Long Hollow

Happy Birthday, anyway, Tom!

When the rain started around 3 am, pounding on the house like we were under a giant faucet, Tom remembered he left his car windows down. A mad dash in the rain up the hill in the middle of the night isn't the greatest way to start your birthday. 

I think the worst of it came through our area just as he left for work. I prayed for his angels to stick close to him while he maneuvered the wet highways in his little Suzuki Samurai, trying not to think of another wet May morning in 1998 that changed our lives.

He'll be working late tonight (still catching up from those days off for the wedding) and so we have no special plans. Last night he met the boys for beer and pizza after work, though. His kind of celebration, for sure.

Before writing this, I glanced over some other posts I wrote in honor of his birthday. I had to shake my head when reading this in Grateful for #53:

So I wasn't surprised when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he said: "Don't get me anything. Just pay off the credit cards." 

I'm trying. I've made progress. Substantial progress. But it's a constant tug between needs, wants and finances, a battle we're intimately familiar with - we've been a mostly one-income family since soon after we married, when he quit work to go to college. We just switched places after our youngest was born. 

Now that we're Empty Nesters, I've doubled my "paid" hours. The catch is, without a college degree, my pay ... and my choices ... are limited. I try to make up for both - the pay and the fulfillment - with my writing. Blogging brings in a little bit of money; my play and my book, not so much ... yet. I joke that they're our retirement plan - once they're finished, I'll make a million dollars and we can both retire. But the only way that can happen is if I write, and the trick there is finding time to write. Between the 'paid' job and life, there's not much time left without dipping into my sleep, and when I skimp on sleep ... well, I'm back where I started, full circle: Tom worries. About me.

But I haven't given up. If being broke and juggling finances for years has taught me anything, it's to be creative and frugal. Being frugal just gets so tiring. But Tom's worth it. 

I feel bad that I won't be able to give him what he asked for this year, but I'll do my best for #54. I have a feeling he'll be asking for the same thing, anyway."

I shook my head because he still hasn't gotten this wish. But I haven't given up doing my part to see it come true by finding a job that will do more than slow the sinking. I know it's out there!

(Are you hiring? Contact me! I can do anything - seriously!)

Anyway, I'm wishing my dear husband sunshine on his birthday, even if it's only in his heart and not in the sky. A lightness and sense of hope that comes from faith. And I'm giving him all of my love, as always, and thanking God for letting me share my life with him for so long. 

Happy 56th birthday, Tom!

 

I Won't Think About Good-Bye

 

 

I lingered on the back porch this morning with my coffee after the dogs finished their breakfast, listening to birds chirp their confusion over the unseasonal cool temperatures and the wind play rough with the trees. 

The sun was shining, and I could see the surface of our little pond sparkling through the new spring leaves of surrounding trees. I sat in the middle of a dream-come-true started thirty years ago, and wondered how I was going to say goodbye.

We're going to have to sell out and go somewhere else. Barring some miracle, along the lines of me writing a million-dollar bestseller or one of us winning the lottery, it's the only way we're going to climb out of the debt-sinkhole we've slipped into.

Tom figures it will take him two years to get the place in shape to sell. We started on it almost twenty years ago, moved in almost ten years ago, but it's not finished yet. Once we moved in, we weren't in a rush...until now. But Tom wants to see it the way he envisioned it in the beginning, so he's not rushing through doing a halfass job.

In my heart I know God led us here, so if it's his will we stay, we will, even if we don't see how right now. Maybe we've done what we were supposed to do here and he has some other job for us elsewhere. If so, I'll just give thanks for the time we've had in this little piece of heaven. We've been blessed and nothing can take that away.

Meanwhile, I'm going to linger and cherish and soak as much of Long Hollow as possible into my soul. I don't think I've ever taken it for granted, but I especially won't now. I'll push thoughts of goodbye off to the edge, only close enough to remind me to appreciate this day, and the next, and the next, and then I'll cherish the memories.

...While I pray for a miracle.

Back to Reality

The fairy tale is over, at least for me and Tom. While my son and his beautiful bride continue their romantic story over in Italy, we've said goodbye to the rehearsal dinner leftovers and the last out-of-town guest.

My mother-in-law left this morning. No more eating out or playing cutthroat games of 3-13, where I actually got on a winning streak for the first time in 30 years.

We're puppysitting our grandpuppy (which I love!) but otherwise we're back to our old routines. I went back to work yesterday and, while Tom is taking a few days off, he's back to piecing rock together for our driveway. I hear his hammer tapping as I type this.

But thank goodness (and bless my husband who built it) reality includes a break in the evening beside a little terrace bordering a small pond shaded by new green leaves, with splashes of crimson flowers and baby dewberries along the rim, where I can sit with a glass of wine, a pen and some paper, until the mosquitoes tell me it's time to go inside.

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. 

~e.e. cummings 

 

Oh, my aching back...

So yesterday, I get home from work and Tom tells me he needs my help, which makes me happy, because he rarely accepts help on his projects. That's the artist in him, I think.

Anyway, he needed my help lifting a heavy rock he'd found on one of his scavenger hunts through the countryside in his little Suzuki Samurai. (His latest project is building a stone driveway, just like the stone terrace down by our little pond and our front walkway...only multiplied by like a zillion because it's a long driveway! Crazy man.)

So I changed clothes and we headed off in the Suzuki, ultimately driving off the road into a wooded area. This huge flat rock rested about twenty feet away. As a team, we lifted it and carried it to the Suzuki. On the way, I felt a tug in my back, but we were almost there, so I just kept going and tried not to make any sudden moves or twists.

I forgot about it until this morning, when after one small movement I felt this TWANG where the tug used to be, followed by pain so intense it took my breath away for a minute.  So I called the man with tons of back pain experience  - Tom - and he reminded me we have an inversion table. 

I'm happy to say that after ibuprofen, ten minutes on the inversion table, ten minutes on a heating pad, thirty minutes of light jogging on the treadmill, and some careful stretching, I was able to go to work. 

Well, after I removed the mouse from the back floorboard of my car and tossed it into the woods, that is. 

And after I heard that one of my dear friends lost her mother unexpectedly yesterday morning. (Please keep her and her family in your prayers!)

 

 

The rest of the day wasn't so bad. I had a request to purchase some photos, a positive reply to a writing job application I submitted, one of my posts was featured on the front page of GenerationFabulous.com, and I met a lovely couple at work who immigrated to Austin from Russia twenty years ago but still have fabulous accents. Oh, and I had an optimistic email reply for another potential job.

Tonight my back is still a little achy, but it's just a good reminder that my body doesn't like surprises. I need to work out every day, and I've been slipping lately. It's the only body I have and I need to take care of it. 

I hope you all had a wonderful day. (To my blog friends...I've been very neglectful but I hope you forgive me. Once I get these to-do lists under control again, I'll be making the rounds. I miss you! Thank you for coming by to see me, anyway!)

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see. 

~John Burroughs

Sigh.

~me

 

 

Birthdays, Austin Adventures, and other Sweet!s

Once you reach a certain age, numbers become surreal. They change (faster and faster and faster) but you feel the same.

Wasn't it only yesterday I was cage dancing in honor of my 50th birthday? 

Way back in my thirties and forties, I set some goals for myself. By my 50th birthday, I planned to have graduated with at least a bachelor's degree and have a book published. There was also some vague notion that I would be able to play something that resembled music on my drums.

As that birthday approached, I cut myself some slack and extended the deadline to my 55th birthday. Surely that would be enough time to accomplish at least one of those goals.

Well, here I am at 54, and I know if the good Lord lets me reach my 55th birthday, odds are it's going to be without a degree or a published book, and my drumming will most likely continue to be a lot of loud noise that makes me happy...and everyone else want to plug their ears.

At first I thought about extending the deadline for those goals to 60. Instead, I'm tossing deadlines aside. Period. There are still dreams I'd like to see come true, but life is hard enough without the extra pressure we put on ourselves.

So more than ever, my goal for this year is just to take life as it comes, day by day, and do the best I can.

If I never get any closer to realizing those dreams than where I'm standing today, I'm okay with that. It's a good place, no, it's a great place to be.

I am truly blessed.

Yesterday my kids joined me as tour guides for a day of Austin Adventures. Despite living in the area for almost 20 years, there are so many "Austin" things I've never experienced.

We only made a dent in the list, but it was a great day, starting with brunch at Cherrywood Coffeehouse with my oldest, Tommy, and Andrew, a longtime friend of Tommy's from high school and college days...plus Andrew's beautiful wife and two precious kids. 

I believe birthdays are for experiencing 'firsts', so I ordered a smoked crayfish omelette...my first time to eat crayfish. And it was yummy!

From there we picked up my other two kids and headed for the eclectic shops lining South Congress. Costumes, art, antiques, and lots of interesting junk.  

There were also street musicians and food trailers! Oh, so many food trailers!

Still full from brunch, I settled on a 24 Carrot cupcake from the Hey Cupcake! trailer and shared it with the kids.

(Great timing! My future daughter-in-law was across the street at Home Slice with her best friend, on a break from wedding errands, so I even got to see her, which was like getting more cream cheese icing on my cupcake!)

From there we went to the highest spot in Austin - Mount Bonnell. By the time you drive there, it's only a few flights of stone steps to the top, where you get a gorgeous view of Lake Austin in one direction and the Austin skyline in the other. 

 

It's not exactly mountain-climbing. But my kids zoomed ahead of me and I was out of breath by the time I joined them at the top.

I have an old, old, old postcard that features a photograph of the state capital from Mount Bonnell and wanted to reproduce it. So you can imagine how disappointed I was that someone had the gall to build something mostly blocking the capital from view. Sigh.

You can barely see the tip of the capital peeking up, but the University of Texas Tower is standing proud and unobstructed at least, there on the left.

 

When I saw that I was testing the patience of my kids with all of the photos of us that I asked strangers to take and the amazing views, we headed to our last stop: Rainey Street, a historic dictrict recently converted to a strip of bars and restaurants.

I was ready for something to eat and drink, but I confess the biggest draw for me to Rainey Street was Geraldine, a guinea fowl who lives in the area. She's been in the news, trying to warn people of her existence so she doesn't get run over. She even has her own Facebook page.

So you can imagine my excitement when, as soon as we pulled into a parking space, Daniel said "Hey, there's a guinea fowl pecking at the tires."

In a flash I was scrambling out of the car, telling her how pretty she was and snapping photos. Yes, I was star struck. Oh, if we had only known about her back when Frankie was alive. They would have made a beautiful couple!

 

I caught up to my kids and we headed into Craft Pride, where there's a mind-boggling selection of craft beers. My taste for beer is slowly recovering from the initial menopausal shock from a few years ago. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but it was fun sitting on the patio behind the bar, sipping on a beer and talking to my kids.

(That just seems so weird.)

After that, we wandered down the street, trying to decide where to eat. We picked the Javelina Bar, because Tommy had been there before. The food was great! (So were the Bloody Mary's. Hey, it was my birthday, and I had a designated driver!)

I have to thank my wonderful kids again for helping me celebrate my birthday. I've always had lots of fun with them, whether it was visiting the playground at McDonald's or the Natural Science Museum in Houston or the zoo, and it's still awesome to spend so much time with them.

If I never accomplish a single thing in my life, it's okay with me, because I played a part in bringing those three into this world. And that's something special. In a good way. 

And then, would you believe the fun  and celebrations continued today?  I met some of my local Deer Park Divas at Jack Allen's Kitchen for an amazing brunch. (I swear I've gained 10 pounds this weekend!)

Gwen made a Red Velvet Cake and Darla solicited contributions for a gift card for me to buy some cowboy - er, cowgirl - boots. I've been trying and trying to win some through contests on Facebook, with no success. I think they felt sorry for me.

My friends are so sneaky and amazing and I love them all.

As I said, I am blessed. Amen.

And now for the official "Sweet!" list from the past week...

 

Monday: listening to the writings of 4th graders; the silky soft fur of a bunny rabbit; taking a break on a small terrace beside a little pond with your husband, listening to the birds sing above you and the trickle of a small waterfall

Tuesday: finishing a long walk with your puppies just before the rain begins; enjoying the sight, sound, and smell of a spring shower from the shelter of your porch; fewer mice turds in your car, indicating the party might be moving somewhere else; a day of much-needed heavy rain

Wednesday: recovering from your fright long enough to remove the little mouse hiding in your glove box and place it in the woods; gumbo with grilled shrimp and smoked duck for lunch on a rainy day; two days in a row of customers with British-y accents; no damage from the high winds that kept you awake the night before

Thursday: no more mouse poop in your car!; gathering with friends for a movie and dinner, especially when it's in honor of your birthday; movies starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler

 

Friday: picking up your new $1 iPhone from the post office; amazing magic tricks performed by a high school student; {bittersweet} getting off work early enough to attend a friend's funeral

Saturday: your 54th birthday; brunch with your son and his friend; seeing your son's childhood friends all grown up, with kids of their own; exploring Austin with your kids as tour guides; the view of Austin from Mount Bonnell; Hey Cupcake; meeting Geraldine the Rainey Street Guinea Fowl

Sunday: pancakes after Mass; continuing your birthday celebration with sweet friends, a delicious brunch buffet, Bloody Mary's, and Red Velvet Cake; friends who pool funds together to get you something you couldn't afford to get yourself; Polish pottery; helping a friend celebrate her book release (Susie Kralovansky's "There Was a Tall Texan Who Swallowed A Flea"); an afternoon walk in warm sunshine with your puppies

 

 

I hope you all had a week full of sweet! moments! If you don't think you did, pay more attention! I swear, they're there!

 

 

Linking with

Instructions on Finding a Keeper

I'm combining both of today's Scintilla prompts into one:

"What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told? Why? Would you tell the truth now, if you could?"

 "Tell the story about something interesting (anything!) that happened to you, but tell it in the form of an instruction manual (Step 1, Step 2, Step 3….)"

 

1. First, form a serious relationship with a guy who is terribly jealous.

2. Win a scholarship in Chemical Engineering, where you are only one of a handful of women in the program compared to hundreds of men.

3. Take Linear Algebra Computer Programming in the first summer semester.

4. Become project partners with Don, who tells you about his girlfriend with the really cool apartment and doesn't even flirt with you a tiny bit.

5. Tell your boyfriend that of course your partner is a girl, just to avoid the inevitable accusations and fight that would follow if he knew your partner was really a boy. 

6. Make the mistake of letting your boyfriend see something with Don's name written on it.

7. Listen to the inevitable accusations.

8. Say "No really, Don is a girl. I don't know why she spells it that way." Shrug your shoulders and roll your eyes for good effect.

9. Change the subject really fast.

10. Mentally question whether you want to be in a relationship where you have to lie, especially over nothing at all, and especially since you're starting to have a hard time keeping up with the lies.

11. Meet a really great guy while you're out dancing one night and your boyfriend preferred going out with his friends.

12. Say "yes" when he asks if he can meet you at Gilley's the next night to see Alabama play.

13. Let your boyfriend know you met someone, because you don't want to lie anymore.

14. Go to the movies and a Pat Benatar concert and the Renaissance Festival with the new guy.

15. Tell the new guy the truth about anything you ever lied about to your (old) boyfriend to see if he can handle it.

16. Decide that even if this new thing doesn't last, you are never going to be in a relationship where there is no trust.

17. Introduce the new guy to your best friend at work (male) and another old boyfriend who you just reconnected with as friends and your most recent old boyfriend's mom, dad, and little brothers, watching his reaction very carefully.

