Long Hollow

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

A Note From Your Waiter: Do Not Call me Toots

 

Do not call me Toots.

My name is Barbara. If you forget it and need my attention, you can call me "ma'am", or say "excuse me" or "pardon me".

But Toots? Per Wikipedia, Toots is a slang term for "babe" or "sweetie" or "honey," or, more-negatively, "tart" or "prostitute."  

Who, or what, do you think I am - or perhaps I should ask, who do you think you are - that you can be so disrespectful to a stranger?

I am a part-time waiter right now, because I need the extra money to help pay for my kids' college tuitions so I can afford my own...to support my writing and photography passions...to get me up and away from the computer I'm glued to the rest of the time, to be active and talk to people, which I love.

But waiting tables in a winery restaurant isn't my dream job, and I'm looking for something else, but what if it was? What if this was what I wanted to do the rest of my life? Serving people, helping them relax and enjoy themselves...there are worse jobs out there, far less enjoyable and rewarding. And if I make it look easy...well, believe me, it takes a set of skills that a lot of people do not have.

Oh, and if you arrive before the restaurant opens, please be patient. It will be a few minutes before your order can be taken because there are just some things that I need to take care of first...

 

The three women arrived early, before the restaurant opened for business. They were already seated at a table with water and menus, courtesy of our office manager who works a normal 9 to 5 job, when I walked in and jumped right to work, bringing up the computer so I could enter orders, pulling the reds out of the chiller so they will be room temperature, tucking an order pad and pen into my apron. They were younger than me. Early to mid-thirties, I guessed.

I was behind the counter preparing the register when one waved a menu at me and said "We're ready, Toots."

Toots? my ears repeated, asking themselves if they heard what they thought they heard. 

"Okay, just a second," I somehow managed to say with a smile and not one ounce of saccharin sweetness. 

I made sure to state my name, loud and clear, when I took their order. I treated them with respect, and they left large donations to the World of Children Fund, the nonprofit group we support in lieu of tips. And they didn't call me Toots again.

 

But speaking of children...

 

I'm all for taking your children out to eat with you. I know how confining life with small ones can be. Besides, what better way to teach them how to behave in a restaurant? 

But if your children are still too young to learn, get a babysitter. Stay home. Or at the very least, accept your waiter's offer of a high chair so your little one doesn't wander around bothering other guests and touching breakable glassware and expensive vases...

This young couple had two precious little girls, one about 7 months old, the other about 2 years old. Despite several offers, they refused a high chair for the 2-year-old, instead allowing her to stand in the chairs or wander about the restaurant, unconcerned about the other patrons or the fragile wine glasses or silverware she was touching...until I uttered a warning out of fear she would hurt herself, which scared the little girl into staying close to her parents.

For awhile.

Still, they were a cute couple and I didn't have many other customers. There were no broken glasses, no falls from the chair, no complaints. And after they left with lots of tips from me about places to visit in Austin, and I was sweeping up all of the cracker and bread crumbs littering the floor under and around their table, I remembered another floor covered in crackers...

One evening when our oldest was in the high chair and saltine cracker stage, Tom and I had a serious craving for seafood, so we took a drive out to our favorite restaurant. By the time we left, a three foot radius around our son's high chair was covered in cracker crumbs.

I was mortified, but wasn't sure what to do, other than leave a large tip and not return until our kids were old enough to know that saltines were not edible playthings.

Ah, paybacks.

Which I guess means they'll get theirs some day, too, both the young couple and the woman who called me Toots. Just another circle of Life.

And that makes me smile, because I'm human, after all.

(Hey, wait a minute! I never called a waiter Toots. Just proof that Life is also unfair and has a warped sense of humor, I suppose.)

Alleluja!

"Because Christ rose from the dead, we know that sin and death and Satan have been decisively defeated."

~ Billy Graham

It rained today. Normally, that's not what you want on Easter Sunday, but when you're in the middle of a drought like we are, rain is an Easter blessing. 

And then the sun came out this afternoon. Perfect!

I threw 'healthy' away this morning and fixed bacon and eggs for breakfast for my two boys and myself (blueberry muffins for Tom)...then I indulged in Reese's peanut butter eggs...and ate a delicious dinner which included ham AND lamb, potatoes au gratin, and cheesecake. 

But being Easter, it was a day of celebration, not a day to worry about calories or arteries or, um, trying to fit into the clingy dress you bought for your son's wedding less than a month away. Hmmm.

Anyway...unfortunately, sometime during the night a bunch of field mice had a celebration of their own inside my car, leaving little mice turds everywhere! We have no idea how they got in...but thank goodness they got out again. I had to spend quite a bit of time today vacuuming and wiping down every surface (ugh!) and I'm just hoping they're through celebrating... at least in my car!

Despite the rain and the mouse turds, it was a gloriously sweet! Sunday. I hope it was for you, too.

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

 

Monday: a friend who knows how to (possibly) recover your photos from your re-formatted camera card; bluebonnets popping up everywhere despite the dry winter

Tuesday: the full moon waiting up for you; margherita pizza; especially when you're really, really, really hungry; a package containing the new shoes you ordered waiting on your doorstep 

Wednesday: a long walk with your puppies; a chorus of cardinals; writing; playing your drums; Macy's putting Keurig coffee makers on sale when your old pot is dying 

Thursday: (almost) catching up on email; regaining your lost NEF photo files, thanks to your friend

Friday: decorating your house for Easter while listening to Third Day; Stations of the Cross outdoors; sharing funny videos with your son

Saturday: a walk with your puppies and grandpuppy before work; your sons helping you prepare dinner; playing ping-pong, listening to music on the back porch watching the sunset, then enjoying a movie with your sons after work

Sunday: Easter; making breakfast for your baby boys; a church overflowing with people singing Alleluja; sharing Easter dinner with friends; Easter egg hunts; wishing your baby girl Happy Easter, even if it's from a distance

A new month starts tomorrow, can you believe it? I hope it's a good one for you, full of sweet! moments!

 "Jesus Christ is risen today...alleluja!

Happily Lost in Venice

The Scintilla Project Day 9: Talk about where you were going the day you got lost. Were you alone? Did you ever get to where you meant to go? 

 

Huge cathedrals and museums, ancient statues, priceless art and architecture...it was all beginning to blur by the time we entered Piazza San Marco in Venice that hot July day in 1976. I mean, once you've seen one soaring, gothic, thousand-year-old historic tower, you've seen them all.

At least that's the way it feels when you're seventeen, on a grueling, tight-budgeted, whirlwind, month-long tour of five European countries. And it's over 90 degrees. And no one has heard of air-conditioning. Or ice. 

So as the rest of our group moved into the entrance of St. Mark's Basilica, the three of us slowed down, dropped to the back of the herd, then dashed into a crowd moving away from the Basilica, deeper into the square. Our quest was simple: to find a place to sit down and relax for just a little while. To catch our breath and rest our feet. And being teenage girls, to eat.

We found much more than that when we wandered into a quaint restaurant tucked into the bottom of an old hotel just off the square. Not only did the Cokes we ordered appear with a slice of lime (delicious!), but there were actual ice cubes clinking around in the glasses! The only ice cubes we saw during that entire month of a record-breaking European heat-wave.

Thus refreshed, we spent the next few hours wandering through the narrow streets, dipping into one shop after another, until we knew it was time for our group's tour to end. It wasn't hard to find our way back. We just approached strangers and asked "Piazza San Marco?", pointing to our map, and they helped us along our way.

Being lost was never so lovely.

Oh, if only I'd had a digital camera back then. These are the only three photos I have from Venice.

That's Laura, Donna, and me in the one above, standing in Piazza San Marco, perhaps plotting our escape.

Or in the middle of it!

 

This is the amazing mechanical clock tower facing Piazza San Marco, dating from the 1400's.

Here I am fresh from a swim in the Adriatic Sea, standing on a bridge crossing over one of the Venetian canals. 

Trust me, it's there even though you can't see it because of all the bodies in the way. 

 It's the closest I've come to a riding in a gondola.

One day...

 

 

 

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.

