A Visit To The Texas Prison Museum

We have driven past the the Texas Prison Museum several times and the folks decided to stop in yesterday and take a look around.

The prison museum tells the history of the prison system in Texas.  Mama said it was pretty interesting.  There were many items on display that prisoners have made.

Furniture made by prisoners.

A saw blade with several sketches by a prisoner.

A chess set made out of soap!

Jewelry box made out of match sticks.

A stump carved into several heads.

Old Sparky is on display.  It is the electric chair.

A cell that visitors can explore.  Mama said she felt very closed in just being in the cell.

There were several newspaper articles about the deaths of Bonnie & Clyde as well as this pistol.

The museum has a gift shop and many of the items are made by in the inmates such as leather wallets, some wood items and badges. 

Mama enjoyed the museum.  Dad said it was okay, but it wasn't a must see for him.

The folks ate lunch before they visited the museum.  Dad wanted to try a restaurant that was ranked as number one on Trip Advisor.  The folks had a heck of a time finding it.  GPS told them they had arrived when they were in front of a cemetery.  They kept circling around and finally found it.  The signage was hard to see and the restaurant was in a double wide trailer.  The folks decided to try it anyway because the reviews were so good.  Another family came in while the folks were there and also commented on having a hard time finding it.  Dad said it just shows that social media can really help small places because that is how people are hearing about them.

The restaurant is small. The furnishing is quite simple.  It looks like they probably bought all the table and chairs at garage sales, but it works.  The staff was very nice and checked on the folks several times.

BBQ at Bennie J's Smoke Pit

The folks both ordered ribs and brisket and they both said it was really good  They have not been impressed with BBQ in Texas, but this was by far the best.

We have another Ninja update.  Mama fixed Cornish hens this week.  They were good.  She baked the Cornish hens and then seared them at the end.  That is not the normal technique, but she wasn't happy with how the skin looked without the searing.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Wonders What 2014 Will Be Like

Our Year In Review - Part 3

The second week of August found us in Sycamore, IL which is near Chicago.  Mama loved this small town.  She was able to walk to shops and restaurants. It was here that Buddy, the scooter, came into our lives.  Mama was able to ride Buddy in Sycamore and DeKalb.

Our campground.

 We attended the Mutt Strut where we met Bryn, Scout and their folks, Donna and Chris.  Donna reads our blog and she identified that we were in the town next to her and invited us to the Mutt Strut.  It was a lot of fun!

Us and Bryn and Scout. Yes, another Scout.  BOL!

The folks found a lot of things to do in this area such as visiting Ronald Reagan's boyhood home, John Deere Historic Site and a car museum was much more than a car museum.  Oh, we can't forget the sock museum. 

Monkey Sock Museum

We were supposed to stay here until Thanksgiving, but Dad's work plans changed and we were went to Kansas City at the end of October.

We enjoyed our time in the Kansas City area. We actually stayed in Platte City, MO.  There is so much history in the area.  The Pony Express started here.  Jesse James grew up here and was killed here.  Harry Truman is from the area and the folks toured his library as well as his home.  The WWI Museum is also here.

The campground was decorated for Halloween.

Harry Truman's Home

Scout relaxing at Basswood RV Resort.

We left Kansas City at the end of November and headed home (St. Louis area) to visit family for Thanksgiving. 

We arrived in Houston on December 2nd and that is where we will finish 2013. 

2013 has been good to us. We have explored and sniffed new areas. We have made new friends along the way. We have found some places are hard for us to leave and others we are thrilled to leave.  BOL!  Where will 2014 take us?  Stay tuned as our adventure continues.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Not Tired Of The RVing Lifestyle yet

We Gave Dad His Gift This Morning

We kind of messed up last night when Dad came home, so we decided we better give him his Christmas gift early.  How did we mess up?  Well, we totally ignored him when he came home. Why did we ignore him?  BECAUSE MAMA HAD FRENCH FRIES!  It is really Mama's fault.  We couldn't resist the french fries. They were McDonald fries for gosh sakes!

Scout and I talked about it after the folks went to bed and we decided we better give Dad his gift this morning.  Mama put it in the cabinet with the coffee filters so that Dad would see it right away.  What did we get him?

