Thursday:) This Is My Little Town~ McKinney

“I live in my own little world. But its ok, they know me here.” ― Lauren Myrac

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This morning was the first Art Club of McKinney meeting  after our summer break. I love the August meeting because it’s Show and Tell day. Each member or guest introduces themselves, tells what art mediums they use, and brings some examples to talk about. A few of my favorite artist friends…

After our meeting, a large contingent from the meeting went over to The Pantry Restaurant    On the square.for more food and socializing. There’s always a little shopping on the way back to your car.

I always stop at the Visitor’s Center to say hello to Miss Beth. She’s such a sweetie and always has her finger on the pulse of McKinney. If Miss Beth doesn’t know about it…it ain’t happenin’.

This is not a natural stance. I make her pose this way…my open arms request. It’s an inside joke. 

My good friends at Sweet Spot Bakery are always baking up something sweet and special. 

It’s difficult for me to resist a quick stop at the Samaritan Inn Thrift Store on my way home. I generally find several treasures. A beautiful hand painted ceramic plate, two pale pastel purple wine glasses to paint, and a lovely glass candy dish. (My buddy, Miss Bella, looking on in admiration of my bargain hunting skills.)

I stopped to visit my neighbor, Diane, before rounding the corner home. My good friend, Karen, stopped by this evening to drop off her little fishy, Baby. I’m fishy sitting for her for a couple of days. I am the “Pet Whisperer” of McKinney. Dogs, cats, now fish. I’m amazing!

So many friends, so many things to do, this is my little town. I love it here!

“I live in my own little world. But its ok, they know me here.” 

― Lauren Myrac

Oh yes, it was pretty hot here today. It’s Texas…it’s summer…it’s hotter than 

H-E- double hockey sticks.

Super Busy Sunday:) Krewe of Barkus Dog Parade

“Joyful, joyful, joyful, as only dogs know how to be happy with only the autonomy

of their shameless spirit.” 

― Pablo Neruda

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A wonderful afternoon on the Square in downtown Mckinney. The streets were packed with packs of dogs and their owners for the Krewe of Barkus Mardi Gras Dog Parade. The theme this year was literary characters. Dogs and owners dressed as characters from famous books. Mitchell Park was teeming with vendors and visitors, music and marvelous costumed contestants.

This was the 13th annual parade, founded and coordinated by my friend, Blynda Christian, is a McKinney tradition. Hundreds of people and doggies descended on the square to participate in or watch the parade. It was a gorgeous sunny day.

   
    
    
   
   
 
The best part was, I had the privilege and honor of being one of the three judges for the second year in a row. It was very fun, but very difficult to choose amongst all the creative costumes and adorable dogs.

  
 
A Great Dane Day was had by all! Especially me!

  
Thanks for the photo, Michael Murphy.

Friday: Farewell to a Special Friend

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. ~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie
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Day 2 of my humility challenge which reminds me to share and encourage others. Therefore, I’d like to tell you a little bit about a wonderful woman who has been such a vital part of making McKinney the best city in the country to live.

This morning, there was a farewell reception for Barbara Johnson, who has been the executive director of the Heard-Craig Center for the Arts for the past fifteen years. Many friends, dignitaries and local residents packed the Heard-Craig Carriage house to say goodbye and good luck to a lovely lady who shared a wealth of knowledge and endless time with McKinney residents and visitors. Barbara is retiring and she and her husband are moving to Colorado.

The first time I met Barbara, several years ago, she gave me a personal tour of the Heard-Craig House. By the time I left, I felt that I knew everything about the house, the family, and the rich history of McKinney. But, I also felt like I made a new friend. That is a special gift. Over the years, Barbara Johnson has been a great friend to the city of McKinney and all who have had the pleasure of meeting her.

Mayor Brian Loughmiller was honored to present Barbara Johnson with a special award from the city and wish his friend the best of luck.

Thank you Miss Barbara. We love you and are going to miss you so much. Bless you and best wishes!

