Carole’s Cafe

A year ago, a friend challenged me to write 100 family stories in 2008.  Well, I didn’t make it.  I wrote a lot of stories……some posted here…..more that are in my journal that my son will have control of if something ever happens to me.  But, there aren’t a 100 of them.  So, I’m renewing the resolution. 

Of course, when you think about 100 stories in a year…..that’s almost a story every 3 days!  So that means I’m already 4 stories behind!!  Oh…..the pressure!!!!!!

I have my first story though.  Tomorrow is my son’s birthday….number 32! 

Always did say he’d survive despite his parents ineptitude and I guess I was right!    But, he’s been a stubborn one starting with his birth!  In May, 1976, when the doctor announced the coming blessed event he predicted a “Thanksgiving Baby”……then at Thanksgiving, he predicted a “Christmas Baby”……then a “New Years Baby……by the time Andy showed up on January 12th, Doc had given up predictions!!  And, I was starting to think the “blessed event” was going to be a Baby Elephant!!!!!

The week before Andy was born, my Dad was admitted to the hospital so Mom was staying with us and we were making multiple trips a day to St. Joseph’s Hospital.  But, would Andy make an appearance while we were handily at the hospital……NO!!  My husband worked nights and Andy waited until he was at work and had to call someone in to take over for him.

We rush to the hospital and everything is going as expected.  The maternity ward was busy busy busy, the nurse came in and said I would probably be the next to deliver.  But, then, they told me that all night long and I was still there when that nurse came back on duty the next day.  Andy had decided he was nice and warm where he was and was in no hurry to join the cold world.  Finally, 36 hours later, he appeared to the world in all his glorious wonder!

Since Dad was in the same hospital….on the same floor, my husband had somewhere to go when the blinking lights got to be too much for him.  In fact, they tell me they had to re-floor the path between maternity and Dad’s room because the two of them had worn out the tiles pacing back and forth.

The nurses on Dad’s ward threw a big party for him.  Guess I wasn’t that important.    I’d delivered his 21st grandchild!!!  But, I didn’t get a party!!  Not only did they throw him a party, but the doctor released him and let him go home!!

So, we now have this bouncing baby boy and our worries are over for the time being.  Well……over for about 12 hours.  Then the worst snow storm to hit Bloomington in years set in.  Everything was closed……even the mall (the only time it closed because of weather!).  I’m stranded in the hospital……my folks are stranded at our house……and, my husband is trying to shovel everyone out before the snow plow comes by again.

Despite the hassle I give Andy about all the trouble he caused, he really is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.  I don’t know what I would have done without him all these years and so glad he’s still in my life now.

I love you, Andy!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

And I’m so very grateful!  Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas……I love the fun times with friends and family…….and, I’ve had a great Christmas this year!!!

My problem is that, with Christmas advertising, TV programs, party planning, and shopping starting in October (or before), I’m really tired by December 25th!!    Janice posted on her blog, asking for a “do over”.  I agreed to start with but I’ve changed my mind!  Let’s put this one behind us and move on to the next one.  That at least gives us 12 months to recuperate!!

Now, it’s time for New Years Resolutions.  I have a few but I don’t usually tell anyone what they are when I make them.  That way, I’m the only one disappointed if I fail.  I figured out a long time ago that if you make a bunch of promises, the odds are pretty good one or two will stick!

I actually did pretty well with last year’s resolutions:

1. I resolved to graciously accept compliments with out saying, “thank you, but……”. That one stuck although I still have to mentally stop myself from adding the disclaimer at the end. I get credit for keeping the promise, but it still needs work!!
2. I promised to take more videos instead of pictures and keep my website current.  Okay…..I only get a 1/2 point for this one.  I’ve captured more videos, but the website has had some serious lapses!
3. I decided I’d keep a journal…..just so I could track for myself what I achieved or missed.  I did that……not until November…..but I did it!
4. I was going to digitize all our old photos.  I’ve worked on this, but……looking at the stack to be done versus the stack finished……I’m not sure I get even 1/2 point for this one.  Of course, I didn’t really realize how much there was to do, either!  So…..this one will continue into 2009!
5. Then there was the biggy!  The really hard one!!  Money!  I’ve kept my bills current for a lot of years.  But, there were times that “plastic” helped…especially if there was something I “just had to have”!  My goal in 2008 was to get to the point of living on cash and paying down debt. I did it!!  It started with paying off the car (thank heavens!!)……less eating out (bummer!)……buying what I need and not what I want…….less driving……more watching every penny, not just the dollars.  It hasn’t been easy, but when I sat down and worked out my budget for 2009, I realized I’d done it!! I’m living on cash and paying off debt!!  I celebrated!!! With a dish of ice cream at home (gotta watch those pennies)! 

