Happy Tartan Day and San Jacinto Day!

Confederate

Bluebonnet

Cecelia I

Cecelia II

Happy Tartan Day!

Happy San Jacinto Day!

If you have a tartan, I hope you are wearing it today. If you don't have one, you can have some fun and design one of your own using the Tartan Designer in my sidebar.

The site has changed since I used it previously a year or so ago, but you can still use the free demo to make up your own tartan.

There are other sites where you can look up your surnames and see if there are tartans. I have links to some of those, also in my sidebar.

I didn't find one for my Scottish surnames. However, there was an Arnot clan, at one time. It is no more because the last heir didn't have anyone to carry on as chief. So, without a chief, there is no clan. The family became a sept of something else, but I'm not sure what, since it depends on which area my ancestors came from. I've only found back as far as one ancestor whose parents or grandparents are the ones who came from Scotland. Can't go back across the pond, so far.

So, I thought it would be fun to design a taran. I like purple, so that's what I came out with. The bottom two designs are my creations, using the Tartan Designer online. I did 3 more, just for fun. They all look pretty dark, until they are enlarged.

You can use that site to actually design a pattern that can be made up, and made into kilts, scarves, etc. You can even register your own tartan design.

I always feel like I should make these things myself, although I don't have the patience.

The top tartan design is one that you can actually buy. This is called the Confederate pattern. The other pattern is something that a lot of Texans, especially, like. This is called a Bluebonnet design. There are many others that include designs for organizations, states, cities, etc.

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Today is also San Jacinto Day. There are activities at the San Jacinto Monument that you might like to participate in, if you are in that area.

Last night, I did get to see part of one of the Alamo movies, "13 Days To Glory", I believe it was. It was in the wee hours of the morning.

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I didnt' make it to the Brazos Valley Art League meeting today. The flu seems to be going around at our house. Ashton was sick all weekend and had to come home from school this morning. TAKS tests for Math are tomorrow, so he needs to be well by then! And I woke up, with a tummy ache and sneezing, which is how his flu, or whatever it is, started. I guess we are going to pass this around. Just so I am well by Saturday for Sketch Crawl!

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Brandy in Tennessee sent me a photo of the eaves of her house, showing a vent cover, similar to the one that I asked about on the house in Calvert yesterday. She said that her's is iron painted white, and is a decorative covering.

I think that the ones in Calvert are white wood. They look like they might have even had hands on them. We thought that they might be covering a vent, or a hole where there was a stove pipe at one time. But we also thought that the theme of clocks around the house must have some significance.

Possibly, it might help to look up records to see when that house was built and who built it. I feel sure that the Pierce family lived there in the 1930s and probably earlier. That is an older house, but I don't know the dates on it. Or original owners. If it was built there or moved from somewhere else.

Wouldn't it be neat, if those do actually have clock works behind them, to restore them so that they are working clocks! That certainly would be different.

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You can enjoy the old houses in Calvert, and the atmosphere, along with activities there, Saturday April 25 when they have the homes tour, Showcase Calvert 2009. Looks like they are planning a lot of activities. Should be a nice day. And there is a two day quilt show along with the tour. See yesterday's post and my sidebar for links.

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Looks like we are having a day of soup, crackers, Jello, and hot tea while the temperature drops outside.

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Cecelia III

Design for a Tartan

Architectural Mystery

Calvert, Texas Architectural Feature

photograph

What is this?

This is one of those mysteries that is going to bother me until I figure it out or someone tells me the answer. I hope it's the latter and soon. I've been looking, thinking, and researching for a while, and I still don't have an answer. Maybe you, or someone you know, can solve this.

This feature is on the south, north, and west sides of the home that once belonged to Sid and "Lizzie" Pierce in Calvert. There is a porch on the east side. It looks like clocks.

What is the significance of this feature? This is a very old home in town and, when I used to go there to see Mrs. Pierce, the house was not painted, and trees and shrubs cut off the view of most of the house. Mrs. Pierce was proud of her garden and how well things grew for her.

When plants were cleared away with the latest owners, and the house painted and worked on, that brought out these clocks that I had never seen before.

In the research that I have found, possibilities include that someone was a timekeeper, or did something with clocks. A custom from another country like Germany.

They certainly look like clocks, to me. I feel sure that there is some significance to them, either from the first owners or the builder.

I've mentioned this mystery before, but, this time, we took a picture of it, in hopes of finding an answer.

I wondered if anyone noticed this when they did the documentation for the National Historic District in Calvert. I haven't found anything, so far.

I did notice that there is some incorrect information on the documentation that is on the Texas Historical Commission site, where they list some of the historic homes in Calvert. I sent corrections to them, but I don't think it was ever fixed.

I hope someone out there has an answer!

