Texture Tuesday August 12

Yes, the grass appears greener on the other side. It's most certainly taller.
Taken while cruising the backroads near Terrell Texas.

Textured with kk_achieve.

I used my Cool Faded Peonies Lightroom preset to edit these last two.

Sorry folks, no still life, no flowers today. Aren't they sweet?

Join us over at Kim's for Texture Tuesday.

Texas & Pacific Passenger Terminal

The Texas & Pacific Railroad Passenger Terminal

All photos from iPhone5 edited in Snapseed. (unless noted)

The rail first came through Fort Worth in 1876. This terminal was built in 1931 with what is considered the Zigzag art deco style. The station and office building included a lavish, segregated lobby with brass, glass, plaster, and marble embellishments.

Rail travel began to decline shortly after the terminal opened, and the last passenger train stopped in 1967. 

Over the next three decades the building was under utilized and isolated from downtown by elevated I-30. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, preservationists successfully rallied to save the old T and P Terminal in the 1980s when it was slated for demolition as part of interstate expansion plans.

It was the terminal's architectural significance that led to its revival. In 1999, the lobby was meticulously restored to its original appearance in preparation for its return to use as a depot, this time for the Trinity Railway Express, a commuter rail line in the Dallas and Fort Worth metro area. Shortly thereafter, I-30 was moved, reconnecting the T and P Terminal with downtown. 

Renaissance Development Co. and Wood Partners purchased the building in 2003, and, aided by government tax incentives, the upper floors were redeveloped into 46 residential condominiums and opened in 2006. It is twelve stories tall.

 A grand entrance to what was the passenger terminal, now it's rented out for parties.

Let's go inside...

This just took my breathe away. Partly because it was so big and the ceilings so high.

 Doors leading out to the train. There is always a clock, isn't there?

The ticket counter.
Isn't that ceiling something, and those chandeliers?

The rest of these were shot with my Canon 7D.

The entrance to the Lofts.

The only shot I got inside was of one of the three elevator doors. The girl at the desk wasn't exactly friendly.

The T& P Warehouse 

It was built in the same style. At the moment it is abandoned but there is hope to turn it into apartments. 

Looking from the east.

The south area. I snapped some wonderful grungy photos there.

Coming soon, the Post Office and the Courthouse.

I'll link this up with Helen also.

Hubby's Dream

He had a dream this week.

I love it when his dreams give him revelation for my benefit. I should say it helps us both.

Let it be told in his words.

"We were in a car that hit a huge bump. We flew into the air and came nose down into a lake. I pulled you out of the car and when we reached the surface, I realized part of you was still down there. So I went back to get your other part and realized it was the adventure/explorer part. I had a hard time convincing you to come with me and said soon they would be coming to pull the car out. You said, 'But that would be an adventure!' I finally convinced you to come. Then I felt bad that I made you leave."

I was laughing histarically, but also realized this was a message to him (and me). All I said was, "Remember this the next time I need to present my case."

There is a part of me that loves and longs for adventure. The other part is fearful and plays it safe.

I took this photo downtown last Saturday night. I was across the street from a tatoo parlor and by myself. No one was in sight the whole 3 minutes I spent there. I grabbed a few shots with my phone and my Canon and got out of there as fast as I could because I could hear yelling about a block away. The added girl was from an art gallery shot just a few blocks from there. Could just as well be me. The explore word art is from Rhonna Designs app. This may be as close to art journalling as I get.

Apps used: Andiftouch, Snapseed, StrutType, Image Blender, iColorama, RhonnaDesigns.

Autumn Color in Palo Duro Canyon

While visiting our friends, Barb & Jeff, in Amarillo, we took a spur of the moment trip out to the canyons. Much to my surprise the cottonwoods where robed in glory. These are majestic old trees and are dwarfed by the canyons. However the drive through them yielded bright sunlit leaves on a perfect memorable Sunday afternoon.
I miss my friends, who moved from here about 5 years ago. Jeff has had a nasty battle with cancer this year and just this past week had a very delicate surgery to remove a tumor around his descending aorta. He's doing well.

Roxi, the Explorer

Explore, discover, create
Seeing things through new/old eyes
It took a trip to my home town to reconnect with my core being. I'm an explorer.
I love to look for things I've not seen before.  I took my camera out early one morning to capture the light and headed to the river. Little did I know I would revisit the land of magic.

My Mom would call it snooping.

One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to 'go down to the river.' It was a little creek on our farm that flowed in a curve behind the barn and beyond the garden. Not only could I look for 'wildlife' but we had an incredible 'junk' pile hidden behind some apple trees. My grandpa planted those trees and built the barn when he farmed that land, so this pile had many old treasures.

(Kim Klassen Abstract texture)

Two old cars from the 40s sat ready for my brothers and I to play in. I saw beauty then after they had been discarded. A little further away was the ever-loved Crossing, where the prairie road crossed the creek to access the rest of the farm. We would wade in the water as it flowed over the road or try to catch minnows or frogs.

I could spend hours in our attic looking through things Mom had stashed away. I remember finding the 'suit' she wore to get married in and thinking that was strange she didn't wear a dress.

ahhh, childhood memories


The river called and off I went...
The junk pile has long since been buried and a new one started by my brother and his son.
The barn and shop now store odd things instead of animals.
The house has been replaced so there is no attic to ponder yesterday.

The river spilled it's water over the crossing and because it was June, the vegetation was in abundance as maybe the ticks were too. I never get home in the summer time so this was a treat for the eyes. Just seeing the foxtails made my heart sing. Oh how I loved those little things. And proceeded to take their portraits.