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A couple of days ago, I posted a little about how I became Aunt Debbi. Racquel at Perennial Garden Lover recognized our shared Texas drill team legacy and chimed right in. We agreed a drill team glory days double post was in order. You can see her post on her time as a Stingerette right here.

I am sure this picture made my Dad really happy.

Below is a picture of the 1981-82 North Mesquite Pacesetters.I have no idea where I am. We were sixty members strong.

Next is a collage of "What in the world were we thinking" pictures. Most of these were taken at drill team camp in Kilgore Texas, home of the Rangerettes.

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Top left- Pompom attack

Top right -Look at Meme

Bottom left -Who picked out those goofy hats? And can we rub off some of that makeup please?

Bottom right -Did we really have to create geometric shapes in our camp roommate picture? Dig the french braids. I am the chick without a tan on the bottom right.

Sorry Meme, I found a curler picture.

I spent three years wearing blue eye shadow, red lipstick, Lycra, and industrial strength pantyhose. I killed the ozone with tons of hairspray. I tore up the pantyhose doing jump splits and knee spins on AstroTurf and gym floors during football and basketball games. I did all of this with my very best friend.

We enjoyed performing at Dallas Cowboy and Dallas Mavericks games. Profession athletes are huge - just an observation.

Here is a little short list of my misadventures during drill team

Jump splits in the mud

Boot kicked across the field during high kick routine

Being accidentally tackled by a out of bounds football player

Forgetting my lipstick before lining up on the field and having to kiss my best friend. Love you Meme, but not "that" way.

Falling off a human pyramid.

Do you have any high school glory days stories you would care to share? Don't be embarrassed. I fessed up to wearing blue eye shadow.

My Sister Has a Question

I received an email this morning from sister#2. She had a better garden this year than I did. I am not jealous, really, I'm not. Apparently, popcorn crop failure runs in the family.

Here is her question,

O.k. Well I tried it again and I caught the microwave on fire again.
Can you ask your gardening people what I might be doing wrong and see if any of them have ever grown and successfully popped popcorn on the cob?

Tell them that the popcorn I bought popped beautifully in a paper bag on five different cobs and that the popcorn I grew is directly from those cobs.
I am becoming mortally afraid of popcorn.

Love, Me

Aunt Debbi here again. If any of you have any information on what in the world we both could have done wrong please help. My popcorn and her popcorn look just like the popcorn seed we grew them from. My didn't pop but scorched with the traditional popping method. Hers' catches on fire in the microwave when the parent corn popped just fine with that method. Are we drying it too long, too short, is there a magic spell?

White Catterpillar

I found this frittilary caterpillar on the passion vine today. It can only be a frittilary, but it looks like an albino. So far I have not been able to find out any information about this. I am trying to find a local lepidopterous society. Maybe they know something about this.

Here it is again. I looks like it is in one of the later enstars. I wonder what the butterfly will look like. Maybe I should take it and put it in a caterpillar habitat and see what happens. Maybe I shouldn't . I need more information.

Here is another frittilary. It has lavender instead of black stripes. The web search for this variation says it does happen more frequently in Texas.

Here is another. Looks like it is getting ready to make a cocoon as it is in the upside down J position. I hope we stay warm enough to let them complete the transformation.

Do You Think He Needs a Haircut?

Yes, those are my ponytail holders.

No, I did not help him.

Somebody help me. Please help me.

Thanks A Million Kathryn

Katheryn at Plant What Ever Brings You Joy, posted about the wrap up of the scarf initiative. She showed pictures of the scarves. They were all lovely. It is wonderful to think of the little girls who will wear them and stay a little warmer this winter. I was so worried I would not be able to get mine ready on time. But there it was today along with all the others. This makes me feel better about human kind. Look what can happen if one person has an idea, puts it out their to a bunch of blogging friends, and then organizes it. Fantastic. Thanks a million Kathryn.

How I Became Aunt Debbi

Yesterday, Brenda asked how I became Aunt Debbi. See that tall blond in the picture above. It is all her fault. That is our Meme. Back in the day I called her Rhonni. We met in jr. high school and have been best friends for thirty years. She even gave me a BFF key chain a few years ago. In that picture, we are 16-her and 17-me, the petite brunette. She became my drill team little sister in high school. I just decided to keep her.

In high school, people get a lot of nicknames. My family has always called me Deb, but in high school, I became Debbi. It was the 80's I could spell it silly if I wanted to.

Now, Meme started her family early. She had twin daughters when she was 20. Because she had the first babies and she called me Debbi, Aunt Debbi I became and have stayed.

I have 20 nieces and nephews and two grand nephews. The grand nephews are the beautiful boys of Meme's twins. They call me Aunt Debbi too. The other 16 nieces and nephews call me aunt Debra or Deb, not nearly as cute, but I answer to just about anything.

Obviously, I have a very large and fertile family. We have one more niece on the way this winter. You should see family dinners, it's a zoo.

Ewww

I found this on my deck tonight at about 10:00. I usually step on them before I see them. Ever tried to get slug slime off of your bare foot?