Texas Hill Country Real Estate R

Texas Hill Country Real Estate
Renee's Columns January 2007

On the Square in Mason

Renee Walker, Broker
325.347.8511 325.805-1100 (Cell) 1.866.539.8511(Toll Free) 325.347.0141(Fax)
242 Ft. McKavitt - Mason, TX 76856
E-Mail - reneebroker@verizon.net

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January 2007 Columns

January 31, 2007

Saturday was bath day.
Just like in the old days.
Heat up the water.
Everybody takes a bath.
One at a time.
For the birds, that is.
Every winged thing within 100 miles
must’ve stopped at the birdbath on
Saturday.
The ice had melted.
Sunshine cast its glory upon every
molecule it could find.
And every bird flew in for a refreshing
dip.
Robins.
Several in fact…and it’s nowhere near
Spring.

Starlings.
Sparrows.
Cardinals (both male and female).
Lesser Goldfinches (but no less
impressive).
One bird would sit on the rim and
watch the other, waiting for their turn.
A robin wouldn’t let a starling join in.
But it would another robin.
And round and round it went.
Until I finally had to go out and top off
the birdbath with more water.
Messy bunch.
Flinging it everwhichway.
Primping and flapping and fluttering
and shuddering.
Both in the water and out.
Chirping and squawking and dipping
and diving.

What a crowd.
What a display.
What a day.
Joyous warmth after freezing cold.
Cool water after solid ice.
Smooth sailing after slippery roads.
Water troughs thawing.
Goats kidding.
Kids napping.
Burn piles burning.
Wash on the line, drying.
Chili cooking.
Cornbread baking.
Football playing.
It’s a great life.
No kidding.
That’s Mason.

January 24, 2007

Reunioner.
That’s a new one.
Interesting…but incorrect.
The word appeared on a church sign
welcoming “reunioners” to a family
reunion.
Hmm.
If this word was correct it would sure
change things.
All events we attend would
automatically identify us.
Weddinger.
Funeraler.
Meetinger.
Movieer.
Concerter.
Baby showerer.
And so forth.

It could get more confusing.
For example, attend a play.
You become a player.
Watch a heavyweight champion box
his way to victory.
Suddenly you’re the fighter.
If you attend school, you’re a
schooler.
Go to the Mason Opry at the Odeon
Theatre.
And you’re an opryer.
The English language is so much fun.
And forever changing.
Flip through trusty Webster and you’ll
see.
Many a word comes from somewhere
else originally.
Malaise. Malaria.
French. Italian.

Play the piano in your pajamas out on
the patio.
Italian. Hindi. Spanish.
Got a kink in your neck?
Scandinavian. German.
Time to rotate the cattle.
Latin. Anglo-French.
Flexibility and change define English.
Which is why it’s still around.
History has proven if a language dies
so do the people.
Gulp.
We wouldn’t want that to happen.
So we keep adding words.
Internet. Website.
Teddy bear. Bozo.
Ain’t it groovy?
That’s Mason.

January 17, 2007

Mason Gas Co. truck.
Now that’s a sight for sore eyes when the weather plunges to 20 degrees.
Same goes for Community Service.
Bring on the propane.
Fill ‘er up.
Light that fire.
Or gather up the wood and build one.
This is definitely fireplace weather.
Hot chocolate.
Hot toddies.
Hot salsa.
Anything to warm up.
I checked my birdbath.
Not only was it frozen solid.
But an orange cat was sitting on top
of the ice.
Needless to say, there wasn’t a bird in
sight.
The cat didn’t stay long (I wonder
why).

Right after he left, two Inca doves
landed on the icy runway.
They perched on the rim of the bowl
for a perplexed moment or two, and
then took off.
Cold weather seems to bring on the
calves.
And kids.
And lambs.
And the desire for a steaming bowl of
soup.
Or chili.
Willow Creek Café or Zavala’s
usually has one or the other or both.
Or get something hot at Coffee Mug
‘N More (including soup).
Cold weather seems to bring on the
desire to read too.
The old cliché of “curling up with a
good book” is never more true than
now.

And what better place to stay warm
while browsing for that page-turner
than our very own Mason County
Library.
Or curl up and watch a good movie.
Hill Country Video stocks the latest
and greatest DVDs and videos.
And Ginger’s got some oldies for rent
at bargain prices.
Maybe get a pizza from the Short
Stop.
A bottle of wine from Sandstone
Cellars Winery.
Put on a movie.
And enjoy January.
It’ll be hot before we know it.
That’s Mason.

January 10, 2007

All is change.
So say the ancient sages.
Change is inevitable.
A change in the weather.
A change of heart.
Schopenhauer, the 19^th Century
philosopher, beheld that “change
alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal.”
It can sure feel that way.
Especially when there’s a baby and
diapers are involved.
Change is good.
We change the sheets on the bed.
Change the oil in the truck.
Or change a tire.
Change clothes.
Change purses.
Change jobs.
Change our mind.
Or how ‘bout change locations.

Like Lilacs N’ Calico.
Go west, young woman, go west.
And that’s exactly where Jennifer
Hitzfelder’s headed.
She’ll still be on the square.
Still on the north side.
Only further west.
As of February 1^st, Lilacs N’ Calico
will occupy the building between me
and Sam’s Antiques.
The space where The Mason
Gallery used to be.
Change also knocks on the door of
Hospice Thrift Store.
And that door closes February 1^st.
“All change is a miracle to
contemplate; but it is a miracle which
is taking place every instant,” said
Thoreau.
And one of those miracles is that
another door opens.

We’ll still have the ever-popular thrift
store.
Only in a new location (in the Lone
Star Trading Post building on Hwy
87 just north of the square).
No longer will thrift store proceeds
leave town.
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV).
Now 100% of all money earned will
stay in Mason for the greater good of
the community.
All the more reason to continue those
generous donations of goods.
And donation of time, please
(because volunteers are needed).
Though Christmas has come and
gone, ‘tis the season for giving…all
year long.
That’s Mason.

January 3,, 2007

2007.
Welcome.
Heaven knows what we’re in for this year.
Two things are for sure, they say.
Death and taxes (but in that order?)Hopefully there’s good things too.
Like rain.
Abundance.
Prosperity.
Good health.
Hard work.
A hearty appetite.
A warm bed.
Less stress.
More rest.
More love.
And kindness.

Less war.
Less horror.
More compassion.
More beauty.
Like the morning star.
Glistening above Carol and Vivian
Landers’ house.
Unseen or unnoticed by most.
Maybe because…
“It’s 20 degrees,” says the
thermometer.
“Cold,” says the cat.
“Early,” says the sky.
The loyal scout, bright as fire, leads
the way for Day.
And behold.
.

The sun pressing its forehead into
Josephine Brown’s backyard.
As if one huge Clementine orange
grew there.
Pressing forward, pressing on.
From the east through to the west.
Until its juice begins to seep and
spread.
Left and right.
North and south.
All shades of orange and red
drenching the roads.
Oozing around the trunks of trees.
Tinting windows in delicate pink.
As the sky thickens with pith.
Birds then begin their song.
And so does our very own New Year.
That’s Mason.

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