Doesn't it look like us?  Mama showed it to us online and we decided we had to get it for Dad.  It is not from a photo of us.  It is just a design from an artist, Kelli Swan and it looks just like us. He likes to show his co-workers photos of us and now he can just take his coffee mug to work.

We ordered the matching ornament for Mama.  As you can see, she likes collecting greyhound ornaments.

We are going to have a quiet Christmas. The folks are going out for steak tonight and then tomorrow, Mama is fixing a big dinner.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Think It Is Fair To Have To Choose Between Fries and Dad

It Looks Like We Need The Fun Police Here

Last night, we walked to the fenced dog area.  Scout said "Joey, let's play."  I said "Okay".  We started zooming around.  Scout was in a crazy mood and pretended like she was going to plow into Mama.  Mama told her to slow down.  The next thing I knew, Scout and I got into a squabble.  Mama yelled at us to quit and she put our leashes on to take us home.  It was dark, so she couldn't check us over completely.  As she we were walking, she noticed that I kept licking my nose. She then saw it. Scout had bit my nose!  That's right, she bit the tip of my cute nose.  Can you believe that?  Mama got us home and she kept blotting my nose because it was bleeding.  It wasn't bleeding a lot and it didn't really bother me. She gave us a frosty treat because that is her way of determining if we are okay.  BOL!  I ate it, but she realized that me licking it was causing my nose to continue bleeding.  She called Dad and told him and he told her that it wouldn't have happened if the fun police was in town.  I don't know about that, but I bet he will be even more strict now.

Oh woe is me.

Scout never said she was sorry, but she did seem a little upset. I think she was more concerned that she was going to get in trouble than my injury.  She did give me a kiss this morning when we were walking, so I guess that is her way of trying to make up to me.

Don't let her innocent look fool you...her teeth are sharp.

 Mama said to tell you that my nose is okay and it looks much better this morning.  I was hoping to play it up a bit.  BOL!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Hopes Santa Feels Sorry For Him Since He Has A Nose Injury

Cookie Tasting 2013

Yesterday, Mama made fudge and no bake oatmeal cookies.  I was not allowed to taste them due to the chocolate. 

 This afternoon, Mama decided to make peanut butter blossoms and she said we could taste the peanut butter part.  Scout did not participate because this is what she was doing during the cookie tasting.

Scout was too busy sleeping to taste peanut butter cookies. She is asleep but her eyes are open. She is scary sometimes.

I'm ready for my cookie tasting.

Yum, yum, yum!

Oops, I drooled...sorry.

Very good, Mama!  Another please!

These are the cookies. We used refrigerated ones because we only  have one oven rack and it would take all day if we had to bake homemade.  I did not taste the chocolate, just the cookie.

This is how a greyhound should look when they rest, not like Scout. BOL!

We have a Ninja 3 in 1 update for those that are interested.  Mama made spaghetti in it last week and it was so simple and fast.  She browned the ground beef and mushrooms in it and then changed it to the bake mode because that is what the recipe said to do. She added the sauce and the noodles.  The recipe called for a pound of spaghetti.  Mama only had a half pound of angel hair pasta, so she knew the cooking time would be less than the half hour the recipe said.  It was probably about ten minutes and it was done.  It was good!

Spaghetti in the Ninja

Mama tried ribs again. This time she used the St. Louis Style ribs.  The ribs turned out really good, but had more fat than the baby backs she tried earlier.  She was impressed by how good they were though.

Mama also made another roast this weekend, but didn't take photos. She used condensed mushroom soup and dry soup mix and she said it was really good.

Mama is still trying to figure out what she wants to fix for Christmas dinner in the Ninja.  It will either be ribs, chicken or a roast.

We met a lady yesterday who said we were beefy looking.  I don't think it was a compliment, but since I like beef, I was not offended.  Mama told her that our vet said we look fine to him.  Mama also said that you can't hide anything when you wear white and I am in white fur.  BOL!

We still need to finish Part 3 of our year in review.  We just decided the cookie tasting was more fun today.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Only Has One More BIG Sleep Before The Fun Police Is Back In Town