Five Things on Friday

1. This made me smile yesterday. Can you see the sign on the wall in the photo above? The table in the teacher's lunchroom at the high school was covered with platters of cinnamon rolls while on the wall beside it is a chart promoting healthy teachers. (No, I couldn't resist them, but I only ate half of one. Compromise. YUM!)

2. Guests arrived by helicopter at the winery last weekend. It landed right beside the vineyard. We all turned into little kids, like we'd never seen one before - everyone ran out to the patio and had their iPhones pointed its direction. (Murphy's Law: I didn't have my Nikon that day.)

3. There's something about filling out job applications, about having to condense all of my eclectic experience into one page and trying to match it to whatever job I'm trying to get, seeing that all of those classes I've taken over the past 30 years only add up to 61 hours, not 72 like I thought...well, it just deflates me. 

4. I'm going to a wedding shower tomorrow for my future daughter-in-law. I realized I haven't been to a shower of any kind in decades, and never as the mother of the groom. I have no idea what to wear!

5. Almost forty years ago I taught my boyfriend's fourteen-year-old sister how to drive a stick-shift. Not long after that, my boyfriend and I broke up and I didn't see his sister again. But recently we reconnected on Facebook and we're having dinner tonight! She's in town visiting her daughter. I love how so many of those strands of our lives never totally go away.

Hope you've had a great Friday!

 

Linking up with Ms. 4444's

 

 

 

 

Five Things on Friday

 

 

1. Our property is dotted with small iron crosses, marking the resting places of so many precious furry or feathered or scaly loved ones we've been blessed to know. I miss them all. The one above is Charly's and Frankie's.

 

2. I will never get rich monetarily through my blog, but the friendships I've formed because of it are priceless. I've met so many supportive, encouraging, talented friends, and two of them have recently published books. I didn't hesitate to buy them because they are both wonderful, evocative writers, and I feel confident touting them here even though I haven't had time to read either one.  

Love Always Wags Its Tail, by Kathy H. Porter, is a collection of short essays about the dogs in her life. Wolf Pascoe shares what it's like being an anesthesiologist in Breathing for Two.

Follow the links to their blogs and you'll find information about the books. (I received no monetary compensation for these shout-outs - only friendship and support for my own writing.)

 

3. The next time you go out to eat and the place is packed and you start to get irritated because you feel your waiter is ignoring you, please take a deep breath, realize you are not the only customer in the place and that he/she can only do so much at one time, and please, please, please remember your manners. Thank you.

(Oh. And if the website suggests reservations, either make a reservation or don't get upset if you can't be seated. Especially if you're bringing 7 of your friends.) 

 

4. Back at the beginning of January, I decided I would start getting up at 4:30 a.m. instead of 5:30 a.m. so I would have time to work out and/or write before heading to work, if someone happened to call me out. (That's the life of a substitute teacher - you have to be flexible!)

Well, I finally did it. Once. This week. Yay, me!

 

5. For the past week or so, I've spent hours tormenting myself, listening to one You Tube video after another of potential songs for the mother/son dance at the upcoming wedding.

I just sat here at my computer and cried and cried. It was beautiful agony, I tell you, reliving those mom memories. But here's one that made me laugh, even though I wouldn't do this myself..

(Actually, that theme from the Ninja Turtles brings back so many memories, I almost started crying in this one, too!)

 

Nancy at A Rural Journal inspired me to start my Five Things on Friday, although I mutilated her better-alliterated version, 5 Facts Friday, so I encourage you to read hers and add your own if you're so inclined! And I remembered Mrs. 4444 has a regular Friday Fragments hop, so I'll be linking up there, too. It's a great way to tie up all those loose ends from the week!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Divulging My (not-so-secret fitness and health) Secrets

 

"I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's."  ~Henry Moore

 

I recently came across a photo of myself taken on one of my girls' weekends in Port Aransas several years ago. I was standing by the rail of the ferry crossing to the island, flanked by two friends.

But at first glance, I didn't even recognize myself in the photo. Soon after it was taken, I started on a journey to get healthy. Not to lose weight, because I felt I'd already tried everything I could, diet- and exercise-wise, to lose those last fifteen pounds, but no luck. I was resigned to my weight. It wasn't that much, after all. I just wanted to be healthy and fit inside as I headed toward my fiftieth birthday.

I never expected that those changes I made in my life would melt the pounds away and make me feel healthier and more energetic than I'd ever, ever felt before. Seeing that photo made me realize what a huge difference our every day choices can make.

And it all started with a Lenten Promise.

I've never been one to go the "giving up" route during Lent. I know me too well. Why set myself up for failure?

Instead, I preferred to add beneficial things that I could continue beyond Lent, like saying the Rosary every morning when I walk the dogs or doing something nice for someone every day.

But that year I got it in my head to give up sugar as the first step of my journey to better health.

I quit adding it to my coffee and vowed not to eat any store-bought sweets...except for dark chocolate. I didn't like dark chocolate at the time, but I had heard it was sort of healthy, so if the Smarties leftover from Halloween or the Chips Ahoy cookies I knew were in the pantry starting calling my name, I allowed myself a piece of dark chocolate to pacify my sweet tooth. 

I also allowed myself homemade treats of any kind when they were offered - in moderation, of course. (They're made with love, so it's probably a sin to turn them down, right?) 

But it surprised me how hard it was to pass that candy bowl without grabbing something. It had become a habit. I started praying for the strength to stick with my Lenten promise, and that's when I finally "got" the giving-up thing: it's about realizing your own limitations and weaknesses, and learning to rely on God's strength instead of your own. 

By the end of Lent, the candy bowl no longer tempted me and I could easily pass up store-bought goodies. My taste buds had come back to life and my sweet tooth was satisfied by a handful of grapes or strawberries. 

(Alas, along the way I developed a love for dark chocolate. Now I look forward to two pieces in the evening.)

That first step led to others, taken one at a time. Along the way I continually educated myself on health and fitness so that perimenopause was pretty much a breeze for me (and those around me!)

I've decided to share my journey with others. Perhaps the steps I took aren't the right ones for everyone, but on the other hand, they might be; at the very least, I hope to inspire others to know they're never too old to make positive changes in their health and their life.

But there's too much to include in one blog post. Maybe I'll create a series...or even an e-book. I'll keep you posted. 

Meanwhile, what changes have you made in your life that resulted in more than you hoped for?

(The spam folder is still swallowing comments, so don't worry if yours seems to just disappear. I'll retrieve it as soon as possible. Thanks!)

  

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!)

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!)

 

 

Gratitude (and other sweet!s)

 

My dad is still in the hospital following his little stroke earlier this week, but he's stable and should be able to go home tomorrow.

However, considering his health history and his stubborn determination to no longer follow the heart/diabetic healthy diet he's followed for a couple of decades, I doubt this is the last emergency trip to the hospital he's going to take. 

My older son drove down yesterday to check on them. Twenty-seven years ago they were taking care of him (while I worked) and now he's taking care of them (while I work.)

What a beautiful circle.

I appreciate all of your prayers for Daddy, as well as all of the advice and encouragement you sent me after my last post. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do, but you've given me so much to consider when making my decision. Thank you so much, sweet friends!

It's been an up-and-down, exhausting week, but each day still offered plenty of sweet! moments, nonetheless. I hope you're still finding plenty, too! Share them in the comments!

 

Sunday: new wine, fresh from the barrel; the half moon and a sky full of stars guiding you home after an evening of laughter and tears with dear friends; a glimpse of deer and a ringtail in your headlights 

Monday: sleeping in; your son joining you on your morning walk with the puppies and helping you take down your Christmas tree; moonlight on a caliche road and tin roof

Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings.

