The mysteries of high school in Texas

I've lived in a lot of places.  From Florida where I grew up, to years spent in the Rockies, Pennsylvania and even a brief stint in New England, I've experienced a lot of regional "quirks".  But with a daughter now in high school in Texas, the mysteries have deepened.

We thought that the weirdest thing so far was the fact that in Austin even people who don't have kids in the local high school buy season passes to the high school football games. And they really go!

But the "strangeness factor" jumped several degrees yesterday when we accidentally encountered something called "Mums" at the local Michael's. No, these are not the flowers, although a silk version of them is involved.

Texas mums are enormous creations made from silk flowers, too many yards of ribbon to count, stuffed bears, plastic cupcake decorations, Mardis Gras beads, bells, battery-powered Christmas lights and enough hot glue to securely put Humpty Dumpty back together again.  And that's just a "basic mum."

And best all, when these things are all assembled, girls wear them to school! And in some schools, to the Homecoming game as well. They're worn pinned to shirts or jackets (or in some cases to bra straps to keep them from tearing holes in clothes because of the weight of it all), or tied around necks.

Boys get off a bit easier. They wear a smaller version of the traditional mum, attached to a garter and worn on the arm (ideally over a letter jacket, I'm told.  This is, after all, Texas!)

And as if all this silliness wasn't enough, there's the matter of the cost of this autumn high school tradition. This enormous hot-glued bundle of fake flowers and ribbon and do-dads can easily cost hundreds of dollars.  Sometimes over a thousand.

A very basic mum base at Michael's starts at $30.  And from there, girls (or moms or in some cases, boyfriends) are expected to buy and add all the extras from stuffed pets to blinking lights. There are pages and pages online explaining how to make and customize a mum.  And even more sites selling them, all for upwards of $200.

Needless to say, we're going to make our own.  I'm handy with a glue gun.  I found a step-by-step Homecoming mum video.  We stocked up on ribbon using this week's Michael's coupons.  The Mardis Gras beads and tiny stuffed bear are coming from the dollar store.  Not sure about bells or lights.  But we're going to try and keep the cost below $20.

And once it's all done, we'll take a picture or two of our creation as my daughter heads out the door. And I promise not to giggle too much...at least while she can hear me.

Mums, indeed.  Giggle, giggle!

Found on Pinterest...

Just one question...how did whomever wrote this get into my head?  A perfect start-of-the-work-week giggle!

Revisiting 100 things that make me happy....

Just about two years ago, I published a post listing 100 things that make me happy.

I was thinking that it might be fun to revisit that list, and see what has changed over the past two years.  Is my list the same?  Are there things that I would replace, especially since I'm now living in a different state?   And are there things I wrote on the list that I'd forgotten about...little pleasures that I might want to add to my life again?

So here's my old list, revamped for 2012.  I would love to see your lists, too.  Maybe you'll remind me of some little pleasures I hadn't considered!

1. Writing
2. A hug from someone I love
3. Eating breakfast out...and outside
4. Rainy days when I don't have to go anywhere
5. Walking on the beach at night
6. Singing along with a favorite song in the car
7. Being greeted at the door by my cat and dog
8. Back to school supply shopping with my kids
9. Waking up to a view of trees and sky through a big window
10. Windy days
11. Figuring out a tough math or programming problem
12. Having time to sit at a café and read without watching the clock
13. Working on my art projects
14. Watching it snow outside my window (with a cup of cocoa in my hand!)
15. Scrapbooking with friends
16. Spending time with my kids
17. Stumbling onto great live music while walking downtown 
18. Finding a great new mystery writer 
19. A new book from a favorite writer
20. Listening to live jazz, especially outdoors
21. Stashing away the perfect little gifts for upcoming birthdays or holidays
22. Getting a REAL letter in the mail
23. Spending time with my dad, sharing memories and silly jokes
24. Getting a flower/flowers from someone
25. Wrapping presents with a creative touch
26. Cottage gardens
27. Finding a great new blog to read and follow
28. Learning something new that changes my view of other things
29. Moments of spiritual insight
30. Fresh, juicy peaches that drip juice everywhere
31. Seeing someone I love across a crowded room
32. Kissing my husband
33. Houses with tons of natural light
34. Foggy mornings 
35. The smell of fresh cut grass
36. Clean sheets that have been dried on the clothesline
37. Handmade quilts on a bed
38. Hearing a song I used to love but had forgotten about -- and remembering the words!
39. British television
40. Well-worn wood furniture (primitives) with stories to tell
41. Long silk skirts
42. The smell of old book stores
43. Long walks in the countryside
44. Seeing cows in a field
45. Gardenias - the look and the scent!
46. Really watching a butterfly flying
47. Photographing the details on old buildings
48. Country fairs with animals and old-fashioned craft and food judging
49. Quaint old cottages
50. Quaint new cottages
51. Curving, hilly roads
52. Wide roads with lots of green
53. The first few notes of the overture before a show
54. Being backstage with something to do when the overture starts
55. Old, well-worn, super soft blue jeans
56. Slices of crisp green apple and sharp cheddar cheese
57. Holding hands
58. Waking up with my husband
59. Rearranging books on a shelf
60. Cooking without a plan
61. Cello music
62. Following a fish around while snorkeling and pretending I'm a fish, too
63. Poetry that does not rhyme
64. Finding an especially beautiful spot on a hike...and having time to enjoy it
65. Wearing soft cotton clothes
66. Laying on the grass and watch the light change through the leaves
67. Seeing pictures in clouds with my kids
68. Flying a kite
69. Seeing old people holding hands
70. Keeping up on my blog
71. Adding something beautiful to my bulletin board
72. Finding the perfect card for a birthday or just-because
73. Dropping mail in the box at the post office
74. Reading on the beach, especially on a chilly day
75. Warm hoodies that are still soft inside
76. Blue time (twilight)
77. Lightening bugs...thousands of them!
78. Listening to music on a great sound system (doing that now!)
79. Fossil hunting...and finding that hidden treasure
80. Lazy Sundays at home
81. Friends who stop by unexpectly
82. Live steel drum music being played by the Bay or ocean
83. Hunting for sea shells at the beach
84. Warm socks when my feet are cold
85. Lush, green countryside
86. Goats with floppity ears
87. Getting the photo JUST RIGHT
88. Planning for my next trip
89. Discovering people who believe in magic and fairies and unicorns and mystery
90. Having the perfect airplane book in my purse when I get on my flight
91. Long, inspiring, unexpected conversations
92. Texture...in art, in fabric, in nature, in my home
93. Cozy rooms with unexpected details
94. The color yellow
95. The smell of a baby's head
96. My kids' art work, from beginner scribbles to amazing creations
97. Giving away unneeded things to people who can use them
98. Old-fashioned country auctions
99. Baking for family and friends
100. Long walks on cool evenings

