Here in Texas, we have several Christian TV Channels and very often you can watch and listen to Bill & Gloria Gaither and their "family" of singers. In the photo, that is Bill Gather waving his hand and to the right of him is Mark Lowry.

In our church congregation and in choir, we have often sung songs written by Bill & Gloria and my favorite is probably Because He Lives which is especially appropriate at Easter. (Bill wrote this song after the birth of his son.)

The Gaithers are based in Indiana where their studios are located but they travel extensively giving concerts. Their concert tapes are not only available on TV but can be purchased online or at Christian bookstores.

One person associated with the Gaithers is Christian singer/songwriter/comedian Mark Lowry. On a tape we were watching tonight, he talked about summer camp in Nacogdoches, just up the road from us - the Oldest Town in Texas. I see that Mark was born in Houston but more importantly, I learned from his website that he has ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder.

Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover Home Edition on ABC also has ADHD. Both these people are very cognizant of how hard it is for young people with ADD to focus and to learn.

So, not only are these people entertaining us, they are reaching out to educate and assist others.

Particularly on Saturday evenings, we like to listen to Bill & Gloria Gather's Homecoming as it is so calming and relaxing! Sunday evenings, we watch Ty Pennington and his Design Team build a new home in seven days for a special family.

These are programs that are interesting and fun to watch! So, why would you have CNN or any non-stop news channel going to make you miserable these days?

http://www.gaither.com
http://www.marklowry.com
http://www.abc.com
http://www.typenningtonstyle

Fall Festival Time!

How to Follow The Seasons in Texas

When I was a kid in Toronto, my upper floor bedroom window overlooked our backyard. When it was fall, the leaves fell off the maple tree. That started in mid-October. Later, in December, when it snowed, the branches of the lilacs, hedges and the maple were trimmed in white. It was beautiful . . . from the window! The ground was a blanket of white.  By Christmas, it looked just like a Courier and Ives greeting card. 

Of course, in order to go outside, we had to bundle up and there would be a muffler (or scarf) tied across your nose and mouth, because it was COLD outside! 

Come Easter, it was still not too green but when May came, the lilacs were blooming and we would cut those and bring a bouquet inside for my birthday. 

Our roses in Ontario started blooming late June and that last rose of summer was in September.

By late May and early June, there were colorful flowers (annuals and perennials) in our rock gardens and some bushes were in bloom.  Summer was colorful and then, of course, autumn rolled around again. 

So, by looking out the window, you knew pretty much what time of year it was. 

In Texas, even after almost twelve years, I still find myself looking at the calendar to see just what season we are in. 

So, when we have a Fall Festival, that tells you it is autumn on the calendar. People – like me - from other areas are reminded of their Oktoberfest, their hayrides, bazaars and so we organize them here. 

A really big difference is Thanksgiving! In Canada, it is the second Monday in October and here in United States, it is the last Thursday in November.  People often ask why this is and the answer has to do with when the harvest is.  The Canadian crops are all in long before here in the South.  Of course, Thanksgiving is when we give thanks for the fine crops we have harvesting. 

I think that most people appreciate what they remember from their childhood and so, even in Texas, we have many people from many areas, all honoring their roots. 

In the summer of 2002, our pastor took a summer vacation and left the suggestion for Keith & me to sing Four Strong Winds during a special service. Keith was unsure of the song as it went back to his Aruba Gap - the years he and Jayne and family lived in Aruba. 

So, I set up the words for us. I sang the verses and we sang the chorus together. I have always been happy to give our Texas friends a little taste of true Canadiana!

In 2005, CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)  declared this song the "most essential piece of Canadian Music"! 

Legendary Canadian  singer-songwriter, Ian Tyson is 75 years old today. How can that be? It just doesn't seem that long ago we would go to the coffee houses of Toronto Downtown and listen to Ian & Sylvia sing melodious folk songs of the late 50s and early 60s - before the "British Invasion".

