A little more spring at the rancho, to combat this chilly day with the nighttime temp plunging into the low forties. Or, I guess, you could call it flowers with power pole. Not the best composition. Still, red buds are cool. You just have to move fast to catch the flowering. Pretty soon they’re just all green.
Okay, that’s enough on Barry. Even I am getting tired of writing his name. Besides, I have my domestic tranquility to think of, and I am already being accused of too much cynicism in the face of Barry’s niceness. And his hope. Did I mention his hope? Mr. Hope, to be polite about it.
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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Scribbles
Dad’s idea of a cowboy birthday theme thwarted, Mr. B. went off with Mom to Party Pig yesterday and picked a G.I. Joe one. We have an M-1 Abrams tank pinata, plastic soldier favors and plastic camoflaged combat helmets for this afternoon’s four invitees. There’s even an inflatable M-16. I was amazed, but she said he’s been trying to do this since he was three. Confessed she had always steered him to something else because, well, this is Austin and she was worried the other Moms might not like it. Decided to be bold this time, now that he and his chums are eight. Told the tale of one political extremist in our old neighborhood who let her kids consume sugar packets at a restaurant but went slightly mad, (yelling "No chemicals!") when one of them tried to eat a packet of Sweet ‘N Low. Will have to watch out for offended parents today. Already practicing my "boys will be boys" routine.
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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly
Tagged G.I. Joe birthday theme, liberal Austin, M-1 Abrams tank pinata
Now here’s a shocker. I went to H.E.B. this morning to order Mr. B.’s birthday cake for Sunday. Chocolate cake. Check. Chocolate icing. Check. Last year we did Harry Potter, the year before it was Spiderman, and before that Bob the Builder. So, this year, how about a plastic cowboy and horse or two on top? No cowboys. No cowboys? No cowboys. This is the oldest and largest grocery chain in Texas, found only in Texas (and Mexico), for that matter, and it has no cowboys for a kid’s birthday cake? No cowboys. Sheesh.
UPDATE: Cowboy figures with lassos also are in short supply in local toy stores. Found plenty with six-guns, but then I ran across a shelf of Papo’s handpainted knights and decided to go for two more. Mr. B. already has several and enjoys them. All mine were one color. I’m envious of these.
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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Texana
Tagged birthday cakes, H.E.B. grocery chain
Doing a bit of housecleaning, I discovered a dead link at one of our earliest postings concerning the origin of the rancho’s name of Roly Poly. Therein was linked a wonderful drawing of the humble terrestrial crustacean which the artist apparently has removed from the Web. So I thought to find a new link and discovered a few interesting facts about the roly poly (perhaps best known by its unromantic name of pillbug), including that they breathe through modified gills, come in a bewildering two hundred species, and not only look like miniature armadillos, but their scientific name actually recalls the armadillo: Armadillidium vulgare. Though I see nothing exactly vulgar about them, unless you tend to the squeamish. Otherwise, a perfectly Texan critter.
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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly
Tagged Armadillidium vulgare, pillbug, roly poly
I suppose it was inevitable, the Web being what the Web is. But I had clean forgotten the possibility of Skype attracting spam. Until a few moments ago when Sex Bomb attempted to insert her? its? self into my Skype address book. Offered the opportunity to do so, I declined. I hope that’s enough. Time will tell. It always does.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 
