grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Alabama Girl Trip ~ Part 1

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Alabama Girl Trip Part 1

I’m blogging about our recent Alabama Girl Trip not because I think everyone wants to hear every little detail but because later, when I can’t remember beans about it, I can read this post and say, “Oh, yeah, that was sooooo much fun. We should do it again!”

That’s one of the long-term benefits of keeping a diary blogging.?

My sister, Staci, and I decided this year instead of giving Momma another sweater she didn’t need, we would give her an experience. A trip to visit her college friend who lives in Wetumpka, Alabama. Momma and Carlene have been friends since 1955. They roomed together at Caraway Hall until graduating from Arkansas Tech in 1959 (then known as Arkansas Polytechnic College).

Now they live 375 miles apart. They see each other once a year at Tech homecoming. No matter the distance, they text, talk, and email almost every night. They even watch certain television shows and football games together via iPads / computers. Because neither drives long distances anymore, getting together is difficult. (Click HERE to read more about Momma, Carlene, and the “Girls of Caraway Hall”. Someone should write a book about them.)

This trip was the perfect gift for ALL of us. Continue Reading

these clouds in Texas…

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These clouds in TexasHey everyone! I’m dropping in to show you these clouds in Texas, AND telling you I haven’t been kidnapped or worse. I’ve been traveling. For the most part, traveling has kept me unplugged. (A good thing sometimes, right?)

I take lots and lots of pictures every day. This morning, when I looked back through some of my recent photos, I thought this one, in particular, was worth sharing.

Last week, these clouds in Texas greeted me as I drove south beyond the Red River.

When I was a kid, I spent lots of time staring at the clouds, naming the shapes, watching them sail over our house light as goose feathers. Now, as an adult, I don’t spend nearly enough time looking up.

I suspect none of us do.

Well, farmers might.

When I first moved to Waco for college, I remember telling Daddy about the clouds. I told him they were different in Waco. He stared at me like I was crazy and said nothing. At the time, I thought the land and the clouds spread wider than at home which seems impossible (and yes, crazy) when home is pancake flat delta farmland. Now, looking back, the trees probably played a part in my perspective. The trees in Waco were shrubbier and squattier than those at home. The trees made the sky above more expansive.

Under those clouds, I felt smaller.Continue Reading

Lucy and Annabelle go to West Village

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Lucy and Annabelle go to West Village (Dallas)Lucy and Annabelle’s latest adventure? West Village in Dallas. We spent Christmas in Texas and rented a dog-friendly Airbnb in West Village near our former neighborhood and favorite haunts. We saved lots of money this way. Not only did we enjoy a very cool Uptown apartment for less than the cost of a hotel room, but we were spared the expense of boarding Lucy and Annabelle for five days. Saving money at Christmas is very much appreciated, am I right?

Lucy and Annabelle grew up nearby, but this was their first official visit to trendy West Village.

They had a #BIGWoof time.Continue Reading

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