family time – Kathleen Maca

I love sharing places to visit across the Lone Star State through this blog, but I hope we’re all being responsible at the moment by staying at home and being healthy. When the Corona virus threats retreat, we’ll all be ready to get out and be social again.

In the meantime, it doesn’t mean we can’t explore Texas!

This morning I was remembering how when my daughter wasn’t quite school age yet, and it was pretty much a full time job to keep her busy little mind occupied and entertained. One of the things we did was talk about how Texas had all kinds of “official” symbols. How many do you know?

Official flower: Bluebonnet

Official large mammal: Longhorn

Official sport: Rodeo

Official Dish: Chili con carne

Official Insect: Monarch Butterfly

Reptile: Horned lizard

Tree: Pecan

Plant: prickly pear cactus

Air Force: Commemorative Air Force (formerly know as the confederate Air Force)

Amphibian: Texas toad

Aquarium: Texas State Aquarium

Bison Herd: Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park

Bluebonnet Festival: Chappell Hill Bluebonnet Festival

Bluebonnet Trail: Ennis

Bread: Pan de campo

Cobbler: Peach cobbler

Cooking implement: Cast iron Dutch oven

Crustacean: Texas Gulf shrimp

Dinosaur: Paluxysaurus Jones (replace the Brachiosuar in 1997)

Dog breed: Blue Lacy

Epic Poem: Legend of Old Stone Ranch

Fiber and Fabric: Cotton

Fish: Guadalupe Bass

Footwear: Cowboy boot

Fruit: Texas Red grapefruit

Botanical Garden: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Gem: Texas blue topaz

Gemstone cut: Lone Star cut

Grass: Sideoats grama

Official Domino Game: 42

Horse: American Quarter horse

Flying Mammal: Mexican Free-Tailed bat

Small Mammal: Armadillo

Maritime Museum: Texas Maritime museum

Motto: “Friendship”

Musical Instrument: Guitar

Native Pepper: Chiltepin

Native Shrub: Texas Purple Sage

Shrub: Crape myrtle

Snack: Tortilla chips and salsa

Song: “Texas, Our Texas”

Pastries: (there are 2!) Sopapilla and Strudel

Pepper: Jalapeno

Pie: Pecan pie

Pollinator: Western honey bee

Precious Metal: Silver

Railroad: Texas State Railroad

Rodeo Drill Team: Texas Ghost Riders

Saltwater Fish: Red Drum

Sea Turtle: Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle

Shell: Lightning whelk

Ship: U.S.S. Texas

Squash: Pumpkin

Stone: Petrified palmwood

Tall Ship: Elissa

Vegetable: Sweet onion

Vehicle: Chuck wagon

And believe it or not . . . there are SO many more!

For each of the symbols, you and your child can explore information online about what makes these things so very Texan.

Make chili con carne for dinner, and follow it with pecan pie and a domino game of 42. (How to play here.)

Print coloring sheets with some of the symbols.

Plant your own butterfly garden to attract monarchs. My daughter and I still care for our ever larger Monarch garden that we created 15 years ago, and watching the life cycle of these beautiful creatures never gets old. (Everything you’ll need is here.)

Make columns on a poster board and have your child help you separate some of these by category (place, animals, etc.)

Make a list of “official” sites you’d like to visit when travel limitations are lifted. (The tall ship Elissa in Galveston, a ride on the Texas State Railroad, etc.)

But most importantly have fun and share the love of Texas. What is your favorite Lone Star State (the official Texas nickname) symbol?

Thanksgiving is, of course, a time to be grateful for gifts. For me these include a loving family, surviving breast cancer, and the opportunity to travel and explore.

But it’s also a great opportunity to capture family stories. Have your kids (adults can do it, too) use their phones to interview older family members about what family holiday celebrations were like for them as kids. Who was there, what they ate, a favorite memory.

It will get generations talking with each other and create a priceless video keepsake at the same time.

Need some questions to start you off? Here are a few suggestions:

What was Thanksgiving like when you were a kid, and what did you eat?
What was/is your favorite kind of pie?
Who came to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family?
Were your grandparents there? What were their names? What were they like?
Did your family play music during gatherings, themselves, on the radio or records?
Who did the cooking? Who set the table?
What did you do after the meal was over?
What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
What were you most thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

I love sharing places to visit across the Lone Star State through this blog, but I hope we’re all being responsible at the moment by staying at home and being healthy. When the Corona virus threats retreat, we’ll all be ready to get out and be social again.

