The Roast

After we said our goodbyes to Uncle Chris and took him to the airport =( we headed to the pig roast.

(In the background is a painting my great aunt did of my grandma.)

Mr. Merle had been roasting since 6 AM.


Mary Kate found a card-playing buddy.


I had fun meeting some of Gramma's friends.

A lady who cans everything she grows gave us plum jam and brought homemade applesauce from the fruits of her 10 apple trees.

Our kids love to hear about centenarians. This gentleman's mother just passed away a couple of weeks ago--the day before her 105th birthday. He's 85 himself. He's even a UT Longhorn from the late 40s.


The son of the 1939 World's Fair headless woman.


Shortly after her headless stint, a newspaper reported that the "Headless Woman Has Two Heads" when they found out she was expecting her son.



The guy in the red hat was protected by the secret service for years after retiring. He had a pretty cool job.


Interesting stories from the few people I had the chance to visit with. Makes me wonder about all the fantastic stories from those I missed.

Another trip...

Surprise!

When I hopped off the plane in CA yesterday, I saw Mom, Mary Kate, and Mr. Merle.

Then...
this guy came out of nowhere.


I certainly wasn't expecting to see my brother!

He flew in from Seattle.

Then he took us all out for dinner.


What a guy!

He's starting to make up for all the times growing up when he tried to stick my head in the toilet!

A birthday tart...

...for the oldest strudel of our bunch.


(Missing one of our little cupcakes.)

A Quick Getaway

My mom told me to leave town.

She didn't have to tell me twice.

Being the respectful and obedient daughter I am, I left the kids with her, grabbed my husband, and...skipped town.

Here's a close up glimpse of what we were able to soak in while we were away.


Further away

Left to right, top to bottom:

Prickly pear flower
Prickly pear cactus
Longhorn door knocker
River near cottage
Our dwelling place
Gnarly Cypress roots
Driftwood
Joe...suspended
Goodnight, Sun

More glimpses...

From our abode


Flowery yet prickly


Thought this was outlawed long ago? Not in Texas.


=O


>:|


; )


Okay, maybe not what you thought.


Our view while we ate our vittles in town.



Thanks, Mom (a.k.a. Gramma), for chasing us out of town!

A dutiful wife & mother

What does a dutiful wife and mother mean to you? Finding myself in the middle of what I was dutifully doing this morning had never crossed my mind when I've thought about what it means to be dutiful to my family. So, for heaven's sake, what am I doing in this picture? Let me back up. Mary Kate had a birthday last week and received a new pogo stick. The pogo stick is meant for 80-160 lbs. So, what that means is that since our children aren't quite 80 lbs. yet, it's a bit stiff and difficult for them to use...unless the spring is broken in a bit. Because my husband is over the 160 lb. limit, guess who had to do the dutiful job of breaking in the new pogo stick this morning? Why, you ask, am I doing this in the house? Well, we needed to make sure it could be loosened up enough for the kids to use it, so we didn't want to scratch it up too much on the outside concrete. Thank goodness for high ceilings! Our children got such a big kick out of it, they ran and got our camera to record their amusement.

Even though Joe was late for work, he stayed long enough to watch. I guess you really can't tell, but I am catching some air in these pictures!

I guess I broke it in well enough. Kathleen hopped on and bounced away! They also thought it was pretty funny to watch me dance on Mary Kate's new stilts! Until now, our children have been the ones providing entertainment around here!

I'll sign off with a video of Mary Kate dancing on her stilts.

I think we can now put these new toys to use outside!

More than a gift!!!

Since the kids are at Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our parish every morning this week, I've felt what it's like to have the luxury of a bit of time to myself! I've been able to clean, organize, blah, blah, blah in peace and quiet!! Don't worry, I won't post any of my domestic accomplishments! I haven't taken my camera to VBS either, so I don't really have any appropriate pictures to post.

However, just this morning I received one extraordinary gift. A neighbor and fellow parishioner (I'll call her Ms. Kindheart) brought over a box, a bag and a case.

Ms. Kindheart's grand nieces take violin lessons, and I called her last month when I needed information on our neighbor violin teacher. After church last weekend, she asked if the kids had started lessons yet. I said they had and that I hadn't realized that I would need to learn to play and be their main coach/teacher/enforcer...but that I've always wanted to play violin, so it was actually an unexpected benefit.

