July 17th, 2010 by Grover McMains
The Super Bowl needs volunteers.
If you live in this area, you are either very excited about next year’s Super Bowl here, or you’re planning to leave town! If you are excited, there is a great way for you to be involved in a way very few people will be, as a volunteer. Former Cowboy tailback Tony Dorsett is heading the volunteer effort, and literally thousands of people will be needed in hundreds of ways. The best part is that you get to pick your preferred volunteer activity. This won’t get you a ticket to the game, and more than likely you won’t get to meet any of the players for either team. But you will be an important part of a tremendous effort to make Super Bowl XLV a success for Dallas and Fort Worth. So, if you’re interested, go to the North Texas Super Bowl web site to register or email volunteers@northtexassuperbowl.com for all the information and registration materials. Why, if you’re really lucky, you might be assigned to greet the Super Bowl guests who stay at The Texas White House!
Tags: north texas super bowl, superbowl, volunteers
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July 12th, 2010 by Grover McMains
Gary Nicholson's room at The Texas White House
Just like most songwriters, you’ve probably never heard of Gary Nicholson, but he’s published over 350 songs and is responsible for over a dozen major hits in country music, rock, blues and folk. He’s also been a frequent visitor to The Texas White House. In fact, his favorite room is the Land of Contrast because it’s decorated in black and white, but that’s a story for another time.
Gary has been selected to be a 2011 inductee into the Texas Heritage Songwriter’s Association Hall of Fame along with his close friend, Delbert McClinton, who also visited The Texas White House. Gary was born in Garland, Texas but now lives in Nashville with his wife, Barbara. He routinely performs at the McDavid Studio here in Fort Worth, part of the Bass Performance Hall. However, for the first time in 30 years he will return to Garland, conduct a Songwriter’s Workshop on July 24 (469-831-2123) and perform on July 25 at the Plaza Theatre (972-205-2790) in association with the Garland Country Music Association. The show will benefit Attachment Parenting International. If you enjoy up-close, smaller venue shows and great talent, you should plan to see Gary perform. You’ll also be helping a very worthwhile charity. We’ll be there. If you come because of this post, introduce yourself to us, and we’ll buy you a drink!
Tags: country music, Gary Nicholson, songwriter, texas heritage hall of fame
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July 8th, 2010 by Grover McMains
Blue Star Flag
In cooperation with Blue Star Families and the National Endowment for the Arts, over 600 museums across the country are allowing active duty military and their families free admission through Labor Day of this year. In Fort Worth the Kimbell Art Museum, the Amon Carter and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth are all participants in this program.
Have you seen a blue star on a rectangular red and white background on a car or in the window of a house? In case you don’t know its significance, it means that a family member is serving in the United States armed forces. It may have begun earlier, but it was a very prominent feature in homes during World War II, and if the person died serving in the military, a gold star was displayed. During WWII The Texas White House, home to the James Newkirk family at the time, proudly displayed four blue stars. To honor those four young men, our bed and breakfast has offered discounts to military personnel since September 11, 2001.
If you’re active duty military or know someone who is, please let them know about the Blue Star Museum program. You can find all participating museums online at Blue Star Families. And when you call that family, be sure to say, “thanks for your service to our country.”
Tags: Amon Carter Museum, blue star families, Blue Star Museums, Fort Worth, kimbell art museum, Modern Art Museum
Posted in Fort Worth Museums | 2 Comments »
July 2nd, 2010 by Grover McMains
The Old West Comes Alive
I think it’s my favorite museum, and in Fort Worth that’s saying something! The Sid Richardson Museum of Western Art is an impressive collection of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell paintings and sculptures. It’s not paintings of the glamourous old west we see in movies; it’s the tough lives and harsh conditions of the real, old west, but it is eloquently depicted by these two, famous artists. So much so, that it seems to come alive as you view it. If you’re old enough to remember when the phone books had pictures on the front of them, you will probably recognize some of these paintings. That’s where you’ve seen them before.
The museum is conveniently located in downtown, and it’s the only museum open on Mondays. It’s a Fort Worth attraction you definitely should not miss.
Tags: Charles Russell, downtown, Fort Worth, Frederic Remington, Sid Richardson, Sid Richardson Museum, western art
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June 23rd, 2010 by Grover McMains
Our Fort Worth bed & breakfast is close by!
Next year’s Stock Show & Rodeo participants and guests have definitely been impacted by the fact that the Super Bowl will be here in 2011. If you don’t already know it, the final night of the Rodeo has been moved back to February 5 from the 6th because the Super Bowl is February 6! I think a layman might call that a conflict. However, no one asked me. That said, there is no reason why anyone coming to the 2011 Stock Show & Rodeo should have to be inconvenienced regarding lodging. The Texas White House, a Fort Worth premier bed and breakfast, is only about 5-6 minutes from the Will Rogers Coliseum by residential streets and has lodging available for next year’s event. The rates for that period are being posted on our web site; however, if you mention you are attending the Stock Show, I can work with you to accommodate your needs. We are restricted to couples for the most part or, of course, single individuals. And some other restrictions apply; so, please call us directly, and we will discuss them with you. If you’re reading this and already have lodging for the show but know of someone who is still looking, please pass this information along.