In the meantime, it doesn’t mean we can’t explore Texas!

This morning I was remembering how when my daughter wasn’t quite school age yet, and it was pretty much a full time job to keep her busy little mind occupied and entertained. One of the things we did was talk about how Texas had all kinds of “official” symbols. How many do you know?

Official flower: Bluebonnet

Official large mammal: Longhorn

Official sport: Rodeo

Official Dish: Chili con carne

Official Insect: Monarch Butterfly

Reptile: Horned lizard

Tree: Pecan

Plant: prickly pear cactus

Air Force: Commemorative Air Force (formerly know as the confederate Air Force)

Amphibian: Texas toad

Aquarium: Texas State Aquarium

Bison Herd: Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons State Park

Bluebonnet Festival: Chappell Hill Bluebonnet Festival

Bluebonnet Trail: Ennis

Bread: Pan de campo

Cobbler: Peach cobbler

Cooking implement: Cast iron Dutch oven

Crustacean: Texas Gulf shrimp

Dinosaur: Paluxysaurus Jones (replace the Brachiosuar in 1997)

Dog breed: Blue Lacy

Epic Poem: Legend of Old Stone Ranch

Fiber and Fabric: Cotton

Fish: Guadalupe Bass

Footwear: Cowboy boot

Fruit: Texas Red grapefruit

Botanical Garden: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Gem: Texas blue topaz

Gemstone cut: Lone Star cut

Grass: Sideoats grama

Official Domino Game: 42

Horse: American Quarter horse

Flying Mammal: Mexican Free-Tailed bat

Small Mammal: Armadillo

Maritime Museum: Texas Maritime museum

Motto: “Friendship”

Musical Instrument: Guitar

Native Pepper: Chiltepin

Native Shrub: Texas Purple Sage

Shrub: Crape myrtle

Snack: Tortilla chips and salsa

Song: “Texas, Our Texas”

Pastries: (there are 2!) Sopapilla and Strudel

Pepper: Jalapeno

Pie: Pecan pie

Pollinator: Western honey bee

Precious Metal: Silver

Railroad: Texas State Railroad

Rodeo Drill Team: Texas Ghost Riders

Saltwater Fish: Red Drum

Sea Turtle: Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle

Shell: Lightning whelk

Ship: U.S.S. Texas

Squash: Pumpkin

Stone: Petrified palmwood

Tall Ship: Elissa

Vegetable: Sweet onion

Vehicle: Chuck wagon

And believe it or not . . . there are SO many more!

For each of the symbols, you and your child can explore information online about what makes these things so very Texan.

Make chili con carne for dinner, and follow it with pecan pie and a domino game of 42. (How to play here.)

Print coloring sheets with some of the symbols.

Plant your own butterfly garden to attract monarchs. My daughter and I still care for our ever larger Monarch garden that we created 15 years ago, and watching the life cycle of these beautiful creatures never gets old. (Everything you’ll need is here.)

Make columns on a poster board and have your child help you separate some of these by category (place, animals, etc.)

Make a list of “official” sites you’d like to visit when travel limitations are lifted. (The tall ship Elissa in Galveston, a ride on the Texas State Railroad, etc.)

But most importantly have fun and share the love of Texas. What is your favorite Lone Star State (the official Texas nickname) symbol?

Thanksgiving is, of course, a time to be grateful for gifts. For me these include a loving family, surviving breast cancer, and the opportunity to travel and explore.

But it’s also a great opportunity to capture family stories. Have your kids (adults can do it, too) use their phones to interview older family members about what family holiday celebrations were like for them as kids. Who was there, what they ate, a favorite memory.

It will get generations talking with each other and create a priceless video keepsake at the same time.

Need some questions to start you off? Here are a few suggestions:

What was Thanksgiving like when you were a kid, and what did you eat?

What was/is your favorite kind of pie?

Who came to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family?

Were your grandparents there? What were their names? What were they like?

Did your family play music during gatherings, themselves, on the radio or records?

Who did the cooking? Who set the table?

What did you do after the meal was over?

What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?