18. If he handles the truth about you and isn't jealous about you having guy friends, marry him as fast as possible. He's a keeper.

 

 

A Little Sister, a Shower, and a Salt Lick

I taught her how to drive a stick-shift - she caught on fast, much faster than my kids years later - and when her brother broke up with me, she wrote me poems to soothe my broken heart. She was barely a teenager back then, two years younger than me, and so in our split-high-school district, we never even attended the same school, so our lives went separate ways.

But score another one for Facebook! We recently reconnected. So when she came to Austin to visit her daughter this weekend, we made plans to meet up again for the first time in decades.

In a cool little restaurant within walking distance of her daughter's apartment (Fabi and Rosi) we sped through the years over wine and yummy food. The hours went way too fast. 

It meant missing a writing contest deadline and getting up at 5 a.m. yesterday morning to get my part of my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower ready, but it was totally worth it. Those are the moments that make life sweet!, and you have to grab them while you can.

Here are a few more sweet! moments from the past week...

 

 

Monday: writing before work; realizing you can still work geometry problems; a roaring wind on a sunny day; getting hooked by a good book

Tuesday: soft birdsong on your morning walk; a friend calling you with a job tip; your son's wedding invitation waiting for you in the mail; playing your drums after work

Wednesday: a puppy waiting patiently and hopefully outside the door for you to step outside and cuddle with her; devoting time to your book two days in a row; a long overdue hair cut and re-blonding; quick hugs from your daughter; remembering to pay some bills before they're late

 

 

Thursday: friends who make adorable favors for your future daughter-in-law's bridal shower; clearance racks; your husband still awake to help carry groceries into the house and help put them away at 10:30 pm

Friday: time to run before work; a refresher course in World Geography; starting the second book in the Hunger Games series, while getting paid; catching-up decades over dinner with an old boyfriend's little sister; experiencing another eclectic Austin restaurant

 

 

Saturday: a bridal shower for your future daughter-in-law; a Saturday night at the Salt Lick with your kids and great friends

 

 

Sunday: sleeping in and going to late Mass; the stories on CBS Sunday Morning

 

I don't watch much television, but CBS Sunday Morning is one show I try not to miss. This morning they featured the story of El Paso student Mitchell Marcus. Perhaps you've already heard it, but if you haven't, do yourself a favor and watch this video till the end. 

I hope you have a week filled with sweet! moments...and may we all be like this high school student and make life sweet! for someone else.

Monday, Wind-day

 

 

 

The wind is howling outside my window right now. No snow. No rain. Just wind, gusting up to 59 mph, the weatherman said. In some areas of Austin power lines are down and whole trees are blocking roads. 

We're lucky. Nothing but the exhilarating wind here blowing through the Hollow, like a good spring cleaning.

Tom continues to lay stones down by the little pond. Today when he was preparing an area with a small rake, he came upon a yellow-green thing the size of a half dollar. A baby turtle!

In all, he discovered 6 or 7. He tossed them into the pond and they swam for cover. He thinks they may have been trapped in the dirt after they hatched because it's so packed from the work he's been doing down there.

I wish I could have seen them!

While he was saving baby turtles, I was in charge of two high school geometry classes. I was relieved the teacher left me an answer key for the practice sheets they worked on - it's been almost forty years since I sat in my sophomore geometry class figuring the size of angles in circles.

But when one of the kids had a question about a problem, I was delighted to find I knew the answer. In fact, when I took the time to look at it with my brain turned on, the whole worksheet was a breeze.

"Don't make it harder than it is," I told them. Alas, the voice of experience, but applicable to so much more than geometry and so easily forgotten.

I hope you've had a great Monday, no matter what the weather where you are!

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." ~ Jimmy Dean

 

Signs of Spring, and other Sweet!s

Like the Munchkins when Dorothy first arrives in the (movie) land of Oz, yellow flowers are popping up and peeking out at the world, one by one, to see if the coast is clear and the rumor is true..that the wicked old winter is gone.

(Not that our winters here around Austin, Texas are actually wicked, but I had to go with the theme.)

And last week I spotted a few American Robins up in the trees, another sure sign that Spring is headed our way, despite the lack of buds on the trees.  

(Obviously, the trees have grown cynical.)

 

Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.  ~Virgil A. Kraft

Here are a few more sweet!s that popped up in front of me this past week...

 

Saturday: watching old episodes of Dark Shadows with your son

Sunday: Mass with your son; celebrating friends' birthdays with margaritas and Mexican food, laughter and hugs; a long walk with your son and puppies; watching the Grammys for the first time in years

Monday: rain falling on the hills; working in a school library

Tuesday: drizzly mornings and mist on your face; homemade chocolate and peanut butter covered strawberries; wood-fire-oven-roasted veggies; crab cakes; a call from your oldest son; new running shoes

 

Wednesday: watching the sun rise on your morning walk; meeting interesting people; joining with your church family to celebrate traditions of your faith 

 

 

Thursday: a Mexican Jay escort on your morning walk; getting paid to watch a video on Fitness and Nutrition; a text from a friend letting you know about a job opening; finishing a project; Valentine's Day dinner with the love of your life

Friday: first graders, even when they stretch your patience; silence in a church filled with people praying; dancing the Cotton-Eyed Joe and the Schottische; waltzing; stars dusting the hilltops

Saturday: fresh pizza when you're famished; the giggle of leaves playing in the wind on a stone terrace; making a dent in your laundry and email after a week when you've barely been home

Sunday: a deep breath and a cup of coffee on the back deck before returning to the fast track; making surly customers happy; news that your son and his love completed the Livestrong Half Marathon with their personal best times; sitting on the back deck after work, sipping a glass of wine and pouring the characters and stories buzzing around in your head onto paper until it's too dark to see

Here's to another Sunday and another week full of sweet! moments waiting to pop up and surprise us! Keep your eyes open!

Share some of your own sweet!s from the past week in the comments. I love to hear them!

(Typepad's new spam-blocking system is still dumping 95% of comments, including my replies (!), into the spam folder. So don't worry if your comment seems to disappear! I'll retrieve it as soon as possible. Thank you!)

What is (Real) Love?

Love talked about can be easily turned aside, but love demonstrated is irresistible.~

W. Stanley Mooneyham
American minister and speaker, 20th century

 

I was bemoaning the fact that, despite hundreds of miles run, lunges lunged and squats thrusted, and losing enough weight that I could buy my bras in "training" sizes, I still have my grandmother's saddle-bag thighs.

"But you don't have any cellulite anymore," Tom told me.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

The next day I looked for myself. Sigh. Just as dimpled as ever. I knew Tom hadn't been lying or merely trying to make me feel better; he just can't see worth crap anymore. 

But he also just doesn't care. He doesn't care that my hair is thinning. Heck, he wouldn't care if I went bald. He has never been able to tell when I'm wearing makeup or not (I've tested him)...so I'm sure my deepening wrinkles go unnoticed. He pays attention to me, he sees me...but it's the me on the inside...the me that he met and fell in love with despite himself almost 31 years ago. He looks past the "me" on the outside just as I look past the 55-year-old "him" on the outside and see the "him" who asked me for a dance at Diamondback so many years ago.

That's love.

With my son's wedding on the horizon, I've been thinking about married love and what makes it last - or not. Here are a few more...

...Love is the sound of drums coming from my house...fulfilling a wish I had tossed aside, believing it couldn't come true because there wasn't a spot for them in our new house. Tom surprised me with a set (thank you, Craig's List) on our anniversary a few years ago. It proved to me he pays attention. At least sometimes.

(Love is throwing him not one, but two surprise birthday parties...plus a huge family reunion/50th birthday party that lasted two weeks and involved having people sleeping on every square inch of the house, including on a mattress in the downstairs shower stall. Poor Kirby)

...Love is coming in the house from a long weekend, relieved to discover your coffee grounds from four days before have (thank the Lord!) been dumped and all the pieces are clean and dry, ready to go...despite the fact that your spouse doesn't drink coffee. (If he hadn't cleaned it for me...ooh, gross!)

(Love is picking up empty Dr. Pepper cans from all over the house...and outside...and biting my tongue. Pretty much.)

...Love is finding the coupon section of the Sunday newspaper separated for me, without asking.

(Love is gathering up the Sunday newspaper, at times from different rooms in the house, and putting it in the wicker basket where it goes.)

...Love is not minding that I plant myself in front of the computer every evening after dinner to write...and biting his tongue when he sees I'm on Facebook instead.

(Love is not minding that some nights he just crawls in bed and flips channels, instead of working on whatever project is in progress at the time, because he's physically and mentally worn out. He leaves the house at 5:30 am, for goodness sake!)

...Love is not being jealous about phone calls from old boyfriends, or emails from old boyfriends, or birthday lunches with old boyfriends.

(Love is not being jealous about his women friends and co-workers...even when he pinches Lisa's rear-end.)

...Love is always dancing the Cotton-Eyed Joe and the Schottische even though his hips and ankles still hurt from that accident in 1998.

(Love is sitting by his side in the hospital for a week, afraid to leave him...holding the urinal in place for an hour because he thinks he can go on his own...feeding him ice chips, sleeping on a fold-out chair, grateful for the sound of his snoring because it means he's alive.)

...Love is piecing together sections of workshop floor matting for me to lie on when I do sit-ups, so my tailbone doesn't get bruised anymore.

(Love is subscribing to Men's World e-newsletters and forwarding the good ones to him to keep him healthy.)

...Love is not nagging each other because the bathroom he/she is in charge of cleaning is a borderline health problem.

...Love is hanging on to and supporting each other through the illness and death of a parent, financial worries, and the never-ending ups and downs of having children.

...Love is saying to hell with everything that needs to be done around here to play ping-pong...or go for long walks along the creek...or travel virtually to Ireland or Istanbul or Italy with Rick Steves...

...Love is still joking around, still having fun, still laughing at each other and at ourselves after almost 32 years...and hoping we have at least another 32 together.

The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.

~Pope St. Gregory the Great

 

 

What do you think "Love is..."?

Share with me! 

 
(If your comment doesn't show up right away, don't worry. Typepad's new anti-spam system is dumping them all into my spam folder. But I'll find them. Thank you!) 

 

This is re-post from 2010 that I spiffied up in honor of Valentine's Day and the 1st Annual Valentine's Day Boost-My-Blog Party hosted by a Rural Journal and Two Bears Farm. Follow the links to check out other participants.

Another Random Analogy, Kids!

Do you iron?

I don't. I mean, I can, but I haven't in a long, long time. 

My husband will vouch for that. He stopped buying shirts with wrinkle-inclined collars and button panels when it became clear he'd have to iron them himself.

"I buried a lot of my ironing in the back yard." ~ Phyllis Diller

But yesterday I had no choice. We go through a lot of white napkins at the winery bistro where I work and they come out of the dryer a mess of wrinkles.

I knew I couldn't just bury them, so there I stood beside the board, elbow up high, working that hot iron back and forth across a white cloth napkin. I pressed and pushed and pressed and pushed, but no luck. The wrinkles would not go away.

Then a faint memory stirred. Ah, yes. Steam. I found the magic button, and poof! the wrinkles vanished with just a fraction of my previous effort.

I fell into a rhythm, back and forth, back and forth, thumb on steam button. One napkin after another wrinkle-free, folded, and ready for tables. My mind wandered. I had forgotten about that part of ironing, too, how it's so conducive to thinking about any- and everything.  

And this is what my thoughts brought back to me from their journey abroad...

The napkins are like us, starting out all neat and tidy and folded just right. Then we head out into the world. We can't help but be affected, usually ending up used and dirty. We make changes, clean ourselves up, only to realize that, if we take a hard look at ourselves, our hearts are still all wrinkled. We can work and work and work, but our own effort just isn't enough. We need help.

We need steam, and I believe it comes in the form of the Holy Spirit. We just have to ask for help and it swoops in and smooths things out. The trick is we have to acknowledge the wrinkles and want to get rid of them.

Today is the first day of Lent and that's what it's all about, taking a good honest look at your heart, your soul, your life, seeing the wrinkles, recognizing we need help with the toughest ones, and depending on the Holy Spirit to help us.

Yes, that's how my brain works sometimes. Do you see now why my kids hate my analogies? I'm way out of practice now. You should have heard the ones I came up with when they were teenagers.

But for those of you who read all the way through this, I have something to lighten things up: "How to Survive Lent 2013 or What We Gave Up". I may be Catholic, but I still have a sense of humor. 

So...are you giving anything up for Lent? If not, here's my back-up question...do you iron?

"My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."

~ Erma Bombeck

We don't iron these colored ones. I hope you can't tell. I don't want to have to start, even if ironing is conducive to random analogical thinking.

(P.S. Update on the comment problem: I apologize if you've tried to leave a comment, but didn't see it. Typepad has a new, obviously over-agressive, spam blocker system, and all comments are being dumped into my spam folder. I even discovered some of my recent replies in there! I've notified Typepad and hope it's resolved soon. In the meantime, thank you for commenting. They're there - you just don't see them! And since I'm not getting email notifications, you're not receiving my replies.)

 

It Started with Peter...

 

 

It was Peter Noone's voice I first fell in love with. My six-year-old heart broke for him when he sang to Mrs. Brown about her lovely daughter. 

"Wait for me, Peter," I told the radio, "I'll never break your heart like that."

I still can't resist a British accent.

Imagine my excitement the next year when my aunt invited my sister and me to see his adorably-boyish face and tousled sandy-blonde hair in person! Herman's Hermits were coming to the Houston Coliseum!  It would be my very first concert. 

My memory about the actual concert is pretty sketchy. I know I wore pink, all the way down to my Keds. My mother had taken me shopping for a special outfit. And it seems we sat pretty close to the stage, close enough to see Peter's precious face, but that might just be wishful thinking playing with my memory.

The Animals were the back up group. They became one of my favorite bands, too. Now that I think about it, I bet my attraction to bad boys can be traced to watching Eric Burdon sing "Little Red Riding Hood" up on that stage.

Young love is fickle, though.  Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy, Davy Jones, Peter Tork, Paul McCartney, Dennis Wilson, that kid on H.R. Pufnstuf (Jack Wild - British accent again!)...they all made my heart go pitter-patter.

 

But it was another adorably-boyish face topped with tousled sandy-blonde hair that finally caught my heart for good. He wasn't a celebrity and he didn't have a British accent, but he was born in England.

Close enough.

 

 

Did/do you have your own Celebrity Crush?

 

This post is part of a Generation Fabulous bloghop. In honor of Valentine's Day, the February theme is My Celebrity Crush. 

 

The Artist

 

I stand mesmerized, watching him consider the next space before choosing a rock from a collection he's gathered over, not just months, but years. That's how long the vision has been in his mind.

To me, the rock he chooses looks like a perfect fit, but his eyes see more than mine can. He oh-so-gently taps and chips at it until it truly is a perfect match. I can see that now. No mortar or concrete will be required to hold it in place. Only sand. And it will last forever. 

 

Before laying it in place, though, he carefully prepares its space with a small shovel and rake, using two levels to get it just the right angle and depth with the surrounding stones. Finally, he fills the gap between the new and old with sand. 

Then he moves on to the next space and starts all over.

This is my husband's latest project, creating a beautiful oasis near a little pond that was tucked away so deep in juniper trees and undergrowth when we first stepped foot in Long Hollow that we didn't even know it was there. That's hard to imagine now.

It's my favorite place in the whole world, especially when the waterfalls are flowing.

He works on it every bit of spare time he has between his job and working on our old cars. If I worked on my books so diligently, I'd be on my tenth by now.

