Texas Panhandle

I have a family connection to the Panhandle of Texas. My mother was born in Amarillo and my dad's family has lived there for generations. In fact, while I was visiting my family recently in Pampa, my uncle gave me some family information that I thought was interesting. My great, great grandfather, Newton Franklin Locke was born in Alabama but he lived in the panhandle of Texas he was a Texas Ranger for a while and even took part in the Oklahoma Land Rush.

We took a trip to the Palo Duro Canyon as well. I haven't been there since I was a child and it brought back memories of visits there with my grandparents. The Canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level. It is a beautiful place to visit.

Check out the photos from our visit to the panhandle and to Palo Duro Canyon:

http://imageevent.com/deanaj/texaspanhandle?n=0

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. ~John Lennon

In Memory of my Grandparents

Vivian Weckesser Locke

May 6, 1916 - April 22, 2010

John Thomas Locke

July 1917 - January 14, 1985

When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. ~Author Unknown

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. John 14:1-4

Relay for Life

Jessica - First Bank and Trust Relay for Life Team Leaders

We participated in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Montgomery County on April 16-17. Troy's daughter Jessica was a team leader and we are very proud of her for being so committed to raising money to find a cure for cancer. Troy and I donated a chance to "Sail with a Survivor" and Jessica sold almost $1,000.00 in raffle tickets with the winner going with us for a sail on Storyville.

Relay for Life is a 24 hour long event beginning at 7:00 in the afternoon on Friday, April 16th. Each team is a relay that walks around the track at a high school football stadium. The object is to have team members walking for the whole 24 hours. We managed to have members walking most of the time but by about 3:00 in the morning we were just worn out. I can't remember the last time I stayed awake for 24 hours. It sure served as a reminder that we aren't as young as we used to be!!!!

It really is a fun event and we had a great time. The Relay does a lot to honor cancer survivors and that makes it great for Troy and anyone else that is a survivor, giving them a chance to be appreciated and also taking time to honor those that have been taken from us by cancer.

Our team raised $1,800.00 for Relay for Life. We are so thankful for all our friends and family that participated in the event and those who bought raffle tickets and made donations. We just couldn't be prouder of Jessica and the rest of our family for taking time out of their busy lives to help eradicate cancer from our lives.

Troy and Jessica

Cancer is a word, not a sentence. ~John Diamond

There's an App for That!

I've been having fun lately with my iPod Touch. There are many many photo apps that can do some pretty amazing things with photographs. Here are a few examples:

Storyville sailing in Galveston Bay

Same picture turned into a drawing by Zoom Camera app

Orignal image of Snowy Egret (just cropped a little in photoshop)

Same image drawn using SketchMee app

Original image of White Pelicans in Galveston Bay

Same image - altered using PhotoStudio app

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret altered using Pic Grunger

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. ~Ansel Adams

Pampa, Texas

A couple of weeks ago I got one of those phone calls that you know is coming sooner or later but you still hate to get it, just the same. My grandmother, who is 93 years old, had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. The doctors say there is nothing they can do except keep her comfortable. My sister, Stacey, and my two daughters, Shawn and Tory, decided that we needed to take a trip to Pampa, Texas, where my grandmother has lived almost all of her life, to say goodbye.

City Hall - Downtown Pampa, Texas

What a sad reason for a trip. We decided to drive up there. It's a 10 hour drive but we figured that it wouldn't be too bad if we all took turns at the wheel. We set out on a Wednesday evening after work. Even though the reason for the trip was a sad one, it turned out to be a wonderful trip and such a great time spent with my girls and my sister. There is nothing like a good road trip to get in some good quality time.

We made it to Pampa with only one speeding ticket and an overnight stay in Henrietta, Texas. (Stacey will never speed through Decatur again!). We drove straight to the hospital and found our grandmother sleeping quietly. She was amazingly coherent when she woke up to find us there and I think she was very pleased that we made the trip. I find comfort in the fact that one of the first things she said to us was: "it's time". We had a good, but very sad visit with her. The hardest part was when she gave me a necklace and earrings that were given to her by my grandfather. She wanted me to have them and I will certainly cherish them, but it was just really hard to have that moment with her and to know that it was our "goodbye" . I will always remember her as a strong and independent woman. I feel proud to be her granddaughter.

