The Sugar Mill

The main source of income for the plantation was it's sugar. The mill originally used horses for power, but then switched to steam after Abner inherited his wife's money following her death. This is what is left of the mill.After slaves were emancipated, Texas allowed plantation owners to use convicts as a labor force. Convicts boxed this area in as a fire box. The arched portion is original construction done by slaves, but shoddy work blocking in the firebox as a wall is the work of the convicts.
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Main House Relics

This is a fireplace. Well, this is the top of a fireplace. The plantation was destroyed by a terrible hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. That must have been some wicked hurricane to effect the Lake Jackson area so badly. Maybe they were hit by the tornado side. In a photo taken in 1907 the walls are still standing at the main house, but they are gone now. Who knows what happened to them. They could have just been worn away by more flooding of the lake and weather in general. Brian and I think that bricks may have been "stolen." Also as time wore on and DOW came to be in the area more roads were built destroying a lot of what was once there. It's a shame really. This is one of two cisterns. They have only uncovered them. They ran out of grant money and never got to dig down inside.
If you double click on the picture there is some interesting information about the house, and surprisingly about Mount Vernon as well!
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The Main House

This is a picture of the main house. It was at one time covered in plaster to make it look like solid stone. The Jackson family is full of scandal it seems... Abner Jackson lost is money due to the Civil War and died leaving his family deep in debt. And...
This is the porch that George killed is brother, John, on. This is all that remains of those beautiful colonial plantation columns...
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D.C. for the Weekend...

We went to Washington, D.C. to visit Aunt Terry this weekend. Her cancer has worsened, and she doesn't have much longer with us, so we went to spend some time with her.

While there we got to visit with Uncle Jack and Aunt Judi too. Dinner with them was amazing and we enjoyed seeing them so much. There new house looks like a lot of fun (we got to see pictures)!
We also spent some quality time at our National Zoo. Enjoy the pictures!

This sign was in Bethesda. It gave me a good laugh...

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What's Black, White, and Cute All Over?

This is Tai Shan, the very famous panda cub at the National Zoo. He was having a nice nap in this tree. If you want to read about the pandas and see live video streaming of Tai Shan and his mom click here. So, I zoomed in on him...
Dad, has to be kept seperate. Males are very territorial and need to be kept seperate from the females except during mating times. Even then it is risky. In the wild a male panda will most likely never encounter it's offspring.

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It's time for my close up...

A little pygmy hippo. Very cute. Hippos can stay submerged in water for up to 6 minutes. This darling elephant just wanted to come inside, but her care takers didn't leave the door open wide enough. She was just standing at the door swaying back and forth waiting for someone to help her. I wish I could have opened it for her.
I know it's a porqupine, but how cute is it all curled up?!
These little golden monkeys get to roam free in the zoo during the warm months. They definitely don't stay still very long for a picture.
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Autumn in Washington, D.C.

Oh, I miss the beautiful autumn leaves and weather of the North East. It is such a beautiful sight and I was so happy to enjoy it once again. I haven't had a real autumn since 5th grade!!! In Texas the leaves just turn brown and fall off of the tree...and as for the weather it is currently 76 degrees outside. The zoo had a Halloween celebration in the evening for the kiddies so the zoo was decorated...even in the animal cages. Brad and Brian hug a scarecrow.
Relaxing in the "rainforest."
I liked this plant in the "rainforest."
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A Great Quote...

It's not often that you find a great quote. The best I think have been from Mark Twain. I love his subtlety. His humor is not for the casual reader...they don't "get it." I guess that's why so many of my friends hated Tom and Huck. Me...I can't get enough of the guy.

Also, I recently read a biography about Lincoln, and that book was chock full of great quotes that weren't from famous speeches or letters. Lincoln was hilarious! I always appreciate a good quote. One that makes you feel good, makes you laugh, makes you think "they are so right!" Well, Tom Perrotta hit the nail on the head with this one, and it totally brightened my day:

"When things don't go well, it helps to think of yourself as a genius and the rest of the world as a bunch of idiots."

Amen to that!

Album of the Week



I bought two new albums this week. The first was Justin Timberlake's Futuresex/Lovesounds. A decent album of dance music...although I think he may have gone a little too hip-hop in some of his songs. I prefer him to stay on the pop side of things. I pre-bought it on iTunes so I got an extra song "Boutique in Heaven" which is amazing, so anyone who enjoys Timberlake will be kicking themselves for not getting that one.




But album of the week...or most likely the year goes to, John Mayer! His new album Continuum is a masterpiece. Every song perfectly flowing into the next, well thought out, introverted yet extroverted, blues/jazz/pop. The mix is perfectly funky!!! Buy it...you couldn't possibly regret it. Songs to listen to first: Slow Dancing in a Burning Room and Belief.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy.