Copy Cat

Amy and Charla both put this on their blog, so I thought I would too.

Directions: You bold all the things that you’ve done (after copying and pasting). Play along if you want to! I know it's long...
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten tipsy on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse (of both the sun and moon)
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two harddrives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had/Have amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales (one of the biggies on our summer vacation)
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud (still do in my Ceramics lab)
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business (Fiber Finders)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the snake river (does canoeing the snake river count?)
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in a Rocky Horror Picture Show
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (I also drove over very slowly)
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept 30 hours in a 48 hour time frame
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read “The Iliad”
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Trying to blog again

I couldn't believe when I opened this blog tonight that it had been since August since I last posted anything. It's not like there hasn't been anything to blog, it is just that I don't seem to make time at the end of my day to write about it. My last blog was August 16th, the day before we started back to school with a new principal and a whole new structure. We spent our first week together in inservice reinventing the wheel. The next two weeks were with students while we recorded our "reinvent" the first week and published it in triplicate the second week. A routine is beginnning to develop now and life at school seems to be getting more rewarding. I have a "student teacher" this year. The first our visual arts department has ever had. Edna is turning out to be a real asset and probably one of the major reasons I am getting a grip on the new procedures.

One big highlight in September was Ray's 60th birthday. He didn't want it to be a "HIGHLIGHT" so we celebrated with limited fanfare. The weekend of his birthday sister Deezy and brother Rocky came to Uvalde and celebrated with him. He received a wonderful gift from his family- a kayak with all the trimmins'. He made the maiden voyage last weekend and is excited to try out fishing holes on the Nueces every chance he can.

We are looking for a kayak for me to go along with his. I would like one that is just a little shorter than his- makes it easier to paddle ;o)

Home again, Home again, jiggity jig

We have had the most incredible July and August trips. First to the Gila Ntl. Forest, NM and then on to WA, OR, and CA. I added stamps to my National Parks passport for Gila Cliff Dwellings, Mt. Rainier National Park, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Site, Redwoods National Park, Crater Lake National Park................ I'm sure there were more, but I haven't yet unpacked my N.P. passport or my travel journal to look at them again. Amy will be sending me a CD of all of our pictures when they get back to Washington. I will post pictures then. We arrived home with summer head colds and dog tired. I slept a lot yesterday and the head cold is much better. My sister-in-law, Charlotte, insisted we take Air Borne to help with the severity and I am convinced it did. I plan to take it this year when I start hearing all of the sneezing and coughing in my classroom. I think one of the good things about taking our vacation at the very end of the summer has been that I wasn't at home planning and fretting about getting back to school. Instead I am enthused and looking forward to starting the school year. So, for all of the teachers who see this, I wish you the same enthusiasm and excitement I am feeling. I hope your teaching year goes well.

and they're off!!!...

Or so we hope!!!! Our plan is to drive mid-Oregon coast today. Stop somewhere around Florence, OR at a Ntl. Forest campground. Depending on where we find internet service and when, this may be the last post for a few days. We are off for another adventure.

Washington visit

Today is our 5th full day of being in Washington and the weather is gorgeous. Most days we have had overcast mornings burning off about noon and great afternoons and evenings. Temps are lows in the 50s and highs in the upper 70s. Just perfect.


This picture was taken yesterday at Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately the mountain was hidden by low clouds. But the drive around the mountain was outstanding.

Tomorrow we will be starting our drive to California. We plan to stay in Ntl. Forest campgrounds as we go. If we find wireless internet service along the way I will update with more pics.

Summer Updates

I was in town last week and someone asked me, "Well, are you ready to go back to school?" This isn't an unusual question for the last weeks of July and early weeks of August. And usually my reply is, "Sure- I do great with a routine". But this year I feel like my summer vacation has just started. June is a blur of this, that, and the other, with no real focal point anywhere. It think I mainly cleaned out boxes. But two weeks ago the real fun of summer vacation began. July 10th Charla drove down with her two dogs in tow and stayed a couple of days. We packed and then headed to New Mexico, via Childress to pick up Richard. From there it was a week in southwest New Mexico in the Gila Ntl. Forest- camping, fishing, hiking, star gazing, cooking on the open campfire, star gazing, roasting marshmallows for S'mores......... it goes on and on. Of course, I won't mention the 21 miles of bumpy, winding, dirt road, getting queasy from the hairpin turns, biting flies, pit toilets, no showers..... It really was great!!!!! And if that wasn't enough of a reason not to be ready to go back to school, we are now on a two week trip to Washington state to spend time with Will and Amy. I will write about this trip and add pictures from both trips when we get home. THEN is when I will be ready to "go back to school". See ya!!!!

