Skip to main content

One hundred degrees and counting

The Texas summer has kicked in and it's HOT here. We have succumbed to the lure of the air conditioning and are learning to go out only in the early morning or after dark. Heat-combating gadgets like hand-held misters or insulated bottle holders are suddenly looking very attractive. And sunscreen - well, anyone remember the song?

However, the hot weather does provide opportunities for doing some fun things. In Sundance Square, downtown, there is a free movie showing every Thursday, and last week we took our lawn chairs down and watched Young Frankenstein. It's a decidedly bizarre black-and-white film about the grandson of the original Baron von Frankenstein, who, despite initial opposition, becomes determined to carry on his ancestor's work and create life from death. This with every cliche in the book, including sexy blonde assistant, abundant thunder and lightning and an Igor whose hump mysteriously moves from one side of his back to the other.

The lawn chairs got another outing when we went to the Levitt Pavilion in Arlington for one of their series of free outdoor concerts. We relaxed to the chilled sounds of Beatlegrass, who do, believe it or not, bluegrass versions of Beatles hits. I can't say it's a combination which immediately grabbed me, but they sing some original bluegrass too, and that was pretty good.



Cool water is definitely the order of the day, so when we both had a day off we headed down to Dinosaur Valley State Park again for a swim in the Paluxy River. There's an awesome swimming hole which is deep enough to dive into in parts, and considerably bigger than the pool here at Firestone. Admittedly you have to share it with lots of tiny fish and a considerable crowd of children, but that's all part of the fun.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

One hundred churches

About the middle of January, I was walking to school one afternoon when it occurred to me that I must have visited quite a few churches on my explorations. I started counting them. But I quickly ran out of fingers, so when I got home I plotted them on Google Maps. Not only was the number much higher than I was expecting, it was also tantalisingly close to one hundred. Only a few dozen to go. So of course, every walk since then has had to include at least one church! Last Monday I visited my hundredth church: St John the Baptist, Dethick. It was a beautiful little 13-century building with an unusual tower - I was glad it had claimed the 100 spot. I haven't been inside every church. Sometimes they were locked; sometimes I was in a hurry and didn't try the door. St Leonard's Church in Alton had bellringers practicing, and I almost interrupted a funeral when I stuck my head through the door of St Mary's, Marston-on-Dove. A few, such as St Oswald's, Ashbourne, and St Wys...

Easter holidays 2025

It felt like a busy Easter holiday this year - a nice mixture of household jobs, time in the sunshine, and family celebrations. Here are a few highlights. Birthday cake Graham's mum had a big birthday, so Graham and his sister secretly organised a few friends to come to dinner with her. She was surprised - and pleased! - when a small family meal at the pub turned out to include fifteen extra people. Theo baked and decorated this amazing cake all by himself. My sole involvement was cutting it up at the end. The event was a big success. thanks to my mum for the photo Days out We had a family day out at Peak Wildlife Park , in the Staffordshire countryside. It's been a few years since we last went; the penguins and lemurs were familiar, but the zoo has acquired a couple of polar bears. Believe it or not, these two are only half-grown. They're about three years old. playfighting polar bears lemurs penguins otters   I persuaded Toby and Theo to come to a garden with me with the ...

Derwent Valley Heritage Way: Steep drops ahead

It's been a long time since I fitted that much up and down into an eight-mile walk! 740m of steep climbs and steps. My legs were not very happy with me the next day. Between Matlock and Cromford, the Derwent River runs through a deep valley, with Matlock Bath - a landlocked town which pretends to be a seaside resort - down at the bottom. The ridge of high ground used to run all the way round to Scarthin Rock, cutting off Cromford from the rest of the valley, until somebody blasted a hole through it to build the A6. Matlock Bath: pavilion and amusement park I started in Cromford and climbed over the ridge at Harp Edge, then followed a path along through the woods, with the ground dropping sharply away to my right. There were a few small caves among the trees. At Upperwood someone had thoughtfully provided a bench. I wasn't in need of a rest just yet, though. In fact, I was feeling so bouncy that I went down an entirely unnecessary flight of steps, instead of staying on the reaso...