We spent two days with her at the hospital. We also got to take a couple of side trips that were really fun. We had read about a little town called Groom, Texas that is just outside of Pampa. Stacey had heard about a 190 foot tall cross there. We decided that since it was Good Friday, this would be a perfect stop for this trip. Check out the web site: http://www.crossministries.net/ . What a wonderful place. We really enjoyed the stop and especially the reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.

Our next stop was The Big Texas, home of the 72 oz. sirloin steak in Amarillo, Texas. If you eat the 72 oz. steak and the meal, you get it free. Fun place to visit if you don't mind feeling like a tourist in Texas! LOL

The next morning we pointed our car to the south and headed home. This trip was long but short and very sad but also lots of fun.

To live in hearts we leave behindIs not to die.~Thomas Campbell, "Hallowed Ground"

BIG DAY!

Today is a big day for the Jones family. We will close on the sale of our house. One big giant step towards our dream of going cruising. We are both really excited and really nervous at the same time. I'm sure we are going against any prudent financial advice by taking this path. At the same time, we have a dream and it has never felt so close or so tangible!

When we found out that Troy had cancer we felt that our future was so uncertain that we could not continue with our plans for cruising. We spent a year concentrating on defeating the cancer and at least another six months getting Troy healthy again. We decided that the doctors try to kill the cancer AND you with the chemo, radiation and surgery. Thankfully they only managed to kill the cancer. Then, of course, the cancer is trying to kill you too. Once again - God had other plans for Troy.

The lesson was really driven home to us that we only have a limited time on this earth. You know the saying, you only regret the things you didn't do. We are determined that we will follow our dream and see where it takes us. We feel so blessed that we have been given another chance to live life to the fullest. And so, today, we celebrate being one giant step closer to following that dream!

Troy worked really hard on this house. He made it our dream home. We will miss it (until it's time to mow the grass again!)...

Fear not that life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning. ~John Henry Cardinal Newman

If you wait, all that happens is that you get older. ~Larry McMurtry, Some Can Whistle

When your life flashes before your eyes, make sure you've got plenty to watch. ~Author unknown, from a television commercial

We Went Sailing!

Finally, at long last. It was the first time we have had a chance to get Storyville out of her slip this year. We've had a really cold winter and between Troy working on the house and working his real job, there hasn't been much time for any fun.

This weekend was a little different. I don't recall any work, just lots of fun, and it was high time for some sailing and some fun. We led a TMCA cruise to our favorite cruising destination, Double Bayou. There were 12 boats on our cruise and because of the strong north wind, there wasn't much water in the bay. Double Bayou can be a little tricky getting into with a sailboat, especially when there are really low tides.

If you sail you know the saying - if you ain't been aground then you ain't been around. Trust me, this weekend, we got AROUND. Us and the other four sailboats that were with us! Nothing serious, just had to feel our way up the Double Bayou channel.

We had a decent motor sail over on Saturday, got all the boats situated, put our dinghy in the water and opened our first beer of the weekend. Ahhh, sunny weather, a cold beer, a dinghy and a bayou. Life doesn't get much better than that. We had a wonderful time that night with our TMCA friends and our friends at Channel Marker. It was Ernestine's birthday and there was a DJ at the bar and lots of dancing and having fun.

TMCA Cruisers and Cruise Leaders!

Sunday dawned bright and clear and we shared a great breakfast aboard s/v Waltzing Matilda. About the time we headed out for home a nice east to southeast breeze was blowing. After feeling our way out of the channel again, we set sail and headed back to Kemah. It was a beautiful day and the wind cooperated to create a perfect sail all the way home and into the Kemah channel and past the boardwalk, all under sail. Just wonderful!!!

Troy had great news from his doctor last week. The PET Scan was all good and he received the coveted NED (No Evidence of Disease). His doctors seem to feel like the three year mark is a milestone for him and we are very glad to hear that. He will be back for another PET Scan in June.

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens