There is nothing I would rather do on a sunny day than work in the flower or vegetable garden. I love mowing, edging, planting – there’s even a tiny bit of twisted enjoyment in weeding. Digging down in the dirt, finding bad roots, especially dollar grass, then expel them from the warm earth, or turn around and plant them in a different location. I love getting my hands dirty. There is equal satisfaction in vegetables or flowers. But today I was reading an article in the Houston Chronicle about annuals (which you must plant these each year), and perennials (a plant that comes back each year, over and over again). Then they talked about biennials. What the heck is a biennial? I couldn’t even pronounce it. It means taking place every other year. Many plants take two years to grow from seed to fruition, then they die. They put their everything into growing stalks and leaves one year, then flowers and fruit the next year. It takes two years to complete their biological life cycle. I was surprised to hear carrots, broccoli, beets, kale, celery, cabbage, brussels sprouts, parsley, onions, parsnips, caraways, leek, fennel, and more are biennial plants. They grow one year, then we pull them to eat… BUT if we leave them in the ground, they bolt or go to seed. Some hollyhocks, Canterbury bells, forget-me-nots, foxglove, stock (one of my favorites because it smells SOOOO good), Sweet Williams (Dianthus barbatus), and more… are flowers that reseed themselves the second year. Interesting. But I would think that growing biennials in South Texas may be a little different.
Jonathan the tortoise is the world’s oldest known living land animal at 190 years old. Jonathan is blind, has no sense of smell, but his hearing is great, and he loves the company of humans. His favorite foods are cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, apples, bananas, and lettuce hearts. His vet, Joe Hollins says, “In spite of his age, Jonathan still has good libido and is seen frequently to mate with Emma and sometimes Fred… animals are often not particularly gender-sensitive!” According to NPR, Jonathan has actually been hailed as a gay icon for some time. In 2017, caretakers discovered during a medical procedure that Frederica, his mate of nearly three decades, was not actually a female as had been thought since the two were first introduced in 1991 – which explains the name Fred, and their lack of offspring. One caretaker describes him as a charming old gentleman.
Happy Birthday, Wally “Red” Johnson. You are loved more than you know, are the topic of many lovely conversations, and a man of many wonders. ❤️
Congratulations to Brazoria County judges Terri and Marc Holder on their retirement. Congratulations to the staff at El Chico on making such a huge mark on our community. New Year’s Eve was their final day of service, and every single table was reserved. We wish each and every member of their staff much success with the new chapters of your lives. Nancy Pearson, we LOVE you. Luby’s told me that they are open until at least February 5th so get on over there and support them while you can. Way too many changes in our sweet community.
Ted Cruz was recently criticizing Joe Biden for taking a family vacation in St. Croix… although it’s hard to read this as I shiver from cold, and not be jealous of the Biden’s, and everyone else that took a tropical vacation during Christmas… I just wonder if Ted Cruz forgot about his Cancun trip during the February 2021 freeze during all the power outages in Texas, as we bundled and blanketed up, using fireplaces for our only source of heat and praying that everyone on the block had a gas stove so they too could eat hot food… has he not forgotten that his nickname became Cancun Cruz? Several things came to my tiny little mind (I know several of you are thinking that and will email me later, so I figured I’ll be the first to say it.) How about the proverb about those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. How about the pot calling the kettle black. How about the word hypocrite?
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Singer Jimmy Buffett is 76. Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 74. Actor Sissy Spacek is 73. Singer Annie Lennox is 68. Singer Abdul “Duke” Fakir of The Four Tops is 87. America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh is 77. Keyboardist Bob Carpenter with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is 76. Humorist David Sedaris is 66. Actor John Amos of Roots is 83. Guitarist Mick Jones of Foreigner is 78. Singer Tracy Nelson is 78. Actor Maggie Smith of Downton Abbey & Harry Potter is 88.
Singer John Legend is 44. Singer-keyboardist Edgar Winter is 76. Actor Denzel Washington is 68. TV personality Gayle King is 68. Actor Jon Voight is 84. Actor Ted Danson is 75. Singer Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary is 85. Singer Patti Smith is 76. TV host Meredith Vieira of Today & The View is 69. Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 66. Former Today show anchor Matt Lauer is 65. Actor-comedian Tracey Ullman is 63. Actor Anthony Hopkins is 85. Actor Ben Kingsley is 79. Actor Tim Matheson is 75. Singer Burton Cummings of The Guess Who is 75. Bassist Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith is 71. Actor Val Kilmer is 63. Singer-actor Joe McIntyre of New Kids on the Block is 50.
Barbara Walters, American broadcast journalist and television personality, died at 93. Walters published the book How to Talk with Practically Anybody About Practically Anything in 1970. As of 2008, it had gone through eight printings, sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide, and has been translated into at least six languages. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at his home in the Vatican at 95. He stunned the Roman Catholic world in 2013 by becoming the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign. Brazilian born professional “footballer” Pelé, aka Edson Arantes do Nascimento, died at 82. He was named after Thomas Edison and was called the world’s Greatest Living Sport Legend of the 20th century and was also known as the King of Soccer. In 1999, he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which includes friendlies, is recognized as a Guinness World Record. (A soccer friendly is a game or match that does not count.)
A hot fudge sundae and a trashy novel is my idea of heaven. Barbara Walters
TDECU (Texas Dow Employees Credit Union) wants to make a new investment in our community and Lake Jackson, planning a new home branch office on a 5-acre site on Oak Drive behind HEB, with hopes of also adding adjoining community amenities. Their first idea was to move the library to the new location, therefore giving the city of LJ the needed space for expanding city hall and perhaps the police department. Other ideas for the same Oak Drive property include a park, amphitheater, an area for farmer’s markets and other events. Lots of great ideas for our growing downtown 😊 I can’t wait to see how these plans work out for TDECU with the city. Since some of our customers are having a difficult time finding our own downtown office (with all the road construction going on), we will just have to find an even better way for you to get to our office if this happens. Progress! Perhaps breadcrumbs will work. (Since I wrote this, I have heard that after more consideration, TDECU has further plans than just the ones above, now presented to the city…)
A conversation isn’t a competition. Barbara Walters
A 27-year-old Oyster Creek man tried to speed up in order to beat the train at the crossing in the 1200 block of FM 1495, his vehicle was hit by the train, his 12-year-old passenger partially ejected through the windshield and killed. How horrible. Don’t play chicken with the trains. No one wins.
1,600 bats fell to the ground during our recent cold snap (in Houston and Pearland) after they lost their grip and plunged to the pavement, after going into hypothermic shock. Wildlife rescuers picked them up, administered fluids to those that had not died from the fall, and kept them warm in incubators, releasing them this week. 13 bison were killed in a road accident near Yellowstone National Park. More than 6,000 children and teens were injured or killed in shootings in 2022. A Missouri school district has voted to adopt a 4-day school week. So smart.
My alarm doesn’t have a snooze button. It has paws.
There is nothing better than a good bargain. At least, I believe this to be true. Goodwill, the 120-year-old non-profit has launched Goodwillfinds, so you can now find a huge selection of donations available for purchase online. Or go to ShopGoodwill.com which sells quite a few items by auction. We need to recycle more, and dump into landfill less.
To begin with, let me give you a little history. I had just finished reading an article that said every person writing a check should use a gel pen because it’s harder to wash the ink out of the check and change the information. Hmmm. I was not aware that you could wash a check! So, working at the office this past week while we were closed, I was very determined one evening to finish a certain amount of work before I went home. I had just sealed up an envelope from a credit card company, when I decided that I should scotch-tape it shut where no one could steal my check and “wash it.” I’ve never done that before unless I thought licking the glue to close it wasn’t working… I put three strips of tape and made it nearly impossible to get into. Hah, that will show them! Then, as I stuck the stamp on the envelope, I realized that I had put the tear-off portion of the invoice backwards. Hmmm. It was quite difficult to get the check out. I taped it closed very well. So, I had to cut it open from the bottom of the envelope. Sometimes I’m such a waste of my own time.
Listen up on this one. I would really hate you to miss this fun. Two really nice kids have started a waffle truck, Scrumdillyumptious Honey B’s Waffles. They will be hosted by Wine Revue at 219 Parking Way in downtown Lake Jackson on January 7th (this Saturday) from 10am to 4pm. Just imagine gourmet Belgian waffles, breakfast sandwiches and dessert waffles, along with perhaps, a Mimosa or two (champagne and orange juice) from Wine Review. I can’t think of a better way to spend my Saturday. Have a great weekend. Thank you again for reading and shopping with us. WE APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH.
LISA
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
