The Letter "X" ~~ Weekend Roundup and Reflections

The twenty-fourth issue of Weekend Roundup for this year, 2020...

(THE TWENT-FOURTH LETTER FOR THIS SERIES)
- the Letter "X" Prompts are:
(A) Contains the Letter "X";
(B) "Open choice; 
(C) A Favorite; and
(D) Reflections.
_ _ _ _

(A) Contains the Letter "X": "TeXas" contains the letter "X". These pretty blue flowers are our Texas State Flower, the TeXas Bluebonnet. In Spring, March and April and the first half of May, they grow along sides of our roads and highways and some farmers have entire fields of them. 

I found the little plants above planted under a tree in our neighborhood during one of our many stay-at-home walks.  It was on March 26, 2020.  The bottom picture was one I took in 2013.  Some fields are more full of flowers than this.

 

(B) Open choice: From my Saturday, December 10, 2005 post, it was my first picture to post.  Of course Mrs. Jim is ALWAYS FIRST and is ALWAYS RIGHT. 

"It can't get much better than this

I was awakened this morning, Saturday, at 7:05. That doesn't sound good, but it was.

Mrs. Jim and Adi had brought me coffee and the paper and now both were sitting beside me on the bed..." http://jimmiehov.blogspot.com/2005/12/it-cant-get-much-better-than-this-i.html

 My Nebraska cousins, Linda and Jack, standing

away from the tall Statue of Sam Houston
.

(C) A Favorite:  Everything is BIGGER in TeXas!!! (Note, Sam Houston was not a Civil War hero and he resigned his post after Texas seceded from the Union.  He did own slaves as did most Texas plantations.)   https://www.history.com/topics/mexico/sam-houston )

 

(D) Reflections:  This giant rubber duckie, kind of BIG also, made me laugh a little, Mrs. Jim is smiling.  Sitting in Sydney Harbor, it is a piece of art commissioned for the Sydney Festival.  It was created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman [Zap2it Blog for more].  We enjoyed the Festival activities all over town.   Saturday night we went to a concert in the park. The duck didn't Quack while we were there.

  

More Sydney picture posts from our visit there, 
https://jimmiehov.blogspot.com/2014/09/six-pictures-my-alphabe-thursday-4th_11.html?m=1 

A final view here our 67-foot-tall statue of our First TeXas President. (link).  The statue is a few miles south of Huntsville, Texas, on the side of Interstate Highway 45. 
 
It is visible from a couple of miles to the south and also welcomes motorists coming over the hill from the north.

My Two Questions (you can answer just one if you wish):

(1) What comes to mind when you think of "TeXas"? I have spent 61 years here.  I came to Texas in 1956 and was stationed in El Paso for a five year stint in the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss.  Forty-three weeks was at an electronics class for my next my Army second enlistment job and then using it in a 17-year civilian career until I quit for a teaching job at San Jacinto College.

Upon discharge I left for a civilian work assignment as an Aerospace Engineer at the New Boston New Hampshire USAF Satellite Tracking Station.  (there our company had all the equipment installed and my job was to make it work and teach the Air Force personnel how to operate and maintain it).  After that I have lived here in the Houston area ever since.

(2) When was the last time that you saw something very large? A huge Jig Saw Puzzle Map of Texas (no picture, sorry).

Bonus Questions:

(1) What is your favorite "X" Word? Of course mine is "TeXas" but next will come "Extra".  It is always nice to have an extra helping of some kinds of food, especially ice cream for me.

(2) When did you last have a far away from home and where? This January my SIL had a stroke.  She lives in North Louisiana and we spent a couple of weeks there while she was in the hospital. 
_ _ _ _

The fine print:

- [Click on any picture for larger, click it again for extra large]
- I am linked with Tom of "Backwoods Travel" (Link here to click for Tom's Weekend Reviews)
- I am also linked this week with James of "Weekend Reflections" (click here for his Reflections Photos).
- The pictures mostly are all mine and rights are reserved to me under Copyright Law.