Kite Tails & K9s Festival

Pets are just a part of life for my family.  My husband and I have a Jack Russell Terrior named Holly seen at right keeping my dad company in his recliner.  She brings a smile to our faces most of the time while acting like a thug in clown's clothing!  My youngest daughter has 3 dogs and two horses, my nephews both have dogs, my brother has a dog.  So we love dogs and they love us unconditionally.  If you have a special K9 in your life and want a fun outing with your dog and perhaps your kids or grandkids, then here's the place to be.

Come out Saturday April 14 to the Cultural Activities Center in Temple for the Kite Tails & K9s Festival from 11-2.  This is an event sponsored by Leadership Temple to help raise funds for an off-lease dog park in Temple.  The event is free, but please bring your checkbook and donate to the cause of a place for our dogs to run and play off lease and make new dog friends.  Bring your dog on a lease to the event if you like--there will be a dog agility course set up, dog contests, demonstrations, and kite making and flying for the kids.  You might enjoy the Dog Look-A Like Contest if you have had comments to the effect that you and your dog could pass for twins--and get your picture made with your favorite pooch.  Lots of fun and for a good cause--

Central Texas Entertainment

This weekend (Friday-Sunday) the Temple Civic Theater is putting on one of the funniest plays I've seen since the "Tuna" series!  "The Dixie Swim Club" has so many hilarious one-liners that if you aren't through laughing at one, you will miss the next one.  The local ladies who star in the performance play their parts perfectly.  I am so glad to live in an area that has such wonderful opportunities locally to enjoy the arts and such talented people to help that be a reality.

Also this Saturday night at the Cultural Activities Center, The Resentments, an Austin-based group will be performing as part of the singer/songwriter series.  Come for dinner beforehand, free adult beverages provided by a nearby alehouse, and wonderful music!  Start time is 7:30, ticket price is $25--where else can you get quality entertainment for that price without driving 60 miles or more! 

The place to be this weekend is the Temple-Belton area for food, music, friends.  Come join the fun!

Spring Weather in Central Texas

As is true across the state of Texas, spring is a time for sudden changes in weather taking us from a warm sunny day to an evening of severe storms, possible hail and tornadoes.  Last night was one of those events.  It may seem freaky for some, but I love a good thunderstorm with lightening stretching across the sky illuminating the darkness of the clouds in the background.  There is a majesty in those events and an unleased power that is awesome to behold.  But having experienced my share of tornadoes as a part of those ugly storms, I know when to quit watching and start taking cover.  Luckily, last night was not a tornado or hail event, but some thunder and lightening and much needed rain on our parched Central Texas land. 

Central Texas Theater

One of the great things about living in Central Texas is the opportunity to enjoy the arts in many forms.  One great venue is the Temple Civic Theater, a community theater which does wonderful productions using local talent.  This intimate theater is located at 2413 South 13th Street in Temple and has a wonderful season for which memberships may be purchased each year.  The current production which begins March 23 and runs on weekends through April 1 is The Dixie Swim Club, a comedy in the tradition of Steel Magnolias.  Tickets are only $20 for adults and $10 for students--a bargain in this day and age.  Tickets may be purchased by phone at 254-778-4751.  Hope to see you there!

Spring Break in Central Texas

Spring Break officially begins in this area of Central Texas at end of school today.  And as happened so many years when I was teaching school and had children at home, the beautiful springlike weather we've enjoyed over the past month has gone away and been replaced with cold, blustery, rainy weather.  So it looks like it's going to be indoor recreation for the kiddos getting out next week--at least part of the week.  Hope everyone has a great and relaxing week regardless of the weather. 

There are many fun things for kids to do in the Temple-Belton area that will keep them out of the weather--

A visit to the Bell County Museum (www.bellcountytx.com/museum/) is a wonderful outing.  And if you are looking for bargains, go to the Bell County Museum annual garage sale on Sat. March 12 at the Expo Center and help support the museum while finding treasures galore! Check out activities that are going on at the Cultural Activities Center in Temple(www.cacarts.org).  The Temple Public Library is a great place to while away some time browsing through books and videos and finding just the right ones to take home and enjoy while curled up on the couch.  The Mayborn Museum in Waco has a wonderful children's museum as well as many things for adults and older kids to enjoy.  Check them out as well at www.maybornmuseum.com to see what exhibits and programs are available.   Explore, create, learn and have fun--all these venues will make spring break right here in the Temple-Belton and Central Texas area be a great time for all.

The Mighty Oaks

There are always tell-tale signs that spring is approaching in Central Texas.  One of the first is the blooming of the Texas Mountain Laurels with their fragrant purple flowers.  Also, the Redbud trees put on their show with their pink to almost red blooms before leafing out.  Those are the pretty signs. 

But, then there are the mighty live oaks, our signature trees which are so majestic and beautiful all year long--except in March!  This is the month they drop their leaves; put on blooms which, as they are swept away by the wind, turn everything in their paths green and cover the yard, gutters, cars, roofs and streets as they fall and then finally new leaves appear.  It is a process that happens fairly quickly and is happening early this year, but it is the one and only time of the year that the trees aren't pretty and aren't really even welcome in our yards.  But, we prepare to sweep, rake, wash cars and windows--just as I suppose the North prepares each winter to shovel snow--and then we are as pleased and proud of our live oak trees as new parents showing off their baby! They truly are beautiful trees and a hallmark of Central Texas landscapes.

Leap Day 2012!

