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Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts

Friday, June 24, 2016

The Adventures of Sam Maverick by Lynn M. Fichtner



This biography of the legendary Texas pioneer Sam Maverick recounts the incredible stories that shaped his life, a life that is entwined with some of the most pivotal moments in the early history of Texas. Sam Maverick participated in hand-to-hand combat at the Battle of Bexar in San Antonio, signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, fought with Comanche Indians, and survived a forced 900-mile march through the desert to the Perote Prison in Mexico, to name just a few of the many heroic adventures that are retold in this exciting biography. Included are dramatic illustrations, a Texas map, a Maverick family tree, and vocabulary with definitions at the end of every chapter

Get your copy here.

*****
 Very cool book. Really nice bio of a Texas legend. 

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

The Doctor's Wife by Myra Hargrave McIlvain



Young teacher Amelia Anton leaves Germany in 1845 on an immigrant ship bound for Texas. After the death at sea of the child she is hired to tutor, her employer abandons her. Amelia quickly accepts the marriage proposal of the much-respected physician, Joseph Stein, only to discover that he is not the husband she expected.


*****

I'm not normally a historical reader but I really enjoyed this one. If you love historicals or novels set in Texas, then this fills the bill. 


Get your copy here.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Wonderful Wednesday

Howdy...

It's hot in Texas.  How hot you ask? Well....



And it's so dry...
A buddy out of Longview said he'd killed a mosquito that was carrying a canteen. A man in Lubbock said the chicken farmers were giving the chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs. In Lake Palestine, they caught a 20 lb catfish that had ticks on it!




Dear Diary,
Just moved to Texas! Now this is a state that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. It is beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.

June 14th:

Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshipper.

June 30th:

Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 10th:

The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least, it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longer than I expected.

July 15th:

Fell asleep by the community pool. Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th:

I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got to the hot car at noon, Lomita had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag, then popped like a water balloon. The car now smells like Kibbles and Shits. I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this heat. Good ol' Mr. Sun strikes again.

July 25th:

The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's hot as hell. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.

July 30th:

Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now, $225,000 house and I can't even go inside. Lomita is the lucky one. Why did I ever come here?

Aug. 1st:

Its 115 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to 85. I hate this stupid state.

Aug. 4th:

If another wise ass cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm going to strangle him. Damn heat. By the time I get to work, the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!

Aug. 7th:

Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and when I sat on the seats in the car, I thought my ass was on fire. My skin melted to the seat. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and ass…now my car smells like burnt hair, fried ass, and baked cat.

Aug 9th:

The weather report might as well be a damn recording. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do anything for 2 damn months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this damn state? Water rationing will be next, so my $1700 worth of cactus will just dry up and blow over. Even the cactus can't live in this damn heat.

Aug. 10th:

Welcome to HELL! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are dead. Forgot to crack the window and blew the damn windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me??? "Hot enough for you today?" My sister had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail. FREAKING TEXAS. What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here??

Will write later to let you know how the trial goes.

***