If you go to YouTube.com, and input "Ian Tyson - Four Strong Winds",  you will be able to sit back and reminise about the good old days of folk music. This beautiful song has been covered by many major country and pop artists over the years.

The Calm After The Storm - Getting Back into Routine

There are signs all over of Hurricane Ike's wrath but in our immediate area almost everyone has their power back. We are all trying to catch up on laundry and general household chores. We have pretty much assessed any damage and many of us are very blessed not to have too much other than downed tree limbs. Those of us who really just had disruption of our routines are very thankful.

People are feeling perhaps lethargic, a little down, because we have all been through a lot of disruption. 

Some evacuees are still here and worse, some have nothing to go back to. Most of them feel they have been treated well and we have tried to make them feel at home. Perhaps some will re-locate to East Texas!

In other areas, particularly the Texas Coast, the various services have been tremendous and Gov. Rick Perry has had teams of people really on top of the situation. He commented that Texas will be a role model for other states going through disasters. Of course, "THIS IS TEXAS!"

Centers for help here in East Texas are shutting down and hopefully, schools will re-open on Monday so the children and their teachers can get back into routine. "Buddy" the Lhasa has very much missed the School Bus at 6:45 a.m. and 3:25 p.m. that stops for our neighbor's granddaughter.

Yes. Routine! Good old routine! We like it a lot more than we are willing to admit!

Hurricane Ike - Still Causing Misery

There is a very old expression, “After three days, fish starts to smell”. Hubby and I try to live by the motto. When we visit, we try to be there three days or less and when someone visits us, we try to make their visit last only three days. (With due respect, surely they would want to visit Houston, Dallas or Shreveport while they are here!) 

It is a simple fact of life that when we invite those from outside our immediate family to stay in our home, it wears very thin or as they say today, “It gets old”. We all do our very best to get along with our spouse and if we have children at home, with them too, of course. We have our quirks, our routines, our own ways. But we get used to each other. Or, we divorce. 

So, when people – either out of the kindness of their hearts or because they felt it was the “right thing to do” – invited friends and family into their homes to be sheltered from Ike, they learned. 

Hurricane Ike turned off the power in this area on Saturday and today, Thursday, in our own East Texas town, just about one-third of the population are still without electricity. Since those evacuees came here on Thursday or Friday, in some cases, “guests” have been here for one week now. 

Many people who have come here from the Texas Gulf Coast have not been given the word to go back home. Worse, some have nothing to go back to. 

In some large parking lots, there are vehicles which look as though they are parked there with evacuees living in them.

Hotels were filled long ago, people are running out of money and patience. 

Today’s newspaper relates strife and crime. Our streets are still full with drivers from other areas unsure of how to get places. Of course, there were traffic lights out of service and that was a real challenge! 

We still have many evacuee shelters; schools are closed (some being used for shelters, meals, etc.) and we still have National Guard at various parking lots doling out ice, bottled water and meal packs. 

Everywhere there are service trucks – electric, cable, telephone, clean-up, tree services. 

Some of the advice is not getting through because people who need to know what is going on have no way to hear the messages. People should be leaving their front porch lights on so workers will know when power is restored. Garbage may be put in re-cycle as well as regular barrels for pick-up. If you need some water, here is where to get it. Don’t mix tree limbs with bagged garbage. The city is organized, but not everyone is able to receive the word. 

Grocery stores and restaurants are to capacity. 

So, people are starting to smell like the fish out of water on the beach. Some figuratively, some literally! 

Worse, people are starting to hate the situation so bad, they are causing harm to others, as in stabbing, and in one case, two pots of boiling vegetables were hurled at in-laws. 

Our physiologists, social workers, firemen and policemen, maintenance people and government employees are now very much overworked. 

A good place for all of us with power is inside our homes and going out after dark is probably a very bad idea. 

Please, Dear God, let this come to an end and bring us all back to “normal”. 

