Fishing in the Pond

Kristin and Johnny have two ponds and a creek on their twenty acres. Here Skylar and Ella are trying their luck at fishing. They didn't catch anything but Kristin and Johnny caught sunfish in this pond last summer.

Cute Puppy

Skylar and Ella playing with a puppy by Kristin and Johnny's pond.

Feeding the Cows

Terry has a bucket full of tubular shaped cow feed.
As you can see, Ella was not at all afraid of the cows. She didn't seem to mind
the cow slobber, either.

Do you know how big a cow's tongue is? Skylar and Ella are up close and personal with it.
Kristin has done this before.
Todd was trying to feed this one, but she knew her "sisters" were over at the trough eating the rest of what was in the bucket and she wanted to join them.

Running Home for Dinner

On March 10th at 11:45 p.m. Todd, Annette, Skylar, Ella and Claudia Starr arrived in Palestine. On Sunday, the 11th we went out to Maydelle to feed our friend, Terry's, cows. These are registered British Whites - they are a creamy white with just a little bit of black. When we got there, they were out in the pature doing what cows do. Terry started whistling and calling and they came a'running!

After - The Floor is Finished

I love the look of the new floor. It gave the house a warm, country feeling that goes very well with our outdoor surroundings.

New Flooring - Before and During the Work

The kitchen, breakfast area, formal dining room and entry way all had white ceramic tile that was really showing signs of wear. So I chose an attractive laminate to cover it. First they put down a thin pad and then they laid the boards.

Across the Red River

I took the pictures of the casinos while visiting the Louisiana Boardwalk Outlet Mall. These pictures of the mall were taken from the parking lot of the El Dorado Casino.

Did Elvis use this dressing room?

He could have!! I had heard that there was a tour available at the Municipal Auditorium so we went inside to check it out. We were the only ones on the tour that day and the ladies took their time showing us around. These dressing rooms are still used today when a performer is booked here. In 1960 Elvis was scheduled for his last performance at this auditorium. So many tickets were sold the show was moved to the county fairgrounds. He performed and the crowd went wild. There were other acts to follow him and the story goes, that to get the crowd quiet so that the other performers could come on stage, an announcement was made that "Elvis has left the building". The halls were decorated with pencil sketches of some of my favorites: Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Dolly Parton, Charlie Pride, the Everly Brothers and Marty Robbins, just to name a few. I loved the tour and hearing the stories that were shared with us.

Elvis Presley and James Burton

In front of the Municipal Auditorium are these statues of Elvis Presley and James Burton. Everyone knows who Elvis is, but I doubt any of you are familiar with James Burton. He was a backup guitarist who accompanied many performers, including Elvis.

Municipal Auditorium on Elvis Presley Ave.

Construction on the Municipal Auditorium started in 1926 and it was completed in 1929. This building was built to honor World War 1 veterans. It was the home of the "Louisiana Hayride", a Saturday night radio show broadcast across the U.S. from 1948-1960. Elvis Presley is just one of the artists who got his start in this auditorium.

The Red River

The Red River separates Shreveport and Bossier City. The color of the water is a muddy red. The population of this metropolitan area is over 375,000. We were impressed with the clean air and riding through the streets of Shreveport what a clean city it is.

Casinos on the Red River

This part of Shreveport, LA is similar to Laughlin, NV - a little slice of Las Vegas. However, in LA the casinos must be in the river. So the hotels are built on the edge of the river and the gambling casino is actually a boat in the river. When you are in the hotel lobby you walk up a slight incline to enter the casino. However, in LA absolutely no one under the age of 21 is allowed in the casino. There are guards posted at the casino entrance to check IDs.

Louisiana Rest Area

As we have traveled around the country we have encountered some utilitarian rest areas and some very pretty ones. This was one of the pretty ones - even in January it was very inviting. I'm sure spring, summer and fall it would be very pretty.

43rd Wedding Anniversary Trip

Sorry for the delay in posting to my blog. I've been experiencing some technical problems, but thanks to my brother, Doug, I believe we have overcome them.

January 25th we celebrated our 43rd anniversary by taking a two-day trip to Shreveport, Louisiana. It's just a two-hour drive from Palestine to Shreveport through some very pretty country. Louisiana is the Pelican State as you can see on this sign at the rest area at the state line.