BBQ Wisdom
We recently discovered... not actually discovered, but tried, Meshack's BBQ in Garland, not too far from us.
We have passed by this place many, many times but never stopped in. Truth be known, there is no "in".
You order through a screen window and then wait for your order to be ready and there is almost always a line of people. It is take-out only or eat it-in-your-car. No tables and no chairs.
The meats are smoked with pecan wood as opposed to hickory and the smell is addicting as you wait for your order.
So while we waited for our BBQ, I sat Lucy on the woodpile. Before long a fella comes over and starts talking with Lucy and me.
He didn't seem to think anything odd about a woman like Lucy sitting on the woodpile waiting for BBQ. Then he says...
"You know the problem with men and women? Women have a vocabulary of 7,000 words and men have a vocablulary of 3,000 words! That's why men and women can't communicate!"
Hmmmm... so what do you think about that Lucy? (As you know, she is a woman of few words).
Lucy figures if men just knew 5 little words they would get along just fine: "Yes, Darling... Whatever you say Darling!"
Meshack's has been written up recently in multiple publications and we felt it was time to give it a try.
We got the dinner which consisted of ribs, brisquet, sausage, potato salad, baked beans and white bread served with regular or hot/spicy BBQ sauce. This is a typical BBQ meal in Texas.
Though I would like to profess to being a vegetarian, this BBQ makes a liar of me. Finger-lickin' good!
And the amazing part is... it comes out of this little shack with no air conditioning thanks to owner Travis Mayes. To read more about his BBQ check out:
http://fcg-bbq.blogspot.com/2009/08/meshacks-bar-b-que-shack.html
Lucy Shops Target
This was Lucy's first shopping experience.
There was a shopping cart out in the parking lot which made it convenient for getting her from the car to the store.
As people were loading their groceries into their cars, they would look, slow down emptying their cart and I suppose were trying to figure out why this crazy woman with all the bumperstickers on her car was hauling this beautiful young woman from the passenger's seat and into a Target cart.
I figured we were OK as long as they didn't call the police or worse!
So with Lucy in the cart and feet in the air, we rolled up to the big red ball.
The big question was... could she safely sit on the ball without falling? Fortunately it was a perfect fit.
Cars slowed as they drove past with a lot of rubber-necking going on.
Lucy was a bit embarrassed but I told her not to worry about it.
One gal stopped and talked for a bit and thought it was great that Lucy was getting out and about.
She got in her car, waved good-bye to Lucy, and drove off with a big smile on her face.
Lucy Goes to the Dallas Arboretum
Probably one of the nicest times of the year in Texas is October and November. The stifling summer heat is now a thing of the past and cooler weather brings people back to the garden.
The arboretum staff does a fantastic job putting together their Pumpkin Village with over 50,000 pumpkins and squash.
It is a delight for young and old alike, so why not take Lucy to the garden?
I invited "crazy woman" Tess to join us on this special day out as I know Tess loves the arboretum and shares in my desire to take Lucy out and about.
As she arrives I am midway in the process of changing Lucy's clothes for the cooler weather.
And yes, we should probably take her hat as the sun is still quite bright.
So off we go in the "lalamobile" to the garden.
Since I am a member, I can get one person in for free.
I tell the admissions clerk that I have two guests but I think I should be able to get them both in on my membership.
She gives me a look and then here comes Tess wheeling Lucy in a cart.
Suddenly the admission clerks are laughing when they see Lucy... and yes, I was able to get her in for free!
Within feet of the admission area is the volunteer desk and what a welcome Lucy got from them! Lots of laughter and chatter about what is happening.
And as I have done before, I explain that Lucy is our friend, and being that it is such a lovely day, we thought Lucy would like to come to the garden.
With that, other visitors to the garden are pulling out their cameras and snapping away while Lucy sat on the counter "talking" with the volunteers.
The one gal was particularly taken by Lucy and proceeded to hold her hand. This made Lucy sooo happy and everyone made her feel so welcome.
A BIG THANK YOU to everyone at the arboretum from Lucy!