He's a true artist, getting a vision in his mind that gnaws at him until he sees it through. I admire his focus, his drive, his attention to detail.

Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. 

~Isaac Bashevis Singer

 

 

a Celtic cross inlaid in the front walkway

 

cedar sprigs imprinted on our front doorstep

 

He never says "That's good enough." His perfectionism in general can drive me crazy, but when it's channeled into the right areas, it blows me away...and inspires me to raise my own neglected artist within to a higher standard. 

Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul — and you answer.

~Terri Guillemets

 

****************************************

 

Thank you, Hilary!

 

Love and Marriage, and everything in between

Love is patient, love is kind...

When I heard those words from First Corinthians at Mass Sunday, my mind drifted back to my wedding. Like so many other couples, we chose this as one of the readings in our ceremony, believing we would always be patient and kind with each other. 

Well, we haven't. Not always.

It is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs...

Sigh.

Over the past thirty years I'm sure we've both committed each one of these sins. Marriage is tough. Pride is hard to swallow. Exhaustion and stress and differences of opinion on everything from kids and money to how to squeeze a tube of toothpaste just chip, chip, chip away at those bonds of love tying you together.  

We've survived plenty of bumps. There have been times I didn't think we'd make it to the next week, much less the next anniversary, times I thought that bond had cracked right in two. But somehow each of us kept hanging on, and that bond would feel stronger than ever. For awhile.

I'm not taking a single day together for granted. Life is tricky.

It always protects, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

I believe this is true, if you're determined and stubborn and want it to be true bad enough to fight for it, to swallow your pride, to keep an open mind that perhaps your way isn't the only way. 

To believe in your love for each other. To believe in God's love for each of you, and to ask for his love when your love isn't enough, which can happen all too often. To hang on to each other, no matter what.

When I stepped into my parents' home Sunday evening, the sound of running water drew me down the hallway to the bathroom. Water was pouring out of the shower head, thanks to a broken valve.

I discovered, from Daddy, it had been that way for more than 24 hours. Yikes, the water bill!

So first thing Monday morning, I called the plumber. Within thirty minutes, the dispatcher called to let us know someone was on their way...

...which upset Daddy, because Mama wasn't awake yet. He didn't want her to be disturbed. He worried more about her getting enough rest than that upcoming water bill. 

Or...perhaps he worried she'd be mad and grumpy and he didn't want to deal with it.

After more than sixty years, their marriage is a dance of irritation and protectiveness, of tender looks and looks that could kill. Time is flying by faster than ever for them and instead of being able to savor their time together, they're too busy with trips to the emergency room and doctor's appointments and their kids trying to tell them what to do.

They're worried about each other. Self-sacrificing. If there was ever a time their love wasn't unconditional, it's long gone.

But I can't forget those four years in the middle when they were divorced. No contact whatsoever. I still don't know the details leading up to the split, and I don't want to.

Lord knows there were enough of them. They had faced tons of obstacles, from problems with kids and money to in-law issues. You name it...it happened to them. So I'm guessing there was a lack of patience and kindness, and a surplus of pride, anger, and record-keeping. How could there not be?

And yet...somewhere inside of them hope survived. Love persevered. Love didn't fail.

I bet they wish they could go back in time and get those four years back. I bet they wish they could have just listened to each other and not wasted so much time apart.

In just a few short months my oldest will be getting married. I guess that's why my mind is reflecting on all of this. I wish I could tell them that it will be easy, but I think they already know that it won't. 

I do believe that the wisdom in these verses will see them through the inevitable bumps; I just hope they do a better job remembering them than we have.

Watching my parents, I know it's worth it. So, no matter what, I'll keep believing in us.

Retreat! and Silver Linings

 

I took a quick overnight road trip with a friend Friday. We stayed in cute little apartments with screened porches set in a woodsy area full of walking paths... a great place to take deep breaths and relax and take a break from the rest of the world. There was wine, laughter, and great conversation.

It was my first Catholic retreat and I loved it! 

We gathered with our priest and the rest of our church pastoral, finance, and facilities council members, at Cedarbrake, a retreat center outside of Belton, Texas, that's owned and operated by the Austin Catholic Diocese. We were there to work on focus and team-building. 

The word 'retreat' often seems negative, triggering images of running away in fear instead of facing problems head-on. But to retreat from whatever pressures are weighing on you, for even a few hours, can be a life-saving move, especially if you've lost your sense of direction or your physical, mental, or spiritual arsenal is depleted. 

Just as time spent alone with yourself is important, if you're a member of any kind of partnership or group - marriage, families, friendships, even business associates - I think you need to step away together every once in awhile for a break from the routine pressures you're bombarded with, to strengthen your bonds and stock up that arsenal of love and compassion and forgiveness, don't you think?

Tuesday night I joined some friends for Chinese food and a movie. We saw "Silver Linings Playbook" with Robert DeNiro and Bradley Cooper (and a bunch of other great actors!)

I had no expectations going in because I'd only seen little clips of it and had no real idea what it was about. But I really loved this movie, and not just because Bradley Cooper has such dreamy blue eyes. Have you seen them...I mean it? 

Cooper's character has, well, some major issues, but to help him deal with life and move forward, he is trying to focus on the silver lining in every situation. It reminded me of looking for those sometimes elusive sweet! moments of each day. That could be why I liked it so much.

(Plus those blue eyes.)

But it's gotten several Academy Award nominations, so obviously other people agree with me. 

This has been a fast week, and the next one is going to fly by even faster. I'm doing my best to keep my eyes open for those sweet! moments, but I'm afraid a few still slip past. Here are the ones I noticed this week...

 

Monday: the pre-dawn silence of your hollow;  a friend dropping in to see your folks at the hospital; teenagers with good manners; a dog curled up, waiting for you by your front door; your dad's release from the hospital;  a summery evening on your porch in the middle of winter

Tuesday: an easy day at work; Chinese food and a movie with friends; Bradley Cooper's blue eyes

Wednesday: support from your friends when you step out on a limb; an afternoon with your daughter, even if it's just a trip to the grocery store; $400 in free jewelry

Thursday: sleeping in; a day spent totally at home; time for writing

Friday: Internet service, especially after losing it when your old modem dies; a road trip with a friend; the chance to get to know members of your church council better

 

Saturday:  Mass in a small chapel tucked into the woods; team-building sessions; a reflective walk through a labyrinth; the amazing way your husband sculpts stones for a terrace near your little pond 

Sunday: a morning walk with your puppies before Mass; kneeling in prayer beside your husband; sunlight streaming through stained glass; a husband who changes the oil in your car to make sure you're safe on a road trip to your parents

 

Every year we go to our friends' house for a big Super Bowl party, where I mostly sit at a table gabbing, catching up with friends, eating ribs and chili so spicy my mouth feels like it's on fire, with only an occasional glance at the television (usually for a commercial.) 

But this year I'm hitting the road (again) for a quick visit with my parents, to make sure my mom gets to a doctor appointment tomorrow. So there's a chance I might actually watch the Super Bowl tonight if I get there in time. I'm sure that's what will be on my parents' television!

Will you be watching and rooting for anyone? I hope no matter who wins, you have a great Sunday, full of sweet! moments! (To my blog friends...I'm hoping to get around to visit you soon! Thank you for your patience with me!)

 

 

Good China, Grown-up Kids, and other sweet!s

 

I fell in love with this china and crystal soon after I fell in love with Tom, back in the days when brides-to-be always registered for beautiful table settings that would probably spend more time in a china cabinet than gracing a table. 

Even though I can count on one hand the number of times I've actually used it, I don't regret asking for it. It makes me smile, just looking at those delicate roses.

And the crystal, with that tinge of pink...sigh. I was never a "pink" kind of girl, until I saw that crystal.

 

Yesterday, I freed the set from the china cabinet in honor of our Christmas-on-Epiphany dinner with the kids. They're grown now, after all, so there's a little less chance of breakage. But why the heck do I have that beautiful china if I'm not going to use it? Breakage be damned! (Besides, they can pay to replace it now!)

I kept the meal simple and relatively healthy, just a ham, a green salad, and a roasted asparagus dish.

I've never made roasted asparagus in my life and just kind of threw it together which is not something I usually do (with any success) but this was a total hit and I'm going to brag while I can!

Oh, so yummy.

And I say the meal was only "relatively" healthy because I spent Saturday baking cookies. Which triggered small stone #5:

 Fingers sticky from rolling dough sprinkled with sugar; the smell of peanut butter and chocolate wafting from the oven; mouth savoring yet another warm cookie. It's still Christmas time. 

 

 

It was a day full of sweet! moments, that's for sure. Here are a few more from the past week...

 

Sunday: Mass with your daughter; a successful Craig's List sale; your niece and nephew stepping up to help your parents when you can't be there; prayers, calls, and texts from your friends when your dad has another stroke 

Monday: calls from friends; catching a performance of Vanilla Ice on TV; skipping in the rain; only suffering a few bruises when your exuberant 60 pound puppy knocks you down on your rocky road; cell phones for staying in touch when your dad's in the hospital 250 miles away; dancing on New Year's Eve, even if it's in your livingroom while watching Ryan Secrest's countdown with your daughter 

Tuesday: stepping into a new year; a productive day, despite sleeping late; black-eyed peas; parents who stick together, forgive each other, and keep laughing no matter what life throws at them; sunshine breaking through gray clouds

Wednesday: playful puppies; hearing from a long-lost blogger friend with assurances that she's okay; a fire in your woodburning stove on a cold day

Thursday: another Craig's List sale; your dad making it through surgery just fine; homemade chicken noodle soup on a cold night; finishing a project you've been working on for months

Friday: husbands who keep the woodpile full and get a fire going before leaving for work; the rain stopping just in time for your walk, especially since you didn't get the snow you hoped for; potential jobs you think you'll enjoy; your dad getting released from the hospital; homemade chili on a cold, rainy night; loud rain after months of drought

 

 

Saturday: your mother-in-law's voice on the other end of the phone line; your mom's voice on the other end of the phone line; friends who share their photography lights with you; making cookies for your family; wrapping Christmas gifts; capturing the moments of a sweet 16 party for someone who you swear was just a baby yesterday; your daughter working as your photography assistant; laughing at SNL for the first time in years

Sunday: sipping coffee on the back deck on a brisk winter morning; the unity that comes from joined prayer; laughing in the church parking lot with longtime friends; celebrating Epiphany and Christmas with your kids and husband; using your good china and crystal; a culinary experiment that is a big hit; playing Santa; watching funny videos with your kids;

Monday: pink mornings; having 2/3 of your kids home together three days in a row (even though one is sick); another Craig's List sale; enough leftovers that you don't have to cook dinner; time to edit photos from your last shoot

 

I hope 2013 is off to a good start for you, full of sweet! moments every day! (And if it's not, open your eyes and your heart a teensy bit wider and I bet you'll discover some shy little sweets just lying there, waiting to be noticed.)

 

How is your Christmas going?

TG sits near me watching Rush Hour 2. I've been listening while editing photos from the past week, laughing because I've watched it with her often enough to see the scenes in my mind.

The Christmas tree sparkles between us. I won't take it down for a couple of weeks. That's when the Christmas season ends, according to the Catholic faith, and I'm glad I have that excuse since I procrastinated decorating for so long. I'm not tired of it yet.

I spent the day tackling other to-do's. Making phone calls to my parents' doctors, putting together a futon a friend gave us weeks ago, moving my drums downstairs so Tom doesn't trip on them in our bedroom anymore, working my way through piles of laundry, vacuuming, keeping a fire going in the wood-burning stove, photographing stuff we don't need and posting in on Craig's List, cooking dinner and feeding dogs. 

Once I felt I'd made a dent, I ran on the treadmill for the first time in, gosh, I can't even remember how long it's been, then I showered and called it a day. I poured a glass of wine and headed here to the computer, where (yay!) I already have a nibble on one of the items I posted.

I spent Christmas at my parents' with my kids, but without Tom who had to stay home and work on cars and be on call for his job. I don't like these years where I feel pulled in different directions. 

 I'm so grateful to our friends Mary Kay and Joe who made sure he had a more-than-decent Christmas dinner and sent him home laden down with gifts.

(Mary Kay goes crazy at Christmas. She can remember what every single one of her friends likes and/or collects, and when she shops, she keeps us all in mind. There's no way to stay even with her! I've learned to just be grateful...but I keep an eye out for ways to give back!)

In the past, this holiday celebration focused on the kids...first me and my siblings, then the grandbabies. This year we just brought gifts for Mama (pajamas) and Daddy (new jeans because he's getting so skinny his old pants don't fit!) They protested but I loved turning the tables on them like that. It's a good kind of pay-back, don't you think?

On Christmas Eve the kids and I went to Mass at the church where they were baptized. Afterwards, Tommy and I visited Hector and Estella next door and they sent us back to Mama's with a plate full of homemade tamales. It didn't stay full long!

 

The next day I rose early to get the turkey in the oven, then let the day amble wherever it wanted to go until the final scramble to get everything on the table at the same time. We watched movies as well as the black birds who visited the bird bath despite the gray cats dozing on the deck nearby.

The wind howled, and we lost power once, but we were grateful not to get any of the heavy rain or snow or tornadoes or long power outages that other parts of the country were getting.

 

 

My grandpuppy Josie found a favorite spot near the little Christmas tree Tommy brought with him. We set it up near the front window, where all the trees of the past stood, including that dang aluminum one, and the real one that sent me to the emergency room on Christmas Day night when I was ten.

Ah, Christmas memories...

We kept it a relatively healthy feast this year, with roasted vegetables and fresh green beans, thanks to my son and sister, instead of mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. I burned the bottoms of the rolls, but everyone forgave me and ate them anyway. For dessert we had monkey bread, courtesy of my niece. It was just enough.

All of it was just enough. I am blessed.

I hope you had - are having - a wonderful Christmas, too!

 

 

A Feliz Navidad to Remember

When my kids were young, I liked spending Christmas at home. I liked Santa coming down my chimney and leaving gifts under my tree. I liked my children having memories of waking up surrounded by Christmas magic in their own beds.

But one year we made an exception. My husband's youngest brother (he has eight) was getting married in Huatabampo, Sonora, Mexico on December 23. We couldn't resist - how could we NOT go? It would be such a great cultural experience for our kids to travel through Mexico...to experience a Mexican wedding!

It took quite a bit of preparation...and that's when I remembered the other reason why we never traveled on Christmas. I am one of those procrastinators who waits until the week before Christmas to do my shopping, and my cards arrive closer to New Year's Day than Christmas Day.

But this time I had to have everything ready way in advance, and I came through with flying colors, down to every detail. We borrowed a large cooler for food; I bought books about traveling in Northern Mexico and a laminated, easy-to-fold map. We even let Santa know we'd be traveling, but gave him permission to come on inside the house and leave most of his presents under the tree (wink, wink!) because we wouldn't have room in the van for anything extra on the return trip.

Tom's parents traveled from Florida to our house. We would minivan-caravan to the wedding. The night before our departure, we spread a map on the dining room table and plotted our route: - west on I-10 to Arizona and then turn left. From there it was a straight shot south to Huatabampo. Easy! 

But sometime between "Easy!" and the next morning, Tom and his dad had changed the route, to my and my mother-in-law's grumbling dismay.

"It'll take hours off our trip!" Tom claimed, pointing to a narrow line on the map that twisted and turned across the middle of the Sierra Madre Mountains. The Sierra Madre Mountains!

"Are you sure that's even a road? Look how thin that line is!" But our protests fell on deaf ears.