[Ed.note: Even in a power outage, gas burners may be lit with a match and used for cooking.]

Hurricane Ike - Still Causing Grief

For many in East Texas, Hurricane Ike is still very much on our minds. Traffic seems to be just about double what it would normally be. Fast food restaurants are jammed to capacity. (Sonic Drive-In's coffee machine was down this afternoon.)

Probably one-half of the people in this area are still without power. Some have generators but they just power up a few appliances. Crews are everywhere working non-stop to get things up and running. 

There are central depots to pick up ice, water and meal packs and the National Guard is still at work for these efforts.

Many areas are worse off than we are. We are truly blessed to have our power. 

At the beauty shop, where power had just come back this morning, I told one lady I was sorry about the problems with her beach house in Galveston. 

"Oh, there is no problem. There is no beach house!"

She was very brave to be making light of it, probably because it is not her permanent residence. When the insurance company told her hubby they would be out to assess damages he told them there was no need as there was nothing to assess at the property.

Most area schools are still out and some are still being used as Evacuee Centers. Many people have not yet been given the green light to go back to the Gulf Coast and of course, some have nothing to go back to.

So, our area is not out of the woods yet and we sure hope and pray our power stays on because down the street, they are without.

 

Powered Up Again!

After 57 hours without, power to our house is up and running and we hope and pray it stays that way. Many, many people in our area are still without! 

Because we have been without TV news, we really only know what we have been told over the phone. 

Guess we are out of touch with radio and do not have the right equipment to receive news. A few of our gadgets died, including a TV. Hubby and I really do try to keep up with everything and probably that was the most stressful thing for us: not knowing what was going on. 

The cell phone was super for sending and receiving texts and calls from friends and family. 

If you have been reading previous messages in this blog, then you will understand that we are now “back from our luxurious vacation”. 

On the up side, we loved how young Wil (five and a half years old) was watching and worrying for us. We had many calls from his Grandmother in Ontario. They were keeping us updated from CNN. Thanks for all your prayers from Ontario and Alberta, Iowa, California, Michigan and Ohio! 

Thanks Elaine, for calling Swiss Chalet to deliver the BBQ chicken to us from Toronto, even if only in our dreams! 

Now, we have not watched the news yet, but we are sorry that apparently Ike continued on up, all the way to Ontario! Sorry to those of you who received residual. 

Thanks to all the folks who made it a little easier on us: Raul with ice, Daisy with ice, Armando with the clean-up, and to anyone I am forgetting. Thanks to all the employees who were able to open up essential services quickly. Simple gestures were what we needed. 

We had no church on Sunday – that is another story: first time! 

Will try to post again with some photos of our area in East Texas. We are blessed in that we received very little damage: mostly downed tree limbs. We are in a brick house and it seems to have survived nicely. 

I must stress to you up north that our area was an evacuation area where people came to be safe and we actually probably took a little bigger hit than originally expected. 

I wore my Big Bear Lake (California) 1991 – 1992 Survival Shirt on Saturday – in memory of my niece, Rosalyn who loved California as much as I love Texas.

What I Really Miss About Canada!

Just a quick update on Hurricane Ike. As you know, it has made landfall at the Texas Coast and for us in East Texas, this means possible tornados and major winds and rain.

On our property, some branches are already down but the wind is now picking up. The report is that there is a tree down on the loop as you exit to the highway. As my computer is right by a front window, I will be signing off. 

For those of you up north who do not experience this, we should now be in an inner room without windows. The center bathroom is the safest but a little confining. We have a fairly safe middle room where Keith put the wood up over the only window and we hope that holds up well. While we still have power right now, experience tells us that will be out eventually. We have lots of provisions - bottled water, canned goods, snacks and even a little chocolate! We have a small portable TV, radio, and batteries. The local station is continuing around the clock (with our friend minding the store). It is also accessible on radio.