~Victor Hugo

Tuesday: a glimpse of a cardinal, first thing in the morning; a hawk soaring through a cloudless azure sky; sore muscles; remembering to pick up your puppy's dog food on your way home from work

Wednesday: a walk in the fog; brick oven roasted veggies; relaxing after work with a glass of wine on a patio overlooking a vineyard; baby steps on your book

Thursday: an invitation to join an online group of women writers; high school students who are courteous and respectful; cell phones so you can keep up with news of your dad's latest mini-stroke even though you're miles away

Friday: news that your dad is stable and hearing his voice via speakerphone; the full moon rising; daydreaming about returning to college

Saturday: a chocolate cake-ball-on-a-stick; a face-to-face moment with a deer on your caliche road, even if you're not able to capture it with your camera; your son making a road trip to see your parents in the hospital; friends asking about your dad; a text from a friend reminding you there's a full moon, because it made her think of you; dramatic clouds swirling around a full moon

Sunday: your husband taking over your dog-feeding duties to give you a little free time before work; singing "How Great Thou Art"; a job tip from a friend; a beautiful surprise visitor in your yard when you get home from church; a gift of song from a dear friend

 

Our surprise visitor, Rico, who lives up the road. Can you believe he's 12? 

 

Surprise! and other sweet!s

 

I can't believe it.

I surprised my friend Darla with a Diva gathering in her honor at my house this past weekend. Ten women who graduated from high school with us piled into my house for a slumber party, one even driving from Louisiana to be here. Many more who couldn't attend still donated money for a Williams-Sonoma gift card.

It feels good to pay her back, even if it was just a drop in the bucket;  she has been a huge cheerleader for my writing and photography for years and has given me so many sweet birthday surprises I can't even count them anymore.

Her husband was in on it, of course, along with about 50 high school girlfriends who have been private-messaging about it for months. Considering that, it is truly amazing she didn't catch on, isn't it? (If she did, she needs to consider a career move to the stage!)

There were tons of tiny sweet!s while they were here, but I'm not going to share them all because...

 

 

 

Hehehe.

That little plate was a hostess gift from of those dear friends, along with the Diva wine coozie above and this cork holder below. Sweet!

 

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

 

Tuesday: rain tap-dancing on my umbrella; finally completely cleaning out and organizing your old roll top desk after thinking about it for five years; finishing up an editing job for a recent photo shoot; the gratitude of outside puppies who are allowed inside on a stormy day; hanging out at home all day with your baby girl

Wednesday: a second day of rain during a long drought; working in a high school library with a view of the mist-covered hills; watching new episodes of Modern Family with your daughter

 

Thursday: a second day in the high school library but with a view of sunny skies; student dioramas of The Hobbit; plotting a surprise party for a dear friend

Friday: a day of errands with your daughter, even if it's just getting her flu shot, stopping at Chick-Fil-A, and grocery shopping; your daughter's help getting your house ready for guests

Saturday: your baby girl's smile lingering in your heart after you drop her back off at college; laughing in the kitchen with forever friends; pulling off a surprise birthday party for a dear friend; hostess gifts; pineapple martinis and mini-Monte Cristo sandwiches; a husband who will drop what he's doing to take a photo of you and your girlfriends; slumber parties, at any age

 

Sunday: hanging out in your pajamas for hours, yakking with girlfriends; chilling on a rock with your dogs and camera in the middle of the woods on a crisp winter day; writing groups; not getting upset when the edits to your blog post disappear, meaning you'll have to start all over

Monday: a glimpse of the Great Blue Heron just after dawn; working with special needs kids all day; a call from your sister and text from a friend; the fire in the wood-burning stove starting easily 

 

Despite the sweet! moments of my past week, there were some tough ones, too. Our community lost two awesome people in unrelated incidents. I considered both of them friends, but so did almost everyone else around here. I'm really, really going to miss their faces and still have a hard time believing they have passed from this world.

Rest in peace, Mary and Frank.

 

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.)

 

Assorted, one by one

TG and I shared a bag of assorted Toblerone chocolates this afternoon. Have you ever had one? They just melt in your mouth. Of course, it had been a long time since lunch, and that just made them taste even better. As much as I love dark chocolate, my favorite flavor was white chocolate, but they were all sinfully yummy.

And that's the way the past week has been. When I look back on my list of sweet! moments, it's hard to believe this has just been one week. Even though I haven't much time for writing or photography, it has been a week of wonderful assorted sweet!s...

 

Saturday: a long walk with boys and dogs; an arrowhead waiting on the road for thousands of years for your son to find; watching Mr. Magoo's A Christmas Carol with your kids; cyclops cookies, made by your kids; sharing a box of Lammes' Longhorns; a Christmas tree, dripping in lights and memories

 

 

Sunday: Mass with your family; a delicious turkey wrap for lunch, made for you by by your oldest; another boy-and-dog walk, and another arrowhead; Christmas cards, ready to mail; a movie with your son

 

 

Monday: no traffic on a road trip to Houston with your kids; a trip to the grocery store with your dad; red-winged black birds at your dad's bird feeder;  Christmas Eve Mass in the church where your kids were baptized, and recognizing the deacon who baptized 2/3 of them; fresh homemade tamales and good neighbors

Tuesday: the miracle of Christmas; your son helping your wrestle the turkey into the oven; the priceless stress of too many bodies in a small kitchen, trying to get Christmas dinner on the table; watching Little Miss Sunshine and Horton Hears a Who with your kids and parents; the next generation contributing to holiday meals; a call from your brother-in-law and his kids; hearing your husband's voice when you have to be separated on Christmas Day

 

 

Wednesday: electric blankets on cold mornings; road trips with your kids; flaming sunsets and kids who will snap photos for you while you drive; a table full of Christmas gifts from a friend who goes overboard at Christmas; Christmas cards and paychecks in the mailbox

Thursday: making a big dent in sorting, reorganizing, and cleaning your house; nibbles on things you posted on Craig's List; running for the first time in days; the aroma of a roast in the oven

Friday: time to answer emails and catch up on a few friends' blog posts; a clean bathroom(!); gathering with friends and future in-laws

 

Saturday: seeing the Great Blue Heron perched on a tree near your house for the 7th day in a row; a day of errands and shopping with your daughter and son; winter in Austin, where you can stay warm enough with just a long sleeve shirt and a hoodie jacket; sharing assorted Toblerone chocolates with your daughter

 

Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.

Sr. Corita Kent

 

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!

 

 

Transitions

My Uncle Bobby passed away this week. Daddy's younger brother.

Like Daddy and the other men in his family, Uncle Bobby had suffered from heart and vascular problems for years, but it was a slow battle with cancer that took him away. He was a sweet man. In my heart I will always see him smiling, ready to laugh about something. 

That's him in the photo below, wearing my sister's wig, flanked by his son, Jeff, and yours truly, the Tomboy in ripped jeans. 

 

I'm grateful that I got to speak to Uncle Bobby a few times recently and assure him of my love and prayers. He called often to check on Daddy after his surgery. I'm glad they got to speak to each other, too.

Jeff stopped by my parents' house on my mom's birthday with a satchel full of old photo albums he'd found at his parents' house that had belonged to our aunt and grandmother. We opened them and stepped back into the years when we were oblivious to time.

When you're young, you can't imagine standing where your parents stand. You never dream that someday you'll be one of those pillars holding up the family, trying to help make decisions about things you had been happily oblivious to just months before.

 

 

Now time is tick, tick, ticking in my head. I feel the weight of it on my shoulders. I see, more than I ever did when I first became a mother, that circle of life, and I know that one day my kids will be taking my place as the pillars. 

But I remind myself that, if my kids are as blessed with oblivion as I have been, that time is still years away, and that I need to live each of these days, these years, to the fullest, just as my parents still do, to the best of their abilities.

I can't let the tick-ticking or the weight on my shoulders keep me from noticing blessings like cool old red trucks on display along the highway...

 

I pass Timeless Texas Classics on my way to and from Houston. Usually I travel too early or too late, and it's locked up. The old cars are tucked safely to bed up near the building.

But this past Wednesday the gate was open and these beauties were lined up close to the road. They smiled and waved at me, but I drove on by, in a hurry and too caught up in all I needed to do once I got home.

Then I realized the gift of the moment and made a U-turn. I spent several minutes walking up and down, snapping their photos, relishing that bit of suspended time.

Old cars and trucks make me smile - especially old trucks painted cherry red like the beauty above. And when you're a pillar - no, especially when you're a pillar - you need to do things that make you smile.

 

It really made me smile to hang out with a bunch of twenty-somethings that same night in honor of my soon-to-be daughter-in-law's 25th birthday. 

