Nature

I have been stuck by how beautiful simple things are in nature recently.  For example these Crepe Myrtle Bushes are just amazing.  The diameter of the one at the bottom is about 2 feet.  The feel of this bark is truly amazing.  It is so smooth you don't even think you are touching a tree/bush.  I took these photos for my friend Geniva who is from Canada.  She is now living in Memphis and told me all Crepe Myrtles there were ugly.  So I took these shots to show her why I loved them.  When I posted them on Facebook she agreed but still said the ones in Memphis were ugly. :-) I hope the one we planted in the back a few years ago will look like these one day!

Restorations

One of the wonderful things that has been happening here in Oak Cliff in the past few decades is the restoration of many old homes.  I feel like Oak Cliff is one of the few places in Dallas that cherishes its past.  When we are in other parts of Dallas we see so many thing just GONE and something else in its place. My father in law always says, "That wasn't there last week".  In Oak Cliff you see the same places but with a fresh face.  The whole area feels like recently someone took it and gave it a good scrubbing to reveal the new skin underneath.   My husband and I play a game on our walks.  When we pass by a house that is in need of a good scrubbing we say to each other, "What would you do first?"  Amazingly enough it is usually the same thing.  I wanted to thank all the homeowners and flippers out there that have done such a wonderful job restoring these old homes.  I am going to have to put a plug in here for the Oak Cliff Home tour.  Folks really need to see some of the amazing work people in this area are doing.
http://www.ooccl.com/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=3&year=2009&month=10&day=10&Itemid=1

Norma's

Norma's Cafe, as the sign says, has been an Oak Cliff landmark since the 50s.  They serve good home made cooking that will fill you up.  There are many old photographs of Oak Cliff on the walls and many regulars in the chairs.  It has been said that Lee Harvey Oswald ate breakfast here before heading out to kill Kennedy.  Oh wait I need to add ALLEGEDLY kill Kennedy.  My friend James pointed that fact out recently.  I regret to say that personally I have only eaten there a few times.  Not sure why my parents never took us there growing up or why my friends and I did not go there when I was a teen.  I believe this sign was damaged in a tornado in the 90s so it is not the original one.  Personally I am very glad Norma's is still there. :-)

Walks in the Hood

In 1972 my family moved here from Austin.  This was a move on Nixon's part to get rid of my father's job by moving it to a more conservative town.  My parents chose to live in a section of Dallas that was more like Austin  So we move to Oak Cliff.  Plus my parents just could not see spending  $50 grand on a house in North Dallas and my father could catch the bus a few blocks from our home and be at work within 10 minutes.

The house we bought was a Charles Dilbeck house.  He was a Dallas architect whose work can still be seen around Dallas.  Well unless those folks in North Dallas have torn it down.  The yard was spacious, the schools were good and the neighbors were friendly.

Little did we know that Oak Cliff had a stigma attached to it.  We soon learned about the Oak Cliff OOOOO syndrome.  This is a reaction that Oak Cliff residents receive when people ask them, "Where in Dallas do you live?"  "I live in Oak Cliff"  "OOOOOO"  Our family soon relished living in this area and being part of the NON Dallasites group.  For anyone who has lived in Dallas you know what I mean by a traditional Dallasist.  Oak Cliff people are NOT that at all.  My parents loved that about the area.

I attended Rosemont, Greiner and Sunset schools here in Oak Cliff. My education was very well rounded.  I was on the softball team, played the viola for 10 years, took dance classes, art classes, Latin classes, as well as all the academic classes.  My father was always pleased with the amount of we were learning.

Our family attended a Trinity Presbyterian Church here in Oak Cliff on the recommendation of Gretta Hodges, a neighbor.  This is where I met the my husband's family.  They too were from another town and had found refuge in Oak Cliff.  Years later after being friends with their eldest, we ended up falling in love and getting married right back in the same Oak Cliff church.  I thank my lucky stars every day we
1. moved to Oak Cliff
2. met Gretta Hodges and
3. joined Trinity.

After getting married I moved into my husband's house in Elmwood.  This is a neighborhood south of what now is the Hampton DART station.  We then moved to Hampton Hills which is north of the DART station and then to Winnetka Heights.

We have always been fanatics of Oak Cliff.  We have always played up its strong points to anyone who would listen.  Lately Oak Cliff has come into sort of a boom!  We have gotten a lot more shops, restaurants and services here.  The DART station for one has been a great success.  The rail was run along old rail road lines.  The new station provided much needed transportation for many folks and is still a fun trip to take.

Bishop Arts was the latest lift to the Oak Cliff area.  This area restored some of the former uniqueness of Oak Cliff.  Small unique shops, restaurants and art galleries opened and received much acclaim.

Then came the snobs.  It seems in recent months there has become a snobbish nature to some folks here.  People only want the "best" of everything.  There have been some new decisions that might do away with the uniqueness of Oak Cliff.  SOOOO I decided to start documenting all the fun and diverse aspects of Oak Cliff before it goes away.  I hope that I am wrong in this observation but if not the following are pictures taken on our hikes and bikes (well as soon as we get our bikes up and running) through our neighborhood. All these photos are taken with my silly Iphone camera.  I keep it with us for timing of the walks.  I have a better camera but it is too cumberson to take while exercising.

Please enjoy these and feel free to comment.  However do not be surprised if I delete anything I find offensive or negative. :-)