Our family are all hunkered down and should be safe, especially Meghan in South Korea, David & Nadine in Los Angeles, Louise in Cleveland (Ohio), and the "Gang" in Iowa. 

Buddy, the Lhasa is sticking right with us and anytime he goes out, he will be on a lead. All fencing is wooden and I see our neighbor's wide gate is already down. Ferocious is the best word to describe it outside.

So, it is for times like this that I really miss my basement. Houses in this area are built on flat  concrete slabs - ours extends out to a patio which is covered. 

Yup: when people ask me what I miss most about Canada, I try to be light about it. Of course, I miss seeing friends and relatives. Some things have changed over the twelve years but when we visit, I always turn on CBC and CTV and Global and watch familiar faces and hear my accent. (Down here, people still think I have an accent, eh? Up there, people think I have a Texas accent.)  Make no mistake: I LOVE CANADA!

But when people ask, I try to keep it simple! I tell them what I really miss is Swiss Chalet BBQ Chicken Restaurant and MY BASEMENT!

Oh, and to my special friend,  five-year-old Wil. Thank you so much for your note which is printed out for us to read today.  Keep praying for us. Lots of love from Martha in Texas!

Ike Evacuees Driving Up From Houston to East Texas for Shelter

Hunkering Down Waiting for Hurricane Ike

Well, it’s just after ten o’clock in the evening in East Texas and we are hunkering down, waiting for Hurricane Ike. 

Missed scrapbooking tonight and napped instead. All day we have been running errands, doing laundry, stuff you do when you think you might not have power or land phone service. 

At eight o’clock we drove up to the drug store and then swung around to buy lotto tickets. One gas station/variety store was closed; possibly they were out of gas. There are 4,000 evacuees in our area. 

The TV station is keeping us posted live and my friend has gone back to be there tonight while her family hunkers down at home. Our granddaughter was called out. Our representative, Louis Gohmert, is home from Washington. Everyone is at the ready. 

They are saying we are better prepared than we have been in the past and it looks as though we are. That, of course, depends upon how bad it gets. 

Our neighbors across seemed to have gone up to their church which would be an Evacuee Center. The folks directly across are going to sit up and wait and the folks at the corner have all their friends in for shelter and fellowship or as some call it, a Hurricane Party! 

Everyone has been calling to see if we are home and okay and our son was a little perturbed that we were not here when he called! It is always annoying when you cannot quickly locate the parents, isn’t it? 

Hopefully, we won’t have any damage, especially since I badgered Hubby to board up a side window. If you go back through my blog posts, you’ll find that we are hopefully just going to have another luxurious vacation! 

Worried About Martha in Texas

I have already printed my best e-mail message today and am enlarging it and putting up to make me feel good today. 

It is from my five-year-old friend – coming up to six, mind you – William. 

Few of us can say we have such a beautiful friend as his Grandma! But today, let me focus on William, sometimes called “Wil”. He lives just east of Toronto, off the 401 Highway where I lived before moving to East Texas. 

Wil wants to be a meteorologist when he grows up. When Grandma picks him up in the morning to shuttle him to school, he gives her the daily forecast. He is already interested and learning about cloud formation. 

I taped our local weatherman two weeks ago (Hurricane Gustav) so Wil could see just how excited and precise these people get when we are on alert for a Hurricane. Now, I haven’t sent that tape, because I can add to it for him tonight (Hurricane Ike). 

We have made friends with one of our meteorologists. This is a “small market” in East Texas and he started here right out of college. The weather here is fairly extreme, making it a good training ground. He is in a major market now and we do hear from him sometimes. He has been promoted to the morning slot now. This fellow has always seen the glass half-full and feels reaching the station at 3:00 a.m. is a small price to pay for the most-viewed slot. And of course, he gets weekends off! 

Back to our youngest meteorologist, William! Presumably because of his family using the term, “Martha in Texas”, he got to calling me that. Even on the telephone, he will say, 

“Hello, Martha in Texas!” 