There is just something weird about a day that only shows up every four years!  When I was young, I remember hearing that Leap Day was the only day a girl could ask a boy to marry her--my how times changed!  Now, it appears it is simply another day and another excuse to have a "sale" on every single online retail website that I have contact with.  I woke up to a blizzard of emails from everyone I have ever ordered from letting me know today was the day to get something for weird discounts like 29% off or $12 for a book with $2.29 shipping in honor of 02/29/12.  The minds of marketers would be an interesting study. 

Anyway, I hope everyone reading this is having a wonderful Leap Day and if this is your first birthday in four years or anniversary or whatever, make the most of it!

South Central Texas

I know this blog is about Central Texas but I have to put in a plug about a fabulous experience I had last week in South Central Texas (San Marcos) with my youngest daughter who was having her first baby at the Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos.  What a wonderful Women's Center they have there, with the most attentive and knowledgeable staff--made a tough labor and delivery so much more pleasant than it would have been otherwise.  The care was absolutely 5 star for both baby and mother--and they were even so caring to family members who were there as well.  I highly recommend this facility to anyone in that area who needs it.  I can't speak for the rest of the hospital, but I would think if their service is that good in the Women's Center, it is probably the same throughout the hospital. 

And now that I've done my Central Texas information, let me just tell you about my sweet new grandson--Tyler Lane, weighing in at 8.9 pounds, born Feb. 16.  He's a keeper and the newest Central Texan in our family!

Book Sale, Central Texas Style

Twice annually the auxiliary fundraising group of the Temple Public Library, Friends of the Library, holds an awesome used book sale where hardbacks can be purchased for $2 and paperbacks for $1--and they have something for EVERYONE!  Sets of books, antique books, new books, children's books, videos, audio books, you just name it, and I bet they have it.

This year's winter sale begins Wednesday, February 15, and goes through Saturday, February 18.  Hours on Wed. and Thursday are 10-8 and on Friday and Saturday, 10-4. By Saturday, the books are sold by the grocery back full for one low, low price so you can risk buying something you don't know if you will like or not.

The other semi-annual sale will be heldp on Labor Day weekend so remember it as well.  The Friends accept any of your donations throughout the year so clean off some shelves and donate the books you have read so you can make room for some you haven't yet read.

So many books....so little time!

Spanish Brass Performance

For a relatively small city, Temple, TX has a wonderful Cultural Activities Center which offers a wide variety of events, classes, exhibits, etc.  So I will be writing about some of those as time grows near to the performances or activities.  On Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4:00 p.m., the Central Texas Orchestral Society (CTOS) will be presenting the Spanish Brass from Barcelona, Spain, in concert.  This is a brass quintet with a huge variety of music in its repertoire--from formal classical to whimsical numbers.  It will be an eclectic performance by a group well known around the world.  We are so fortunate to have this caliber of musicians playing for us.  Go online to www.cacarts.org to purchase tickets.

Just another perk of living in Central Texas!

Common Courtesy

              I am a native Texan, and as such, I guess I have inherited the bragging gene!  Last night I was sitting in a gathering of about eight women and for some reason the conversation came around to courtesy.  Most of the women were not native to Texas and their comment was that although they had lived here a long time, they still couldn’t get used to such things as drivers at a four-way stop sign who would look to their right or left and signal the other guy to go ahead before them.  To them, it was such an oddity that people would not race to get through the intersection before someone else beat them to it.  The more I have thought about that conversation, the more I realized that I take that kind of courtesy for granted because I’ve never known anything else.

              Oh, of course, there are cranks anywhere, but by far, the majority of people around our area are friendly, courteous, never meet a stranger, ask if someone needs help, and are just generally full of Southern hospitality and courtesy.  I’ve decided to try to notice it more, acknowledge it, and pass it forward.  We could all benefit from a kinder, gentler world in which to live.  And I will continue to brag about my fellow Central Texans for their friendliness and kindness. 

P.S. to the Central Texas Winter Weather post

In the name of fairness and transparency in reporting Central Texas weather, I thought I should just post these photos from February 2011 to let you know that all February's aren't 79 degree days!  We seldom get snow here but it becomes an occasion when we do, and last year was one of those years.

Central Texas Winter Weather

One of my favorite things about Central Texas is the winter weather. What I'm talking about is 79 degrees on February 1! Now that's the kind of winter I can deal with every day. Shorts and flip flops in the winter, no heavy coat to put on and take off as you go in and out of buildings, nights cool enough (or even down right cold enough) to need a snuggly blanket on the bed. We do have very cold days--but the nice thing is there aren't many in a row and then the sun comes out again and we are once again in those flip flops!

Now, of course, there can be a downside to warm winter weather--mowing the grass in February, pesky insects not dying off and coming back in huge numbers in the spring, not getting many opportunities to wear cute sweaters or furs.

The mild weather also makes for less scary utility bills in the winter...and even opportunities to open windows and let fresh air into the house.

So, for my perference, I would change the words to a well-known old song from "summertime and the living is easy" to "winter time, and the living is easy" in Central Texas...because summertime is another story here which we won't think about today.

Affordable Central Texas

There is nothing more delightful than to open the newspaper and discover that your home town of Temple, TX, is ranked number 4 of most affordable cities in which to live in the WHOLE UNITED STATES!  If that isn’t reason to celebrate living in Central Texas, I’m not sure what would be.  In this time of economic woes, we are living in the “cheap seats”—in a good way.  Housing is affordable, groceries are affordable, services are affordable, medical care is abundant….

         Central Texas is an adopted homeland for me, having come from the Rolling Plains of Texas (Haskell) between Abilene and Wichita Falls. My roots are there, but I’ve come to love the Central Texas area in the 20 years I have been here.  So my desire in doing this blog is to acquaint you with all the things Central Texas has to offer, at least in the part of it in which I live.  If you are considering moving this way, you will begin to see why it is a place like no other in Texas.