I could have said "I told you so" two nights later when we were crawling at 20 miles per hour through the mountains along that thin line, but I was too busy praying and watching out for potholes...

"Hail Mary, full of grace...POTHOLE!...the Lord is with thee...POTHOLE!...", translating the many "Curvo Peligroso!" (Dangerous Curve!) signs, and vowing to never take another trip with this man again. (I found out later my mother-in-law was making an identical vow.)

I was grateful for the pitch darkness of night in those mountains - I suspected there were sheer drop-offs on the edge of the road, but I preferred not knowing.

When the sun rose, it revealed a valley spreading out before us dotted with Saguaro cactus - we had made it through the mountains alive! Soon we entered civilization - Ciudad Obregon - and almost wept at the sight of a gleaming, modern Holiday Inn. We straggled in to the breakfast buffet like a group of parched, ravenous wanderers discovering an oasis.

Fortified with bacon, eggs, and hot coffee, we continued on our way, back on our original route -  a highway that took us straight to Huatabampo. Our hotel was in the center of town, overlooking a busy street.

The next few days were as wonderful as we had expected...we met Tom's brother John's fiance, Yadira, and her family. None of them spoke English, so I finally put my high school Spanish to good use!

We took a side trip to Huatabampito on the west coast of Mexico...on the Sea of Cortez, I believe...where we collected armfuls of delicate spiral shells. 

The wedding itself was beautiful, even though because of the communication thing and John's pre-wedding jitters we didn't realize dinner wouldn't be served until late in the evening. We would have starved but the reception hall staff had pity on us and brought us mounds of saltine crackers.

 

The next day we traveled back into the mountains to Los Alamos, a colonial Mexico town, all decked out for the holidays. We toured the cathedral, explored some shops and enjoyed our Christmas Eve dinner at a restaurant there before heading back into Huatabampo for Christmas Eve Mass.

 
 Christmas morning we arose before dawn to head home to the states, and what do you know? Santa had actually dropped a gift off for each of the kids!

It had been a memorable trip - it meant a lot to John to have some of his family at the wedding and it was a wonderful experience for my kids to really experience another culture. But I admit...it still felt great to cross back over the border into the United States...one of my favorite Christmas presents ever.

 

What about you? Do you usually travel or stay home? Do you have a good Christmas/holiday story or misadventure to share? I'm all ears! 

Taking a quick break to share this with you...

I'm writing. For the second day in a row!

Actually making a little progress, too, once I managed to ignore the voices inside my head who kept telling me to give it up, just quit, that it wasn't any good.

After staring at the screen and out the window and at the screen again, I finally said "Who cares?" and started typing. 

(Those first words after a few days away from my book are always the toughest. I need to stop staying away for days at a time.)

As if the voices weren't distraction enough, for some reason, I keep finding myself scrolling around on Facebook, but it's not toally a bad thing, because I came across the video below that a friend posted. (Thank you, Gina!)

It made me laugh so hard I just had to share it here with you. Ah, the memories.

And now back to my book...

(No, really. I mean it!)

(Well, maybe I'll watch it one more time.)

 

 

Babies and other sweet things

My plan for today:

To clean this filthy house and, while I have 2/3 of my kids here to help, get all of the boxes of Christmas decorations upstairs and ready to unpack.

Instead:

I slept in, watched an episode of Rick Steves where he and his family travel to Europe at Christmastime, went for a walk with the puppies and Tom, ran on the treadmill, and spent the afternoon rocking and chatting (in baby-talk) with my great-niece, Kaitlyn Rose. Oh, and her parents, Lynn and Tom. Well, not in baby-talk with them. You know what I mean.

Then I ate a lot of pizza.

It's too late to clean house now, so I'll probably call it a day and watch a movie with Tom and the kids. There's always tomorrow...

I have no regrets. Rocking a baby is definitely much better than cleaning house. Especially one who is such a sweet little doll!

The last time I saw Katie Rose, way back in August, she looked like this...

Now look at her!

 

My, how babies grow!

And smell sweet. And feel so cuddly.

It's nice to be able to just rock and cuddle and coax smiles from babies and then pass them off for the feeding and changing. 

But it's pretty sweet watching new parents wound so tightly around a little baby finger, doing all those things with love.

And now for a few more sweet! moments from my past week...

 

Monday: a husband who will take your dad shopping for pants and to your uncle's funeral while you stay at home with your mom; your mom's sense of humor despite her situation; home health care workers; your dad's glasses coming in a week early; a request to use one of your photos again; safely arriving home after a long day trip to Houston

Tuesday: a day at home with your husband, even though you're each off doing your own stuff, and you only accomplish a fraction of what you needed to do; saying to heck with the rest of the stuff and watching a movie with your husband

Wednesday: dancing in the kitchen; a long morning walk through the autumn-dotted hills surrounding your Hollow with your husband and "puppies"; making progress on getting your mom in to see a doctor who might be able to help; no crowds at the grocery store on Thanksgiving Eve; 2/3 of your kids home; your husband bringing warm chocolate chip cookies to you when you're working; a sweet friend purchasing prints of some of your photos for her beach house

 

 

Thursday: no traffic on your early morning road trip; glimpses of trees and old barns through a morning fog;  a message from your son that he made it to his grandparents' house, safe and sound; holding hands with your family and giving thanks for each other; friends dropping in with sweet treats for your parents

 

 

Friday: your husband, parents, and all three kids under one roof with you; road trips with your adult kids; home, safe and sound; traveling to Ireland with your daughter, thanks to Rick Steves; laughing over a funny movie with 2/3 of your kids, just like old times; good advice and help from friends

Saturday: experiencing Christmas in Europe with your middle son, thanks to Rick Steves (again!); a morning walk with your puppies and husband; sons who clean bathrooms for you; meeting a brand-new Shallue in person; rocking a baby

 

Hope your week has been as sweet! and cuddly and entertaining as a baby!

Doodles and More

I opened the mailbox Friday morning on my way to work, expecting the usual foul contents - bills and junk mail. And there it was, sitting on top of the pile like a glittering jewel - a package containing a T-shirt from my artistic, doodling, blogging friend Cyndee Starr, aka She Who Doodles.

 

 

I can't remember how or when Cyndee and I first connected in the blog world, but I've been a fan of her art for awhile, following her projects on Eloise's Collage first, and then, as she honed her doodling skills, on She Who Doodles.

When I gushed over her T-shirts, she offered to send me one. Of course, I said yes!! You can see why!

Mine is hand-doodled, but she has had such a demand for them, she is having her original designs screenprinted onto shirts. They'll be offered on her Etsy shop soon, so you, too, can have a shirt by Cyndee...er, that is, by She Who Doodles!

 

Thank you again, Cyndee!! Please remember me when you're famous!

 

Finding that shirt in my mailbox was a sweet! moment for sure, and here are a few more from the past few days...

 

Tuesday: an outside lunch with friends, on a patio perched in the trees; casting my vote in an important election; birthday parties; meeting the deadline on an article 

Wednesday: April, the Methodist Hospital follow-up nurse calling with information about house-call-making doctors for your parents; getting caught up on email; meeting a friend downtown for a glass of wine and window shopping for a good cause

Thursday: sleeping in; your puppy's exuberance at the sight of you; making progress on procrastinated projects

 

 

 

 

 

Friday: the sunrise through your home office window; packages in your mailbox; artistic friends; writings by middle-schoolers; spending most of your day in a library; getting paid to watch the opening scenes of Star Wars; a movie night with your sweetie (especially when the movie features Russell Crowe!)

Saturday: a morning walk with your husband before heading to work; surviving a dizzy-busy, stressful day without screaming out loud once

 

 

 

I'm heading back to my parents' after work tomorrow, to take Daddy to a follow-up doctor's appointment and celebrate Mama's 81st birthday.

My insides are starting to get a little wobbly from all the time on the road, the unfinished business, loose ends, deadlines, and dangling promises I know are waiting impatiently for me at home...not to mention being away from Tom so much. 

But I'm grateful to be able to go and help, to be able to celebrate my wonderful mother.

I hope you have a wonderful week full of love and celebration as well!

 

 

 

 

A Ping-Pong, Mums, and Fossils Week

 

 

Ping-pong season has arrived! Afternoon temperatures are still flirting with the 90's, but cool fronts have pushed the mosquitos and most of the humidity off of the front porch, so Tom set up the table Saturday afternoon and we played for the first time in months, listening to music and talking about random stuff while we hit the ball back and forth. 

We don't keep score. We have no rules at all. The object of our game is to hit the ball back across to the other side of the net. It doesn't matter how many times it bounces or if it bounces off the wall or if it bounces at all.

The thing is, if it gets past you, you're the one who has to chase it down and pick it up. Oh, my back! Great incentive.

 I decided in the middle of the 'game' I wanted a photo of the ball bouncing at me.

Tom, bless his heart, never protested as I asked him to hit it repeatedly toward me and my camera. And I kept trying, even though it meant I had to chase that ball down every time.

Alas, I never got a clear shot. In fact, except for the one above of the ball rolling toward me, I only captured it in one other photo, and it's just an orange blur. It was just too fast for my trigger finger.

Other than that, it was the perfect way to say goodbye to the sun on a Saturday afternoon.

Here are some other sweet! moments from the past week...

 

Tuesday: kids checking out books at school libraries; catching up on a week's worth of email; a friend bringing you a hot cup of tea when you're freezing; remembering to get your dress from the cleaners; a walk in the rain with your puppies after work

 

 

Wednesday: two of your photos, blown up onto a stretched canvas, arriving in the mail; a webinar on writing children's books; decluttering a corner of your house; laughing with your husband over a new "Modern Family" episode

Thursday: preparing for a school book fair; helping a friend celebrate the 10th anniversary of her business; an afternoon walk with your puppies; a call from a dear friend, just to catch up; finishing the design of your business cards

 

 

Friday: shopping at school book fairs; the tinkling of homecoming mum bells; playing ping-pong on an autumn afternoon; finally watching "The Cider House Rules"; a call that your zoom lens is fixed and ready to be picked up (again!)

 

 

Saturday: sleeping in; the sight of your son stepping through the front door on a quick visit home; a walk with your puppies, husband, and son before heading to work; finding fossils; your team winning its football game, after a little losing streak

 

Belle's happy to see him, too!

 

Sunday: attending Mass with your husband; burros grazing beside the highway; meeting a woman who is producing a documentary on child trafficking in America (more on that later!); the sight of momma cows leading their babies along a fence line; a glimpse of deer disappearing into the woods near your house; a call from your oldest baby

Monday: the moment the sun first peeks over a hilltop into your hollow

 

I hope your past week was full of sweet! moments and you discover even more in the coming week!

P.S. I'm headed to Houston today to be with my mom and dad as Daddy goes in to get the blockages in his carotid arteries removed (again!) Please keep all of us in your prayers, especially Daddy and his doctors! Thank you!

 

 

Get Thee Away From Me, Cyclops Cookie!

The key to a successful marriage is having at least a few things in common. For Tom and me, the list includes visiting Civil War battlegrounds, watching 'Breaking Bad', hiking... and eating.

Especially desserts.

Especially Cyclops Cookies.

It's his mom's fault. And I thank her profusely.

 

 

I remember that first Christmas, before we were married, when the decorated coffee can overflowing with fudge and cookies arrived.

I remember that first bite of peanut-butter-and-chocolate heaven.

Oh. Oh. Oh.

 

 

I also remember our dismay the next Christmas, after we were Mr. and Mrs., when the can didn't arrive. She informed us only the single boys got coffee cans full of sugary goodness. Once her sons married, she was no longer responsible for satisfying their Christmas sweet tooth, and considering she had nine sons altogether, I can't say I blamed her.

(I think that was the first time Tom wondered if he'd made a mistake in marrying me.)

 

 

Mom didn't leave us totally on our own, though. We got the recipe. Then we practiced and practiced and practiced until now we have the art of Cyclops Cookies down to absolute perfection, even if I say so myself.

 

And that's a very dangerous thing.

My name is Barbara, and I am an addict. A Cyclops Cookie addict. 

And so, for the sake of our waistlines and arteries (Tom is an addict, too) I only make them for special occasions, like birthdays and Christmas... 

 

 

...most recently my son Daniel's birthday, when I discovered that if I take lots and lots of photos of them, I don't inhale the whole batch before they have a chance to cool.

Saved by my camera, once again.

Okay, okay... here's the recipe. But don't say I didn't warn you, and don't blame me if your pants suddenly get too tight. I don't remember how many this makes, but it's not enough - I always double it.

Cyclops Cookies

 

Ingredients

 ½ cup of butter or margarine

• ½ cup of peanut butter
• ½ cup of sugar
• ½ cup of brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 ¾ cups of flour
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

• a bowl of extra sugar
• Hershey’s Kisses

 

1. In large mixing bowl, mix butter or margarine and peanut butter together, using an electric mixer on medium for about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat till fluffy.
3. Add egg milk and vanilla to mixture. Beat again till fluffy.
4. In medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda.
5. With mixer on low speed, gradually put in flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, stir well. If necessary, cover and chill about 1 hour for better handling.
6. Preheat oven to 350.
7. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in additional sugar.
8. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
9. Bake in oven about 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm.
10. Immediately after baking, press a chocolate kiss atop each cookie. 
11. Try to resist eating it.
12. Oh, okay, go ahead and eat that first one. You deserve it.

Reunion, Part 1 (and back to reality with a thud)

 

"Are you someone's grandmother?" he asked as soon as I walked into the classroom. I had to have him repeat it before I understood. My hearing isn't so great anymore plus he was missing his two front teeth!

"No, I'm your substitute teacher." I could feel the air fizzling out of my bubble...the 1977 fantasy world I'd been living in the past few days,where I'm perpetually 18.

High school reunions, surrounded by classmates and memories, can do that to you.

And all it takes is one little toothless cutie pie to send you crashing back to menopausal reality. Thanks a lot, kid.

I've been hanging out with second-graders the past two days, and before that, I was hanging out with a 50+ crowd who mostly behaved like teenagers. No better way to stay feeling young - even if the second graders like to remind you you're old enough to be their grandmother!

My high school reunion was a blast - at least in my opinion, and as far as I could tell, everyone else agreed with me. There weren't a lot of us, but we had enough fun to want to do it again soon. To heck with waiting every five years.

A few of us started it Friday night with a tour of our old high school. OMG! It was huge when we went there, but it's doubled in size since then. There's actually a branch of a credit union in the lunchroom, a coffee shop (run by students, I believe), a police department, and a culinary arts program with its own chef. Street signs mark hallways - I would surely get lost without them!

After the tour, a bunch of us watched the first half of the homecoming football game. The Fighting Deer were winning when we left, right after the new Homecoming Queen was crowned. As a former HQ, I felt obligated to stay at least that long before heading off to the big Pre-Reunion Party at my friend Rae's house.

Bless their hearts, this is the second time Rae and her husband Keith have opened up their home to all of us old renegades for a little casual ice-breaking before the dressier event the next evening. Another friend ordered matching t-shirts for all the women, making us official Deer Park Divas. 

At one point during the evening, Rae led me and Tom outside. The other Divas were already gathered there, and knowing how sneaky they are, I wondered what they had been up to now.

Turns out they pitched in and got us a paving stone decorated with the Air Force symbol, in honor of Pop. They knew Tom would appreciate that much more than flowers.  Ah, those sweet friends.

I'm embarrassed to say Tom and I were (again!) the last to leave Friday night... er, Saturday morning. We just hate for those nights to end!