Tags: bed and breakfast, Fort Worth, rodeo, stock show, will rogers coliseum
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June 10th, 2010 by Grover McMains
Super Bowl comes to Texas
If you’re planning to come to the Super Bowl, you have probably already wondered where you should stay, not so much which hotel (think bed and breakfast!) but which city. There are some factors to consider to make your trip more enjoyable. The Metroplex, the entire Dallas-Fort Worth area, is the largest area to ever host the game. Fort Worth alone is larger than five cities which have hosted the Super Bowl. The actual football game is in Arlington which is just about equidistant from Dallas and Fort Worth and equally accessible from both cities. In terms of what the cities have to offer outside of the Super Bowl activities, Fort Worth is much more Texan, Dallas is much more cosmopolitan. In fact, Fort Worth has been called “the most Texan city” in the state. So, if you are wanting to get a flavor of the Lone Star State while you’re here, you should keep that in mind. Lastly, Dallas will be host to the National Conference team, and Fort Worth will host the American Conference team. I will be expanding on this last point in a future blog; so, stay tuned!
Tags: football, Fort Worth, superbowl
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June 6th, 2010 by Grover McMains
Dodger, Fort Worth Cats mascot
I don’t know about you, but for me the cost of most professional sports has really taken the fun out of going. However, we’ve discovered a really fun and entertaining way to see professional, well semi-professional, baseball close by. The Fort Worth Cats are one of ten teams that form the American Association of Baseball. None of the ten teams is affiliated with any American or National League baseball team, but all of them are scouted continuously by big league baseball. So, the caliber of play is very professional. What makes it so much fun is the environment: inexpensive tickets, seats close to the action, casual, friendly staff, polite, relaxed fans and good, inexpensive food. In short, great, wholesome entertainment! And it’s close by; just north of downtown Fort Worth at La Grave Field. So, if you want to take that special person on a unique date, a really fun date, try a Fort Worth Cats baseball game and a night at our bed and breakfast. Check their home schedule at fwcats.com, and then come see us.
Tags: baseball, downtown, entertainment, Fort Worth, fun
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May 31st, 2010 by Grover McMains
Amon Carter close to our Fort Worth bed and breakfast.
Going on from now through November 7, Fort Worth’s Amon Carter Museum is presenting Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light, a display of 40 famous and lesser-known works by the man who invented several photographic techniques in wide use today. For those of you who don’t know of him, Ansel Adams lived from 1902 to 1984 and was best known for his black and white photography of the American West. This exhibit fits in well at the Amon Carter since it is known for its Remington and Russell collections of both artists’ Western paintings and sculptures. As are all the major Fort Worth museums, the Amon Carter is only a short, five minute drive from our bed and breakfast. Remember, too, if you’re planning a trip to see this attraction, the Amon Carter is closed on Mondays.
Tags: Amon Carter Museum, Ansel Adams, attraction, Fort Worth, photography, western art
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May 26th, 2010 by Grover McMains
I cannot resist showing more of the plants in the gardens next to The Texas White House Bed & Breakfast.
Spring Blooms at the Texas Star Gardens
This is the Oakleaf Hydrangea; we have two of them, each over 5 feet tall. The blooms are now white, but you can see a few of them have begun to turn pick which all of them will do eventually. Then they will all turn brown while they are still blooming. I’ve made the picture larger than I normally do, but it still doesn’t do them justice; so, if you like flowering gardens, come see us and enjoy spring in Texas!
Tags: bed and breakfast, oakleaf hydrangea, spring flowers, Texas Gardens
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May 22nd, 2010 by Grover McMains
It takes longer to tell you about how this sauce came about than to give you the recipe! When Jamie, The Texas White House chef and power behind the scenes, was growing up, her mom made some dip to go with fruit. Over the years, Jamie grew tired of the sauce and when grown, forgot all about it. The first year the bed and breakfast was open, her mom visited us and one morning suggested Jamie make some of the sauce to go with the fruit we were serving for breakfast. It immediately took Jamie back to her childhood, and her reply was an emphatic, “No, thanks!”
Breakfast at The Texas White House
Her mom, being the kind of person she is, just got up, fixed some of the sauce and put it on the side of the fruit. The rest, as they say, is history because the guests loved it. To this day, it is a favorite of many of our return guests, and it continues to get rave reviews from first-timers.
GOURMET CREAM SAUCE
Mix two tablespoons of brown sugar for each one cup of sour cream;
Refrigerate at least 10 minutes;
Before serving, stir well again and place a dollop of sauce on sliced fruit.
The brown sugar version goes well with most fruits. However, pears and citrus fruits are especially good substituting a cinnamon and sugar mixture for the brown sugar.
Tags: breakfast, fruit sauce, gourmet, recipes
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