I never heard the history and quotes that he shared from older history books concerning the heroes of our country's past. I left with the feeling that God definitely had a hand in our heritage and worked in the lives of our past soldiers, leaders, presidents, scholars, and universities, just as he worked through David, Moses, Paul, and other heroes of the Bible. Sure there were unchristian actions that are a part of our history, but we are human. Why does that negate the Christian heritage our country was founded on? Why does that mean leaving out the important facts that kept us on the right track so that my generation and future generations do not even know God's mighty hand continues in our governments today. It seems we have shut him out and chiseled even his reference out of our history. We will one day forget the sacrifices so many have made to make this country a good place to live. Goodness is being descriminated against and twisted in its meaning. The problem is bigger than me. I just pray about it regularly and use my votes which seem lost in a sea of political correctness and add-ons to bills.

Congressman Ghomert and others like him are special people remembering our heritage and passing it on. After the service, I introduced myself and shook Congressman Gohmert's hand and thanked him for his insight and tireless work for our country.

Enough Said, Snakes are Dead

I had so much fun watching the kids at West Sabine Independent School District participate in the Frogs and Snakes contest. The entire district and community were involved in this exciting event. Fifth graders (frogs) and Sixth graders (snakes) competed against each other in several events including sack races, tire pulling, egg carrying, and tug of war. The gym was full to capacity and the kids did their best running back and forth working as a team to win this year's trophy and claim to the winner of the Frogs & Snakes 2009 championship. High school kids cheered for their team which in some cases included their younger sibling. They remembered when they were part of the competition in the not so distant past. I did some video for the organizers to remember the day, but had to leave before the end. When I asked some of the kids "who won"? "Snakes, of course!" was their answer. Better luck next year, Frogs! This was an exciting day for everyone! Then, school was released for the Thanksgiving holidays!