 

 

No more worries about forgetting your lunch money!

 It goes on and on and on and on....

See the splotches of white-out? Those are guys who popped their 'Stud Duck' hats on just before the camera clicked - after being told to take them off. The white-out comes right off. Isn't 35 years long enough?

(That's me on the bottom front row, the brunette between blonde Larry and brunette Gina-tay.)

 

Chef Reggie

Alumni who have made the school proud. (I'm not on there.)

 

That's okay. I'm part of this special group! 

(For more images from the Homecoming football game, go HERE)

Deer Park Divas!

 

They are so sweet and thoughtful!

Photo-bombing!

 

 

Thanks again to Cindy for arranging the tour, Rae and Keith for opening your home,  Gina for ordering the t-shirts, Debra and the other Divas for the paving stone, and Sandy for taking over my camera so I could photo-bomb with Rae and Gina-tay! 

Oh, and happy 31st-anniversary-of-the-day-we-met to Tom! Thank you for asking me to dance!

1977

Tom and I are off to immerse ourselves in 1977.

In other words, we're going to my 35th high school reunion. (That number just slips through my brain without even registering - I can't be old enough to be out of school that long!)

Tonight I'll go on a tour of my old high school to see the changes (I hope there's something I still recognize!) and sit in the stands talking to classmates while a football game plays on the field far below, just like the old days. I get to relive my glory days of a Homecoming halftime (yes, I was Homecoming Queen - save your jokes, I've heard them all!) then head to a friend's house for a huge reunion warm-up party. 

Tomorrow night is the official reunion - a hotel ballroom, catered dinner, DJ, and dancing! Whoo-hoo!

There will be people attending this one who have never attended a reunion before. Facebook has closed the gaps we perceived from our high school days, and helped us see beyond whatever images we projected on each other back then. Now our similarities and shared past bind us together.

Best of all, I'll be seeing my Mama and Daddy, and (I hope) my sweet sister, and my kids are old enough to house-sit so we don't worry about it or the puppies. It will be a great weekend!

 

That's me, 35 years ago. I never realized they spelled my name wrong. Well, I probably did and just forgot. I'm 53, you know! This brain can only hold so much.

And look... once upon a time I wore a tiara...

Then came real life. 

Actually, as honored as I am to be  DPHS Class of '77's perpetual Homecoming Queen, I think tiara-less real life is pretty dang awesome, too, as you can see from my week of sweet!s  (I've anticipated a few as you can see...)

 

Monday: progress on your book; finally starting to learn Photoshop Elements; a friend knowing you will help them; a paycheck for your photography; friends who have stuck around for more than 40 years; another beautiful sunset

 

Tuesday: watching your old puppy run after a rabbit (extra sweet - he doesn't catch it!); water in your pond again; a puppy who is happy just to have you in sight; more progress on your book; a productive meeting

Wednesday: a haircut from Michael; your zoom back home, safe and sound and working again; grocery shopping and dinner with your baby girl; warm focaccia bread dipped in olive oil; a crescent moon hanging above a purple horizon; the detailed medical records you kept when your kids were small coming in handy now that they're grown and buying their own life insurance

 

Thursday: a pedi/mani and the massage chair you get to sit in; sales racks and 20% off coupons when you need new clothes; friends stepping in when you need help with a project; finally finishing the book you need to review; the birth of new Shallue... Kaitlyn Rose (Congratulations, Tom and Lynn!)

 

Friday: a road trip with your sweetie; an afternoon with your Mom and Dad; a tour of your old high school; your hometown homecoming football game, surrounded by classmates; a party at Rae's, seeing friends you haven't seen in decades

Saturday: your 35th high school reunion and all of the wonders and joys that holds; dancing; your children taking care of your puppies so you can party and dance without worrying about them

 

I hope you have a week full of sweet! moments!

P.S If you have a chance to get-together with longtime friends or classmates, even those you didn't know well in high school - or perhaps thought you knew and didn't care for - I hope you grab that opportunity to discover shared memories and rekindle (or plain kindle) friendships!

DPHS Class of '77 ROCKS! 

Rainy Days, for a change

Gray clouds arrived in our area Thursday, causing flash floods just down the road, washing away boat docks that had been sitting on dry ground for two years... long enough for grass to grow underneath.

Drought to flood - that's how it goes around here lately.

I took this on Thursday morning. I stood on what used to be part of a pond. 

 

This is what it looked like Saturday morning.

 

Thank goodness the rain slowed its zeal and settled into a nice, steady rhythm the past three days that allowed the water to soak deep into the thirsty ground instead of falling so fast it becomes a destructive, dangerous mob.

We still need more of the slow, steady stuff, but I was relieved to see the gray clouds break last night in an explosion of blue sky and orange clouds, just in time for my oldest to head to his (other) home.  I was grateful for the rain, but more grateful he wouldn't have to drive in it.

 

 

 

I skipped my writing critique group last night because Tommy was going to hang around until after dinner. Perhaps that's not very professional and indicates I'm not serious about my writing, but above and beyond any other hat I wear, I'm Mom and grab any chance I can to soak up the sight of one of my kids...

 

 ...or a grandpuppy.

That's GPuppy Josie on the left, and my Belle on the right. Can you tell they're related?

 

They aren't really related, of course, not technically. But Josie was such an awesome dog, that when we saw the puppy photos of Belle, how could we resist not bringing that precious Rottweiler-mix face home?

Now I'm on to a new week, one that already has so many fires burning that I don't know which one to put out first. But it's a week full of sweet! potential. Hope yours is the same!

Here are a few sweet!s from the past week...

Sunday: an unexpected afternoon off, to piddle around the house; a text from a friend, out of the blue, even if it's a photo of a motorcycle he just bought, reinforcing your belief that he's in the midst of a mid-life crisis

 

 

Monday: meeting a porcupine on your morning walk; your puppies actually minding you and not taking off after before-mentioned porcupine;sipping coffee on a crisp autumn morning, watching the sun slip into your Hollow; meeting dear friends for dinner to help celebrate a birthday; rediscovering your taste for beer 

 

 

Tuesday: running the whole three miles for the first time since your vacation; seeing your future-daughter-in-law, dressed in THE wedding dress; Panda Express orange chicken; finding a dress for your high school reunion and one for THE wedding in one store, in one trip, and having a 20% off coupon with you; a quick hug from your baby; your husband's back well enough to help carry groceries into the house

Wednesday: connecting with another friend from the past; your cataract not growing at all in a year; a block of time to work on your children's book; your baby girl calling before you call her; good news from your sister; rocking on a porch with a dog at your feet, watching the setting sun kiss the clouds; your husband turning into a little boy at the sight of a tarantula and a snake

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday:; not having to leave your house for anything except your morning walk with your puppies; making progress on your book; rain falling outside your window, all day long

Friday: walking in the rain, for the first time in months; friends letting you know about the bomb threat to, and subsequent evactuation of, your baby girl's college; hearing your baby girl's voice, knowing she's okay; two more episodes of Breaking Bad with your sweetieR 

Saturday: getting to share the Sally O'Malley Rockettes video with another friend for her 50th birthday; tall purple gayfeathers lining the roads; the smell of bread baking in the oven; a visit from your son and grandpuppy; saving almost $3K by switching insurance companies

Sunday: praying beside your husband and son in church; mist draped across the hills; homemade biscuits smothered in wild boar sausage gravy; potato and leek soup on a rainy day; hearing two favorite songs you haven't heard in ages (more on those later); your son and grandpuppy waiting for you to get home from work before heading back to their home; a glorious sunset after a day of steady rainfall

 

I hope you are stepping into a week full of sweet! moments! Remember, sometimes the simplest are the sweetest! Share them here! 

Once in a Blue Moon...

We stood on a small hill Friday night, Tom and I, waiting for the Blue Moon to make its appearance.

This hill is just a small rise in a neighborhood down the road.  A weathered asphalt road, gated at the bottom, winds to the top. I guess someone planned to build a home up there, where you have a 360 view of the hills and lake all around, but then changed their mind. The top is flat, but house-less.

I'm grateful to the owners, whoever and wherever they are, for hanging on to the hill and keeping it vacant for respectful trespassers like me and Tom (and me and Lisa on the horses last week.) The little hill is a beautiful spot to watch moonrises, sunsets, and approaching storms.

(Or active storms, for that matter. My oldest, while still a teenager, would slip away when I wasn't looking and drive his old car up there when the skies were really putting on a show. I'm so grateful to his angels for keeping him safe! Dang kids.)

There were no storms Friday night, but there were low clouds that veiled the moon from us. Tom and I were patient, though, keeping one hopeful eye on the clouds while we gazed out over the hills and a shrinking lake.  We were rewarded by this sunset directly opposite the moon's stage...

 

 

 

A few minutes later, perhaps out of mercy, or maybe just jealous that our attention had wavered, the moon finally peeked at us through a small gap in the clouds.

 

 

 

By now you probably all know the definition of a Blue Moon: the third full moon in a season that has four full moons, instead of the usual three, or a second full moon in a month.

It's pretty rare... hence the saying "...once in a blue moon."

But not nearly as rare as two people meeting one night in a bar and, within a few days, knowing they want to spend the rest of their lives together... 

That's what happened to me and Tom thirty-one years ago this month. What better way to celebrate than wandering around the top of a small hill at dusk, watching the sun melt and hoping for a glimpse of a Blue Moon.

Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue Moon
You know just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked to the Moon it turned to gold

Blue Moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue Moon lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Kids, Dogs, and other sweet!s

I had plans for this day off: clean my filthy house before house guests arrive Saturday. I'll hardly have a free minute in the coming days.

But Tom threw his back out Saturday, which means it's now my job to move TG's bed and other heavy furniture to her apartment since he's out of commission.

My sweet boys are pitching in to help. They're both asleep right now, along with TG and a few extra kids. They kept me up later than I planned last night; consequently, I slept later than I planned this morning. But they were hours filled with laughter and hugs and soaking my eyes in the sight and sound of them.

I think, for any Empty-Nest mom, there's nothing sweeter! I know there's not for me! Plans will be re-arranged accordingly, happily, gratefully.

Now Belle's sitting outside the French doors wondering what's taking me so long to get started on our walk, but while I ate my cereal and drank my first cup of coffee in this now-silent house, I thought I'd hop on here and share this sweet! with you: having all three kids home at the same time... temporarily.

(Please say a prayer for Tom's back!)

 

This photo has nothing to do with the post... I just liked it. Flowers still blooming despite the drought!

And now for more sweet! moments from the past week... 

Monday: being available to help your daughter when she needs it; Waterloo Ice House tortilla soup and onion rings, especially when you're really hungry; a sister who's a great editor/proofreader; starting Season 3 of Breaking Bad

Tuesday: remembering the photos of your daughter's new apartment you were supposed to email to the managing agency the night before in time to send them before work; pink mornings; problems with easy solutions; help with problems with difficult solutions; a friend who hears a song, thinks of you, and calls just to let you know; a Craig's List sell 

Wednesday: hearing the chanting of the Rosary nearby as you work; learning something new, all on your own; discovering another potential source of income; good news on your sister's health; riding a horse with a full moon rising above you; honest-to-goodness horses kisses (on your arm :)

Thursday: the full moon staying up long enough to tell you good morning; working on your book, a blog, your jewelry business, starting laundry, walking the dogs, and working out before you leave for work; a call from your baby girl giving you an update on her second day of school before you have to call her; Chinese food and a Meryl Streep movie with dear friends

Friday: helping people; watching the sunset and the moonrise with your sweetheart on a hill overlooking the Texas Hill Country

Saturday: another Craig's List sell; watching UT Longhorn fans at a winning game; meeting up with 1/3 of your kids

Sunday: waiting on considerate, fun customers; German Shepherd puppies; reflecting on memories of your childhood when you get word your mom's friend has passed away; all of your kids, plus a few extras and your grandpuppy, under your roof at the same time

I hope you're having a sweet!-filled Labor Day weekend. Please share one or two of them from your week here!

 

 

Thursday?!! What happened to Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday?

When I woke up this morning, light splashed across the livingroom floor, a "good night!" from the full moon who quickly snuggled under the treeline, out of sight.

Then tonight moonlight bathed our metal roof, making it glow. I never get tired of seeing that. One day I'll figure out how to capture a photo of it. For now, you'll just have to imagine it yourselves (or come visit when there's a full moon!)

This has been such a fast week, with very little time at home. Consequently,  my email has piled up... the laundry has piled up...  the dishes have piled up. But I did manage to send a short chapter out to my writing group this morning before work and got started on the laundry.

Before you think I'm complaining, I'll confess that Tom and I are hooked on Breaking Bad (via Netflix) and have watched at least two episodes this week. I rode horses last night and went to dinner and the movies with friends tonight.

I could have said "no, I have work to do", but I figure email, laundry, and dishes will always be there, right? Not necessarily true about husbands, horses, and friends.

The writing, though... I really need to make time for that. Photos, too. I don't think I'll ever get the balance down, but I'll keep trying.

 

Monday I spent the day with TG, mostly getting her settled in a new apartment. It took us hours to complete the move-in checklist - the place was a wreck! Besides being just plain dirty, there were tons of broken things.

I took at least 50 photos and then showed them to the managing company when we turned in the check-list. They really try to take advantage of those students and it makes me mad. But the woman I spoke to seemed as upset as we were and within a couple of days they had taken care of a few of the problems.

While I was downtown, I stopped by the camera shop to have them take a look at my zoom lens, fingers crossed the focusing problem would be an easy fix.

No such luck. The focus mechanism gears appear to be broken, requiring a month-long stay at the factory and a potential chunk out of my checking account. A replacement lens is totally out of the question right now, though, so I'll just pray this vacation does the trick and we have several more years together.

*****************************************

 

Dear TV Meteorologists,
Please get inside out of the hurricane. It doesn't impress me to see you trying to stand up in the wind and battered by the rain. It just makes me question your intelligence. I really don't want to see you hit in the head and killed by debris, or swept away in a flood, and have to live with that memory. 
Thank you.

I posted that on Facebook yesterday in a fit of frustration after watching Al Roker and some other guy struggle in the wind and rain of Hurricane Isaac while telling us how the wind was so strong it knocked down a piece of concrete culvert.

Yikes! 

I've been trying to keep an eye on Hurricane Isaac, praying for family and friends in Louisiana, but geez, those silly weathermen make me want to just turn off the television. What about you?

(So far everyone I know seems to have come through with minimal damage, thank goodness.)

 

 

 

I've been up before dawn every day this week, walking the puppies in the pink light of a new day. Both of Max's hind legs drag a little now and he has the bony hips that come with old age.

But he still grins and teases Belle, making her blast off and run rings around us until she's spent. He's still a happy dog and doesn't appear to be in any pain. For that I'm grateful. 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Years and other sweet!s

Last Monday Tom and I celebrated our thirtieth anniversary.

(Yikes! Thirty years??!!)

Because of circumstances, we didn't have time to buy each other a card, much less a gift, but his youngest brother and his wife surprised us with a cake, a dozen beautiful salmon-colored roses, a six-pack of Shiner Bock, and a funny anniversary card signed by everyone. 

Later, after the Rosary and visitation for Pop, we shared an intimate Mexican food dinner with forty-plus other Shallue relatives. And sometime that day (or maybe the next... they all blurred together) he serenaded me with Leon Russell's "A Song for You", one of our favorites.

Father Don presented us with a certificate from the diocese this morning, congratulating us for sticking it out through thick and thin for thirty years. After Mass, a woman told me the first thirty are the hardest. She then shared (with tears in her eyes) that her husband died soon after their thirty-first anniversary.

