Funny Signs

For years my family has taken pictures of funny, ironic, confusing or just plain stupid signs, shirts or documents.
Here are a few:

I would say in this case they need to learn the art of folding.

All this does is perpetuate an already bad stereotype.

This sign is one big contradiction. 

So, if you are white the only ethnicity you are not is Hispanic?

Personally, I wish everything was pizza!

 I will stick with the cheese and pepperoni pizza from here.

Do Gentleman prefer Haneses? 

That's what it's all about!

Hope you had a little giggle, and stay tuned for more to come in the future.

Bug Tussle, Texas

On our Saturday drive in February to Paris, Texas my husband wanted to stop and check out the ghost-town of Bug Tussle. Bug Tussle was founded in the 1890s, and was originally named after an original settler, John Truss, so the town was originally named Truss. The town was located at the junction at State Highway 34 and FM1550. For those of you not from Texas the county, or farm roads are called Farm to Market roads, they connect rural or agricultural roads to market towns.

From all that I have read of Bug Tussle it was a town of 30 residents at its peak, and as low as 6 residents in the 1960s. In 1990 the population was reported to be 15 residents.  There is a picture from Rose Bariekman that was published on TexasEscapes.com that shows the general store that was once owned by her father and grandfather from the late 1950s to the mid 1960s. And this is the only "commercial" building that is now still standing in Bug Tussle.

This is the Rose Bariekman photo that was taken in the late 1950s and you can see the Bug Tussle sign at the top of the store.

There is also a post on that same website from James Nelms that questions the timing and naming of the town, along with a picture of the store from 2004. Nelms writes that his friend Robert told him a story that a man named David Graham Hall, who took a lease on Bug Tussle in 1962 to renovate it, had the town renamed Bug Tussle in the mid 1960s in order to cash in on the TV show the Beverly Hillbillies. Bug Tussle was the name of the town that the Clampetts were from.

But, the date of the Bariekman photo taken in the 1950s where the name Bug Tussle is clearly on the top of the store, and the release date of the Beverly Hillbillies of Sept of 1962, says to me that the timing just doesn't jive. It is possible that the writers of the show got the name of the Clampett's home town from the already established Texas town.

This is the Nelm's photo from 2004.

I am more inclined to believe the town was renamed in the late 1800s or early 1900s because of one of the three stories that have been given over the years. The first story is the most popular, and it says that the town was renamed after a swarm of bugs invaded a community ice cream social. Another explanation is that there was nothing else to do in this small town than to watch bugs tussle. The last possibility was the story of two "old timers"  who were discussing changing the town's name and were distracted by two tumblebugs fighting. One of the men said, "Look at those bugs tussle," and that was then the name they decided on.

The Bug Tussle store in 2017

There was a time when couples would drive to Bug Tussle to get married so they could have the city written on their marriage licence, and they could say they were married in Bug Tussle. The town name was so popular that there have been over 70 highway signs stolen by people that wanted them for souvenirs. They would also take the sign above the store building. Now there is a permanent sign next to the store that is too big to steal.

Isn't it amazing how an old abandoned store and a funny town name can turn into a fun and obscure history lesson?

Wardrobe Updates

I bought a pullover hoodie from the Columbia Outlet store, and a pair of jeans from Stein Mart that both needed some fixin up. Both were great deals and fit great, but both needed some minor changes.

First the hoodie, I am not a big fan of hoodies, but this one was made of a great knit fabric in a fun peach and white stripe pattern. The problem was that it drove me crazy when I wore it because it would pull up at my neck, and I was constantly tugging at it to pull it down off my neck. I decided to measure the distance from the top front of the neck to the hem, buy a jacket zipper and turn it into a zip up hoodie.

Hoodie before alterations.

This was a matter of folding the front down the middle, cutting it, turning the edges under, pinning it to the zipper and sewing on the zipper. Now when I wear it I can unzip it a bit, and no more chocking hoodie.

The problem with the jeans was not a structure problem, they were a visual problem. These jeans were suppose to look vintage and they had patches on the small front pocket and two on the leg. When these jeans were made they must have covered the two squares on the leg, then they bleached them out, and when they were done washing them out they took off the covers and the fabric underneath was still the dark blue and looked like patches. Then they covered one of the blue patches with a suede patch that matched the one on the pocket.

I took off the suede patch from the leg, I used a sandpaper block to lightened up the dark blue patches, and then added some vintage looking flower iron on appliques. I like this look a lot better!

The blue patches after sanding! My sister Lynn told me about this process.