 

 

 

It was a little over six years ago when Tommy went to a friend's cousin's high school graduation party and fell in love. It's hard to believe Kirby was just eighteen when we first met her (and fell in love with her, too.)  

I love that all of my kids are living in Austin now, close enough to wish them happy birthdays in person.

 

Despite the challenges of the past few months, I'm still loving this season of my life.

I haven't been dancing as much as I'd like, but I can still dance. I can still walk down my dirt road and climb hills with my sweetie and puppies. I can hop in the car and meet friends for dinner... when we have time.

Time is the biggest challenge.

I haven't had time to finish my photography website or post new samples to sites where I can sell my photos or a dozen other things I need to do for my business, but this afternoon I get to photograph a beautiful family for the second year in a row. Last year the weather didn't cooperate and we had to take a few shots inside, so this year I'm going prepared with lights I borrowed from a friend, and I've been brushing up on how-to's of indoor portraits. Just in case.

I can still learn.

I'm also preparing for my writer's group meeting tomorrow evening. Thursday I was gloriously stranded at home alone for hours because Tom's car is out of commission and he needed mine to get to work so I spent them working on my children's book. Despite all that time, I barely eked out one short chapter, but I also overhauled my outline and fine tuned previous chapters, things I couldn't have done without several undistracted hours.

The next few chapters should come easier, and that's good, because I'm holding on to my goal of finishing my book by December 19, so I can submit it for critique before February's conference.

 

I hope whatever season of life you're in right now, you live it to its fullest. Let's make a pact not to waste a single moment of this sacred time we've been given... and especially the time we have with our loved ones.

 

 

Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.

~ W. Somerset Maugham

 

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.

Twenty-four years ago today...

...I met my son Daniel for the first time. Of course, it was love at first sight.

With each passing year, I fell deeper and deeper in love with that creative, funny, compassionate, wise old soul.

How could I resist? Look at that smile! And that hair!

 

 

But, dang it (and thank God!) kids grow up.

It's such a curse and a blessing. 

 

So here I am, shaking my head in wonder that it's been 24 years since I first looked into those blue eyes. I just can't wrap my head around the number, but my heart overflows with sweet memories from each and every one.

And I'm grateful to still be adding to them.

He no longer lives at home - soon after I wrote last year's birthday post  he found a job and moved out on his own again - but he comes back for a weekend here and there, just to help Tom with a project, chill on the back porch with us, listening to music, or introduce us to some great obscure movie on Netflix.

I'll even get to wish him a happy birthday today in person. He'll be here when I get home from work. I'll stick a candle in a cyclops cookie and Tom and I will sing 'happy birthday' to him...and he'll let us, because that's the kind of sweet kid, um, man, he is.

Happy 24th birthday, Daniel! 

May you have clear paths and bright skies.

And no matter what this year brings,

I hope you continue to "Be silly. Be honest. Be kind."  (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

 

Also... Happy birthday wishes to my sweet sister-in-law Kim, my young cousins Ashley, Kayce and Kayce's daughter, Tayvie, and my inspirational South African friend Pete! 

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! 

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!

 

 

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!

Rhythm and Routines, Detours and Diversions

 

I had finally found a daily rhythm of morning pages, photography, writing, and blogging, all balanced between dog care and house care and working out and sleeping and Breaking Bad and pastoral council duties and trying to spread the news about our upcoming high school reunion and hanging out with my hubby and helping my kids and filling out job applications.

And then... kids moved home. We went on vacation. A cow showed up in our "back yard".

I haven't even tried to get back into a rhythm or routine yet, just keep bouncing wildly from one activity/project to another in my own pinball machine world until I finally run out of steam around midnight, feeling like I haven't accomplished much of anything. 

But I remember that what I love about life are the surprises and detours and diversions, like kids and vacations and cows.

So when my dear friend Tamara emailed that she would be in town this week and how about meeting for lunch at the Oasis,  of course I said yes. 

I can be smart that way.

Spending time with friends is one of my favorite diversions.

 

 

Years ago, the Oasis was just a restaurant perched on a hill overlooking Lake Travis. It had an outdoor area with a dance floor. I watched Rotel and the Hot Tomatoes perform there once.

Then it burned down.

This was my first visit back since it was rebuilt and HOLY COW! it's not just a restaurant with a dance floor anymore. It's a little village, filled with restaurants and unique art and gift shops and photography galleries and wine bars. We were there almost 5 hours, talking and browsing the shops after we finished eating.

 

 

We pretty much had the place to ourselves, which I liked, but I bet it's a hoppin' place at night! I'm ready to find out!

 

Cardsharks

 

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”

~ Randy Pausch

 

When the Shallue clan gets together, you can count on a deck or two of cards appearing on the scene. 

You can also count on Tom not shaving when he's on vacation.

It was great spending time with Pop without having to go to the hospital.

His doctors finally found the right recipe to make his red blood count move up instead of down. Hallelujah!!

 

Cribbage is taken very seriously by the Shallue's.

Once, years ago when our power was knocked out during a hurricane, Tom taught me to play.

I won without really totally understanding what the heck I was doing. He says I skunked him twice. That irritated him so much, as soon as the power came back on, he flopped down in front of the television and we've never played a game of cribbage since.

Yes, they take it very seriously. I hope my kids were paying attention.

 

We also play a lot of 3-13.

It's a great game for large groups, pulling you together to talk trash, laugh, and catch up on the months (or years) since you last saw each other. 

Tom's youngest brother John wanted his in-laws to meet the rest of the family, so he brought them along to the reunion. They picked up 3-13 fast, simultaneously discovering how crazy we all are, despite the language barrier (they don't speak English, and other than John and his family, the rest of us can't claim to speak more than a spattering of Spanish.)

 

Have you discovered Apples to Apples yet? FDIL (future daughter-in-law) Kirby brought it along and it was a hit with the youngsters, as you can see.

They even let some of us old folks play. 

I have no photos of the game of Spoons that popped up late on the last night of vacation, so I'm not going to say much about it or mention the tequila that appeared about the same time.

I learned how to play, but then remembered how early I needed to wake up to hit the road, and how old I was and how much I liked to sleep, so I went on to bed, soothed by a lullaby of beloved voices and laughter (and the clank of spoons and shotglasses) not far away. 

Isn't family wonderful?

(Does your family have any traditions or certain games you play when you all get together? Share!)

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!

 

Ghosts of Fourths Past, Revisited

I'll be celebrating our country's birthday today by earning a paycheck at the winery. How much more American is that? 

But while I'm standing there listening to music, smiling and serving customers, sweating in the summer heat and hoping for at least a glimpse of fireworks, my mind will be drifting back to Fourths of the past.

So I decided to take you with me. The following is a repost from July 3, 2010. I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful, sparkly, red-white-and-blue 4th of July!

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

I almost went to the Fourth of July parade this morning. If all the kids weren't home, or if at least one of them had been interested in going with me, I would have been sitting there on my usual curb when the heavens opened up and poured (not just rained) at 10am. For once, I was grateful to be inside the house, folding clothes.

Yes, I realize it's the 3rd of July, not the 4th, but our small town celebrates Independence Day BIG and needs all day, and a good bit of the night, to do it! There's a 5K run, followed by the parade down Dawn Drive and then everyone moves to Bar-K Park on the lake for booths, games, live music and, of course, fireworks right after dusk... consistently one of the best fireworks shows I've ever seen, too.

So I almost went, but realized that it just wouldn't be the same. It would be the first time I wouldn't have at least one kid to watch for, marching with the dance group, the swim team, the High School Marching Band, the Cub, Boy, or Girl Scouts. 

As much as I enjoy the parade, I don't have all three kids under the roof at the same time very often anymore, so I stayed home, and whew! I'm glad I did! 

The great thing about our country is we can celebrate the 4th on the 3rd... or the 5th... or the 10th. We celebrate it every time we vote, every time we write a letter to the editor or complain to our congressman. Or just by staying home and hanging out with our kids.

I still got my parade fix, though - I pulled out old photos of some memorable 4th of July celebrations. Much more fun than getting drenched at a rainy day parade! 

