East Texas Fall

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and were able to spend some quality time with your family! I was scheduled to work the night before & Thanksgiving night, so I missed the big family gathering. But, I made up for it this weekend by seeing some of the family. :~)

Saturday morning I woke up early and headed to Canton . . . Yep, it was the December First Monday Weekend!!!! (which means TONS of Christmas stuff for sale) For those of you who aren't from this area, First Monday Weekend is a HUGE (I'm not sure that word is big enough to describe this) trades day/flea market/antique store/craft show . . . in Canton, TX. Vendors come from all over the 1st weekend of each month to sell stuff. Growing up, my Mema & Papa Joe had a candle dipping booth on the grounds. Back then, it was maybe a tenth of the size that it is now. And, there was NO air conditioning/heating in any of the pavilions. In fact, I don't really remember there being buildings. It was just rows & rows of booths. Well, things have definitely changed - mostly for the better - there! When I got to Canton, I picked up my Papa Joe, and we set out in the 1st of many buildings. We had a great time talking while we shopped for Christmas gifts. At lunch, my uncle & his wife came out, and we all had a nice lunch at one of the local restaurants. Then, it was back to the grounds for the next building! There's NO WAY to get through it all in one day, so we quit around 3 so I could get on the road before it started getting dark.

That evening, I went to my Mamma Granny & Papa Art's house. Papa Art fixed his specialty - crappie (YUMMY) - for supper that night. After we were all stuffed, we decorated their Christmas tree and watched the OSU/OU game (sorry cowboys!). Sunday morning, we had a huge breakfast and went to church. After a quick sandwich for lunch, I hit the road again for my final stop.

My Grandaddy wasn't home for me to visit, so I started back home. Saturday evening, I'd picked up a couple of poinsettias for my Mema & Granny Sue's graves. I stopped by Mema's on Saturday before going to my Granny's. After all, being my Christmas Guru, she needed something Christmas-y there! :) So, Sunday afternoon, I was able to put one on my Granny Sue's and get back home earlier than expected . . . or so I thought.

I'm not sure if you've seen the movie Cars or not, but there's a line in it that makes me laugh every time I hear it. A minivan (can't remember his name) has just gotten a GPS system installed, and he says, "Now we'll NEVER be lost again!" Well, I'm here to tell you that yes, you CAN get lost with a GPS system. As a friend of mine says, you just won't "stay lost" with the GPS. :-) (I'm sure you can guess where this is going.) I forgot which highway I was on as I left the cemetery. Thinking I was on 17, I turned left knowing it would take me to 69. Well, HWY 17 does take you to HWY 69. FM 182, however, does not. Good times. Once my GPS found out where I was (backwoods of East Texas) and where I wanted to go (home in Ft Worth), it planned out a route. If you've ever used one of these devices, you know that they are non-discriminate in the roads they choose. If it's mostly paved, it counts! That's what I got to travel down for about 45 minutes on my way back to HWY 69. Honestly, most of the roads (& I use that term loosely!) were one car width wide WITH 90 degree turns every few hundred yards. Nothing if not exciting to navigate this area of Texas!! The positive out of that (besides getting a good laugh at myself) was the scenery. The trees were beautiful, and being that I was the only person for miles, I could stop along the path whenever I wanted to snap a couple of pictures. :~)

All in all, it was a nice weekend. I hope you're able to take some time over the next few busy weeks to just sit for a little while and absorb all the joy and wonder that the Christmas season brings!