If you are interested in genealogy, family stories, or how to display your family tree, please visit my newest blog: Padilly’s Melting Pot! 
Padilly’s into Genealogy
Categories: Potpourri
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Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above
One day, I heard chirping as I walked along a hedge of azaleas in our backyard. When I pulled back the branches, this is the scene I captured below — a nest containing three newborn cardinals.
Sadly, their parents must have been young and inexperienced, because they built the nest about three feet from the ground. The following day, when I went to show someone the baby birds, they were gone. Their short life documented in this photo.
Categories: Unusual Sights
Tags: Birds of Texas, Nature, Photography, Postaday, Weekly Photo Challenge
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The Heart of the Pedernales River
The Heart of the Pedernales
Earlier today I was reading Island Traveler’s post about his visit to Pedernales Falls State Park, “Weekly Image of Life: Nature’s Bliss.” I loved reading about his experience, and commented that I have been there many, many times with my daughter, as it is one of our favorite spots in the Texas Hill County. I also mentioned to him that I have the heart of the Pedernales River, and here it is.
It was the mid-1990′s when I found the heart. My daughter and I were taking our annual trek to the Texas Hill Country, and our traditional swim in the Pedernales River.
On this day, as I was standing in the rocky bottomed river, fish kept nibbling on my toes. Several times I tried to brush them away with my feet, but they kept returning. Finally, I looked down at the fish, and saw this rock sitting next to my foot.
The sight of the rock almost brought tears to my eyes. I picked it up, sat on a big boulder, and called my young daughter over. I know that we are only supposed to leave footsteps, but we agreed we must take home the Heart of the Pedernales. In my heart, I was meant to find this rock, and bring it home as a permanent reminder of that day with my daughter. You see, my daughter was born with a congenital heart condition that required open-heart surgery not long after birth. She is healthy and strong today, and no longer a little girl, but hearts of any kind, have special meaning for us. This heart is one of my most valued treasures.
Categories: Unusual Sights
Tags: Heart, Nature, Pedernales Falls State Park, Rock, Texas, Texas Hill Country, Texas State Parks, Travel
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Weekly Photo Challenge – Culture
Just Before the Hunt.
Easter 2013 in East Texas. Some of my wonderful nieces, nephews, son, and sons-in-law. Who says an Easter egg hunt is just for little kids, especially when some eggs are filled with money.
Bluebonnets in La Grange
It’s Texas Bluebonnet Season Again!
Categories: Beauty of Texas
Tags: Bluebonnets, Central Texas, La Grange, Photography, Small Town, State Flower, Texas, Travel
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Color
I’ve titled this photo Azalea’s Last Stand. Sadly, the Texas drought of the last two years has killed about two-thirds of my azalea bushes. Beneath this colorful show of pink flowers and green leaves, located only on the tips of the azalea, is nothing but bare branches. But in true Texas style, this azalea is giving its all, one last time.
“Dallas” Room 22 – “Who Shot J.R.?”
The now Infamous Room 22 from “Dallas”
On January 25, 2013, I wrote about my visit to the Southfork Ranch, and the new “Dallas” series. In that post I included this photo of “Room 22.” When I visited the ranch back in January, we were told that the hallway in the home was painted black for filming the next day, and that a padlock was placed on the door to prevent anyone from seeing what was going on. At that time, our guide only speculated that they were trying to make it look like the hallway of a hotel. She was right.
For those of us watching the show this season, we now know that “Room 22″ turned out to be the second and last time we would wonder “Who shot J.R.” On the day the episode appeared, March 11, I was both surprised and a bit saddened to learn that this picture represented the part in the series that dealt with the real death of Larry Hagman back in November, 2012 — a Texas icon whose presence will be missed as we hang on to our seats during the season’s final episodes.
Categories: Tall Tales
Tags: Dallas, North Texas, Southfork Ranch, Texas, Texas Icons, Travel, Who Shot J.R.
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Whereabouts: Looking for a Ghost
Mrs. Padilly has visited this Texas eatery many times over the past 30 years, which is located in one of her favorite antiquing towns.
But on this day, it wasn’t food that brought her to the restaurant, but the recent discovery that this former hotel/saloon, built in 1902, is haunted by the ghost of Uncle Charlie, one of three brothers who owned the old hotel.
Mrs. Padilly was pleased that her table had the perfect vantage point to look up the old staircase, but she was somewhat disappointed that she never saw, nor heard, any ghost during lunch.