Paris, 1976 - toasting the Bicentennial with champagne and really missing the USA!

 

Webelo Scout Tommy leading the parade with the Boy Scouts 1996 (he's the short one in the middle)

 

TG, right in the middle of her dance group float, 1996

 

Daniel, ready to ride, 1999

 

Me, second from the left, marching with the Cub Scouts, waving to TG on the sidelines, 1998

 

The kids, waiting for the fireworks to start, 1999

 

Tom curbside with nieces, nephews, brothers...  watching fireworks in Florida last year

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is the patriotism." ~ Erma Bombeck

Happy birthday, USA, and wishing you many, many more! I love you! 

 

Almonds and other sweet!s of the week

He was dirty and carried a cardboard sign ever closer to my car that said something like "Homeless Need a Job Hungry God Bless." 

I focused on the "hungry" and rolled down my window. My son was with me, so I felt safe.

"Would you like some almonds?" I asked, holding out a snack-sized ziplock bag full of them. I always have almonds with me to ward off hunger pains in a healthy way when I'm out running errands or on a trip. I hate being hungry.

"That would be great," he answered, taking them from me. "Thank you."

The light changed. I moved forward slowly, but he walked faster toward the intersection where his backpack rested. I saw him drop his sign, but then we were past, continuing our journey.

I couldn't see what happened next in his. I like to think he dropped to the grass and ate some almonds, that he really was grateful for them and not just begging for drug or alcohol money.

I also like to think another car came by with a legitimate job offer for him and that he took it and turned his life around and then helped another corner person get moving in the right direction.

It doesn't hurt to think big.

 

Saturday: seeing a photography friend you met while at work again; talking about writing with other writers; finally hearing Duck Soup; dancing; summer nights on a hill above a lake

Sunday: watching babies and little kids in church; helping a dear friend celebrate her birthday; a call from your son; watching a movie with your sweetie

Monday: a call from a friend, even though it was mostly full of sad news; a walk at dusk 

Tuesday: a glimpse of the Great Blue Heron and your duck family; watching your old puppy swim

Wednesday: being addressed as 'Young Lady' at the grocery store; a clean house; your husband alerting you to a painted bunting; forgetting all of your to-do's to just watch the birds at your feeder 

Thursday: watching a baby duck grow day by day; relaxed hours playing catch-up with a dear friend; joining a bunch of crazy middle-aged women for a midnight movie

Friday: getting to sleep in after a late night out; iced coffee on a hot summer day; $400 in free jewelry; pink clouds; sangria on a summer night

Saturday: a road trip with your son (double sweet!... going to see your parents!); an in-person hug from your sister; eating at a Mexican food restaurant you've been going to for almost 50 years

Sunday: the sound of rain; your daddy's bacon, eggs and biscuits for breakfast; someone stopping to see if you need help when you stop on the side of the road to take photos of old trucks; having almonds in your car to give to someone in need

 

I'm not sure how they end up out of work and hungry, possibly homeless, these corner people who stand near intersections holding signs and taking almonds or spare change from open windows.

Did they drop out of school, like me? Are they habitual liars, to others and themselves, to the point that their families had to distance themselves? Do they even have families, a mother or father whose heart aches with worry and helplessness? Did one mistake lead to another and another until the weight of that burden crushed the possibility of any other chances or hope for better, and their only relief is from drugs or alcohol? Has misplaced pride bound them in its chains?

It's easy to jump to conclusions. To judge.

But I think it's a better use of time to smile and share your almonds, to say a prayer for the corner people and then one of thanks for all of your own blessings, like a job and home and family, and to vow never to take them for granted. 

Because for all of us, life can change in an instant.

Just another good reason to keep track of the sweet! moments in each day... and to carry extra almonds in your car.

 

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!

 

 

Passing Time in Whataburger

I found myself with a few hours to kill one morning this week with nary a Starbucks in sight. So I stepped into the next best thing - a Whataburger. I knew they'd have coffee, a restroom, air-conditioning, and space for reading and writing the time away. Everything I needed.

"You doing alright, ma'am?" It was the counter lady. "Can I get you a refill on your coffee?" 

She carried a tray of ketchup, creamer, and napkins, making the round of tables, even this one with the woman nursing a cup of coffee.

"No, not right now, but thank you," I told her.

"You need something, you let me know."

That happened every few minutes. I tell you what, she and the other ladies working there put every other waiter to shame, myself included, with their smiles and eagerness to be of service.

"You write pretty," another employee paused her sweeping to tell me.

The place was never crowded. Just some workers in khaki shirts and gimme hats, a young couple, a small family. I eavesdropped on a job interview in the booth behind me, and a conversation between the counter lady and a gray-haired gentleman one booth up. He nursed a cup of coffee, just like me.

Lunchtime approached and the smell of burgers and fries drifted to my booth. I had refilled my coffee and sat scribbling on a yellow pad when I saw them walk in, the young dad and his daughter. He was slim, wearing khaki slacks and black-rimmed glasses. The girl was obviously a tomboy; she wore ragged cut-off jeans, a t-shirt, and dirty tennis shoes. Her short brown hair was a mess, tousled by the wind.

They ordered without even a glance at the menu - Whataburgers, French fries, and chocolate shakes. Once at the table, the girl scraped all the veggies off of the patty with a fry before taking a big bite of the burger. Right away she stuffed a few French fries in her mouth and took a slurp of her shake.

Then she smiled at her daddy, and I smiled at the memory, and tears filled my eyes at the fleetness of time. 

I stepped to the counter and ordered a burger and fries. I didn't scrape the veggies off this time, if you're wondering, and I ordered tea, not a shake, but the burger tasted just as good as it did on all those long ago Whataburger visits, when I was eight and ten and twelve, sitting across from my daddy.

I'm grateful for things that don't change. And for sweet memories that only need the scent of a burger to appear.

 

If after reading this, you're asking "What the heck is Whataburger?" then click HERE for more information and the history of this chain. On the home page of the website you'll see what the one in my memory looked like.

For you Austin-ites, or travelers passing through Austin, the one I spent so much time in this week is on the corner of Airport and MLK. Such great service, you feel like you've eaten in a 5-star restaurant!

And of course, when you're through, you say "What a burger!"

Dark Shadows of the Soul (and Popcorn for Dinner Twice in One Week!)

Ah, Barnabas.

Almost every day, circa 1969-1970, I rushed home from school and plopped down in front of the TV, just in time to see what you and the rest of the cursed Collins family was up against in the next episode of Dark Shadows. Daddy joined me as often as his shift schedule allowed. We'd sit on the edge of our seats, grateful the sun was shining outside to counter the dark suspense on the screen.

I lost track of you after you scared me half to death in House of Dark Shadows. Perhaps it was a mistake on my part to sit on the very first row of the theater during a movie consisting mostly of blood. (Maybe there was more to the movie, such as plot and dialogue, but blood - lots and lots of blood - is all I remember, flowing right after the very beginning when a little boy follows his ball down into a crypt.) But those were the only seats left for me and my five friends.

The series was in black and white, the movie in full living (and dying... get it?) color. Just too much for my 11ish-year-old self.

But last weekend I gave you another chance and you won me back. 

Giving in to the eleven-year-old inside of me, I decided to ignore to-do lists last Sunday and go see the new Dark Shadows movie. I can't resist a Johnny Depp movie and I had already been clued that it was more funny than scary. Sure, I'm 53 now, but I like scary movies even less than I did when I was eleven. (No way was I going to traumatize myself again for you, Barnabas!)

TG and Daniel tagged along with me. Daniel had watched a few of the old episodes with me via Netflix, and enjoyed them, but TG knew nothing about it at all.

I don't care if it got a Rotten Tomato award or not... I absolutely loved it! And I think my kids enjoyed it just as much as I did. 

It made me laugh out loud, paying homage to the darkness and original story of the television series with tongue firmly in cheek. And it stayed true to the campy '70s era... macrame, hippies and hitchhikers, and even Alice Cooper has a cameo.

There's some blood, alas, but I guess you have to expect a little in a vampire movie. Johnny Depp was so good in it, I forgave him those scenes. Michelle Pfeiffer was great, too.