Fredericksburg weekend report #2

I have to comment on the restaurants we enjoyed while we were in Fredericksburg. This picture was taken at The Nest. Located on Washington street, it serves gourmet cuisine that is excellent. Reservations are highly recommended, especially on weekends. www.thenestrestaurant.com

Sunday's Father's Day lunch was also a unique experience. About 10 miles north of Fredericksburg is a very unassuming dive that is an experience just to visit. It was originally a gas station that has kept it's "flavor" in the main dining area. They have recently converted the "garage" into a large group dining facility for catering. To see more about The Hilltop Cafe.... www.hilltopcafe.com

We decided as we left for home, that getting together with our "anniversary buddies" is something we need to do again and again and again. Thanks for the memories, David and Natalie!!

Happy 30th

Yesterday was our 30th wedding anniversary- the day before was Grandma's 56th- amazing. I'm not sure that when you say "I Do" you really realize that means you will be looking at each other 30 years later over a glass of wine, eating dinner off fine bone china, eating a scrumptous meal with Don Williams softly crooning in the background, at your own kitchen table. Very quietly celebrating. In the home we have worked to create over the past 24 years. And celebrate we did. (We were both very slow to get out of bed thanks to a wonderful bottle of French wine the Hoelschers gave us.) Just the fact that we can still sit down at the same table with each other seems to be no small feat. I was encouraged this past spring to hear a report that the divorce rate is down for the first time in XXX years. That is encouraging as long as the "murder the spouse" rate isn't up and the reason the divorce rate is down ;o)
And let me tell you about dinner. After shrimp cocktail, dinner was baked pork chops over long grain and wild rice, sauted mushrooms, snow peas, and steamed asparagus. Dessert was vanilla ice cream with amaretto. YUMMMMMM- and about the pork chops.....They were accidentally the best I think I have ever had. The recipe was a lucky concoction- here it is:

Accidentally the Best Baked Pork Chops

flour
spices
olive oil
Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice
Chicken Broth
4 center cut lean pork chops- 3/4-1 inch thick
Flaked parmesean cheese

In a casserole large enough to hold the pork chops without layering them, pour the contents of the rice box into the bottom of the casserole, including the spice packets. Add chicken broth in the amount recommended on the package instead of water. Spice the pork chops with favorite spices (salt and pepper were all I used). Dredge in flour until all sides are coated. Brown both sides in a skillet with olive oil. Lay the browned pork chops on top of the rice and broth. Cover (I used a 9X13 pyrex dish and covered with foil- sealed tightly). Cook 425 for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and check to see if the broth has been absorbed. If not, uncover and let it sit in hot oven until it is. I left mine in the oven while we were having appetizers- maybe 20 minutes.
The meat was flaking off of the bone- the most tender I have ever had. It was great.

What a wonderful evening it was. And what made it even more wonderful was hearing from those who love us. Thank you.

Fredericksburg weekend

Saturday and Sunday we were in Fredericksburg with Aggie friends from Alice. They and we were married two weeks apart in June,1977...... 30 years ago. So we decided to meet on the weekend between both of our anniversaries. We had a great visit and some outstanding meals. We stayed at the Hangar Hotel, a 1940s replica of a Hangar converted into a hotel. It is on the edge of the Gillespie Co. airport, so it is not uncommon for "fly in" reservations. In a second "hangar" they have a convention center (with a reconstructed aircraft inside... I'm not sure what it is) and a diner that is based on railroad dining cars. It is all very well decorated.... lots of Art Deco. One of my favorites were the telephones, which were reproductions of the black handled cradle phones with rotary dial of the 40s.(Except instead of the rotating dial, there are push buttons where the finger holes would be.

The rooms have only king size beds in large rooms with 12 foot ceilings. The furniture is all covered in flight jacket leather- purposely made to look worn. The bathrooms have black and while tile with white beadboard cabinets topped with black granite countertops. The closet is a small beadboard fronted cabinet. The lamps are all period styled.

Here are pics of the lobby and check-in desk. Note the luggage and radio near Natalie......looks just like home!!!!!

The bar in the hotel is called the Officers' Club and weekend nights they have live entertainment. After going out to dinner at The Nest, we went back to the Officers' Club and listened to an incredible pianist. After several songs I walked across the room to the piano to watch him play and was surprised to find a yellow lab with a leading harness sleeping at the foot of the piano bench. The pianist was blind and we hadn't even noticed. He was really good. You can see more about the hotel at http://www.hangarhotel.com/ .