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. ~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie

Saturday: Several Extraordinary Women

“I was not born to live up to society’s expectations of who I should be but rather I define my own individuality and my uniqueness for I chose to follow the path of being an extraordinary instead of just being ordinary.”
― Elizabeth E. Castillo
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I had the pleasure of attending a book signing at Sharla’s on the Square today. The book is called “McKinney Women Making a Difference,” and several of the women sharing their stories happen to be friends and neighbors of mine who have also made a difference in my life.

Erin Botsford, Sheila Johnson, and Stephanie Henry Ricchi have been
neighbors and good friends to me over the years, and indeed are courageous and extraordinary women. I am honored to know them. The other nine women are also talented women who have made a difference in our community and are wonderful role models. What they all have in common is, they appreciate their blessings and have felt the need to help others. They have chosen “to follow the path of being an extraordinary instead of just being ordinary.”

Sheila Johnson, Erin Botsford, and Maylee Thomas-Fuller

After my visit, I felt motivated and encouraged to continue my writing, and perhaps one day soon, I’ll be sitting at my own book signing, motivating others. I’d like to think that I am unique and extraordinary and not just ordinary. There are so many friends to make, lives to be a part of, and stories to share.

Friday Fire and Brimstone

“There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.”
― Vincent van Gogh
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I’m not sure what brimstone is, but if it is anything as spectacular as the fabulous raku pottery that was being fired this evening at SPARC (St. Peter’s Artist Run Community), then you can see that “there may be a great fire in our soul.”

SPARC celebrated their grand opening this evening with guest potters, including Kym Owens from Sunset Canyon Pottery, Steve Macias, Laura Canfield, and other local potters.

Steve, with the help of other potters, demonstrated outdoor raku firing all evening, while inside, beautiful pottery was on display, and potters were on hand to share their creative expertise.

It was a warm McKinney night, the kiln was crazy hot, the company warm and friendly, but the artists, potters and friends enjoyed a wonderful evening of creativity.

SPARC is located at 405 N. Sherman Street, McKinney, TX 75069 and can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sparc405. There offer weekly hand-building, private wheel and pottery classes, workshops, parties, date nights and girls night out.

Steve Macias is an amazing potter.

Local artists display their work.

Tuesday: Taking Time To Say Thank You

When a man becomes a fireman his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work.
~Edward F. Croker
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The charming seniors at Towne Creek Apartments hosted their second annual appreciation lunch for the McKinney firefighters. They spent the morning decorating, cooking, baking and preparing for the festivities. Everyone cheered each time another group of firemen and administrators stopped by. It was nice to see the handsome men in blue for a celebration instead of the many emergency situations. Yes, it was nice to say thank you.

After sharing a wonderful lunch of homemade salads, beans, pasta, pies, cakes and some delicious Dickey’s barbecue, there was a ton of yummy food left over. So, we packed it all up in dozens of containers and Miss Nelma and I drove over to three different fire stations that were unable to attend the lunch, and dropped of a huge bag of food. Each station was extremely appreciative.

Firefighter Rice over at Station#1 and Miss Nelma.

Firefighter Hendricks at Station #2

A group photo with the guys at Station #5. These are my guys. They’ve seen many a brownie or cupcake.

It was a full day of appreciation and saying thank you to those who do so much for us. Thanks guys and gals in blue!

Montage Monday: happy St. Patrick’s Day Y’all!

A WISH FOR A FRIEND

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!
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Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Y’all. (Combination Irish/Texas expression.) here’s another week in a peek. I already have a host of friends that never ends…so wishing the same for you!

Friday Friends, Art, and More Friends

“Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.”
― Charles Lamb
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Yesterday was yet another busy day. I went to my Zumba class at 8:30, changed really quickly and ran, (actually drove) over to the Heard Craig for the monthly Art Club of McKinney meeting. I missed some of the 9:30-10 meeting, but arrived in time for the guest demonstrator.
Program: Darla Bostick, “Dramatic Watercolors”
Darla gave an informative and humorous demo of using acrylic paints with a watercolor technique.

Very interesting.
After the meeting, a bunch of us went over to Snug for lunch. It was a beautiful day, so we sat outside and enjoyed one of the rare warm days we’ve had lately. I have the nicest friends!