Lucy... Volunteer?
Lucy loved the gals who were volunteering at the arboretum and she actually entertained the thought of volunteering herself.
It would get her out of the house, give her something to look forward to and she loved meeting people.
So she tried on the volunteer's hat but then realized there was a major problem... she is unable to speak, and how would she give information?
Of course she could hold the brochures but still... she would be unable to answer questions, so she reluctantly gave up on the idea.
She decided to just spread good will on her visits to the garden.
(Smart decision Lucy!)
Off we go to visit the garden...
It is always good to have a friend to join in your madness, so I invited my good friend Tess to join us at the garden for Lucy's first official day trip. And she was psyched.
I don't think there is anyone who makes me laugh more than Tessie and by the end of the day, my smile muscles were aching!
So off we go with Lucy sitting atop the cart.
Unfortunately I do not have a wheelchair for her.
Now the arboretum does have wheelchairs available but I sure didn't feel right having Lucy use one if someone else might need it.
Actually the cart works quite well as we can stow stuff underneath Lucy and it brings her up to a good height for photos with people she meets!
Lucy was sooooo excited to see the garden!
And if you are wondering why Lucy has no shoes... I'm ashamed to say that the dog peed on them and I threw them out! Guess I will have to look for some shoes before winter arrives.
At peace in nature...
What a glorious morning to sit quietly and listen to the birds chirping in the trees.
We stopped at this out-of-the-way spot at the arboretum and simply enjoyed the moment.
As we are relaxing, a couple gals came along and started laughing when they saw Lucy sitting on the wall. Of course, a conversation ensued.
And weren't we delighted to find that they were both members of the Fort Worth Photography Club.
New found photography friends...
These two gals were delighted to meet Lucy and then we found out that they were members of the Fort Worth Photography Club.
We chatted about photography and then mentioned the Crazy Women's Photography Club to them.
They asked what this was all about and I explained that the club was started this past year after I had retired as many of the nurses I had worked with expressed an interest in photography.
And then we found out that they too are nurses! Now what are the chances of this happening?
I explained the three requirements to joining the club: #1- You must be female, #2- You must own a camera, #3- You must be crazy!
I think by this time they well understood that Tess and I were members in good standing!
After a flurry of photos, we promised to keep in touch in hopes that some of the FW club could join the Crazy Women on an outing at some point in the future.
Working to make the garden beautiful...
We were heading to the pumpkin village and passed by these gardeners busy working. Suddenly they realized that something was amiss and broke into laughter when they saw Lucy.
I can only hope that Lucy understands that it was friendly laughter at seeing her!
Oh no!
We wanted a shot of Lucy sitting amongst the pumpkins on a bale of hay,
so we sat her down and fixed her hat and stepped away to get the shot when all of a sudden she tipped over, fell on her side and caused pumpkins to go rolling.
Sheesh... even the little kids don't cause all of this havoc in the garden. So we quickly uprighted her again and Tess proceeded to replace the pumpkins.
The good news... no pumpkins were injured in this episode and Lucy came through it all a little shaken but with nothing more than an assault to her ego.
So much for the pumpkin caper...
Best Friends
Of course we had to have a shot of the three of us together so as we set up the camera and posed,
people were gathering around watching this nonsense and laughing at the crazy women!
Good thing we don't take this personally.
And Lucy remained her classy self, and never said a word!
Cinderella in the pumpkin patch...
Surely her escapade to the garden must have made Lucy feel like Cinderella!
Never before had she experienced so much attention nor had she felt so beautiful and special.
It was like a dream come true.
Thank you for sharing in Lucy's ongoing story. And... oh yes... much more to come!
Sitting amongst the begonias...
What a lovely place to spend some time in the garden. The begonias were still in full bloom and it was in a dappled shady spot.
Thought we would just hang out and watch the people passing by.
Tessie is so good at gently lifting Lucy and making sure she is comfortable. That must come from her many years as a critical care nurse... strong, gentle, caring.
And Lucy very much appreciates it.
