February 05, 2010

Grandpa Misses His Grand kids and Gets Creative

    

     Is The Weather Getting To Grandpa?  Does Grandpa Have To Much Time On His Hands?  Aw Shucks!

 

     I suppose I should 'Splane' myself.  As I said in the title I miss my grand kids a lot.  Yes the weather has kept me indoors a little more than I would like and I could never have to much time on my hands.  Most of you who follow our blog know I like to mess with the computer and I am constantly awed by what one can do with it. 

     When I find a program that I might like to play with or experiment with I am likely to give it a try as long as it is free.  I like free.

     The other day while 'surfing the net' I found an Internet Karaoke program that looked interesting.  I have always wanted to try my hand at Karaoke but have shy ed away from it because it tends to lend itself mostly to a tavern atmosphere and I'm not much for the bar stool scene.  As 'Jerry' says, "Not that there's any thing wrong with that".

     The first thing I chose for my first jump off the cliff into the world of song is available to you through the link below.  I have always liked this 'story song' as it takes me back to my trucking days which were very memorable to me and it affords me the chance to link to my grand kids through its story.

     When you click on the link, have some patience as it may take a second to load.  If it stops on you as it is playing, try setting the slide to the left.  I'm sure with a little trial you will get it to play.

     Don't be too critical of me now as I really did this for my four grand kids and I trust they will not be to critical of Grandpa for trying!

 

                                                               click here

 

Posted by George at 08:36 PM |

February 03, 2010

Scent of Magic

My Favorite Old Lamp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathleen here

 

Here is a little sample of what I wrote at a "Writers' Group" here at Fun n Sun.

 

 

Flickers of Light

The familiar sound of an owl, shadows flickering on the wall, the touch of the soft feather mattress that we lie on: these are a few of the senses experienced during a night spent in an old shanty that rested on the banks of the Minnesota Sough. There was no running water and no electricity. In a tiny kitchen, our mother used a two-burner propane stove to prepare supper. She stored milk and butter in an old ice box on the porch.

We had several kerosene lamps in those days. The smell of the golden fluid that brought life to that humble cottage gave me much comfort during my young life. I loved the lamp that sat on a small table beside the bed, best of all. A round glass bowl, that held the kerosene, perched on a tall pedestal. A cotton wick was fed down though the burner until it dipped into the amber fuel below. The saturated wick would be ignited and the glow of the flame illuminated the room and strew mysterious shadows about. A sparkling glass chimney protected the flame, as it flickered and danced inside its crystal prison.

Our mother took my brothers and me on adventures around the world as she read stories from ancient books. I recall: The Bobbsey Twins, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Yellow Eyes, and of course Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Today, we have all the luxuries of modern life, it seems, no matter where we go. But there is one thing that I truly miss, that old kerosene lamp. Whenever I smell kerosene, I travel back to a world where fairies danced on walls, where a mighty owl ruled the woods at night. My mother was close and my father near-by. So grateful am I for the gift of memory. A flame that flickers deep in my soul comes to life at just the smell of yellow liquid gold.

Copyright by Kathleen M. Brosius - January, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by riverjones at 07:50 PM |

January 24, 2010

Giant Hamburger of the Rio Grand Valley

Rio Grand Valley Giant Burger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Located way off in a residential neighborhood in Donna, Texas is an unmarked restaurants of sorts.  I put it that way because there are no visible signs that the building is a restaurant, no sign, no anything, except long lines of customers leading in to the building and lots of cars parked on the street.

     If you do a little research on what to do and see in the Rio Grand Valley for us winter Texans you will for sure locate a visit to the Gonzalez's Burgers as being one of the highlights.

     The story goes, that the Gonzalez family owns a large ranch just outside the valley.  They butcher their own beef, bring it to this out of the way place, grind the meat as it is needed, prepare it and serve it throughout the day. 

     It is a fact that they try to accommodate everyone in line but if they run out of meat they simply turn the sign to closed and those still in line will have to come back another day.  The menu is burgers of the usual style, such as cheese burger, bacon burger, etc.  It is the size and price that apparently is the draw.  I had a plain burger with, onion, pickle, mustard, catchup and the price was $3.70.  Our neighbor Carole had a Bacon Burger which included 7 slices of bacon on top of the patty you see in the above picture.  Add a family size serving of Fry's and onion rings to split between and you won't eat for the rest of the day.

     Seating is at long tables which makes for a great way to meet people and carry on a conversation while waiting for your order.

     Pictured below are our neighbors Jean-Louis and Carole Gobeil who are also full-time motor-homers but have their roots in Montreal, Canada, and also a look at the line waiting to order.

     For lack of a better word, the restaurant, is talked about constantly through the forums on the computer and the business just keeps coming six days a week, usually closing about 2:00 when they run out of meat for the day.

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jean-Louis and Carole

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by George at 10:04 AM |