There were a lot of resolutions I didn’t keep.  I haven’t lost weight, or gotten healthy, or made progress on my genealogy, or finished any needlework projects, etc…..etc……etc…..  But, that’s okay…….it gives me a starting place for 2009!!

So, in closing, I hope you all had a wonderful year, a blessed Christmas, and that 2009 brings you everything your heart desires.

Today, I was thinking back a looooooong way to a very special Christmas. It wasn’t one where I got everything on my list……nor the one where I gave everyone what they wanted. Much more special than either of those.

I was in the 7th grade.  Mom, Dad, and I were living in the “booming” town, Grover Hill, Ohio (a small town of about 400 in NE Ohio).  We were pretty poor that year.  Not impoverished because we always had a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our back, and each other.  But, you know the old line of “not a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out”?  Well, we were almost there except we had the pot.  We had to, we didn’t have running water nor a warm indoor potty room!!

Anyway, it was Christmas and like any kid, I was excited.  There was only one present under the tree for me from Mom and Dad.  That was okay.  I was smart enough to know that if I got anything from them I should be grateful because it meant they had really scrimped and saved to get it.  Dad had been laid off of his job and I knew money was tight.  But, shoot, I was normal……..I shook that little present, tried to feel through the paper, and spent plenty of time “wondering”.

Finally, it was Christmas Eve.  For some reason we always opened gifts on Christmas Eve. But, we were going to my sister’s for the “family” Christmas.  Mom told me I could open my present before we left the house since we wouldn’t get home til late.  I hesitated……..until Dad said I might as well since I’d already practically rubbed the paper off of it!  I was so excited as I ripped the paper off my………….Snickers candy bar! 

I was disappointed.  Not only wasn’t it a really great Christmas gift, but now I didn’t have anything to look forward to later.  But, I couldn’t let Mom and Dad know how disappointed I was.  So, I put on my best WOW-I’m-excited-and-grateful face and away we went to my sister’s. 

At my sister’s house, I knew the “adults” weren’t getting any gifts.  That had been decided because of the size (and therefore the cost) of the family.  But, I wasn’t an adult……I was still a “kid”…….the same age as some of my nieces and nephews!!  So, I figured there would be something under the tree for me that would ease the pain of my Snickers-bar-gift……especially since I was put in charge of “entertaining” all the little ones while Santa delivered the gifts. 

When the bells jingled and Santa let out a HO HO HO (that sounded strangely like Dad), I was as excited as the little ones!!  Of course I helped pass out the gifts……how better to see how much loot I’d scored?  But, at the end, there was only one small box from my brother.  In it was a beautiful gold and ruby bracelet (well….it looked like rubies!!) and I was really grateful…….but kind of disappointed.

Finally, the night ended!  After we got settled in at home, Mom suggested I look under the tree again.  Why?  I already had my one gift!  But, never one to question my Mom (that came much later!), I looked.  Lo and behold, there was another little package…….the same size as the Snickers.  You can imagine how hard it was to act excited this time and I’m pretty sure I fell far short of convincing.  But, this was different……a grown-up-girl Timex watch!  Inexpensive, but pretty.  This time, my WOW-I’m-excited-and-grateful face was real!!!

Dad told me later that their biggest worry that Christmas was that I was going to poke my thumb through the paper into the candy and the joke would be over. 

Over the years, we’ve done take-offs on the joke.  Big boxes with a concrete block, or small boxes with coal or rocks, just so the recipient wouldn’t guess what they’d gotten.  None of them have been as successful or as meaningful as that Christmas when I realized how hard my parents tried to make memories for me that would last a life time.  Obviously, they were successful!

Even with the disappointments, it really was the best Christmas ever.  Proof that it isn’t “what” you give but the “love” you give with it that’s remembered.

Veterans Day.  My day of contradictions.  All the emotions from patriotism to pride to happy to sad…….all rolled into one 24 hour period.

I’m so proud of all our military men and women no matter where or when they served.  But the day is emotionally hard at the same time. 

Our family has a rich military history ranging from the Civil War to present day. 

My Aunt Clara had seven sons and a son-in-law all serving at the same time in World War II.  Luckily, she was a Blue Star Mother, and not a Gold Star Mother.  All of her sons came home.  My cousin documented their experience in a book with a short chapter from each family member of what their experiences during the war meant to them.  Maybe I’ll share that one of these days if I can get permission.  It’s very moving.

