There's no place like home, there's no place like home,...

Bill, Kim (Marks cousin), and Amy's fiance back from Iraq................

Marks sister Susan,.......



Marks Dad and Daryl Ray..................

Our first night was in Austin, it reminded us of a dry, less crowded Portland,..not bad. Lots of historic buildings, fairly decent upkeep, went to dinner and a blues club. Keep in mind this was Halloween night, so hard to know who was dressed up and who was just being "normal". We had real Texas BBQ at this little hole in the wall complete with our choice of "sweet tea or unsweet tea",..there is a huge difference. Really, tea or tea flavored syrup, was what they were offering. My grandparents (from Arkansas) were big fans of "sweet tea" when I was growing up too! So we had okra, ribs, fried tomatoes (gag!), cornbread,..the whole bit. Good,.. but that once was enough for me til at least my next trip to Texas. Mark loved it. The next day we drove out to Marks cousins (he hadn't seen her in 20 yrs, at least) house in Priddy, not called pretty, for a reason,and had lunch (Texas BBQ food) and spent about 6 hrs "sittin in the yard", with everyone's individual preferred brand of beer provided (from the local Beer Barn ), smokin', talking politics and military stories (2 of the boys recently back from IRAQ), swattin' mosquitos, and comparing firearms. Of course everyone has to hold each gun to analyze for heaviness, grip comfort, etc,.. I was the freak for imbibing of Pepsi, when so many BETTER beverages where available. Apparently I was also the only one who thought maybe 6 hrs of drinking wasn't the time to brandish loaded weapons. I'm all snotty like that. Mark and I laughed that we were amazed more people don't get shot in this area of the country. The next morning we met Marks Dad, sister, cousin and uncles for breakfast. Big discussion on how now you can legally shoot someone if they try to get into your car. So "every" Texan will be packin' on the road too. Daryl Ray was the winner, he keeps a gun in every room of the house, plus several on his person at all times, and his belt buckle is really a hidden knife. (Kassi would so love that!) I asked Mark if maybe they weren't just a tiny bit paranoid here? We then went to an aunts house with cousins he hadn't seen (again) for about 25 yrs. Sat in the yard, watched the dogs, smoked, discussed "that OBAMA". By lunch time we went to UNDERWOODS,..some famous "Texas BBQ" place and had lunch with more long lost relatives. After that, Mark and I begged off and went back to the hotel, where I learned two very valuable lessons. #1- When the little motel guy tells you that the water is too cold too swim,..believe him. Not me. It was about 85 degrees there, so I went swimming in about 40 degree water,..because I was hot,..duh! I lasted about 20 minutes, then gave it up. My hands and feet were blue, but I showed him! Lesson #2- When the rubber liners fall off of your eyelash curler, throw it away or replace them immediately. Mine fell off, so I decided I would just use it anyway. The metal edges would just make firmer curls right? NO,..THAT IS NOT RIGHT! Metal edges become what most people would have recognized as....... SCISSORS. I chopped off both sets of my eyelashes, and because I also didn't bother to look in the mirror, I made sure that both sets were gone before I noticed. As an aside, on returning home, I bought those individual fakey lashes,..they are a joke. They are made to attach with glue to your own eyelashes, of which I have stubs. SO they looked like crooked spiders falling off my eyelids. OMG!!! So unless I go and get the big strip of hooker lashes, I am just wearing some heavy eyeliner and waiting for them to grow back. But,..back to Texas. We needed the break that evening and ordered pizza and watched movies at our motel. The next morning we went junk shopping before starting "yard" duty again. I found the most darling little 3 ft dresser with mirror and had to pack it for the plane to get it home. An ordeal,..but so worth it. Perfect in my main bathroom. Also,..now this is hilarious! At some junk shop, outside, they had a box that said "medical supplies-$3 each". Of course I was interested in what medical supplies could sit outside and still be worth selling. I kid you not,..now get ready for this,...it was a good sized box, full of surgical grade, stainless steel SPECULUMS! What the h*ll! Every size you could imagine,..at least 20 of them, in pristine condition. I burst out laughing and Mark says what is that? I said ,..."I'll tell you later, but I am going to have to buy one just to believe this really happened." I went inside to the clerk (she was about 45ish), other people were browsing thru the junk, and asked her "is this what I think it is?" She started smirking and said "yes it is". She said some lady had come in , and said her mother had died and she found this whole box in her mothers basement. The clerk said,..I didn't want to know any more of the story,..and I said,..neither do I! We both were laughing really hard by then. That sums up Texas for me in a nutshell. Where else could you find $3 steel speculums (and lots of them) in a junk shop! The rest of our day was spent at Marks dad's,...yep,..sittin' in the yard, drinking beer, and talking about the "economic crisis". Honestly, his family was incredibly generous, good hearted, and I found them very charming. We realized we both come from "extreme redneck" stock, and yet,..we are still alive,...survivors! Mark has decided I was his one grip on reality this trip, and came back extremely grateful for the Northwest. I guess next it will be time to visit my family,..probably just as humorous! Maybe at Thanksgiving-ish.