Ms. Kindheart said that she had a couple of violins and that she wanted to give one of them away. So, she said that she'd like to give one to me. I got tears in my eyes at the thought of her generosity, but I still had no idea how generous she was...until she came over to our house this morning (while the kids were at VBS).

I secretly wanted a violin, but after forking out a goodly chunk of $$ to purchase 4 other violins, lessons, books, I couldn't justify buying one for myself. Afterall, I wasn't taking lessons!

When Ms. Kindheart showed up, she brought a box of violin supplies, a bag of books and videos of music and about playing violin, and a case with a beautiful violin. She said that she was just passing off some things she needed to get rid of! After she took out the violin and we fiddled around with it =), she said that I should look inside of the violin where the maker and date are printed. SHE JUST GAVE ME A VIOLIN THAT WAS HANDMADE IN 1910! I couldn't believe it! It looks and sounds beautiful! She even got a new shoulder strap and bow...and a tuner to give to me.

I felt like I just won the lottery or something. Well, my situation was much more meaningful though, because it was purposefully given by a very generous and kind-hearted acquaintance.

I've been tagged!

I’ve been double tagged by Ange! So, to respond to the first "tag", here are 6 random, fun facts about me:

1) I’d like to go back to Early American times…just for a little while…to learn all their practical skills…and find that simpler way, but without all the danger and uncertainty!

2) I like to hang out with Hillbillies. I had the greatest time living and volunteering with Christian Appalachian Project for two years in Kentucky right after college. I served (more like, was served by) the homebound elderly. THEY always called themselves “Hillbillies,” I didn’t! I still smile when I think of Elderberry Kidd playing his banjo on his front porch,

Ms. Augusta smokin’ her corn-cobb pipe, Virgie Rash’s hand-sewn quilts, this country midwife (pictured) who delivered babies until the age of 91…









...and of course, Rosie Holcomb and Riley Robinson who I see every day in the painting Joe and I received from my family for our wedding.














3) a. Joe and I “dated” about 8 years before we were married, yet we only lived in the same city for the first year and a half.
b. We had a 3-month (to the day) engagement. The wedding took place in Minnesota, I lived in Wisconsin at the time, and Joe was here in Texas! This may seem like it must have been a nightmare to plan for a normal-sized wedding, but it worked out really well—probably since I didn’t have time to fuss about things too much!

4) A fair weather fan. I don't care for living in places with extreme weather! Although the only places I’ve lived for a long period of time HAVE extreme weather—the far north and the far south-- I can’t claim the heartiness I once had from the northern bitter cold nor the tolerance I’ve never mustered for the smothering southern heat. Yuck! Additionally, I neither like the extreme dryness of the desert nor the high humidity of…anywhere!

5) I’d like to live in an R.V. and travel around the country. Maybe then we can go wherever the good weather takes us!

6) Not that I ever considered hyphenating my name, but it certainly would have been out of the question for anyone with my maiden name, Cox (pronounced “cocks”) and Joe’s last name, Roche (pronounced “roach”). Read, cocks-roach!!

Now, for the other “tag” for the 6 words that describe me (okay, don’t count all the words):
1) Christ-loving
2) Husband-adoring
3) Family-centered
4) Low-maintenance
5) Stubborn-minded
6) Book-hoarder

Now, I'd like to tag Steph...if she ever gets this message!

Mom Turns Five!

Our kids thought of a creative reason to put a "5" on my birthday cake this year. Can you figure it out? I'm not telling today!The kids were very excited this year to prepare my birthday treat themselves. On their way back into town yesterday from bringing our friends home, Joe and Mikey stopped and got an angel food cake, some whipped cream, and then picked up my favorite dinner! After kicking me out of the kitchen, the other kids were thrilled to do their very important part with the strawberries--washing, cutting, and macerating (with a little sugar). The best part? A birthday cake buffet! Everyone assembled their own--just the way they like it--by cutting the cake into bite-sized pieces, adding strawberries, then seeing how high they could pile on the whipped cream. Now that's a fun treat!