Another cousin, Carl, served in the Navy during WW II.  Carl was always the story teller of the family…….but the only story he ever told about being in the Navy was “chasing his plate” when he was trying to eat on a rough sea.  My oldest brother served in the Korean conflict and never said a word about the time he was there.   But, as I’ve gotten older and……hopefully wiser……I’ve realized that that’s just the way it is.

So, every Veterans Day, I look forward to and enjoy the pageantry and patriotism and celebrations.  But, there’s a sadness, too.  For the veterans we aren’t able to thank because they didn’t come home.  And, personally because it’s the anniversary of the day I lost my big brother, Jim.  He wasn’t in the service any longer, but he sure was in our hearts.  (I planned to insert a picture here of Jim in his Naval uniform……all the pictures around here and that’s the one I can’t find!!!)

I know Jim and the other veterans would love us thinking of them and honoring them in whatever way we can.   But, they wouldn’t want us to be all sad and mope around with long faces.  So, this year, I made a promise to Jim, all the others, and especially to myself.  I will become more involved in what is going on around me.  It’s about time I exercised the rights they worked so hard to guarantee us.

Don’t worry……I won’t become a table-thumping radical.  But, I will become more knowledgeable and willing to discuss issues with others.  I’ve always avoided that in the past…….didn’t want to upset anyone or look “dumb” because they were a better speaker.  Guess that’ll have to change.

Hmmmm…..I wonder if that means I have to subscribe to the paper……or can I get by with TV news and online reasearch?

I decided that tonight I’d write about what’s been going on in my life.  It’s been so exciting!  Every morning I’ve gotten up early, had coffee, drove to the office, worked all day, drove home, watched some TV, and finally fell into bed totally exhausted!!

Yes, folks, that’s my exciting life!

Actually, there’s been more going on, just nothing real interesting.  I’ve been  “collecting” some observations for blog entries and since nothing else has happened, I’m digging into my collection…………

One observation brought about a memory from my childhood.  Our family used to go to Dare Devil Shows.  Drivers would come down a race track 2 or 3 across and……all of a sudden……they’d start weaving back and forth in front of the other cars.  They’d miss each other by an inch or so.  Oh, those were exciting shows.  Everyone held their breath……sighing with relief when they were successful, and maybe feel just a tad bit disappointed when there wasn’t an accident.

What ever happened to those shows?  Well, now they’re on the highways……during rush hour!!  As I watch the cars weaving in and out of traffic, I re-live that sigh of relief when they’re successful.  Only now, I’m very happy when there isn’t an accident!!  Something about being right down in the action instead of sitting safely in the grandstands gives you a whole new perspective.  Especially when you remember these drivers aren’t professionals and a lot of them are busy texting or talking on their cell phones.  In fact, they’re almost too busy to drive!!

There was one exciting event this week.  I ran over a deer.  No, I don’t mean I hit a deer…….I ran over it.  And, I wasn’t even out in the country.  I was on a frontage road close to our office.  Buildings, apartment complexes, restaurants, banks, businesses, a 6 line highway, and a lot of cars!!  So many cars, in fact, I was really concentrating on them.  Watching them coming toward me, pulling out of a driveways, following too close, all of them!  Then, there it was……laying right in my lane…..a deer.  With a car coming at me in the other lane and some “idiot” riding on my back bumper, I had no choice……I ran over it!  That wasn’t scary enough!  My next thought was, “Was it really a deer and not some person?”  After I went around a very long block, I verified it was a deer…….but I was almost home before I stopped shaking!! 

Of course, this week there was something else to observe……the election of our next President.  No matter who won, it was exciting to see so many people actually interested in voting and in the entire process.  However, I was glad I live in the middle of the mainland.  Imagine if you lived in Hawaii…..it’s 6pm on election day……the polls have just closed……and the TV network breaks in with John McCain’s concession speech.  The race has been decided and your vote hasn’t even been tallyed!  Talk about feeling like it didn’t count!!

Now we have a President-elect and his family getting ready to move into the White House and take over the reins of our country.  I pray for his success because that equates to the success of us all.  If we like what he accomplishes, we’ll re-elect him in 4 years……if we don’t, we’ll elect someone else.  The important thing now is that we keep that interest in the process and in voting!!  It is our right!  Remember, if we don’t exercise it, we can lose it.  The politicians do work for us……we just have to make sure they remember that!!

Hope you’ve all had a great week and are enjoying the change in weather!!  Stay safe!  Stay happy!!

If you do crafts, you can probably relate to what I’m writing about today.

First, a fact.  It isn’t just women that enjoy crafts.  Men do too.  Except men are macho and usually call their crafts……”projects”.  Woodworking, cars, remodeling, painting, and barbecuing, are some example “projects”.