I promised her and myself that I wouldn't take a single day for granted, but would give thanks for each day Tom and I have together from here on out.

I hope she's right about the toughest part being behind us, though. Lord have mercy, Tom can irritate me, and I know I drive him at least a teensy bit crazy.

But thirty years, three kids, and a good balance of tears and laughter equals lots and lots and lots of love.  We're blessed, and we know it. I think we might just make it.

 

Here are some other sweet! moments from the past week:

 

Saturday: spotting a little girl wearing Minnie Mouse ears in church; your kids stopping to visit your parents in Houston on their way to Florida

Sunday: your kids arriving in Florida, safe and sound, without killing each other; being surrounded by family, watching the closing ceremony of the Olympics, and playing cards  

Monday: remembering your wedding day; a photo shoot of your nephew and his very pregnant wife on the beach; anniversary surprises from your in-laws; joining with family to pray the Rosary for your father-in-law; dinner with forty-plus relatives, all at the same table (well, several joined to make one)

 

 

 

Tuesday: words of comfort at your father-in-law's funeral; friends who support you during sad times; a Twenty-One Gun Salute; helping to celebrate your nephew's 12th birthday; cheesecake; sisters-in-law

Wednesday: a rainbow in the sky on your way to church; a call from a dear friend; winning three games of 3-13; helping to celebrate your brother-in-law's 51st birthday; a call that your kids made it back home; safe and sound; friends who care for your puppies when you have to be away

Thursday: running after a week of sitting; more 3-13 and laughter with family; looking back at the photos of family over the past month

Friday: drinking coffee from Pop's thermos; clear skies for your drive home; a detour for lunch (and hugs and kisses) with your parents; the first sight of home, after two weeks away

Saturday: a morning walk with your puppies for the first time in two weeks; a few hours to catch up on bills and laundry before heading to work; a homemade caramel and chocolate dessert; falling in bed after 7 hours on your feet

Sunday: a blessing from your church family for your thirtieth anniversary; chef-prepared fried redfish, mushrooms, broccoli, and cauliflower

 

...and don't forget it!

Sweets...Sorrows

Pop passed away early Thursday afternoon.

Those words are so hard to type; I couldn't do it here before today.

Thank you for all of the prayers and light sent his way, and ours. We believe his passing, and the way he passed, was an answer to prayers, probably even his own... so peaceful, his sons and beloved wife of 60 years by his side, holding his hands, whispering their love, letting him go to the next life, painfree and joyful.

These fragile bodies of ours aren't meant to last forever - what more could we ask?

I have heard about the Angels of Hospice, but this was my first experience with the loving care, consideration and respect they pour upon patients and their families. If you ever doubt there is goodness in the world, spend a day in a hospice center and your faith will be restored. I believe every member of the staff of Covenant Hospice in West Florida Hospital in Pensacola, from the doctor to the woman who mopped the floors, is an angel.

This week has been a blur, but moments of sweetness still swirled through the sorrow... 

.....arriving in time to whisper your love and say goodbye to your dear father-in-law; listening to childhood stories of your husband and brothers that trigger a laugh from their dad; supporting your husband, his brothers, and your mother-in-law when their hearts are breaking; the loving care of hospice workers; calls and messages of love and prayers from friends and family; the fierce love of sons for their father and mother

Thank you again for your sweet messages and prayers, and please keep them coming as Mom, Tom, and his brothers adjust to life without Pop.

Kenneth Peter Shallue, beloved husband and father, passed from this life on Thursday, August 9, 2012. Born on September 9, 1929, he is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary (Janie) Shallue and nine sons, Kenneth (Cathy), Randall (Mary Lou), Thomas (Barbara), Steven (Kim), Joseph (Erin), Russell (Laura), Michael (Lisa), Robert (Joan), and John (Yadira), as well as siblings Dorothy Place (Greg), Mary Jane Andrastik (Ron), Patrick Shallue (Judy), Larry Shallue (Cathy), Michael Shallue (Paulette), Danny Shallue (Cathy), and Charles Shallue (Mary). Twenty-seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren will also miss playing cards and fishing with their Pop-Pop.
MSGT Shallue retired from the USAF in 1972. He was an active Knight of Council 7027 and a 4th Degree member of Assembly 2823 with the Knights of Columbus of Milton.

To read more about Pop, read The Leader of the Pack I wrote in honor of his birthday three years ago.

Rest in peace, Pop. I love you and I'm going to miss seeing that twinkle in your eye.

O my God, fill my soul with holy joy,
courage and strength to serve you.
Enkindle your love in me and then walk with me
along the next stretch of road before me.
I do not see very far ahead, but when I have arrived
where the horizon now closes down,
a new prospect will open before me,
and I shall meet it with peace. Amen.

- St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

 

Sweet Chaos

I'm home.

The past week has been a whirlwind of sand, sunshine, hugs, laughter, seashells, sunburns, storm clouds, card games, wet towels, buffet-style meals, birthday cake, aloe gel, clear water, ocean waves, camera clicks...

But now, I'm home, hitting the ground running last night as soon as we unloaded the car... unpacking, starting laundry, uploading 1000 photos to my computer...

Yes, that's right. I said 1000.

But when you consider I spent a week in Pensacola Beach, Florida, at a reunion with my husband's parents, seven of his eight brothers and most of their families (including one brother's in-laws) I think I showed remarkable restraint in limiting myself to 1000 photos, don't you?

But the chaos didn't end with vacation. I have 2/3 of my kids home again right now, plus an extra. They're all in that limbo between moving out of one apartment and having to wait a week or two before moving into the next one.

Consequently, there's a mini-fridge in my livingroom, as well as stacks of boxes, furniture, and bags full of stuff scattered all over the house.

And I love it.

(Temporarily, at least.)

More on all of the above later. Right now I'm ignoring the casualties, which include my favorite swimsuit coverup (rust-colored stains I haven't been able to remove) and 1/2 of my brain (a spiral notebook where I listed my to-do's and jotted down bits of thoughts)...

Instead, I'm focusing on the sweet!s from the past week..

 

Saturday: safely arriving at your destination; reunions with family; the ocean's lullaby; the play of flashlights on a beach at night

Sunday: standing-room only in an island church on a beautiful summer morning; playing 3-13; watching your kids learn cribbage from two old pros 

Monday: running in a beach town; reading on the beach with the sound of waves in your ears; a walk on the beach at night; the BEACH, period!

Tuesday: seeing a sand shark and a turtle swimming in the water (from shore!); hugs from loved ones you haven't seen in a long time and babies you're seeing for the first time; winning a Wii Dance Off

Wednesday: running barefoot through the surf; baby sunglasses and hats; hamming it up at the air museum with your daughter; seeing the new Batman movie with your sister-in-law and lots of kids; watching your grown kids play with their little cousins; watching dolphins jumping in the bay

Thursday: having all of your kids with you; pictures and texts letting you know your puppies are doing fine while you're away; a banquet room filled with family; moonlight splashing on the Gulf of Mexico in front of your condo; cousins playing card games together

Friday: taking a long walk with your sweetie on the beach, holding hands; watching fish jump out of the water; McGuire's Irish Pub and the Pensacola Beach Boardwalk with your son and future daughter-in-law; a storm that passes you by 

Saturday: a house and pool overflowing with family of all ages that you haven't seen in too many years... wishing a happy birthday to everyone... crossing language barriers...and too many sweet!moments to list!

Sunday: good weather for traveling; a scenic detour; Subway Sandwich Shops on every exit of I-10; arriving home, safe and sound, to two puppies wiggling and grinning and overflowing with happiness at the sight of you; finding the momma duck and her mostly-grown duckling still hanging out at the neighborhood pond; new purple and yellow wildflowers popping up along your country road

Monday: a house full of kids and their stuff; watching your old puppy act like a youngster; tackling tons of to-do's; a day spent running errands with your daughter

I hope you all had a week full of sweet!s and have already started on another one. But please take a minute to share a sweet! from your past week!

 

Feels so right on a Friday the 13th

I've been sitting here listening to Alabama's Greatest Hits, getting all sappy, thinking back to another Friday the 13th almost 30 years ago when I said "I do"...

... and thinking even further back to that night at Gilley's just a year earlier when Alabama sang "Feels so right..." and Tom and I were the only ones on the dance floor...

We weren't really the only ones dancing, of course, but it felt that way, and it already felt so right being there in his arms, just twenty-four hours after seeing his face for the very first time.

It felt so right that if you had told me back then there would be days in the next 31 years when we didn't know if we'd make it, days when we didn't even like each other, I would have laughed at you.

Who knew marriage could sometimes feel like running a three-legged race in the dark over a dangerous obstacle course?

You would think that time together would help you grow stronger, to work more like a team, that the obstacles would get smaller and easier to maneuver with every passing year.

But just recently so many of our friends have gone their separate ways after decades together that I'm wondering if midlife is perhaps the biggest obstacle of them all? An avalanche of issues left lying unresolved or ignored, like child-rearing philosophies and financial stresses and unfulfilled dreams and buried jealousies and hurt feelings and wounded pride, piling up higher and higher until all it takes is a look or one sarcastic word to send it all crashing.

How does anyone survive something like that without superhuman powers?

The thing is, many do. I'm grateful we have so far. Very, very grateful.

My arsenol of secret weapons includes remembering how right it felt in those first few days... that "Oh, it's you!" realization when I first looked into his eyes... and believing with a certainty that erased all traces of agnosticism in my mind and heart that God brought us together.

However, that certainty doesn't lull me into taking it for granted our marriage will survive the obstacles still waiting for us there in the dark of the future without a fierce determination to get through them together, and plenty of secret weapons.

In fact, I think that may be another secret weapon - don't take your marriage, or your love, for granted. Ever. Period.

But the secret weapon I use the most? Prayer.

 

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love. 

~ From Kahlil Gibran on Love and Marriage

 

*thank you for taking this photo of us, Rae! It's still one of my favorites!

From the Front Porch

I was busy with to-do's when Tom said the magic words Wednesday evening: Painted Bunting. That's all it took to get me to trade the vacuum cleaner for my camera and join him on the front porch.

We sat in rocking chairs angled toward the bird feeder. For more than an hour we sat and rocked and watched and laughed and whispered.

We're easily entertained.

Then he left to go hunt snakes and snapping turtles and I sat there alone until the no-see-ums started biting my ankles. It was too dark for any more photos, anyway.

I learned a lot sitting there. Birds are big chickens, for one thing. Well, I already knew that from past porch-sitting-bird-watching experiences.

But what I didn't realize until yesterday evening is that bird parents celebrate empty nests much like human parents. The Buntings chased each other all over the woods, taking turns to stop by the feeder for a snack (keeping a watchful eye on us, of course.) The Cardinals and Mexican Jays did the same thing.

I suspect they were exhilirated by the sheer freedom and sense of success an empty nest symbolizes!

Here are a few highlights seen from my rocking chair on the front porch... 

 A movement in the woods caught my eye - a bunny! 

I also spotted these squirrels playing in the distance.

A solitary daisy decorating my front yard.

At 8 o'clock at night it finally dropped below 100 degrees.

And now, the star of the show... Mr. Painted Bunting 

Mrs. Painted Bunting was harder to catch... she didn't trust us at all. 

This one is still a bit of a mystery. Perhaps a house finch?

Mr. Cardinal... the biggest chicken of them all. I'm sure this is not his best portrait.

Mrs. Cardinal was pretty shy herself.

But Baby Cardinal had some attitude!

The Mexican Jays used to be big chickens, too, but they were bold Wednesday evening. Maybe they've finally gotten used to me.

A drop of sunset gold splashed onto a bit of the woods...

It just added to the magic of the evening.

"In order to see birds it is necessary to become part of the silence" - Robert Lynd

A Photography, Writing, Duck Soup, Fajitas, and Birthday Cake Weekend

Several months ago, on a slow Saturday at the winery bistro, I waited on a man and his wife. The man had a Nikon, so of course I started asking him a jillion questions and talking photography.

Their son had gotten married that weekend, so I gave him my email address and he sent me the link to the photos he took (fantastic!) and some websites to check out for posting pics, etc. 

Well, this past Saturday Steve (that's his name) dropped in for lunch and a photography shoot. He sat by a window and was able to snap images of some hummingbirds that never stay put long enough for me to grab my camera and capture.

It was a busier Saturday than the first so we didn't get to talk shop as much, but it was still fun seeing him in person again.

Isn't it amazing how friendships are born?

From work I drove straight to my writing critique group meeting. I finished my latest chapter too late for everyone to critique this time (the key thing is I finished it!), but I benefit just from meeting with these women and sharing critiques of their works.

Three of the members were pitching their works-in-progress at the Writer's League of America conference and couldn't make the meeting; before we left we heard via phone that all three had been asked to submit chapters to agents! I'm in good company, that's for sure. (I hope they let me keep meeting with them!)

From there, I headed to a concert-in-progress by Duck Soup. Our school's previous band director, Les Huff, is a member and I had yet to hear him play in this band. I finally made it!

The place was packed and I had fun listening, snapping a few photos, and dancing in place from the sidelines, but even more fun when I met up with Les' wife and made it out to the dance floor during the last set.

That's Les on the end. Don't let all the gray hair and bald heads fool you... these guys can rock!

Here's a better one of Les. Notice the trumpet at his feet? Multi-talented! 

The dance floor was packed, with all ages represented...

(I'm not going to say where they were playing because this restaurant, previously one of my favorites and one I've given tons of free publicity in the past, has decided to put a minimum tab of $50 on all outside seats during these concerts. So I won't be eating there anymore or mentioning them on my website.)

Sunday after Mass Tom and I drove to a friend's house to help her celebrate her birthday, which was actually today (happy birthday, Leslie!)

Fajitas, birthday cake, and friendship - the perfect ending to a beautiful weekend.

(Today Tom and I went hunting snakes - but I'll save that for another post.)

Hope your weekend was filled with music, friendship, and things that bring a smile to your face!

 

 

She's still here... and other sweet!s of the week

I slipped through the trees on the narrow deer trail as quietly as possible to check on the mama duck and her duckling this morning. At first glance, the pond was empty.

But earlier this week it appeared empty, with only a lone feather brushing the shore. I thought for sure something bad had happened to them, but the next day I checked again, hope still alive in my heart, and they came swimming out from the side of a small hill that blocked a portion of the pond from my view. Whew!

So this morning when I came upon the empty pond, I didn't jump to tragic conclusions. I knew she might be hiding to see what kind of intruders were heading her way. Within a few minutes, she and her baby glided out onto the pond.

I guess she knows the dogs and I are harmless.

That's pretty dang sweet!

Here are a few other sweet!s from my past week...

Sunday: hearing Spirit in the Sky and Bang a Gong played on the car radio in one day; spending Father's Day with your dad; seeing 2/3 of your kids in one day

 

Monday: sleeping in and going on a long walk with your husband and puppies; watching birds and wildlife around a pond in the woods

Tuesday: spotting the mama duck and duckling you feared had met foul (fowl?) play; raindrops on your shoulders; a glimpse of the Great Blue Heron gliding past your window while you work; taking a step and seeing dozens of tiny frogs hop in all directions; wisps of pink clouds at sunset; listening to the wind play the chimes on your front porch

Wednesday: waking to the sound of rain, and hearing it off and on all day long; joining with others in prayer for a friend

Thursday: a sister's love;  meeting friends for lunch; your puppy finally eating dinner after skipping two meals and worrying you half to death; enjoying the sunset from a porch swing, listening to David Gray

Friday: your old puppy ready for a walk first thing in the morning and eating all of his breakfast; discovering a beautiful blue and black butterfly inches from you; playing your drums for the first time in a few weeks; actually accomplishing what you hoped to and still getting to bed before midnight

Saturday: the mama duck and her duckling still alive and well; a beautiful blue Mexican Jay standing still in the open long enough for you to capture a photo; shade in a Texas summer

I hope your past week and the one ahead overflow with sweet! moments of your own!

