Rebel Mountain Laurel

Those in the Hill Country know of the wonderful tree, the Mountain Laurel, that produces beautiful purple fragrant blooms that smell like grape. The blooming season for our Mountain Laurel is over, but we have the beautiful rebel blooms. At first Tom, my husband, thought it must be some type of fungus. Part of these growths look like Staghorn Ferns. Tom took a piece in to get some advice and was told that when the bloom does not form correctly one year, this is what they look like the next. So we have these beauties dancing for us on a tree full of green leaves. They don't seems to have the strong fragrance that the regular blooms have but wow, they are so interesting with their horned and spiked additions. Hope you enjoy them.

Had to Share

FUNNY!!

This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American
company -- Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She
really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's
2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.


Dear Mr. Thatcher,
I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20
years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the
LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go
horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd
certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white
shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings.
Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is
that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure
I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't.
Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel
hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred
hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt
seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your
customer's monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know
about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about
our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior.
You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is
just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings
me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of
cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out
my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on
the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your
tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling,
laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did
anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did
it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there
will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to
jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your
house just so you don't march down to the local
Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in
a blaze of glory. For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If
you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more
sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer'
or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong',

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective
immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for
one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that's a promise I will keep.

Always!

Best,
Wendi Aarons
Austin , TX

Young Love

I don't know about you, but I know very few PERFECT marriages. I do feel fortunate enough to know SOME.
Of the living couples that I so admire their relationships there is Walt and Judy, Buddy and Virginia, Bob and Shirley and Dot and Ron. It is such a joy to know these people (over many years) and be a witness to their love. Believe me, (and if you know these folks you know this is true) they have not had PERFECT lives. Nope, they have gone though the same old ikky times that we have. It is just how they handle the iks, TOGETHER, that makes all the difference in the world. Wow! That is Love. Congratulations, Lovers.

Life is Fragile

Can you see how happy I am here? It was another beautiful day, I was in a beautiful place (The newly redone and reopened Sunken Gardens), with two of my very favorite people (Walt and Judy) and I still had lunch out to look forward to. Who could ask for more. Life WAS better than good.
Then I went home and hit a wall (emotionally, not literally) So since then (three days now) I have been fighting that terrible monster Depression. He will go away (soon I hope). Wish he would get lost FOREVER.

Voting/AKA griping

Well I just got back from voting. What a mess! I don't know if I have never voted in a primary before or I just don't remember the way they do it. Seems so odd. We had to stand in different lines (demos and republos) then wait. I KNOW this place was short people and little green -count -the- vote cassettes. The workers were fussing over them (the green things) and there was just not enough people working. I also think they should have had signs or people telling everyone to either go here for Democrat or here for Republican. Then the guy checking me in asked me if I wanted my voter registration card stamped as Republican (oops I guess it's out...) I felt like I was in preschool--no I don't care for a sticker. To add to the mess, 3/4 of the voters did not bring their voter registration cards! I think that will be my new beef---no card, no vote. We did have to vote on if people should have to show a picture ID to vote------heck yes, I can't believe we don't ALREADY have to do that. Do you ever feel like we haven't progressed too far with our overall voting process? Maybe it is because we don't do it often enough. What do you think?

Me Jane (as in You Tarzan)

The very best part of my cruise was zip-lining in Montego Bay. Never had done this before and it was a total blast. I hope you all get a chance to do this some time.

The Real Thing

I know I tried to fool you the last time but this photo is the Real Deal. This is what the Caribbean water really looked like in Jamaca. The other photo(s) are what I look like wearing Caribbean water.