I will blog more about the places we ate and what we saw later.

Great recipe- may lead to decadence

I found this in a Southern Living mini-cook book. It is WONDERFUL!!!!

Creme Caramel in a Bundt

makes 12 servings

Preheat oven to 350.

Must be made at least 12 hours in advance.

3 cups sugar, divided

3 cups whipping cream

1 T. vanilla extract

6 large eggs

2 egg yolks

1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk

1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

garnish: fresh blackberries, raspberries, mint leaves

1. Sprinkle 1 cup sugar into a medium skillet. Place over medium heat, and cook, shaking pan often, until sugar melts and turns to light golden bown. (carmelized sugar) Quickly pour syrup into a 12 cup Bundt pan, tilting to coat bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides; set aside. (Mixture may crack as it cools.)

2. Stir together whipping cream and vanilla in a large bowl. Process 6 large eggs, next 3 ingredients, and remaining 2 cups sugar in a blender just until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. (do not overprocess) Stir egg mixture into cream misture.

3. Pour custard over caramelized sugar in Bundt pan, and place in a large roasting pan on oven rack. Pour hot water into roasting pan to a depth of 1 inch.

4. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in deepest portion comes out almost clean. Remove Bundt pan from water. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Loosen edges from Bundt pan with a thin knife, and invert carefully onto a serving plante. Garnish, if desired.

My final impression was that it is a cross between flan and cheese cake. Oh, yum!

Hi from the hounds

Plata and Mayday just wanted to say hi!!!!!
It has been rainy and cool today. Tomorrow promises to be clear with real Texas spring weather. I will be riding in a Yellow Dog with 30 students to the McNay Art Museum....yeah!!!

Just newsy stuff

Last night we attended Kristi and Mickey Gerdes' wedding at the Baptist church. It was officiated by the Methodist pastor and had our own Presbyterian minister in the audience just in case intervention was needed.(vbg) I had helped with the floral arrangements and bridesmaids'/groomswomen's bouquets.....yes, listed on the official bulletin of the wedding were two groomswomen along with 4 groomsmen. Both of the groomswomen wore formal black evening gowns while the men wore tuxes. The bridesmaids were in strapless black with white embroidery across the top of the bodice and around the lower part of the tea length skirts. Their bouquets were light pink tulips tied with black organdy ribbon. I did not wire the tulips, so the trick was to get them to stand up and not droop. All went well. Kristi's dress was one of those that only a very small percentage of the population could fit into and look exquisite. The two pics are of Kristi dancing with her oldest daughter and Mickey dancing with his mom. Oh, Charla, parents of the groom listed on the bulletin were Mr. and Mrs. Farris Bennett and Ms. Becky Gerdes. Grandma went to the wedding with me. Ray was trying to take care of problems with spinach harvest. When I got home from the wedding Ray was ready to go to the reception, at House Pasture Cattle Co. Max Stalling was good, but not as outstanding as I thought he would be. My favorite in the evening's music was at the wedding. Catlin Rutherford and Prentiss Varnon played guitar throughout the entire wedding....no piano or organ. Prentiss sang "If I Needed You" and "You Take Me Where I Want to Be". I could sit for hours listening to Catlin play. It was a great evening.

Then, today....... I received an email from the College Board saying .....

(little drumroll here....)

Dear Laura Dabney,

The College Board is pleased to announce that your Art History course is authorized to use the "AP®" designation for the 2007-08 academic year. The College Board applauds and recognizes your efforts to provide your students with the academic rigor and college-level experience that is the promise of AP. I thank you for the time and effort you put into participating in the AP Course Audit.

YEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAA

and on the 7th day she rested.

What a day!

Today started at 4:00 am. And, as you know, my body just doesn't function well at that time of the morning. Today Ray and I (assisted by a young human resources trainee) went to Austin to participate in A Taste of Texas. Every two years when the legislature is in session, the Ag related agencies and organizations organize a meal on the lawn of the state capital to showcase Texas products. We provided the green beans. And do I ever mean Green Beans. We opened about 300 cans of green beans that we heated in 5 roaster ovens, rotating and refilling for over 2 1/2 hours. The FArm Bureau office where we heated the green beans faced the Capital building- with the windows of the board room framing the south view of the Capital. Ray would haul the heated beans, usually on a dolly, down a service elevator from the 5th floor to his pickup. Then drive around the block to where the serving tents were set up on the west lawn. The estimated number served was 1200. It was awesome. Because it is on the lawn of the capital, it is open to anyone who wants to come to eat. It is intended to give the legislators an awareness of Texas products, but in reality it also serves to feed many of the area office buildings, tour buses, homeless, whoever shows up.