If you enjoyed the series as much as I did, I think you'll like it. 

Continuing the "Dark Shadows of the Soul" theme, later in the week I jumped at the chance to watch the new Jack Black movie "Bernie."  For one thing, it meant I got to have popcorn for dinner twice in one week!

"Bernie" tells the true story of Bernie Tiede, a mortician in Carthage, Texas in the late '90s who befriends an unpopular, mean and stingy rich widow, kills her, and covers it up while spending her money to help the townspeople.

Everyone absolutely adores Bernie, because he's so caring and generous, so when the murder is finally discovered, the townspeople defend him. It gets so bad that the DA (gorgeous Matthew) succeeds in getting the trial moved to another small town, just to keep it fair. 

Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, and Shirley MacLaine are fantastic. And despite the dark subject, it's hilarious. I watched it with a native of Carthage... her regular hoots of laughter testified to the accurate portrayals of East Texans. 

I believe this one has a limited distribution - we saw it at the local 'artsy' theater - but if it comes around near you, I recommend it, too. 

Now I'm craving popcorn again... any movies you've seen lately you'd recommend?

 

Ah, Mother's Day...

For the first time in years, I actually saw my mother on Mother's Day instead of telling her how much I love and appreciate her via a card and a phone call.

It meant missing church and spending hours on the road Sunday morning, but Daniel (middle son) awoke early enough to send me off stuffed with my traditional Mother's Day eggs and bacon breakfast. He even offered to feed the dogs for me, but I treated myself to those few relaxing minutes on the back porch with my coffee.

I got to see the other 2/3 of my kids on Saturday at my future daughter-in-law's sister's college graduation party in San Antonio. Tommy gave me a beautiful card and TG surprised me with a cup she decorated with sparkly beads and a note that begins "To my closest friend, my role model, and my rock..."

Add the breakfast Daniel made me, and what more could a mother want?

To see her own mother, that's what.

It helped that I had today off, so after dinner at Sudie's Catfish House with my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and niece yesterday afternoon, I was able to relax and visit awhile last night, and then sleep late and enjoy bacon and eggs a la Daddy this morning before jumping back on that highway headed home.

(Speaking of Sudie's... we were sitting there in one of the side dining rooms when I noticed this older woman enter. Her face looked so familiar, a memory drifting out of my childhood, but I couldn't place it. Then her husband entered, and her daughter, and the memory was anchored. Ginger, Buddy, and Randi who used to live behind us, who used to call me BeeBee. I spent hours and hours at their house, played in their backyard, coveted Randi's doll collection and loved Ginger's cherry tomatoes.

How fitting, and what a wonderful surprise, to see one of the moms from your childhood on Mother's Day. Randi actually lives near me and we met for lunch a couple of years ago, so it was good to see her again and meet her husband and daughter.)

My gift to my mom...I gathered most of my flower photos from the past few weeks into a printed bouquet... a book of my flower photos, accoompanied by sentimental but fitting quotes about mothers.

And another gift, although I'm not sure it's one she noticed... although I glanced at my email on my phone, I didn't touch her computer. Not once. It'll take me a couple of weeks to catch up on Facebook and email and blog reading, but I feel it was a good trade-off to focus on time with her and Daddy while I had the chance.

I have to admit I was busy snapping photos out the back door again. Two green parakeets (which are actually about 10 inches long) and a white dove visited their backyard, along with the regular menagerie. I'll post those pics later on the photography blog.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend, too. If you weren't able to be with your mother, I hope memories of her filled your heart and brought a smile to your face.

And if the week ahead of you looks as crazy and rushed as the one ahead of me, don't forget to breathe and focus on each moment! 

"If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been."

 ~Robert Brault

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!

 

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!

 

Adding to my collection...

I started substitute teaching again.

Three years ago I started a (mostly) full-time job and, except for Voting Day and a couple of quick visits to talk about writing to students, I didn't step a foot into the schools during that time.

I missed it, and I'm so grateful the district accepted me as a sub again. Over the past few weeks I've reviewed color patterns... read Peter Rabbit aloud for the first time in more than a decade, as well as voiced a part in the last act of Othello...  watched a stage performance of "The Emperor's New Clothes"... enjoyed a documentary hosted by Peter Jennings about the 50's and early 60's (three times!)... learned about the dangers of drinking and drugs from Hollywood Henderson via VHS... and overheard some heartbreaking home life stories.

I'm not going to be the popular sub... at least not at the high school... because I don't care if the kids like me or not. I'm there to follow the teacher's directions, period. And, if possible, get the kids to learn something while they're under my watch.

After raising three kids and subbing for 15 years (plus one year on the payroll as the elementary school librarian) I'm on to all, or at least most, of the tricks. But I still have a soft heart and those kids can be really tricky. I'm sure they're going to pull one over one me every once in a while because they can also be interesting, considerate and funny.

I'm hoping to sub as much as I can until summer vacation starts. Unlike other jobs I've had in my life, this one gives me a good feeling, like I've actually done something positive with my time. It's also a great source of material for my children's book!

And, of course, the main reason I'm taking time away from my book for anything else is we need the money. I'm just grateful that I've been able to gather a flexible collection of jobs I enjoy:

1. Writer
2. Photographer (Art and Portrait)
3. Blogger
4. Book Reviewer
5. Substitute teacher
6. Winery Bistro waiter
7. Independent Silpada Representative
8. Substitute church secretary
9. Personal historian (although I haven't made much progress on this one!)

I feel like I've forgotten one or two...

Oh, well. It's hard to focus when this is what's going on around me...

So gorgeous! The world is exploding in color!

I pulled over to take this on my commute to #5 yesterday. And to sigh.

There was an art show going on around the estate, so during some down time, I grabbed my camera and walked around...

This was my favorite, by Shakti Sarkin. I didn't go home with it, though. The price? $1350. 

Made me wish I could add 'artist' to my list.

Here are a few other pieces that caught my eye...

I believe the art will hang around for a month. But we also have a new permanent addition to the Bistro. A pizza oven!

You can see Chef Sean is happy about it...

...but this is going to be sooooo detrimental to my waistline...

I love pizza.

I love my jobs.

If you miss me on Facebook or FlickR or in the comments section of your blog, now you know why! (Thanks for missing me, Patti!)

Catching My Breath (and other Sweet!s)

I haven't blogged in a whole week. I think that's a record. 

Snippets and ideas for posts have popped in my head - random words are scribbled on scraps of paper all over the house and in the car - but I haven't been able to stop long enough to work them into full posts.

This morning Life is moving slower and I'm hoping today I can focus my attention on those poor, neglected Good Intentions and Need-To-Do's I see moping in a dusty corner.

It's been a fun week, though. No exotic vacations or anything, but just Life and all of the challenges and adventures and love it provides. There have been beautiful spring days that turned into powerful thunderstorms with blustery winds and cold temperatures... which meant stinky country dogs cowering in the laundry room... but we're back to Spring and warmth and outside dogs now.

While I'm grateful for the rain, I'm not so grateful for the mosquitoes it awakened. They buzzed and bit me every step of my walk this morning. You can be sure I'll thoroughly douse myself with repellent every morning from now on.

Yesterday, TG fixed me breakfast... a delicious sauteed veggies/scrambled eggs concoction she prepared every morning over Christmas break that set my stomach growling with its divine smell. But it was always several hours after I'd already eaten.

I'm too lazy to go to that much trouble myself first thing in the morning, but yesterday I slept late after a sleep-deprived weekend and she woke up early to prepare for a Spring Break trip to the coast... which means we woke up at the same exact time! So when I saw the eggs and veggies coming out of the fridge, I worked out a deal with her involving laundry.

One of the best deals I've ever made! It turned out to be just as delicious as it smelled, and sustaining enough for a day on the run that included seeing her disappear into one of five chartered buses for an overnight drive (and praying the whole way home for their safety!)

Sunday morning I met a blog friend for the first time in person. Non-bloggers (or non-FlickRers, etc.) probably don't understand how exciting that is.  They might have trouble understanding how you can become friends with total strangers you connect to online but have never seen face-to-face, but I can assure you those friendships are just as real as any other. 