There are exceptions to the macho thing.  My brother, Jim, was one of those exceptions.  He was an engineer and designed large complex machines for assembly lines……now THAT is a craft!  Jim was also 6′6″ and weighed about 275 – 300 lbs. so you kind of expected he’d enjoy the macho crafts.  But, he also enjoyed making small beautiful intricate stained glass Christmas ornaments and cross stitching.  Yes, I said cross stitching!

After Jim and his first wife divorced, he went through a “rebellious” time resulting in a judge giving him the choice of joining the armed services or going to jail.  He chose the Navy and spent a lot of time in the Mediterranean area.  When he’d get leave, he didn’t go to town to carouse with his friends.  Instead, he buy some local cheese, bread, and wine, go up on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean, and cross-stitch.  He said he used those outings to reflect on his life and make something beautiful at the same time.  I hope his son realizes how special his Dad’s cross stitched projects really are……they reflect the time Jim was becoming the man we all admired.

Jim’s interest in needle work came naturally.  Our mother loved anything to do with “string”.  She sewed, embroidered, knitted, crocheted, and even strung beads into beautiful jewelry.  If it involved a string……she was an expert and she loved it.  Her hands were never idle!!

I inherited that same love……not the same dedication……just the love and a itty bitty bit of the talent.  I like to crochet though I’m not good at it, embroider (different than cross stitch), and cross stitch which I do well enough I’m comfortable giving my projects to friends as gifts.

No matter what you enjoy working on, you need materials……bought at some store.  And, while you’re at the store, the variety of materials just gets your imagination running wild with all the wonderful things you can do with them or that they’ll allow you to do with something else.

Now, comes the true topic of this writing.  The stash of kits and crafts/projects that accumulate when you really love doing something.

Pots, pans, skillets for the cooks……paints, brushes, canvases for the artists……wood, tools for the woodworker…tools, gauges for the mechanics….the list can go on and on and on!  Of course, “we need them all!!!!”

My downfalls are kits, patterns, threads, and accessories.   Right now, I have a small five drawer dresser filled kits and patterns!  Enough to keep the most dedicated crafter busy for several years.  I’ve even forbidden myself from going even close to a craft store because I know I’ll buy more……especially if it’s on sale.

I’ve been a little ashamed of my stash of crafts.  After all, no one really needs all that stuff.  You can only work on so many projects at a time and you can’t work on them all the time.  Until today!  I found the Stash Buster Challenge Blog!  WOW!!  There are others like me out there in the world

I doubt finding Stash Buster Challenge will change my ways, I’m probably not up to the Challenge.  But, it’s nice to know I’m not alone!! Then, again, I know at least one person like me.  Maybe we’ll start our own Challenge!  (What do you think, Linda?)

Have you ever experienced that moment when you suddenly realize how much time has flown by?  It seems like something happened a few days ago but it’s really been a year?  Holidays are like that……Christmas especially (which, if you haven’t noticed is just two months away!!)

One of those moments hit me today as I was working on the latest update to my website.  www.TexasAndMusic.com is “officially” four years old!!  It was October, 2004, that I realized I needed to make the site something more than just a freebie website, found a hosting site, and bought the domain name to make it “official”.  Of course, those that were around at the inception know that the name might be four years old, but the site first appeared five years ago!!!

During that time, the site has grown and now has almost 8,000 pictures, 14,000+ pages, and 9,000+ links to other sites.  This year it has averaged over 200 visits a month from a total of 29 countries.  In the U.S., there have been visits from 46 of the 50 states!  (Not sure what the problem is in North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont and New Hampshire )  Now, in the world of Google, MySpace, FaceBook, YouTube and all the other websites out there, that really isn’t much.  But, for a gal in south Austin, TX, that loves live music and is doing all this just for fun, I think it’s a pretty good. 

I didn’t do it on my own!!  My family and friends have contributed invaluable pictures and stories.  And, the musicians!!  There aren’t words enough to thank the musicians for allowing me to post their pictures and videos (yes!  I get permission!), and for not calling security to escort me out as I snap away in my amateur way.

I also owe a huge thank you to everyone that answered all my “how do you do……” questions.  I won’t name you here because I’ll forget someone and get in trouble.  But, you know who you are.  I just hope I’ve properly expressed my appreciation to you for all the time you’ve spent helping me make the site what it is today.

So, what does the future hold for www.TexasAndMusic.com?  I don’t know for sure.  It’s going to hang around for a while…….I’ve already paid for two more years of hosting.  The design and appearance won’t change much.  Not sure I remember how I did it in the first place so I’ll follow the old advice of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”!  And, I’ve realized there are still several of my “favorite” bands I haven’t included so we have that to look forward to.  But, I’ve slowed down a bit (as several of you have brought to my attention! ) so, we’ll just continue having fun, see what happens, and maybe we can keep it going for another 4 or 5 years!