A Father...

A father gives advice 

A father nourishes the body 

and the soul 

 

A father encourages

A father reads

A father lends a hand 

A father plays 

 

A father offers support 

 

A father sticks close by your side

 

A father makes memories

A father teaches 

A father laughs 

 

A father is gallant

 

A father proves age is just a number

 

A father reaches out 

A father hangs on tight

 

A father helps you aim high

A father shows pride 

A father sets a good example to follow

A father relaxes

A father listens

A father works

 

A father helps out

 

A father loves

A father dances 

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.

~Author Unknown

Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers.

 I'm traveling today, making a one day trip to spend Father's Day with my Daddy, so this was a repost from last year featuring my three favorite fathers - my sweet Daddy, my remarkable father-in-law and my wonderful husband Tom, father of my children.

 I'm blessed to still have all three in my life.

For those of you who can no longer wish your daddy "Happy Father's Day" in person, I'll give mine extra hugs and whisper a prayer for you and yours.

I'll also send you over to read Jennifer's beautiful words on love and fatherhood and imperfection at Ripplespeak... "there you are... i see you."

Thinking of another Memorial Day Weekend (plus my Sweet!s of My Week)

A day with our kids and other families, swimming in a cold river, eating fresh pineapple, grilling burgers... a night spent laughing and dancing to Johnny Dee and the Rocket '88s... and then a phone call early on that Tuesday morning afterwards that made me realize how much I had been taking for granted and how quickly life can change directions.

That Tuesday was fourteen years ago today. Tom left for work, expecting it to be like any other day, but it wasn't.  He didn't expect the other car to come into his lane, didn't expect to spend a week in the hospital or the summer trying to heal and recover instead of building our home. He didn't expect to live with pain for the next fourteen years.

But that's what happened, whether he expected it or not. And the thing is, we got through it. We built our home... not that summer, but there were other summers, and I'm grateful for that. We've spent more days swimming in cold water with family and friends, and evenings laughing and dancing. I don't think a day goes by when Tom isn't in some degree of pain, but somehow he moves on and doesn't let it stop him from doing what he needs, or wants, to do.

(I took notes and turned them into an essay as therapy... click "In the Aftermath of a Car Crash" if you want to read more about it.)

It wasn't the last unexpected detour in our road we've encountered, and I'm sure there are more waiting for us. I can't say I'm grateful it happened. I'd love to tell you something positive that came from it, but honestly, I haven't been able to see that ray of light yet. Perhaps it's shining where I can't see it. I can only hope so.

But I'm still grateful, period, that whatever roadblock is in front of us now, we're approaching it together.

Life is just too short for grudges and regrets that burn holes in your heart, for dwelling on the past or the future so long that you miss your today.

It's too short not to pursue your passion even if you only have a few seconds free each day to do it.

Too short to sit back and wait for things to happen, or for someone else to do it, or to make excuses.

Too short not to love with your whole heart, leaving no room for pride or selfishness, always trying to understand, listen, forgive, and ask forgiveness.

Too short not to take care of yourself and those you love.

Life is just too short, period, and too wonderful to take for granted.

(I've spared you the most graphic images of Tom. His face was split open. You're welcome.)

And now for a few sweet! moments of my week...

Sunday: chunks of time for writing; sitting in a dark theater, laughing at Dark Shadows with 2/3 of your kids, flashing back to watching the series with your dad; theater popcorn, courtesy of your son; giving my time for a friend

Monday: being asked to critique a high schooler's short story; friends pulling together to support another friend; a framed photo of you and your daughter from more than a decade ago sitting on your desk while you work, a belated Mother's Day gift from your baby girl

Tuesday: a songbird greeting you first thing in the morning; a day with your daughter, running errands, grocery shopping, meeting her new roommates; a funny movie with friends; popcorn for dinner twice in one week

Wednesday: Texas farmland and wide open spaces; supporting a dear friend as she says goodbye to her mother; catching up with long-time friends; your husband taking care of a mama mouse and her babies that he found in the garage, rather than put them outside where they'd surely be eaten by a snake 

(but now what do we do with them???)

Thursday: working out for the first time in a week; hours free to work on your book; two walks with your dogs in one day; friends who send you links to freelance jobs; not having to drive anywhere all day! 

Friday: turtles and yellow-crowned night heron sightings, even if you forgot to bring your zoom lens on your morning walk (do you spot it up there in the drying-up pong?); your puppy pouncing through the tall grass after lizards; scratching things off your to-do list; a call from your sister; sigh-evoking engagement photos of your son and his love; your baby girl home for the weekend

Saturday: having your husband by your side, through good days and bad days

Share your sweet moments with me! I think sharing makes them sweeter.

I hope your coming week is full of sweet, magical moments and that you remember not to take a single one for granted!

This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle; wonderful, inscrutable, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it.

~Thomas Carlyle

Super Moon and other Sweet!s of the Week

I've already jumped onto the Weekend Express, but I'm taking advantage of a pit stop to post my Saturday Sweet! List from the past week before I get whisked into the next one...

 

Saturday: catching the Super Moon low on the horizon; waking to the sound of unexpected rain

(Not the best capture, but enough to trigger my memory of standing on my friend Nancy's back porch watching it rise in the sky over the pasture.) 

Sunday: Mass with dear friends in a beautiful historic church; sunlight streaming through stained glass windows; barbecue chicken plates benefiting a volunteer fire department; a quick visit with your son, future daughter-in-law, and grandpuppy; Gruene, Texas, even for just a quick stop

Monday: an omelette made with fresh veggies from a friend's garden; new tires on your car; spending time with your baby girl 

Tuesday: your husband bringing you flowers; finishing tasks that weighed on your mind

(from a yucca plant that was knocked over in the thunder storm)

Wednesday: soft raindrops on a morning walk; box turtles resting near a pond; sleeping dogs; friends responding to a prayer request; grilled cheese sandwiches a la Tom

Thursday: an unexpected paid work day (cha-ching!); second graders; Ocean Week in an elementary school; storm clouds making way for sunshine long enough to walk your puppies

Friday: gathering with friends and 1/3 of your kids for dinner, even if the band (and dancing) is rained out; sunsets and storm clouds over a lake; rainbows

 

Hope you all had a wonderful week and the next one is even better. And in case my Mother's Day post runs a few days late, Happy Mother's Day to all of you who have experienced the joy and heartbreak of motherhood, whether you ever gave birth or not.

Here's a flower for you...

(the onions are blooming!) 

Hello There

Has anyone even missed me?

For the past few days, I've been holed up in my office, focused in a way that's unusual for me, fueled with determination to finish editing photos from a shoot last month.

(I know! Shame on me for taking so long! I do have the relatively good excuse of getting my new computer, having to load software and learn how to do what I need to do, bit by bit. Still, shame on me...)

But I'm happy to report I finished the photos last night and mailed them off to my friend today. I also mailed a shoebox full of thank-you notes to friends who helped me get this dream computer that I'm staring at right now. I never, ever, ever could have gotten it without them, so the writing of those notes had also been hanging over my head, occasionally tapping me on the shoulder, and even sometimes tripping me when I walked by. 

I forgive them because I appreciate the reminders, but you can imagine how relieved I am to have them out of my house!

(Now I know my friends that they're addressed to aren't checking their mailboxes every day and tsk, tsk, tsking me on my lack of manners, or planning to de-Facebook-friend me because of it. But it's one of those things you feel inside, that you know you need to take care of and the longer you put it off the more it eats at you.)

So, whew! that's done.

During my outing to the post office, I also mailed a ring to a friend. This is a dear friend who lives a couple of hours away, who I just happened to visit this past weekend on the premise of her hosting a Silpada party for me.

This ring is the replacement to one she bought several years ago from a different Silpada representative. The stone had fallen out and I took care of the exchange for her. (Silpada has a lifetime guarantee.) 

I've been holding onto the replacement ring for a few weeks now. I mean, why mail it when I would be going to see her soon anyway, right?

It's weird...I remember the very moment this weekend when I realized I had forgotten to bring that ring. I was standing in her kitchen and it hit me hard, like a frying pan. Thank goodness Nancy was (sort of) forgiving and didn't hit me herself with a frying pan.

And hallelujah! that nagging feeling that I'd forgotten something went away...

Tom came along with me for the weekend and we had such a great time. Nancy and Paul are teachers who live out in the country, as in cows and chickens and kittens and sheep and tractors and gardens overflowing with cucumbers, squash, potatoes, peppers... overflowing enough that they loaded us up with fresh garden treasure... that now overflows bowls in my kitchen...

It had been a couple of years since our last visit to their house. Time always brings change, but this time the change was pretty obvious: an oil rig squatted in the pasture between Nancy's house and her in-laws'.

Oil is the new hot crop in those parts, especially after the drought of the past couple of years. Ranchers have had to sell cattle because they couldn't feed them. The oil boom is a huge blessing!

And that's why they forgive the rig its gawky incongruity with the surrounding countryside. In fact, Tom would really love to get one, too!

But I had looked forward to getting some more photos of Nancy's cows, and was disappointed that the rig had scared them off to some distant back forty. 

Thank goodness the Mama cat had had more kittens...

...and even though for some reason I felt too intimidated on this trip to snap any photos during Mass of their gorgeous, historic church, I did snap these afterward...

Nancy and I also went for a ride down the highway on a Kuboto RTV to meet members of their sheep herd (mostly to see the brand new babies) but I'm going to post those on my photography site, um, later. Hopefully tomorrow.

But there are still some of those items on my to-do list tapping me on my shoulder, so first and foremost, I'm going back into my shell to get them done before they start tripping me as I walk by. 

#1 on that list is "make progress on my book." 

Wish me luck!

What Do You Worry About?

 

The older I get, the less I worry. 

That doesn't mean I don't worry. Just that I'm beginning to realize worry doesn't help anything.

Prayer does, so the older I get, the more I pray.... that God will show me what I can do to help the situation, and if there's nothing I can do, to help me step back and let him take care of things.

...And that no matter what, I never lose hope.

When I do worry, it's about my kids... our finances... Tom's health... um... I think that's it. Next to those, nothing else seems to matter that much.

Oh, I pray about much more than that... issues that my friends and family are dealing with... social problems in the world... but I'm talking about that knotted up, gray-cloud-of-despair, helpless type of worry.

I recently came across this list that author F. Scott Fitzgerald gave to his 11-year-old daughter, Scottie, in 1933.  

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage
Worry about cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship

Things not to worry about: 

Don’t worry about popular opinion
Don’t worry about dolls
Don’t worry about the past
Don’t worry about the future
Don’t worry about growing up
Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don’t worry about triumph
Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
Don’t worry about mosquitoes
Don’t worry about flies
Don’t worry about insects in general
Don’t worry about parents
Don’t worry about boys
Don’t worry about disappointments
Don’t worry about pleasures
Don’t worry about satisfactions

Things to think about: 

What am I really aiming at? 
How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:

(a) Scholarship
(b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them? 
(c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it? 

With dearest love,

Daddy

I don't agree with him on all of the items (horsemanship?), but I do on quite a few (especially the "nots") and like that he divided it between things we have control over and things we don't.

I wish I'd had the forethought to give my kids a list like this when they were younger. 

They probably wouldn't have listened to me, though.

I wonder if F. Scott's daughter listened to him? Probably not. We all seem to have to learn the hard way, right?

So... what do you worry about? 

 

Ten Years Ago...

He noticed it when he used the rowing machine at the gym where he worked. A consistent pain or pressure that would start up after a few minutes and go away when he stopped rowing. Perhaps a pulled muscle? He was in the middle of building our new home, after all, and stretching and working those muscles to their limit.

But when the pain popped up again while working on the car one April morning ten years ago, he decided he should have it looked into. He'd read enough about heart attacks to hear that tiny warning voice whispering in his ear.

Our doctor's office said don't bother coming in, call an ambulance and get to the hospital right away.

We didn't call an ambulance. By then the pain had gone away, so we took time to shower and eat lunch before heading out the door. We had enough experience with hospitals to know we'd be there awhile. 

After hours and hours and test after test - he passed the stress test with flying colors - they declared his heart fine and sent us home. But come see me in two weeks, the cardiologist told him.

He did, and he told her how he could get that feeling back in his chest after just so many minutes on that rowing machine even though running on the treadmill did nothing.

So she scheduled an arteriogram which revealed an artery in the circumflex was 95% blocked, in a spot that doesn't show up on EKGs and stress tests. 

They popped in a stent and two days later he was back at work.

Thank you, God, for good cardiologists and modern medicine and stubborn husbands who listen to their bodies and aren't afraid to speak up.

Thank you, God, for these past ten years with my sweet husband. I pray we have at least ten more, but just in case, I'll try my best not to take a single one of them for granted.

Happy Anniversary, Tom!! Thank you for taking care of yourself!

 

"Lullaby" (Dixie Chicks)

They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

I slip in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

As you wander through this troubled world
In search of all things beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And hear my voice like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

 

Totally. Blown. Away.

When my friend Darla mentioned having a birthday party for me, I agreed only because it was a good excuse for a get-together with dear friends from high school. 

"No presents, though!" I told her. "Make sure you tell everyone 'no presents'"! 

I knew she would still go crazy on food and decorating... she's a Master Hostess. The Diva of Detail.

But I was still surprised by these...

The next big surprise was turning a corner and seeing faces I didn't expect to see. Faces of friends who live hours and hours away, like Patti who even traveled with her margarita machine and the necessary ingredients for her delicious 80 calorie margaritas...

I was pretty sure my friend Annie was going to be there, even though she and husband Dan had some car issues they had to straighten out before driving in from Galveston. And I knew she was bringing some of her beautiful paintings.

But I'd only seen photos of them on Facebook and Etsy up until Saturday. In person they are even more amazingly beautiful.

Getting to take two home with me was certainly a sweet surprise! (Thank you, sweet, talented Annie!)

(you can see more of Annie's paintings in her Etsy Shop)

But as if those weren't enough surprises for this 53-year-old heart, they made me sit down while Patti read a poem she composed for me... which made me cry... 

and that ended like this:

So here's a little something to help you get that damn book written!

Then they plopped this huge box in front of me.

Breathless. 

That's how I felt as I stripped the paper away and realized these sneaky, wonderful people had somehow managed to give me a new computer. A brand spanking new giNORmous Mac.

My husband and Darla were the main conspirators. Oh, sneaky, sneaky...

He had even gone by there earlier in the week (when he told me he was working late!) and loaded some photos on it!

I'm still not sure who all is responsible - I know my kids were as well as some people who couldn't make it to the party. Darla promised to let me know, and as soon as I'm through with thank you notes, I'm taping their photos to my wall. I'll feel their eyes on me when I'm working, reminding me to stick with it. Whether it's warranted or not, they're putting their faith in me to finish my book.

Or maybe they were just really tired of hearing me complain about my old computer. I know Tom was!

Whatever their reasons, I still feel breathless and blown away when I think of their generosity and the depth of their friendship. It will be hard to repay them, but I'll do my best. 