Wolf, of Just Add Father, was in town for a dad blogger conference. He delayed his flight home to meet me, Tom, and 2/3 of my kids for brunch downtown at the Driskill Hotel's 1886 Cafe and Bakery. It was just like meeting a long-time friend I hadn't seen in a while. 

Wolf is a pseudonym (he explains why he uses one on his blog) so we had some fun taking this photo below. I wanted one I could post here. (I'm sure the people sitting at nearby tables were wondering what the heck we were doing!) 

We chatted awhile on the sidewalk after eating, but knew it was time to part ways when my kids (ages 20 and 23!) got restless and started roughhousing on the sidewalk. 

Some things never change!

Actually, we needed to leave anyway because Wolf wanted to walk around and see the Austin sights before heading for the airport, and we wanted to get back to the house to visit with my oldest and his fiance before they had to leave.

They were in town for a wedding. After the reception on Saturday night, they brought friends back to the house with them and all of us were up really, really late visiting and laughing. I always enjoy seeing those grown-up kids, even though it makes me feel old, wondering how these kids who I swear were in middle school yesterday are now out of college, working, married...

Totally worth getting only 4 hours of sleep.

No, really it was.

<yawn>

Anyway, Sunday afternoon I grilled chicken and enjoyed a quick dinner with them, before dashing off (late!) to my writer's group meeting.

Even after all this time, my book is still a misshapen piece of clay. Writing is so dang hard. But with these women's input and guidance, it's beginning to take shape, although it still needs lots and lots of pinching, molding, scoring...

It's tough - even painful - but I'm grateful to them and willing to do whatever work is necessary to have a finished piece by the end of the year.  

Saturday I took a short road trip along Highway 281 to San Antonio. A friend of mine hosted a Silpada jewelry party for me.

Highway 281 runs through the Texas hill country and several small towns... a beautiful drive, even on a rainy day like Saturday. I spotted my first bluebonnets, splashes of blue drizzled along the roadside. I promised myself I'd drive out this week on a sunny day and take some photos.

Jewelry parties are always fun, what with the food and drinks, the sparkly silver bling, and meeting lots of interesting women, but this one was especially fun because Jackie and I went to high school together, but didn't really know each other until just recently. We reconnected thanks to Facebook and discovered we didn't live that far from each other.

Here we are with another high school friend, Marilyn, who came to the party. She lives even closer to Jackie but they didn't even realize it until recently.

And here I am with one of my dearest friends, Nancy, the first person I met when we moved to Lago. She now lives near San Antonio, so she and her daughter took advantage of the situation and came to the party, too. 

You just can't beat reconnecting with friends, playing with pretty jewelry, and making money at the same time, can you?

The rest of the week was a blur of writing, reading, subbing at the high school, trying to catch up on emails, and watching the Hollow explode in greens, blue, yellows, pinks, and purples. I'm hoping not to get lost in the busy-ness of this week.

I do want to mention Tuesday, though. I spent the day swim suit shopping with TG in preparation for this trip to the coast. There's always more under the surface than shopping, though... there's talking, laughing, sharing, and just soaking up the sight of her.

In one store, going through a clearance rack, I came across the perfect shirt to describe the way I feel...

We took turns trying it on and snapping pics with my iPhone, but in the end, I just went ahead and bought it. How could I not? It was cheap and fit perfectly, in so many ways!

And now for the official Sweet! report:

Monday: time to be still and breathe, sitting on a rock beside a pond, listening to running water and chattering birds, watching silly dogs and flirting dragonflies

Tuesday: hours spent with your daughter... shopping, talking, laughing; finding a really good fortune in your Panda Express cookie

Wednesday: porch swings; flowers and tree buds popping out everywhere

Thursday: finishing a great book; high school one-act plays

Friday: rainy days when a drought is fresh in your memory; some of your kids home for the weekend

Saturday: clouds sitting on hilltops; roadsides sprinkled with bluebonnets; a job that lets you catch up with 'old' friends and meet new ones; sangria; staying up late visiting with your kids and their friends, who used to be kids but somehow turned into adults; the birth of a great-nephew and photos on Facebook

Sunday: meeting a blog friend in person for the first time; brunch and people-watching at the Driskill Cafe; an afternoon with your son and future daughter-in-law; a writing group that keeps your ego in check

Monday: sleeping in after a sleep-deprived, busy, busy weekend; spending time with your baby girl 

Wishing each of you a week full of sweet moments!

Beauty in the Midst

Last week I helped celebrate my cousin Ronnie's life. 

Looking through the photos afterward, Claire Bidwell Smith's words kept coming back to me...

"Even in the midst of all this pain and sadness I see something beautiful."

 

I snapped this one of Ronnie's sister Cindy surrounded by her daughters, grandkids, and great-granddaughter because of the palpable feeling of support they gave her, as well as the sweet hug and kiss of comfort from a grandson to his grandma. I had never even met some of these generations before, my own cousins once or twice or three times removed.

 

I had to capture this smile on my mother's face as she met her great-great niece, Khloie, and the proud smile on Khloie's grandma's face.

 

Representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars paid tribute to Ronnie's military service with a few words at the graveside ceremony. 

The man in overalls on the far left was Ronnie's neighbor, a good friend who drove Ronnie to and from his many doctor visits. 

 

 

 

Charles and Howard are brothers, my cousins. 

I had good visits with both of them on this day. 

I can't remember the last time I saw either one of them. Perhaps it was at a funeral.  It makes me sad to think the next time I see them will probably be at another funeral.

 

 

Martha and my mom's friendship goes all the way back to when I was a baby. (They went to high school together, but weren't friends then.) Martha's sweet face always appears in those times when Mama needs support, reminding me of my own longtime friends. (I wonder what they talk about when I'm not around?) 

 

Tex-Mex for lunch afterwards with my parents and sister, Brenda. 

Mama and Daddy aren't often this dressed up. I used this opportunity for a photo shoot. Daddy made me work for it, though.

"Well, that's okay, but Daddy, this time remember to look down just a little so the flash doesn't bounce off of your glasses. And smile!"

 

"Hmmm... better, but Daddy this time don't take a bite of food before I take the picture and really smile! You know I'll keep taking them until you do what I tell you."

 

 "That's it! Perfect!" (He knew I meant it!)

Team Valentine (Who needs a dozen roses...?)

Valentine's Day Eve...

Tom made the cookie dough.

I peeled the wrappers off the milk chocolate hearts.

He formed the balls, rolled them in sugar and placed them on the cookie sheets I lined with foil.

He kept an eye on their baking, but together we topped each cookie with a heart and popped them in our mouths...

...over and over and over again. 

When there's someone, one someone who makes your days brighter,

makes your joys greater,

makes your heart lighter,

 

Valentine's Day...

Tom was in the Suzuki, pulling out of the driveway just as I drove up. 
"I'm going to get one more load of rock. Want to go with me?" he asked. Of course I did!

He cleared the dirty gloves and tools off the passenger seat, brushed as much loose dirt aside as he could, and I climbed in.  He drove to a spot near the lake where construction crews are laying new water pipe. The foreman gave Tom permission to gather up all the flat rock he wants - he's collecting them to use as paving stones for our future driveway, or as I like to call it, Hernia #5. Or maybe it's #6. I've lost count.

I helped him load the rock, then he showed me the mother lode of fossils he discovered. We spent the next half hour scouring the exposed lake bed for fossils, finding one stone heart after another, until the setting sun reminded us to head home.

That's when he discovered the flat in the right front tire. He drove the Suzuki as far as the top of our dirt road, then hopped out to lessen the weight on the tire. I drove it the last mile home with him following on foot.

Someone, one someone you want so to share with,

do everything with,

go everywhere with,

 

Valentine's Day Night...

Cards filled with love and sweetness. Candlelight. Grilled T-Bone steaks, Texas toast, fresh salad. A glass of pinot noir for me, a beer for him. A couple of cookies and "When Harry Met Sally".

Could there possibly be a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day? I can't imagine it.

Someone, one someone you want to live for--

you have that something called Love.