  Okay, your turn!  Post your links and I will happily hop over to see your lists. And if you're anything like me, making this list may start out hard, but by the end, you'll have dozens and dozens of other happy pleasures you just won't be able to fit in the 100!  And that, as Martha says, is a good thing!

 :-)

Every desk needs a cat

Sanura has given her stamp of approval to my new office  Happily stretched out between my two computers, claiming her spot atop my brochures and calendars.

Maya the Wonder Puppy is standing next to my chair but not cooperating for a photo now. But she too has given the space her blessing.

With two such valuable endorsements, how could I doubt that I've created the perfect space to write, dream, plan and work?

Being home

I flew in on Wednesday, only a couple of hours by plane. But oh what a difference a simple flight makes.

Instead of struggling to find my way around on unfamiliar roads, I knew exactly where to turn to avoid that traffic or head for a favorite cafe.

Instead of trying to remember the names that go with new faces, I was among friends and family.

Until the last century, people generally lived their whole lives among familiar faces, walking familiar roads. Of course there were a few intrepid souls who ventured further, but most stayed put, living and dying within a few miles of where they were born.

Now we pride ourselves on our mobility, on our non-attachment. But underneath, so many of us are lonely. 

We survive with acquaintances instead of friends, tout discovering the new and novel instead of treasuring the  known, and navigate with GPS units instead of memories. We, as a society, look down on people who prefer to live among friends, and chide those who dare to express their homesickness.

Moving may be a choice for some, unavoidable for others. But it's time we acknowledged what some of us have known all along.  Home is the very best place to be. Thank you, Florida, for welcoming me home.

Where an Austin Blogger Creates....

No, there are no cowgirl hats or even guitars in my blogging room...just because I moved to Texas doesn't mean I changed!  Okay, maybe just a little.  I have developed a new appreciation for the Blues.  And I now don't scream when I see the forecast calls for temps above 100 (I just hide indoors!)


But my office is more about the me who grown and changed through years of living in Florida, the Rockies and rural Pennsylvania.

Of course, there are baskets and files filled with booklets and brochures about Austin events for my Austin blog....and piles of menus and business cards to inspire future posts.

There's also a bulletin board filled with inspiration from now and years gone past, where everything from bumper stickers to pages from old books share space with photos and postcards and bits of ads where the color or the font is far more important than the product it's trying to sell.

My blogger world is also home to less-than-pristine antique dolls rescued from auction shoppers eager to use them for parts....because they remind me that things don't have to be perfect or new to matter.

And it's where I keep pictures of my kids

and my husband

so I can stay grounded in what really matters in life. 

My office where the posts of this blog and A is 4 Austin come to life, where I explore other people's blogs and images, and where I test new ideas. 

It's more than an office...amid the stuffed animals and antiques and more-pens-and-colored-pencils-than-anybody-really-needs, it's my creative home. 

How can something so simple be so heartbreaking?

We've all done it.  A flick of our wrists, and a crumpled blanket or quilt is tossed into the air, and comes down smoothly over a bed.  In fact, I would bet that it's a gesture we hardly think about.

So why was it so heartbreaking when I watched a young man do this everyday task the other day?

He couldn't have been more than 22 or 23.  Maybe even younger. Just my son's age.  The multicolored quilt flew up and came down smoothly.  He adjusted the corners to straighten it out.  But it was not on a bed or even a couch. It was under the overpass of Highway 183 in Austin, Texas.

I sat at a stop light, watching this moment of ordinary human action.  And I cried.

As a mom, I cried for the young man, so recently someone's baby, someone's child.  What had happened in his few short years to lead him to bed down under an overpass instead of in a home?  Had he run from an abusive home?  Fled neglect?  Or was a mom or dad somewhere praying for his return, not knowing where their son might be...or even if he's alive?

As a person who has worked with the homeless for years, I cried for a country that leaves so many without even the basics of home or safety while others get rich, some even stashing their funds in Swiss bank accounts or off-shore banks to avoid paying their part to care for the rest of the nation's citizens.

I know there have always been homeless people.  But the face of homelessness has changed in recent years.  For the past decade, the image of the single man struggling with drug addiction or the lone woman fighting mental illness has been replaced with more and more average people who faced one tragedy, and lost everything.  Or the family who cannot overcome the barriers of rent deposits and transportation (and now, mandatory ID requirements that catch the poor in an endless loop of documents they cannot afford to acquire.) 

Or a young man, who once probably spread his quilt over a bed...but now beds down for the night on the concrete under an Austin highway.