And to top it off, we traveled in Ray's new 4-door diesel Dodge pick up...... new smell and all. We were beat when we got home, so I took a nap until the last 3 minutes of the Aggie basketball game. What a heart breaker. Better get to bed.

The Last Photo

How much do I really love this new cat? Saturday evening he was intrigued by the dangling strap of my camera case and pulled it off of a 4 foot bar top onto a ceramic tile floor. The camera just couldn't take the shock. The second picture is the last photo I took with it. I really loved my "very small" Casio digital. From what I understand, to get it fixed would cost almost what a new one would cost. So, I am off to start my quest for a new digital camera. When we bought this one we were clueless. Now I at least know specific features I want. What is this last photo???? A new recipe I made for the 125th Anniversary celebration of First Presbyterian Church, Uvalde, TX. They are called Oreo Bites- and are very much like bonbons- with ground Oreos and cream cheese in the middle. We decided it would be very tasty to add a liqueur to the middle.

Here is the recipe:

OREO BITES

1 Pkg Oreos crushed (food processor is great)

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

Cream together. (I used my mixer). Roll into small balls- the smaller they are, the more they make. Mine were about the size of a walnut. The made about 3 dozen. Chill the balls to make them firm.

Chocolate Bark - milk, dar, white.... I used the dipping chocolate that is melted in the microwave.

Melt the packages of chocolate bark. Dip the balls into one, then drizzle or decorate with the others.

Yield: approx. 3 dz. in 1- 1 1/2 hours.

They are really rich. I think it will probably have to be a special occasion for me to make them because of the time vs yield. Two batches took me about one movie to make.

I'm off to look at cameras! Any suggestions????

Imperial Majesty Laura

Mo Ranch from the Chapel on the Hill

I tried the link Charla posted and received the title of Imperial Majesty Laura the Festive of Eschaton End, which sent me to find out what Eschaton means and I'm still not exactly sure. But one definition referred to the end of everything, so does Eschaton End mean the end of the end of everything which is then status quo because the end doesn't get started? My other question is, what is a Festive..... someone or something or just a state of being??? So, just to be on the safe side I decided to drop the second half of my newly acquired title and keep only the part I could relate to...... Imperial Majesty Laura. What are the chances I can convince Ray this is actually my new salutation. Good morning Imperial Majesty Laura or Have you fed the dogs, Imperial Majesty Laura or Are you cooking anything for supper Imperial Majesty Laura? Whadda ya think????

I just returned from 48 hours with 5 middle school aged youth at Mo Ranch Mid-Winter Youth Conference, can you tell? ....life is confusing at that age. It actually was a great conference. Probably 250 young people. The debriefing discussion on the way home was that the best part of the weekend was the social/mixer, the best part of worship were the songs, and the worst part of the weekend was that it wasn't long enough. We plan to return again next winter. For any who have never been to Mo Ranch, here is their website. Click on some of the pictures to get a feel for the place. It is awesome. www.moranch.com

Now for a few zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Good night

Time to pay the piper

Last week was full of adjustments with the weather. The day school was cancelled will have to be made up on the Monday after Easter. Bummer. I guess there are just no freebees in life :o)
We are expecting more cold and wet tonight and tomorrw. Probably not ice, but I am headed to watch the weather news right now to see what the forecast is. Will keep you posted.

Winter is here!

Today we have a true wintry day!!! School was postponed until 10:00 am and then released an hour early as the weather brought in more freezing rain. Everything is covered with ice and rain. We haven't had any snow here, but some has been reported in the area. I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't have another late start again tomorrow morning. 2 of my classes had less than 50% of my students in attendance today. The other one had about 75%. I think the school has to average at least 40% to be able to record the day as a completed day. I just received a call telling me that all school has been cancelled for tomorrow. The pics today are from day 1. If there is a change when we get up in the morning I will post day 2. Stay warm everyone-

I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go!

The first two days back at the high school have been surprisingly good. Every time I hear Dr. Brown talk about his vision for our school I am encouraged. He actually joined the Fine Arts dept. meeting yesterday for over an hour and fielded questions about his goals and perceptions/visions if you will/ for the Fine Arts in UCISD. He admits a strong interest in the Arts even though he grew up a jock and never attended any Fine Arts classes. His perception is that students need exposure to all of the disciplines so they can be well rounded.... a good classical education..... yeah!!! I better get on- more grading and planning to do.