Well Wil’s family wanted us to know that he is worrying about us. He and his family are all praying for us and our friends here, especially that the storm will not be as strong as predicted. 

Now, Wil has the link to the website to watch our local weatherman on his computer, and I think that may be more exciting than a two-week-old tape! 

I hope you have friends like William and his Grandmother because that is just about all you need to keep you going! 

Well, Hurricane Ike is on a path and here we go again. (Are you saying, "Didn't I read this last week?")

“Texas Gov. Rick Perry spurred storm preparations with the declarations in 88 counties. Perry also put 7,500 National Guard members on standby.” – AP 9/9/2008 

I met Governor Rick Perry a few years ago and he was very pleasant and friendly to me – shook my hand like politicians do. I had read in the press about how good the Governor’s hair always looks and sometimes they called him “Mr. Good Hair”. I tell you: Yes, Gov. Perry does have good hair! It is dark, plentiful and every strand is in place! He is a tall, handsome man. He can furl his brow, but prefers a disarming smile. When I saw him, he was dressed in a suit and tie which we don’t see much here in casual East Texas, especially on weekdays. 

If you don’t live in Texas and are ‘way up in the Great White North (That’s Canada, eh?) then you may not realize that President George W. Bush was Texas Governor before he was in the White House. 

So, as long as George W. has been in the White House, Rick Perry has been in Austin at the Capitol Building. Gov. Perry was elected six years ago, so he has been in office eight years now. 

Rick Perry is a fifth-generation Texan, son of a cotton farmer and graduated from Texas A & M University. (We call them “Aggies”.) He served his country in the Air Force and worked with his father on the farm after graduating in Animal Science. 

Whenever the people of Texas are threatened, Rick Perry is always there, generally dressed in jeans and long-sleeved shirt – no cowboy hat. Of course, you knew, he wouldn’t do the hat thing very often! 

Thank goodness, Rick Perry did not choose to get into the Presidential thing yet, because we need him here. 

No matter what kind of trouble you are in – bad weather or otherwise – it is always good to know that someone is looking out for you. For us, that person is Rick Perry, who gives Texans a lot more than good hair!

What Does a Vehicle Say About the Driver?

When I was a young girl in Toronto, families drove sedans or station wagons. Some young people drove sporty cars and only trade’s people like our Eddy’s Gardening Service drove trucks. 

When I got to Texas, I found that a lot of Texans drove trucks, even those who didn’t need them for their work. Some people referred to trucks as “Texas Cadillacs”. People here simply like to drive a truck! Of course, there are lovely, large trucks with four doors and full seating for a family. Of course, to be funny, Hubby says he is waiting for the six-door model . . . 

After I was here for a while, I realized that I too might like something a little more “competitive” for the loops and highways of East Texas. 

We had a station wagon and a four door sedan and we decided it was time for something newer. So, about three years ago, we took the two Ford products and went to the local dealer to trade them. 

I had been bugging Hubby for something a little taller to compete with the other vehicles, so we looked at SUVs. We decided we really only needed one vehicle since we do a lot of stuff together. 

Ford had a nice sale going and we had two models we looked at. It was July and very hot, so the salesman already had the air-conditioning revved up and bottled water ready. So, we took off to our own subdivision for the test drive in the first one. When we got to our area, Hubby turned it over to me and I liked it right away. I took it right into our garage, which is a sharp right turn. It parked on a dime and I had no trouble backing it out again and driving straight out the lane. I was in a great mood, totally giddy about being so nice and high up, off the road, I teased: 

“I am king of the world!” The line from Titanic seemed to fit.  

When we went back to the dealer, they were waiting for us with delicious Drum Sticks – I know you know what that nut covered ice cream treat is. Pretty easy way to sell a car! 

There was another model Hubby wanted to try and we did. Now, that one was a little less money and Hubby made a good case for it. I liked it as well, but perhaps I did not feel quite as “tall in the saddle”. However, once we were back at the drawing board, the paper work resulted in prices almost identical. 