 

‎"You don't have to have anything in common with people you've known since you were five. With old friends, you've got your whole life in common."

- Lyle Lovett

Mary Poppins and other Sweet!s of the week

I would lie on the wooden floor for hours... or at least it seemed like hours... listening to my Mary Poppins soundtrack album, over and over. Asthma held my lungs hostage - each breath was a major accomplishment - so lying there listening to "Step in Time" and "Feed the Birds" was about all I could do and the songs are ingrained in my memory.

It was, and still is, my favorite Disney movie. I don't remember the first time I saw it, but I remember going back as a teen with my sister, imagining strange looks from everyone else in line because we were the only ones who didn't have someone under the age of 5 with us.

Thanks to the miracle of recorded movies a la Beta, VHS, and DVD, I've watched it hundreds of times, with and without my children at various ages.

And that's why my heart skipped a beat when my dear friends let me know they were taking me to the stage performance for my birthday. 

We went Thursday night, first stopping for dinner at Hyde Park Grill. The stage production is a teensy bit different than the movie, but I could still sing along with most of the songs and the sets and actors' performances were amazing. 

A very sweet! night, thanks to some very sweet friends. Thank you Mary Kay, Karen, and Conni! 

Conni's not pictured... she's going Sunday with her twenty-something daughter, but we made sure to get her one of these bracelets! We've formed a new club!

Now I'm already halfway through a sweet! weekend. Two-thirds of the kids are home for the second weekend in a row, just because they wanted to. I like that.

And as if those aren't enough, here are a few other sweet! moments from the past week...

 

Sunday: Easter Mass; all the kids home; dinner with friends; watching kids on an Easter egg hunt; a call from your mama

Monday: new flowers popping up; watching your puppies hunt for lizards and swim in the creek 

Tuesday: shampoos by Clint (bittersweet... he's retiring from shampoos); a new cut and color by Michael; Panda Express fortune cookie fortunes

Wednesday: kids of all ages blowing bubbles; taking photos of a sweet friend and her family

Thursday: shoes on your feet and insect spray close by when you spot a 6-inch centipede swishing across your kitchen floor; the imaginations of 4th graders; watching kids swinging and playing a rowdy game of kickball on a school playground; dinner and Mary Poppins with dear friends

Friday: Friday the 13ths; spending the day with your sweetie; watching another episode of "The Game of Thrones" with 2/3 of your kids; discovering you won a "Post of the Week" from Hilary at The Smitten Image (Thanks again, Hilary!)

Saturday: spring mornings; your son and his dad working together on his "new" car

I hope you've all had a week full of sweets and the next one plain overflows with them!

 

The Great U2 Mystery

Yesterday morning, I was all set to listen to U2 while I ran on the treadmill. I've kept their Achtung, Baby! down there for several years for when the U2 running mood hits me. (I also keep some Ted Nugent, John Mellencamp, and Dixie Chicks handy - my running moods are pretty eclectic!)

(It's kind of funny... I didn't appreciate U2 until I approached my fifties. That seems so strange to me because I love their music now... to me, it's so passionate and energizing.) 

Anyway, that's what I needed yesterday morning, but when I opened the case, it was empty!

I searched through the loose cds piled on the shelf - no luck. I looked through the other cds upstairs. No luck. 

I scratched my head. Why did my U2 cds keep disappearing?  My absolute favorite one - The Best of 1990-2000 - went missing years ago. I keep the case, still hoping it will turn up someday, maybe under a couch cushion or someone's bed, perhaps. 

But now Achtung, too? What was going on? Was this some personal vendetta against me and U2?

I called Tom, texted all of my kids, in hopes that someone saw something, spotted it somewhere, remembered removing it from the player...

No luck.

Thank goodness I still had Joshua Tree to appease my U2 running mood, but the whole time I ran I wondered about Achtung and the great U2 CD Mystery...

When Tom came home later that evening, it only took him a couple of minutes to find it, of course. Show-off. Someone (possibly even me) had placed it in a clear cd case. It was sitting right there on the shelf near the others.

I would be mad at him if I wasn't so grateful. (Thank you, baby! Now can you find the other one?)

Traipsing through Cemeteries and other Sweet!s

It might seem unusual to wander through a cemetery on your birthday, but that's what I did yesterday.

There's a small one dating from the 1850's down the highway toward Marble Falls. When I heard it was blanketed with bluebonnets, I couldn't wait to visit it. There's just something about wildflowers growing beside a headstone that I find quite beautiful.  A reminder of fragility of life, the cycle of life, of life after death.

How appropriate for a birthday, especially one that falls on Good Friday, right?

After exploring the cemetery, offering prayers for the souls of those resting there and their families, we drove on to Marble Falls, where we visited a few eclectic antique and art shops in the old part of town (Tom and Daniel are such good sports!), and enjoyed dinner at a restaurant overlooking the lake.

Best of all, later that evening I got to share the traditional birthday cheesecake with all three of my kids. 

Just icing on a week full of sweet! moments...

Sunday: fields of bluebonnets and prairie verbena; pizza from a brick oven; sitting on the back deck on a beautiful spring night with your son and talking for hours

Monday: daily chats with your mom; finding a pair of shoes in your closet you'd forgotten about; butterflies; talking about your day over dinner with your sweetie

Tuesday: four-year-olds... especially their smiles and hugs and imaginations; working with a friend; reading a new book

Wednesday: a surprise birthday lunch with friends; creme brulee; a vineyard, caliche road and tin roof glowing in moonlight

Thursday: birthday cards in the mail; a birthday call from a dear friend and your uncle; practicing the drums; a full moon welcoming your birthday

Friday: greeting another birthday morning; breakfast, courtesy of your husband and son; birthday surprises in the mailbox; birthday wishes via phone, email and Facebook; bluebonnets blanketing a cemetery; sharing cheesecake and a movie with all three kids

Saturday: a lazy Saturday at home 

I hope you had a week full of sweet! moments, too!

 

An evening walk... and other sweet!s of the week

Tom and I have gotten into the habit of an afternoon walk down to our pond and along our little creek. The blue skies, golden light and exploding colors are irresistible.

First, Max wades into the pond up to his neck, letting the water penetrate his thick fur and cool him down. Belle ventures to the water's edge for a drink, but prefers to wallow in the sand of the road.

(Strange dog.)

Once Max is back on dry land, and dutifully shakes to share the pond with us, we cross the dam dotted with prairie verbena and fleabane, watching for poison ivy and blackberries, checking to see what trees are returning and which ones didn't survive the drought. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the slender ones with the beautiful bark that line the creek. So far I haven't spotted any buds, but maybe they're late bloomers...

It's possible, right?

We head up the hill a bit, then cross over to the little cemetery where Jake and Maggie and Char and Sylvia and Sylvester and Spanky are buried, marked with small iron crosses. (That's two dogs, one Siamese cat, two gerbils and a tiger salamander, if you're wondering. All beloved pets.)

We pass the old, twisted cedars and scramble down a small slope to a path that runs along the creek, following it back up to the little waterfall where we search for minnows and tadpoles before crossing the little rock dam.

The water is rising a little every day and you can't cross without getting your feet wet now, but we don't mind. We aim for two large limestone slabs resting on the bank of the creek just a bit downstream, where we sit and talk about our days. Max wades back in, but Belle gives us kisses and lets us pet her before they both scratch out cool spots in the earth under a rock overhang near us and nap until we decide it's time to head back to the house.

I imagine heaven to be very similar. 

At any rate, it's a sweet way to greet the evening.

Every spring is the only spring — a perpetual astonishment.

Ellis Peters

 

Here are a few other sweet! moments from my past week...

Saturday: sitting on a rock near a running creek with your dogs and husband, watching tadpoles scurry under the surface 

Sunday: a spring morning that makes you hear Cat Stevens singing "Morning Has Broken" in your mind

Monday: watching a great documentary on the 50's and 60's... and getting paid for it!; an overdue phone call that settles the Mama Worries growing in your heart; a drive down to the lake with your sweetie

Tuesday: progress on your book; homemade migas for lunch, with enough left over for tomorrow's breakfast; playing the drums for the first time in two or three weeks; hearing happiness and relief in your babies' voices 

Wednesday: playing the drums for the second day in a row; a new book in the mailbox

Thursday: long phone conversations with a dear friend; spending time with your daughter; tortilla soup from Santa Rita; a walk near a creek at dusk

Friday: living in a small town where, everywhere you go, you run into someone you know; butterflies; Catholic Church fish fries, followed by Stations of the Cross; Belle's grin when you come back home

I hope your past week was full of sweet! moments... and the next will have even more! Share your favorites here!

Enchanted Awesome-ness

Awe is the finest portion of humankind… In awe one feels profoundly the immense.

~ Goethe

We sat under a dark sky sprinkled with stars, catching up on each other's lives. The warm breath of the bonfire chased away the chill and the song of the creek drifted to us from the darkness.

After a few short hours, Tom rose and faded into the night, returning with a bucket of water which he poured onto the fire. It sizzled and popped and sent golden sparkles up into the sky to compete with the stars.

"Time to go to bed! We've got to get up early!" he barked.

"Yessir, Bossman!" we grumbled, grabbing chairs and bottles and trudging up the trail to the house. 

But when my alarm shocked me awake the next morning, I was grateful Bossman had ordered us to bed. Otherwise we would have stayed up half the night, mesmerized by the fire and the stars and the joy of seeing each other again.

Which means we would have gotten a late start this past Saturday and never experienced the view from the top of Enchanted Rock, a granite dome that is the center of many Native American legends, because, shortly after we made it through the gate into the state park, it closed due to the capacity limit.

 

On a beautiful spring day in the Texas Hill Country, everyone wants to go to Enchanted Rock...

 

...even though there's not much to do but climb, sit, and stare...

 

...wonder at the life growing even on top of a huge granite rock...

 

...and maybe sneak a kiss.

 

But somehow, that's enough.

 

On the way back down the Rock, however, the formations bring out the kid in you. You find yourself wanting to climb again.

The trick is getting back down...

At any rate, thank you, Bossman!

(Before reaching Enchanted Rock State Park, we introduced our friends Robert and Shari to the waves of bluebonnets on the Willow City Loop, and afterwards, enjoyed lunch in Fredericksburg at the Altdorf Biergarten Restaurant. Best Reuben sandwich I've had in a long time! I'll share those photos, as well as a few more from Enchanted Rock, on Confessions tomorrow.)

Texas and other Sweet!s

I spent this glorious spring day with Tom and dear friends Shari and Robert driving through the hill country... ooh-ing and ah-ing at fields of bluebonnets, hiking up Enchanted Rock, and eating in Fredericksburg. I'm sunburned and dog-tired, but happily so. (Pictures to follow... you can probably imagine how many I took!)

I have to give Tom credit for spotting this single Bluebonnet growing right in front of our house. For some reason, bluebonnets are rare down in the Hollow. One year we tried to plant some, but as I told a friend, the birds must have eaten the seeds and pooped them out elsewhere.

Thank you to whatever bird planted this bluebonnet standing so tall and proud, like a true Texan...

I just love it!

..."Proud Texan" leads me to this next photo that some guy named Steve Redman posted on Facebook. It's spreading like wildfire... at least among my Texan friends. I have no idea where he got it, but I love it, too.

Yes, we do think like this. But we also laugh at ourselves for thinking like this. Does that help make us a little less obnoxious?

"I have said that Texas is a state of mind, but I think it is more than that.  It is a mystique closely approximating a religion.  And this is true to the extent that people either passionately love Texas or passionately hate it and, as in other religions, few people dare to inspect it for fear of losing their bearings in mystery or paradox.  But I think there will be little quarrel with my feeling that Texas is one thing.  For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America.  Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study and the passionate possession of all Texans." -John Steinbeck, 1962

"If a man’s from Texas, he’ll tell you. If he’s not, why embarrass him by asking?" - Travel writer John Gunther, The Best of Texas.

 

And now for more sweet! moments of the past week...

 

Saturday: your Mama's tuna fish salad; watching basketball with your Daddy; bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes on a hillside at sunset; the smiles on your puppies' faces when you arrive home after a road trip

Sunday: driving empty highways at 4am to retrieve your daughter from a 22-hour bus trip; a great sermon; a red-tailed hawk, soaring through the hollow; watching movies with your daughter before she heads back to college

Monday: a bluebonnet growing in the Hollow; ducks gliding across a pond; four-year-olds discovering patterns and pretending to be airplanes and kitty cats; walking familiar halls after years of absence

Tuesday: knowing your puppies are indoors, safe and sound, on a stormy morning; a glimpse of more ducks through the trees, even though they fly before you can snap their picture; a call from your father-in-law, letting you know he's out of the hospital 

Wednesday: a walk before dawn, the Big Dipper ahead of you and a glimmer of sunrise behind; no line at the post office

Thursday: lunch with friends; coming up with a good excuse to drive downtown for a daughter hug; watching ducks fly away from you, even though you didn't have time to snap their photo (again!)

Friday: reading Othello aloud with high school seniors; a (mostly) clean house, just in time for the arrival of sweet friends; sitting around a bonfire with friends under a sky full of stars, talking and listening to a rushing creek

Saturday: fields of Texas wildflowers; sharing the view from the top of Enchanted Rock with friends; real German Reuben sandwiches

What were some sweet! moments of your week?

A Celestial Evening (Celeste Krenz and Harley's Angels)

Friday night, Tom and I joined 38 other sets of ears in our friends' living room to listen to Celeste Krenz, an singer/songwriter we'd never heard of before, even though her amazing voice has been singing for audiences for a couple of decades.

Her songs are unique, yet familiar somehow... her voice lyrical, soothing, and angelic... even when she's singing "If I Had a Gun"... 

And nothing beats listening to music like that in the intimacy of a home concert.

These particular friends, Bob and Lisa, have hosted several concerts in their home, including the Shake Russell concert a few years ago that inspired us to have our own (because we couldn't make it to theirs!)

Two years ago Bob and Lisa decided to add a purpose beyond entertainment to the concerts. Each artist who performed in their home signed a a Venture V3 acoustic/electric guitar that was later auctioned off. Last year it went for $2000 in a live auction at the Flight Against Breast Cancer fundraiser.

The fundraiser benefited Harley's Angels, a non-profit organization comprised of a group of "women motorcycle enthusiasts dedicated to promoting breast cancer awareness, research and education." 

Bob, a motorcycle enthusiast himself, lost his sister Karen to breast cancer a few years ago. This is his way of celebrating her life and helping to fight the disease that took her life.

The Shake Russell Trio and Michael Hearne will be the featured performers again this year at the third annual Flight Against Breast Cancer fundraiser on September 29.

Celeste Krenz kicked off this year's concert series and fundraising: a portion of her CD sales went to Harley's Angels.

Susan Gibson plays in May. I'm not sure who else Bob has lined up this year, but I'm sure he'll gather some other great musician/artists. Last year's guitar was signed by Tavana, Chuck Cannon, Klaus Oglesby, Jeff Senour, Joe McGinnity, Shake Russell, Doug Floyd, Mike Roberts and Michael Hearne.

As you can tell, Bob isn't one of those people who sits around wishing other people would do something. He just does it.

Bob holds the guitar steady while Celeste signs her name.

Celeste with representatives of Harley's Angels.

 

Celeste with hosts, Bob and Lisa.

 

I just love this pic of Bob and my sweetie! They've been friends since their Coast Guard days. 

If you're interested in learning more about the Flight Against Breast Cancer concert series and auction, let me know and I'll be sure to keep you posted on the details.