I know I've taken you on a partial tour of Albany and some of the beautiful downtown buildings and court house.  I've spoken about the wonderful people in this little town, but you don't really get a good idea about what a wonderful little community it is until........you go to see....

The Fandangle!

The Fort Griffin Fandangle is an outdoor musical depicting pioneer life in West Texas and has been held annually since 1938 on the last two weekends in June.  All 400 members of the volunteer cast are locals from Albany and the surrounding area, and the Fandangle attracts 10,000 a year and many of those come year after year.  It's a big, brash extravaganza commemorating Fort Griffin and the fight against hostile Comanches.  It mixes elements of adventure, humor, tall tales and history and these townspeople put their all into this production every year.

It starts out every year with a chuck wagon dinner on the court house lawn (melt-in-your-mouth brisket, chuck wagon beans, potato salad...yummm) and a huge parade through town.  One of the features of the parade and the production itself is a large calliope that toots out wonderful old tunes as it makes it's way down the street or accompanies the musical portions of the production, which starts just before sundown in an outdoor "Prairie Theater" located a quarter of a mile from Albany.

I sometimes wonder if the Fandangle is what keeps this community so close knit.  These people work very hard to keep it going and maintain the quality and integrity of the show.  And the cowboys you see in the pictures below are the real thing.  If any of you women want to see a real cowboy, just go to Albany and sit around one of the local restaurants.  If you don't see one there already, it won't take long for one to pull up in his truck and mosey in for a cup of coffee or a hot meal.  Spurs and all!

Anyway, I have several pictures to share of the Fandangle as well as the parade, so without further ado, here they are:

       

 

I hope you have enjoyed another part of Albany, my favorite place in this world. 

Pup

 

Sorry, folks.  I just had to take this lunch hour to do some bragging.  Now the subject I feel compelled to brag about is none other that our precious little "Sugar".  See previous post for picture of our little resident genius.

Now, this little beauty was allowed to stay in the house all night for a trial run since we've been trying to house train her and she's been really good lately.  Well, she didn't pass the trial on that part due to one little present she left us in the floor.  Oh well, we'll have to give a little more time, I suppose.

But!  As I maneuvered around in my sleepy state this morning, I observed little miss Genius go streaking by me like a blur with some object in her mouth that was indistinguishable at that speed.  Off she sped to the living room where I faintly heard Ice saying something to her, most of which was also indistinguishable, except when he called her "Overland Express", lol.  After a quiet chuckle on my part, I began to think that Ice hit the nail on the head, but I decided to put a more positive spin on her unmatched talent. 

So please observe last night's workings of our resident "RELOCATION SPECIALIST":

Now, here we have a bathroom rug from the guest bathroom, which is on top of a chew bone.  To the right are two wash cloths stolen from the hamper in the utility room, and the pink pillow came from my chair.  Barely visible is my kennel shoe from next to the back door, one of her teddy bears, and last but not least, Ice's sock, origin unknown.

Mind you, this is only one small section of the living room floor, so our little specialist was a busy, busy girl last night.  This, of course happened after we went to bed and after I "thought" she was too pooped to do any more "work" and would probably sleep the night through. 

What was I thinking?  Sigh......

Obviously, her dedication runs deeper than I imagined. lol

Sugar is relaxing in Ice's new chair, so I had to get a picture. 

Thanks to everybody for the tips on what to order in the Greek Food dept.  Right now, I'm gonna take lessons from Sugar and go to bed.  Night, all!

Pup

Okay, Streamers!  Help me out here.  We have a new restaurant in town that serves Mediterranian food, which includes Greek food.  I don't have a clue what that consists of and have never had the opportunity to try it.

So.........those of you that are familiar with the fare, would you please tell me some good dish to order that isn't saturated in garlic?  I'm not much on Italian food or anything like it that's all pasta and tomato sauce with very little meat.  And I'm not a fan of garlic unless it's just a hint.

So what does a southern gal order at a Greek restaurant?  Is it a close cousin to Italian or is it a fare all it's own? 

What is a good meal to order and what does it consist of (in plain english that a half redneck can understand, please).  Thanks in advance cuz I know you guys will come thru for this meat & potatoes gal......

Pup