Tracy and Mary's Blog

Mississippi River

TracyM — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:36:10 +0000

Here is a picture that I recently took from a plane of the Mississippi River.

Even from very high up, this river looks big. It is very wide and is about 4000 km in length. It drains water from 32 different states which includes about 40% of the total area of the country.

It is a dividing line in our country and it is common to hear people say that something is “east of the Mississippi” or “west of the Mississippi”. Did you know that about 60% of all the people in the United States live “east of the Mississippi”?

More Food

TracyM — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:05:09 +0000

The purpose of my blog now is to show my Greek friends what it is like in Texas. I am trying to post pictures of the landscape but it is easier for me to take pictures of some of the food I have been enjoying. Here are a few more food pictures.

This is a hamburger and french fries from In and Out Burgers. This was the first time I had been there. I heard it described as the Chick-fil-A of hamburgers. It was very good and the price was good too.

I always enjoy having chips and salsa before a meal. It is especially good with Jalapeno Ranch Dip (on the right).

The other day Mary made a delicious apple pie.

We recently bought some chocolate chip cookie dough at the store. We still haven’t baked any cookies yet.

Light Show

TracyM — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:06:22 +0000

In my previous post, I showed some pictures of downtown Dallas taken during the day. Here are a couple of videos that show downtown Dallas at night. The lights at night are beautiful. There is also something new there which makes quite a light show.

A few months ago, the Omni Hotel opened in downtown and it has LED lights installed on the outside of the building. Every night the outside of the hotel has a colorful display. Here are a couple of videos which show it.

Downtown

TracyM — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:45:26 +0000

The other day, we went through downtown Dallas and I was not driving. Therefore, I was able to take a few pictures with my phone. Here are some shots of the downtown Dallas area taken from a car.

Schlotzsky’s

TracyM — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:56:22 +0000

I miss having an authentic Greek gyro. I have never had a gyro in the US that is even half as good as the real thing. However, the other day, I had a Schlotzsky’s sandwich for the first time in a long time. It was delicious and most people in Greece have probably never even heard of it. Feast your eyes on this.

Here is a picture of an authentic gyro.

It’s Flat

TracyM — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:24:44 +0000

I want to post some more photos of Texas so that my friends in Greece can see what it is like here. When we are out, I try to remember to snap some pictures with my phone while we are driving. Here are a few recent pictures that I have taken. I know that they do not show very much but it is flat around here!

PB and Marshmellow Cream

TracyM — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:34:04 +0000

When I was growing up, I ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches. My favorite was peanut butter with marshmellow cream and Fritos corn chips on the side. None of these things were available in Greece so I have enjoyed having this meal again. Here is a picture of what I made the other day. It was delicious!

Sea and Mountains

TracyM — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:03:56 +0000

My Greek friends want to know what it is like in Texas. I have told them that it is very flat and in most places in Texas, it is a long way to the sea and even further to the mountains. This is significant because most people in Greece live close to BOTH the sea AND the mountains. To illustrate the difference between the landscape in Greece and Texas, here are some pictures taken from an airplane in each place.

This is a picture that I took just after take-off in Greece. It doesn’t show the sea but if I had been on the other side of the plane, it would have been visible.

Here are some pictures that I recently took from the plane as we landed at the airport in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Red Dirt

TracyM — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:08:36 +0000

At Christmas, we spent a few days in Western Oklahoma where Mary grew up. It is an agricultural area where they primarily grow wheat and raise cattle. One interesting thing about the area is that the soil has a noticeable red tint. You can see it in the dirt that is on this pickup.

Here are a couple of picture of the countryside in Oklahoma.

Christmas Shrimp

TracyM — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:50:00 +0000

Every family has some special foods that are a tradition for them at Christmas. Here are some pictures of different foods that our family often enjoys at Christmas.

Shrimp Cocktail

Decorated Cookies

Grandy’s Dinner Rolls