This Week I Love: Town History

This week I accompanied the last boy on a field trip to learn about the history of our town. In a single square block, some of the town’s original homes have been relocated and restored for the public to tour, and each home features a guide dressed in turn-of-the-20th-century styles who speaks as the original homeowner. With a group of third graders, I was able to tour two of the historic homes, — including McKinney’s oldest still-standing residence, dating from 1850 — as well as a restored General Store and an inn that served as a lunch hot spot for the lawyers and businessmen of the town and a popular bed-and-breakfast for stagecoach (and later, train) travelers who passed through.
 
While there simply wasn’t enough time (or attention span in the children) to see everything, I gained more knowledge about my current town than I’ve known in the past five years of living here. I very much look forward to returning to this little piece of history to take notes for a planned 2011 series about our town. I’m reminded yet again how far this country has come in such a short time, and I am beginning to understand how historic this area of Texas truly is.


          D is standing in front of the kitchen fireplace in the Faires House, our town’s oldest home
 
 

Gratitude: A True Autumn

Living in Texas means having two annual seasons: HOT and Cold. There is generally a moment of spring followed by an interminable summer which holds on for dear life until a split second of autumn gives way to windy, rainy, icy winters. We don’t have the pleasure of weeks and weeks with brisk fall breezes and colorful leaves that drift to the ground lazily to signal the onset of the holidays. Instead, we generally see temperatures in the 80s and even 90s until almost (and sometimes into) December, and our leaves simply shrivel up and vacate the trees overnight. It’s not unlikely for Texans to wear flip flops until Christmas or beyond. Our fall season really only means one thing: football. But this year has been different.

The temperatures in North Texas began dropping in early September, providing an average in the mid-80s and nights in the 60s, and then October brought even cooler temps down to the 50s at night. This month we’re experiencing quite a lot of days in the 70s, and nights have been true sweater (and sometimes heavier jacket) weather. I can’t remember the last time this was true for us! But the best part of all has been the color. There’s not much of it — certainly nothing comparable to other parts of the country — but in my own neighborhood I’ve seen more trees in color than any other time in my life. And for that I’m so thankful! Autumn has finally been true to its name.

This is typically the extent of fall color for us.

 

And this one tree is generally faithful to turn each year… for about two weeks.

 

But in five years of living here, I’ve never seen this… and right in my own complex! A true blessing.

 

Presently: Blake Shelton

I’ve learned that it’s good to watch the Country Music Awards in order to put names to the songs I hear on the radio. Quite often I’ve been diggin’ an artist’s music without really searching them out, and that was the case last night after watching the 2010 Awards. I realized that I’ve been seriously loving Blake Shelton for more than a year now and never quite noticing it. I just loved his songs whenever they came up in a playlist or on the radio! But after seeing him and his gal on their big night and putting his music to his face, I’m all the way in. I’ve been listening to his most recent albums all day and truly love most every song. Totally hooked!
 
Current favorites are She Wouldn’t Be Gone and Who Are You When I’m Not Looking.
But, of course, you can never go wrong with Hillbilly Bone. Ha ha.