So, the salesman asked which one and Hubby said, 

“Oh, the one my wife likes, of course!” (Is he good, or what?) 

Now, if we lived in Toronto, we would pretty much have to have a smaller car, if only to be able to find a parking place. But, that is part of what Texas is about – lots of space! 

We do have friends who have the trendy cars that do very well gas-wise and I admire them for their giant leap to save the planet. I excuse myself from a “GoreMobile” because I am nervous in small cars. 

I should give a plug for motorcycles also as a few friends have at least one in the family. Those people are more fearless than I. 

These days, I think I know exactly what a vehicle says about the driver. It says that was how much money he or she was willing to spend on transportation. 

As a post script, I have to tell you that one of my favorite college freshmen has a brand new Mustang. I had a Mustang once and I loved it, so I can relate. I also was young once. He is a real Texas-born gentleman and I have known him since I got here. He listened politely when I asked him to, “drive it as though it were a sedan.” His answer? 

“Yes’m.” 

 

 

Gustav Update - Rain & Wind Coming

We are expecting lots of rain and wind to reach East Texas soon.

At home, outdoor items are battened down, flags and banners down, door ornament off; trash and recycle bins are in the garage.

Inside are provisions including spare batteries and simple food. What we anticipate is power outage. What we pray for is no damage to our house or fencing.

We are as ready as we can get and have a portable TV and radio.

Here in town are lots of evacuees and there is a feeling of shelter and preparedness.

Thanks for your prayers!

Vanilla & Rocky Road

When I was young, I knew a chap (that’s Canadian or British for “man”) who had a motto and that motto was a credo for him. His name is Frank and his motto was, “What I say is my problem, how you interpret it is your problem!”

That was pretty strong for a person of 18! I still think that! One thing we really had in common was that we both loved to write!

Over the years I have done articles on purebred dogs, grief, prayer, manners, houses, family, scrapbooking – all pretty Vanilla stuff. He likes to tackle more contentious topics and so I’ll say his flavor would be Rocky Road!

I have thought long and hard about why I write about pleasant stuff and you know, it is probably because I do care how you feel about it. Right or wrong, I want you to like me. That of course, is a fault, but perhaps not a grievous one!

While I was reporting for the Uxbridge Times Journal and turning in a story on a car fire at a Tupperware Party up on Toronto Street, Frank was reporting from Capital Hill in Ottawa on national television. So, for me, writing has been an avocation and for Frank, a vocation.

Hubby and I read the newspaper first thing every morning. Now, we used to read two newspapers every morning, but Houston Chronicle decided it no longer wanted to deliver to our address in East Texas. We watch the local and national news. Our living room – and yours – is front and center. We can watch the Iraq war or catch the odd high-speed car chase in L.A. or Houston. No one forgets watching the horrors of 9-11.

So, I guess my feeling is that there is enough “rocky road” stuff and you might just like to read about what my neighbor’s child said when she got off the school bus today.

Probably because I now live in the Bible Belt, I have really good feelings about my church and all the friends I’ve made there. Perhaps you’d like to hear about our Fall Festival or Mardi Gras Party.

The only Mardi Gras I knew in Toronto was an Airedale Terrier who lived next door! Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” and in Canada, that would be Shrove or Pancake Tuesday. The big difference is that in Texas, we wear purple, yellow and green (with lots of beads). We serve red beans and rice with a gooey cake chaser.

When I first came here, I didn’t think I was any different from the people I was meeting. oddly enough, they thought I spoke a little funny, eh? I have been teased but not maliciously, and most people here want to know more about Canada. I have a few Canadian friends here and occasionally we compare our thoughts on life in such a casual area.

One thing I have never really developed is the taste for the spicy food and I still ask them to, “kick it down a notch and put the sauce on the side, please”.

Probably because I’m a vanilla person!