Texas .... a hot state for In-migration

Americans Love Big Hot Suburbs

Excerpt:

The new Census population estimates are out today, and only two metros added more than 100,000 people between July 2013 and July 2014. Houston and Dallas—both in Texas. Only one metro with a population greater than 1 million people grew by 3 percent last year. It's Austin—also in Texas. And you'll never guess what state had the most entries in the list of 50 counties with the greatest population gains. I'm kidding, you definitely will guess, because it's Texas.

Comment: Half of my family lives in Texas. Chart source ... image capture from article.

Mom's house goes to market

6804 Towerwood Dr, Arlington, TX 76001

Comments: Mom moved into a retirement home March 1st. Since then (championed by my sister): house clean out ... estate sale .... minor plumbing fix ... carpet shampooing .... full interior paint. The above link is not the MLS listing. A very comfortable home with an extra family room on  the back and another detached 2 car garage in the back. Hoping it sells quickly

College Station TX trip

We returned yesterday from our brief trip to Texas. We flew to Dallas on Friday and rented a car to drive to Bryan / College Station, TX. We attended a rehearsal dinner Friday night, a wedding and reception on Saturday, and then drove to Mansfield TX on Sunday. Sunday night we celebrated my Mother's 90th birthday.

• Our rental car was a new Nissan Altima. Although it is considered a mid-sized car, it had a lot of interior room. And although it only had a 4 cylinder engine, it had a lot of power.
  
• Saturday morning we visited the George Bush Museum on the campus of Texas A & M University
  
• This was our first time being South of Dallas by car. The country side is beautiful.
  

Back to the reality of work today!

The Cockroaches Hall of Fame

Man celebrates cockroaches with museum


Comment: Official Site. We are flying to Dallas next Friday. Probably will miss this.

Complex Texas delegate math

Delegate Math Could Cloud Results

Excerpt:

The biggest prize is Texas, with 193 delegates, where the Democrats will have a primary and a caucus.

The primary will determine 126 delegates, based on voting in 31 individual state Senate districts. The caucuses will determine 67 delegates. They will be awarded based on the statewide results of the caucuses, which will be held after the primary polls close.

The two-step system increases the possibility that the primary winner might not win the most delegates to the party's national convention this summer.

Comment: Shades of that dizzying New Math that made me cross-eyed in the '60s!

Texas family

Sister, Nancy; Brother-in-law, Tom

Nephew, Chris; his girlfriend, Melissa; Mother; Daughter, Rachel; Wife, Kathleen

Tom and Nancy

Niece, Michelle and her daughter Carys

Nephew, Tom; Kathee & Rachel

Tawakoni spider photos

Majestic in their own way!

Comment: My Wife and Mother were good sports as I was constantly telling them there was a spider in their hair, etc. They know me and took it in stride. My Mother bravely got very close to the main spider-tree.

Lake Tawakoni State Park

Kathee, Mother, and I drove out to Lake Tawakoni State Park to see the massive webs of the long-jawed orb weavers. Previously mentioned in August here, the massive webs are a sight to behold. It was a 75 mile drive from my Mother's house in Arlington, TX. We arrived at 11:30 and walked the quarter mile trail back to the web sites. I took some photos that I will post when I return to Minneapolis. My Mother was a good sport and permitted me to take photos of her by the webs. Kathee demurred. When we arrived back at the car, I had a 8" strand of web hanging from the cuff of my left crutch. Creepy!

Afterwards, we stopped at the rustic Blue Bird Cafe in Wills Point, TX. The spider image is from the Wikipedia article.