A Promise Kept

Well I did it!!! I signed up today to do volunteer work at the Festival Hall in Round Top and I have to admit that I am really excited about it. Years ago I had made a promise to myself that one day I would volunteer at this lovely place that helped save me during my cancer treatments. I want to somehow give back a little of what it has given me. So today I drove out there and met the lady over the tours. What a wonderful day it turned out to be. Norma and I hit it off instantly and discovered we both have so many things in common and it made me wish that I had done this years ago. See what you miss out on when you put off doing something. I not only kept a promise today but I met a new friend. Their summer concerts are starting on June 6 and I will be helping during the recitals. Either sitting people, selling tickets, taking tickets or work in the gift shop. It does not matter I am thrilled to be a part of such a neat organization. I am a little nervous about meeting the famous renowned James Dick but she called him Jimmy today so that put me at ease for a minute or two. lol After spending an hour visiting with Norma I walked around the grounds and fell in love with it all over again. Beautiful gardens are every where and I mean everywhere. Two hundred acres of beauty. Several old homes and buildings have been moved to the property and they are lovely surrounded by every flower imaginable. I don't know how I will manage the extra time but I told Norma to introduce me to the garden man too so I could volunteer to help him. Much to my surprise she thinks he would be more than happy to have more help so I may be stretching myself thin but I need this. When you work in a jail having the opportunity to do this on the side is exciting. So wish me luck on my new adventure. If you want to visit their website just go to my previous post and click it own. After I got home this afternoon I decided to work around the ranch I live on. It is 52 acres and always something to do with the old home place that I live in or the grounds. It was so pretty outside I decided to mow. So off to the barn with my big hat and boots on and found the smallest tractor and after about twenty minutes I figured out how to use it and off I went around the pastures closest to the house. Then I got brave and tried an area near the house well I did okay but I have to replace a few bricks around a flower bed and maybe one or two pickets from the fence but thanks goodness they did not break. Just came loose so a hammer and nail will fix that. Just have to remember not to get so close the next time. You may think I am crazy but I actually enjoyed mowing. I guess I mowed maybe five acres or more but to me it was relaxing well except for the flower bed and fence. I may just try it again tomorrow. The maintenance man that usually does this has left for Denver for a month and I know they hired someone to come out and mow but after all the rain I wanted to keep the grass cut because in the country I feel that is the best way to prevent varmints you don't want to hang around your place. Someday soon I will post pictures of this lovely old place. I am so lucky to be living here. Surrounded by oak trees that have to be a hundred years old and oh the storys I bet they could tell. All in all today was a very good productive day and take it from me don't put off keeping your promises as long as I did. I am just so happy I finally kept it. Sweet dreams

Celebrate the Ordinary

So glad that I have entered the world of blogging. In the last few days I have enjoyed scanning several different blogs and it is truly amazing how much time and energy that people put into their sites. It is just a whole world of gifted people that are sharing their talents and loves for all of us to enjoy. Now to find the time to enjoy these sites. That is what I tried to do today was just celebrate the ordinary. After a hectic week of dealing with people that have committed the most horrendous crimes I need a day like this just enjoying the simple things in life. Sitting on my front porch swing and watching the birds, squirrels, cats and butterflies all busy watching out for their families except for the cats who were being lazier than me. Sitting on my swing and just taking in life I did realize that the last few days I have not been myself and I needed that time to sit there and relax and give thanks to God for all the simple and ordinary things that I take for granted every day. What brought all this on was Thursday morning I had to book in a young lady that had shot her boyfriend in the head while he slept. Working in law enforcement you never know what your day will bring but here was a beautiful young woman who took a life and I was witnessing the after effects. My heart was breaking for the young mans family who would soon get the phone call and watching this young lady realize the consequences of what she had done was also heartbreaking. To listen to her phone conversations with her teenage daughter telling her she was sorry for ruining her life and so the day went for twelve hours. Then another young woman turns herself in and tells me she has the swine flu so by then I was ready find an exit out of the building. Just the week before I had to deal with a young man who had killed his girlfriend so no one else could have her so I think my spending most of the afternoon just celebrating the ordinary is something that we may all need to do now and then. While doing my connecting back to good things in life I did make the decesion to start volunteering on some of my days off. Fifteen years ago I had breast cancer and during my treatments I found a place in heaven in the middle of nowhere not far from where I live. Have you ever heard of TheInternational Festival Hall at Round Top. Located in historic Round Top, Texas, The James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts and its sole project, The International Festival-Institute at Round Top, were founded in 1971 by world-renowned concert pianist James Dick. Begun with a handful of gifted young pianists in rented space on the town square, the project is now an internationally acclaimed European-styled music institute for aspiring young musicians and distinguished faculty.Over a thirty eight year period and with the help of its patrons and friends, The James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts has developed superb year round education and performance programs. It has created also an unique 210-acre campus - Festival Hill - containing major performance facilities, historic houses, extensive gardens, parks and nature preserves. Through its singular collection of rare books, manuscripts, archival material, music and historic recordings, photographs and objects, the Festival-Institute is also known as an important center for research and scholarly study. The buildings and grounds are beautiful and so during my treatments I would stroll with my ex (husband then) and sometimes we would take a quilt and have a picnic while listening to the concerts. On some occassions we took our bicycle for two and rode around the grounds. It helped save my life and so now I would like to give something back to this foundation by volunteering. I emailed them and they were more than happy to have me and so on my next day off Wednesday I am going to visit with them and hopefully sign up for whatever they need me to do. If your ever in the area you have to make this a must see. Visit there site and see where I will be working www.festivalhill.org . This is a postive step for me because after twenty years in law enforcement I need a place like this to go to.

Sitting here now looking at the blank page I can not help but wonder why am I wanting to do a blog and what will it be about. I suppose a lot of you have had these same thoughts and understand. Honestly my seven year old granddaughter Kaci sent me an invitation to her blog and I after enjoying hers I viewed others and now here I am trying it myself. As for what will I post on my blog will be a surprise to me as well as you. Just giving my blog a name took a lot out of me so bare with me for a while and these post may start peaking your interest. A little about me. I am in what everyone calls the third age of life. Just one of many baby boomers trying to gather all the pieces of my life and figure out how I got to this third age so fast. Along the path to old age I managed to do a few things right.(Notice I said a few things) The best thing I brought to this life is my three wonderful children who are all grown now and living their own lives and not making near the mistakes I made while I was their ages. Out of my three children my middle son Clint is married with two remarkable children of his own. They call me Grandma Yellow Hair. Kaci I mentioned earlier is in the first grade and Bailey turned 5 not too long ago and goes to a pre kindergarden at a church school I live alone now except for my cat Tinkerbell and a pretty blue healer that lives on the property. I lived in town until my best friend and husband left years ago for his child hood sweetheart so now after years of trying to figure all that out I know now they deserve each other. Now I live in a 100 year old farm house surrounded by of course a white picket fence and oak trees older than the home. Having to give up my home was hard but God blessed me with finding this place to live and I am happy. Retirement age is here but I still work. I am in law enforcement and there is never a dull day at work. I work as a correctional officer at a nearby county and not a day goes by that I don't ask myself What the Heck am I doing here? Maybe the next post I will tell you about the two murderers that I have had to deal with in the last two weeks. So there you have it a little bit of myself and hope in time my post get better. Sweet dreams