Even with the purchase of the zipper and the appliques I still got both the hoodie and jeans for a great deal and now love the way they fit and look!

A Happy and Sad Anniversary

The tears still came first, when I awoke this morning. I am hopeful that one year that will change. But, for now, today, on the second anniversary of my Mom's passing, and my 34th Wedding anniversary the sadness has come first. I think about her, and I miss her everyday. I have such a strong memory of this day, two years ago, when my sisters and I went to the nursing home that morning to see my Mom. She was barely hanging on, and I passionately whispered pleading in her ear to please hang on for just one more day. This was a selfish plea to not only get past this date, but a hope that more time would give her a change to get stronger and survive for us. A plea from a desperately scared daughter to her dying Mom. It was only a matter of hours before she passed. I am not sure when, if ever, it will get easier to separate the sad feelings of this day with the extremely happy ones. Only time will tell.

My husband and I both have mixed feelings on this day, because I was not the only one that lost someone that she loved, he lost her too. He had loved her as his Mother in-law for 32 years and he also misses her.  I am truly blessed to be able to be comforted by the love of my life, someone who also feels that loss. My Mom and Dad were both such great supporters of our love and marriage. They knew that our marriage was happy and strong, and they had faith that it would endure. I pray that our bond will last beyond the years that my parents were blessed to be together, and I and grateful that they were such great role models for a lasting love and marriage.  

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband. I love you always and forever!

Kitt Peak National Observatory

On our trip to Tucson the end of December and early January we took a trip to Kitt Peak. My knowledge and experience going to an observatory came from the few times I have been to Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. This did not prepare me for our trip to Kitt Peak. Griffith is at an elevation of 1135 ft and it was warm. Griffith's purpose is to make astronomy available to the public and it is used as a tourist spot that has also been a popular spot for movies and TV shows. This is the complete opposite of Kitt Peak.

Kitt Peak from the highway.

The side of the road as we were driving up the mountain.

As we were driving up the mountain the snow should have been my first clue as to how cold it was going to be.

Kitt Peak is located on a mountain above the Sonoran Desert, on land owned by the Tohono O'odham Nation. The National Science Foundation has a lease for the use of 200 acres on the mountain, at an elevation of about 7000 ft, with the Tohono O'odham Tribal Council. This perpetual agreement requires the facilities on the mountain to only be used for scientific research. So, you can imagine that the almost 6000 foot elevation difference between Griffith and Kitt Peak should have given me a light bulb moment that it was going to be COLD!

I was standing at one of the observation buildings after having walked from the large tall observatory in the back of this picture. You can see the elevation changes, but what you can't see is the icy walkways. Brrrrrr!

Because Kitt Peak is a working observatory, the scientists that work there sleep in dorms during the day and work at night. There are signs asking you to be quiet while you are touring, so you do not wake the scientists. Another bit of knowledge that would have helped me dress appropriately would have been that there were several buildings to see that were spread out over the acreage, and we would be walking from building to building, up and down the hilly landscape, in the cold and snow. Oh, and none of the buildings are heated except the visitors center and gift shop. Are you getting the impression I did not dress appropriately? Correct!! I did have to buy a sweatshirt at the gift shop.

It looks like the Scientists were having a little fun in the snow.

One of the powerful cameras in one of the observatories. 

This was taken from the large tall observatory in a previous picture, and the building in the back left of this picture shows how far our walk was from one end of the site to the other.

The other thing I was not prepared for was the absolute beauty of the scenery. To say it was breathtaking still does not do it justice. The drive up the mountain was so beautiful and in some spots a little scary. But, once we got to the observatory there was not a direction you would look and not see the absolute beauty of God's creation. In every direction were mountains and desert. You could see rock formations and snow covered peaks. It was most definitely worth the cold to see the surroundings of this mountain top observatory.

One of the many beautiful views.

When you visit Tucson you never think about the diverse landscape. You always think desert, cactus, snakes, coyotes, javelinas and scorpions, but when you arrive and see the city, and that it is surrounded by mountains, it changes your whole thought process. The desert is the draw for many tourists with the warm weather, and the desert landscape that is so foreign to most of us, but then you venture out into the mountains, it is like you have gone into a different world. The rocks, trees, snow, bears, deer and sheep are a huge contrast to the desert environment we expect in Tucson.

The views just kept getting better.

You can see the desert at the base of the mountains.

Just as the desert has its own unique beauty, the scenes from Kitt Peak are as out of this world as the sights seen through the astronomers telescopes.