Entry #36

Entry #36

Monday, January 23

11:00 a.m. I must’ve drunk the mint julep Kool-Aid, because I just read my new issue of Garden & Gun magazine cover to cover in one sitting. Reading this magazine is akin to having a very sophisticated but really fun native Southerner take you on a fascinating, off-the-beaten track tour of the Confederate states. Great for anthropologists and heavy drinkers alike.

The Feb/March issue included pieces on Lyle Lovett, Morgan Freeman (both of whom live on their grandparents’ farms, interestingly), landscape architect Charles Stick (perfect last name, eh?), Appalachian photographer Shelby Lee Adams, and hot spots in Houston, which will come in handy.

I was particularly struck by the intensity of Adams' black and white portraits. These people don't live easy lives:

When I got to "Inside the Mind of a Turkey Hunting Genius," I thought I'd just skim over it, but I got completely sucked in:

Turkey hunting is the hand-knit doily of the hunting genres...it is nothing if not a romance. the goal is to pretend to be a hen convincingly enough that the most dominant—and presumably delicious—gobbler will come to you, flush with expectations of intimacy...Nobody gets rejected by a deer. It takes a turkey to break your heart...Walea shoots only mature gobblers, birds that have lived well and long and whose future point toward painful and protracted deaths. “The idea is to communie with nature,” he explains. “To appreciate what God has given...” —Allison Glock

4:00 p.m. It’s “ice cream Monday,” so I took the kids to TCBY, which is just across the street from the kids' school. Noah got a cone, which was filled quite generously, but Aidan’s defied gravity. The server attempted to even out the vanilla yogurt and orange sorbet by adding a bit more (and then a bit more) on each side, resulting in this magnanimous creation:

Tuesday, January 24

10:00 a.m. I noticed a variety of interesting products at the grocery store today and thought I’d take some photos. Let me know if you’d like any of these Texas products shipped your way...

4:00 p.m. The Mom Expo, “A Women’s Show for Moms of Young Families, ” is coming to The Woodlands this weekend. I thought I’d check out their web site and see if “young families” meant really young or just somewhat young (it’s a relative term, after all).

Turns out the event is geared primarily towards expecting parents or families with toddlers. I don’t think my 11 and 14-year-old boys would be keen on listening to a reading of Hunka Chunka Shapes Up, dancing to Tom’s Fun Band, or watching the children's magic show. 

They might, however, get a kick out of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile, which will be parked in front, awaiting photo ops: “Take pictures with this 75-year-old icon!” Perhaps we'll just pop by...After all, how often does the Weinermobile come to town?