If you live where the wildflowers grow, you need a flower press. I made one on Friday, and have hardware to make another one soon - it is very easy. This weekend we took our flower press and drove out to Llano, west of Austin. The Texas Hill Country is beautiful right now, it looks as if someone spilled yellow paint over it. Temperatures are still in the low 90's, and it seems that everyone is outside and making the most of it.
We stopped to take some pictures, and get some flowers for the press. And then the car would not start up again. The battery was dead - we left the car idling, but for some reason the battery died anyway. That meant that we were sitting next to road for about 90 minutes before someone pulled over to help. Cody got out of his old truck (bakkie), and jump started the car in 2 seconds.
I sometimes wonder if having roadside assistance does not make us worse . I am sure everyone assumed we had road side assistance, and we had, but they were taking their sweet time to come and assist us. Cody made a big impression on us - from now on, we will pull over if at all possible, and I hope these little guys will do the same one day when they have their own trucks. (How do you foster a kind heart? My dad always, always gave beggars money. Even when we did not have anything to give, really.)
When we thanked him, Cody just said (in his beautiful Texan accent): "Well (wee-ell), when I saw the little children and the hood up, I thought there must be something wrong. If I were stranded next to the road with my wife and children, I sure hope someone would do the same for us". I hope so too, although - Cody looked like the kind of guy that, provided he had a rubber band and a hairpin, could fix any car trouble by himself.
Despite the incident, it was a lovely trip. We had lunch at Cooper's Barbeque (yes, you really eat off sheets of paper!). The meat was excellent, and we are slowly getting the hang of eating at these places. I even managed to make me a sandwich, with pickled Jalapenos. (See that huge tub - it is full of pickled Jalapenos)
While we were driving we listened to the "Old Yeller" audiobook. Fred Gipson, the author, lived in Mason, a small town 35 miles from Llano. It is an experience to listen to the story while driving through the part of the word that the story was more or less set in - seeing the lovely Live Oaks and the Mesquite trees that he describes. In Mason, in front of their library, they have a statue of "Old Yeller".
He is the kind of dog that makes me want to get a dog against my better judgment.
The boys would surely love that.
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