Maybe the next trip will be for a late dinner…
Categories: Padilly's Whereabouts
Tags: Art & Antiques, Food, Ghosts, Saloon, Small Town, Southeast Texas, Texas
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Unique
Every spring, Texans head out to the countryside to get family photos in fields of bluebonnets (the State flower); we have our family photos, too. Houstonians often head out towards the area where I live, as it is not far from some of the best bluebonnet fields in the state. I love seeing the parade of visitors taking pictures of their family and friends; it can also be quite entertaining!
On a visit to a nearby field last spring, I took these images. It’s nice to see that even among bluebonnets, there are some flowers that choose to be unique.
Categories: Beauty of Texas
Tags: Bluebonnets, Photography, Postaday, State Flower, Weekly Photo Challenge
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What’s a Liebster? My First Blog Award.
It seems I’ve been nominated for a Liebster award! ”A what?!” was my first thought, and had to immediately Google “Liebster”.
For those who may not know, like me, the Liebster Award is an award given to blogs that have less than 200 followers as a way to show encouragement and appreciation to fellow bloggers, as well as to spread the word about new blogs.
I owe my nomination to Janaline at Janaline’s World Journey, who I am happy to say is the second person I now know from South Africa! Janaline travels to parts of the world that Mrs. Padilly only hopes she can get to one day, like Moscow (part of my ancestry)! Until then, I can read about those places on her site! Thank you, Janaline!
So onto the award… It appears the Liebster is a bit of a chain letter, so in the spirit of goodwill, I will accept this award under the conditions below, and share it with 11 other bloggers.
A. You can paste the award picture into your blog
B. You must post 11 random facts about yourself.
- I’m not a native Texan.
- Walt Disney is my hero and mentor (read many biographies). He was a visionary who retained a childlike spirit.
- I love most of Tim Burton’s movies. Especially “Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Edward Scissorhands.”
- Wanted to be a Disney Animator when I was a teenager. Instead, I retired from a career teaching design and animation for a local college. (Dreams really do come true, just not always the way you intended.)
- To meet my goal of working for Disney, I took a part-time job at the Disney Store while teaching full-time at the college. (I have my pay stub from Disney for by bucket list.) I also learned retail is a lot harder than teaching!!!
- I hate cats, but I have three (I call them dog cats).
- I find cemeteries peaceful.
- I believe teaching is the best job in the world.
- Genealogy is taking over my life!
- Own a golf cart, but don’t golf.
- I blog for myself as a place to put my thoughts and images, and to give me an excuse to travel. “Likes” are the icing on the cake. “Comments” are the flowers.
C. You have to answer 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
- If you could spend one day doing what you wanted, what would it be? Painting a masterpiece.
- If you could be famous for one thing, what would it be? Publishing a children’s book that is turned into a TV cartoon series, and then into a major motion picture. (“One thing!” My children’s book, which is also a TV cartoon series, gets turned into a major motion picture.)
- If you could have three wishes granted, what would they be? That all sick children would immediately be cured of their disease. That the world would follow Thumper’s advice: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” And that you grow younger as you grow wiser.
- If you could know the answer to any question, besides “What is the meaning of life?”, what would it be? What’s better, Mac or PC?
- What one thing you miss about being a kid? Getting to act like a kid without people thinking you are weird.
- What habits are worth keeping? Habits that feed the soul, not destroy it.
- What is your favorite day of the week? Monday. Fresh Start.
- What word describes you best? Imaginative
- What would I do if there was no way I could fail? Publish a children’s book, turn it into a TV series, then into a major motion picture.
- Will you share and describe a happy moment in your past, recent or distant? Spending New Year’s Eve bowling with my family.
- If you could spend 15 minutes with any living person, who would it be and why? Tim Burton. I love his creative imagination and his handling of the outcast. But he is so different from me, I probably would not know what to say, and would just stand next to him for 15 minutes and hope that I could absorb some of his brilliant, creative mind through osmosis.
D. You have to write 11 new questions directed to your nominees.
- If you could give yourself another first name, what would that be?
- What word best describes you?
- What is your favorite childhood character?
- Why do you blog?
- What is your favorite childhood memory?
- If you could only choose between owning a cat or a dog, what would it be?
- What city/place did you travel to that is furthest from your home?
- What do you love about your state or country?
- What was the first award you ever received?
- Have you ever been to Texas?
- What one artistic talent would you like to master, even if you have never done it before?
E. Pass the award on to 11 other bloggers while making sure that you notify the blogger that you nominated them.
I’d like to pass on the Liebster to the following 11 blogs that I enjoy reading, and who I believe are young blogs that meet the 200 or less followers. But since I, myself, am one of the worst participants in chain letters, I respectfully offer my nominees a pass if you choose not to accept, as I was about to, but must admit, I found accepting the award “funner” than I thought.