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Attention Storkwatchers! The storks are back in Poland! They are fascinating to watch on the webcams! Watch them at http://www.bociany.edu.pl/ . You can see a video of their arrival at http://www.bociany.edu.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1484 .

Check out the other links under Stork Sites in my sidebar to enjoy more storks.

Hope that all goes well for the bird families this year.

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Speaking of Calvert and historic homes there, Calvert is having their spring homes tour and festivities, Showcase Calvert 2009, April 25. Check out the activities at http://www.calverttx.com/activities.html#showcase2009

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The date has been set for the Victorian Tea and Gala in Calvert. The fall event will be October 17. You can see the plans for that event at the same link as above. They're planning some different things at different locations in Calvert.

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Bryan/College Station is joining in the rest of the country with a Tax Day Tea Party on April 15. This Tea Party will be at Tanglewood Park. For more information, go to http://bcsteaparty.wordpress.com/ .

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You can find links to events in my sidebar.

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Wear your tartan tomorrow for National Tartan Day!

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Brazos Valley Art League meets at the Art Center in College Station at noon tomorrow, Monday.

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Join in the 22nd World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday April 11

See my sidebar for more information

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Friday Night Date

Friday Night Date

8.5" x 11"

pencil

There was a comment on FaceBook today stating that they remembered the days when weekends meant dating and hanging out with friends. I still remember those times, too, although the person reminiscing is a lot younger than I am.

I did this little pencil sketch a while ago, remembering a Friday night date when I was a teenager in Calvert.

A younger girl in our group had a date with a boy from the next town. He didn't have a car. But his friend had a car. The guy with a car was willing to double date, but he didn't have a date. So, the girl asked me if I would like to go. My friends all told me to go. I was a bit hesitant because I was shy, couldn't think of clever conversation, and this was the first boy from out of town, that I had not grown up with, who I would be going out with.

We went to the Eloia to see a movie, which was okay because we didn't really have time to go out of town and be home by 10 p.m. The movie did the talking for us, so we didn't really have to say much. I think he was just about as shy as I was.

So, here we are, in my drawing, sitting in the car after the show, parked in front of the old abandoned movie theatre beside the bank. The sign from the Eloia and the street lights light up the night. Notice that the car is not parallel parked. At that time, our wide Main Street, which was also the highway, allowed cars to just pull in. You can see the other couple in the back seat through the rear view mirror, and their knees on the seat of the car.

My date was really cute , but, as I said, I think he was as shy as I was, so there wasn't much talking. Thankfully, the other girl was lively and talkative, so I just listened. Imagine my surprise when my date leaned over and kissed me! I didn't know what to do! It was a sweet, tender kiss and I almost passed out!

In our little group, we had talked about what to do if a boy tried to kiss you, and how to kiss. But, at this time, I was at a loss as to what to do! What do you do with your nose. And should you let a boy kiss you on a first date. All those big questions that people encounter as they grow up and start to date.

I worried about my manners and felt that I didn't know what to do or order when eating out. And I felt so stupid, waiting for a boy to come around and open my door for me. I thought that I didn't have enough experience at eating out. I was very uncomfortable at this business of dating a stranger. I had dated before, but it was always with the boy I started going out with in elementary school, and had known all my life.

On top of that, what if they didn't like you. Or you didn't like them. Or if you did something stupid like tripping and falling or if you needed to go to the bathroom! And what about the other couple. What if they didn't want to go home yet, and you needed to be at home earlier. So many problems!

Yes, I remember dating and hanging out with friends on weekends and every day. We were a small school in a small community, and most of us grew up together and are still friends. It's sad to think of those who are no longer with us. We did have some good times .

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Congratulations to Kathi Appelt! See her link in my sidebar under Artists and Authors. There was an article about her latest book in "The Texas Observer". See "What The Woods Knew" by Robert Leleyx dated April 3-09 at http://www.texasobserver.org/. Interesting review of her book, "The Underneath".

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Lots of things going on locally tonight. Hope you are involved in some of them.

In downtown Bryan, they are showing the movie "Grease" tonight as part of the First Friday festivitites.

At Rudder Hall on campus, Karl Rove and Juan Williams are appearing. That should be very interesting.

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Monday April 6

National Tartan Day-Wear your tartan! If you don't have one, look in my sidebar and you can find a link to a place where you can design your own tartan. I still like the one that I designed last year on that site.

Brazos Valley Art League-meets at noon at the Art Center in College Station.

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Great News for Stork Watchers!

The storks are back in Poland!!!

Go to my sidebar and see the list of sites under Stork Sites. Mama and Papa stork have returned to the nest where all the babies died from a fungus a couple of years ago. That was so sad! Last year, the adults didn't return to the nest at all. But, now a pair of storks has taken up residence in the nest, and the webcams are working.

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Join us for the 22nd World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday April 11, 2009

http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

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Thanks for reading and sharing!