Thanks to everyone for your interest in my hobby and especially for being my friends.

I love you all!!!!

Well, the picture isn’t the great find.  I’ve had Great-Grandma Minerva’s picture for a while.  What I found was information from my cousin who actually knew her.

His description was that she was a tall woman with the bluest eyes that he had ever seen and he hasn’t seen any that blue since.  And, she smoked a corn cob pipe. 

He was only 10 years old when she passed but he remembers buying plug tobacco for her to smoke in that pipe.  How things have changed!  I don’t think a little kid could buy tobacco of any kind today!

Grandma Minerva must have been pretty strong considering she was born in 1841 and the normal life span was 40 to 45 years.  She lived a full life, marrying at 18 and raising 8 children without the conveniences of things we take for granted and just “can’t live without”.  You know, central heat, central air, electricity, running water, washing machines, microwaves!  And she still lived twice as long as expected.  She passed away in 1923 at the ripe old age of 82.  

Just think of the history she witnessed with those blue eyes!!  WOW!!!!

There’s going to be a benefit for our friend, Billy Applegate!

• When? — Wednesday evening, October 8th, 2008
• Where? – Hill’s Cafe on South Congress, Austin, TX
• Who will be there?– Who knows?  But there’ll be special surprises for sure!!

 
Now you know there’ll be fun things going on!!  You really wouldn’t want to miss this even if it wasn’t for a good cause!!!  But, it is a good cause……for a great guy!!

So…..be sure to come out to give back to a friend that has given us so much!!!!

It’s always sad to hear a special friend is gravely ill and might not have much longer to live in our world.  We’re sad they’re going through the illness……we’re sad we could lose a good friend.   We’re glad that, if they leave us, they won’t hurt anymore.  But…..that doesn’t fill the hole in our heart as they get ready to go.

In the past two years, we’ve lost too many friends.  Now we have another friend who has been feeling poorly and might be leaving us way too soon.

If you’ve been around the exciting music scene in Austin and Oklahoma, you know Billy Applegate.  I haven’t known Billy nearly as long as a lot of folks, but every time I saw him he had a big ol’ smile and a hug for me……and always has a special place in my heart.

I knew who Billy was just from being around Kevin Fowler’s show and team.  But, he remembers the first time he “met” me.  We’d gone to a show at the Cotton Club.  I bought a CD at Billy’s merch table and walked away with my prize.  Later, as I came out of the Ladies’ room (Billy always liked to set up by the ladies’ room!), I heard someone call my name and, when I turned, there stood Billy……holding my credit card!

A few years later, I walked into Giddy Ups and there sat Billy talking to Sam Bentley.  As Billy grabbed me in one of his famous bear hugs and held on tight, he asked Sam, “Do you know how I first met this lady?” and proceeded to tell Sam all about the credit card…..with that big ol’ smile the whole time.

We went to a Doug Moreland and Jason Allen show at Poodie’s Hilltop.  Doug and Billy are great friends and have written a lot of songs together.  Doug always gives credit where credit is due….and every time he announced a song was written by Billy, we let out a whoop and applauded like crazy.  The crowd started to join in the fun.  I guess we might have been a “little” obvious.  Doug wanted to know if we were fans of Billy was because he was getting more applause for writing the songs than Doug was getting for singing them!

Another time, Dobie and I went to River Road Ice House for an open mic night hosted by Jason Allen.  We walked in and the place was packed!!!  Seems they were having Doug Moreland’s bachelor party there and all our favorites were in attendance.  We were wiggling our way through the crowd (the only way to get through!) when someone grabbed me around the neck…..not something you want to experience in a crowd of people that have been drinking all day!!  I didn’t need to worry, it was Billy!  Big ol’ smile and bear hugs!

There are so many “Billy stories” running around in my head.

Billy has a heart as big as Texas, too.  When I had my house in Kyle, I kept having problems with the darn fence.  No matter what anyone did to fix it, it kept trying to fall down!  I talked to Billy about it one evening and he said that, if I could wait, he was headed south in a couple of days and would swing by to see what it needed to be fixed once and for all.  Sure enough, a couple of days later I got a call at work…..it was Billy.  He’d not only checked it out, but decided to just fix the problem while he was there.  When I asked what I owed him, he said “Just buy me a beer the next time we run into each other”.

Billy, that fence is still fixed.  And, you can’t leave us yet……I still owe you that beer!