I walked around the square and visited with friends at Sweet Spot bakery and Art on the Veranda. My car was filthy, so I stopped at the car wash! drove home and ran in, put on my gym shoes and went for a walk. Half way through my walk, I ran into my neighbor Debbie. She said her daughter, Kat, was home from college and would love to see me. Another couple hours visiting and chatting. I finished my walk, getting home around 7:30.

Well, that was around eleven hours of running around with friends and having fun. Yep, I keep busy, talk a lot of nonsense, but my nonsense is respected and actually…it’s expected.

Theme Song Thursday: Community ( This one’s cute! )

“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”
― Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist
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The second Tuesday evening of every month, a really cool group gets together here in our awesome city. It’s called McKinney Creative Community. It’s a pot luck dinner and networking group of artists, writers, dancers, musicians, educators, etc. (You can find it on Facebook. Everyone’s welcome.)

We now have a permanent home at SPARC, a neat old house where creative classes are taught. We bring food to share, do a lot of socializing, then have a meet and greet, where we introduce ourselves and say what’s new and good in our lives. I’ve met a lot of new and interesting people here, and of course, I always make my famous brownies.

I just love McKinney and all the talented, creative, and loving people that make up our city. There is a true sense of “community” here, and everyone is welcome.

It was a beautiful evening and we sat outside and chatted and shared.

There was so much delicious food that I even had left over brownies to take home. Seeing as I kinda quit eating sweets, I took a few over to the kids next door and then took the rest over to my usual brownie drop off location, Fire Station 5.

I picked up the outside lobby phone and pressed Station 5. “Hi, it’s Toni with some brownies.” A quick reply of, “I’ll be right there,” followed.

I asked if I could take a quick picture for my blog, and Firefighter Stephens said, “I believe we’ve done this before.” I said, “Yep, and we’ll be doing it for a long time.” He said it was perfect timing, as they had just eaten and hadn’t had dessert.

I love my community!

Sunday Sermon, Sinners and Some Sweet Stuff

“In life I would much prefer to be sinned upon than the sinner. It is easier, vous comprenez? With the clear conscience one sleeps very well. The sinner may deny it… but in his heart he knows. He does not deserve to be happy.”
― Nikki Sex, Karma
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Today’s Gospel was from The Gospel is from St. Matthew 4:1-11. Father told us how after Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the desert, the devil tempted him in three ways, but Jesus resisted temptation and remained faithful. The devil doesn’t tempt us when we are strong, but waits until we are weak, hungry, thirsty and exhausted. My interpretation is that it’s pretty easy to be good, honest and faithful when everything is going well, but it takes a special person and all your strength to stay on the right path when everything is going wrong.

Sometimes I feel that a sermon is speaking directly to me. With the help of my family, many friends and faith, I have been able to stay strong. Unconditional love amazingly can get you through anything. A clear conscience helps too. (Karma- you get what you deserve.)

Now, for the sweet stuff. After Mass, I met some friends at Snug on the Square for breakfast. It was gloomy morning, but by afternoon, the sun peeked out and warmed up the air and everyone’s spirits. I usually hang out at Sweet Spot bakery afterwards, having a cup of tea and a chat with Miss Kathy, the owner and good friend. It was just about closing time, so she asked if id like some cinnamon rolls to take home. I don’t eat too many sweets, but I said if she had anything she’d like to share, I’d take it over to my senior art friends friends.Well, she packed up two big boxes filled with cupcakes and cookies.

I stopped at Towne Creek on my way home, rang a few bells, and invited the ladies down for an impromptu tea party. My quick ten minute drive-by turned into a 2 1/2 hour gabfest. I even ate a huge peanut butter cookie. (I was weak and the temptation was too much- little sermon joke.) We still had several extra cupcakes even after everyone took one home for an evening snack, so I knocked on a few doors and offered cupcakes and brownies to other residents. (Thanks Miss Kathy and Miss Elizabeth.)

That was some pretty sweet stuff! I came home and went for a double long walk around the neighborhood.
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Yep, I had a good Sunday. “In life I would much prefer to be sinned upon than the sinner.”