~ Karen Ravn 

 

Snowflakes and other Sweet things

Winter remembered us here in Austin this weekend.

Right after lunch today, I headed up the pathway to my car, loaded down with jewelry, catalogs and order forms for a Silpada party at my friend Darla's house. Raindrops speckled the stones, but only one or two drops hit my head before the rain turned to sleet, sounding like glass shattering when it hit the dry oak leaves surrounding me.

Sleet and rain took turns keeping my windshield wipers busy as I made my way down the highway, and then, halfway to Darla's, there they were... huge snowflakes swaying around me in a slow dance through the air. Winter's kiss of apology for forgetting us until now... for teasing us into believing Spring had arrived.

Just those teensy bits of magic made the cold and wet worthwhile for me, even if they were only momentary blips of white though my windshield.

And now, here are a few other sweet moments I noticed this past week...

 

Sunday: Mass with your son and sweetie; your husband filling up your car on a cold day when you're sick so you don't have to on your way to work

Monday: being able to take a day off when you're sick; Campbell's chicken noodle soup; a phone call from a friend; Mucinex

Tuesday: robins filling the trees all around, singing up a storm; surprising yourself by being able to run thirty minutes on the treadmill despite being sick; homemade chicken soup sizzling with cayenne

Wednesday: a flexible schedule that allows you to run into town and see your daughter during the middle of the week; progress on your book, even if it's not much

Thursday: a mostly full morning moon shrouded in mist; a cardinal perched at the top of a juniper tree, facing the rising sun and singing joyful praises; a mailbox stuffed with new books

Friday: driving through the Texas hill country under a cloudless blue sky with your sweetie; an evening spent with dear friends, enjoying great food, wine, laughter and conversation

Saturday: time for a walk with your puppies and sweetie before work; helping to make half a dozen Valentine's Day celebrations special; giving in to your tired body and watching a movie at home rather than heading out for another late night

Sunday: snowflakes on your windshield!; getting together with friends and making money at the same time; hard-hitting critiques from your writing group that will make your book better; your son and future daughter-in-law's wedding website

I hope you had at least a teensy bit of sweet magic yourselves this week!

"Girl...We SO Crazy" (a Diva weekend in Long Hollow)

 

This tiny naked baby, arms opened wide for a hug, sits on my kitchen window sill, a sweet reminder that just two weeks ago my kitchen was overflowing in love and friendship and hugs from women who have known me almost forever.

 

 

 

The baby came hidden in an authentic King Cake, carted all the way from Louisiana (along with some genuine boudin sausages) by my friend Sandy.

I'm not sure who found the baby in their piece of cake, but I love that they plopped him down where I would spot him and be reminded of them every day.

The Diva weekend started on a Friday night, two weeks ago tomorrow, when half of the women braved my dirt road in the dark of night just to get together with friends they've known since high school. 

The rest rolled in on Saturday.

The beauty of these get-togethers, though, is that we weren't all friends in high school. It took a few decades, but we're grabbing this chance to connect in ways that are impossible when you're a teenager. 

I didn't start snapping photos until Saturday morning, though, when some of us ventured out on a walk to wake up my husband who had escaped to his tent across the creek soon after grilling us a delicious fajita dinner the night before.

 

 

What a sweetheart! 

We thought about jumping in on him, then realized he might be as naked as that King Cake baby, so we just talked to him through the canvas, instead. 

 

Look! I wasn't the only one swinging a big camera that weekend! 

 

 

I love this one of Rae and Max, just chillin' by the creek...

Max and Belle love Rae - she always brings them treats. 

This time she brought puppy Valentines, of course...

After a morning spent hanging out on the porch talking and eating more fajitas, we piled into SUVs and headed to Flat Creek Estate for a wine tasting and tour. 

It was fun being a customer for a change!

We even talked Chef Sean into posing for a photo...

Back at the house, we continued the celebration of our friendship with tons of food, including the King Cake below...

...and a toast (I knew that one day all of those souvenir shot glasses I collected would come in handy!)

And that's why I feel this photo says it all...

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it: Friends make life a lot more fun.

~ Charles R. Swindoll

The Privilege of a Lifetime

"The privilege of a lifetime is to be yourself."

 ~ Joseph Campbell

 

A big pot of chicken soup is simmering on the stove. From where I sit across the room I can hear the little bubbles playing on the surface and the aroma is making my stomach growl.

I made it for myself, because I'm sick. I don't cook often these days, and when I do, it's usually to whip up some favorite of one of my kids or my husband, although he's gotten quite good at cooking whatever he wants himself.

You see, there are tons of other things I'd rather do with my time besides cook. That's just me, the way I am, and I'm okay with it. Thank goodness my husband is, too.

I thought about this as I chopped up vegetables for the soup earlier, because BlogHer's latest question for their Life Well Lived Getting Happy series is: How do you practice self-acceptance and find unconditional love for yourself? (Part 2 of the question is: How does practicing love first help you attract more love and happiness in your life?)

Well, not cooking if I don't feel like it is one way I practice self-acceptance.

I spent years trying on cooking and crafting and gardening and sewing, and while I enjoyed each one to a certain extent, none of them fit me exactly right. 

Today I'm cooking because I care about myself. I want to get well.

It took years to shed the 'Mommy-Martyr' mentality that made me think everyone else's needs were more important than my own. It's still a trick mirror though... one big incentive to take care of myself is so I can take care of those I love who depend on me. To be healthy if they need me or to just set a good example.

When I eat right, when I run, when I make sure I get enough sleep or play my drums or take time to read or write or take photos or laugh with friends or go dancing with my husband... it's for them as much as it is for myself.

 

Turning 50 was a huge turning point in my self-attitude, like standing before a mirror, evaluating where I'd been, where I still wanted to go and whether or not I was heading in the right direction to get there. Trying to figure out what fit and what should be tossed. I was able to recognize and appreciate the strengths that got me this far, as well as the quirks that make me unique.

Love your neighbor as yourself. ~ Mark 12:31

I forgave myself mistakes made along the way, accepted myself as human, flaws and all, and by doing so, discovered how easy it is to do the same for other people. The key to loving your imperfect neighbor "as yourself" is first loving your imperfect self.

How do you start? Ponder this...

 Where there is no love, put love and there will be love.

~ St. John of the Cross

 

 

So how do you practice self-acceptance and find unconditional love for yourself?

And how does practicing love first help you attract more love and happiness in your life?

Leave your answer here, but also at the main post on BlogHer where you can see other answers. And be sure to enter the sweepstakes for a chance at a Kindle Fire and $50 Amazon Gift Card HERE.

It's already Saturday? (Sweet!)

I'm in a calm spot between a busy week and a busier weekend. We've been blessed with spring-like weather, lately, and I admit I'm ready for it to just stick around. Wildflowers haven't yet ventured our way, but we're being serenaded by birds and frogs and a running creek. Storm clouds and sunshine are taking turns painting the canvas above us.

Middle son is home this weekend which called for a celebration: pizza, wine, and a Netflix double-feature last night (I finally got up the nerve to watch "Interview with a Vampire"! Plus another movie that was pretty good but I can't recall the name. Guess it wasn't that good.)

Even though it was a busy week, I remembered to keep track of my sweet moments. Hope you did, too!

Saturday: a morning walk with girlfriends and dogs to wake your husband in his tent across the creek; fresh kolaches; a sunshine-filled afternoon with friends in a vineyard; kitchen counters overflowing with BBQ, King Cake and tons of other food; a house full of your longtime friends...dancing, laughing, talking; toasting your friendship with shots of Patron followed by cinnamon-sprinkled orange slices

 

 

Sunday: a road trip with a friend with hours to catch up on your lives; being part of a circle of support for a friend mourning her husband; snapping photos of an alligator (from a safe distance); dinner with view of the water; sharing a beautiful sunset with friends; hugs from your parents

 

 

Monday: breakfast by your Daddy, hours of unrushed time with your parents; a quick visit with your sister; missing traffic on your way home

Tuesday: sunshine breaking through morning fog; the wisdom of Winnie-the-Pooh 

Wednesday: Grand Prize on a SheWrites giveaway; a quick visit with your daughter; a phone call from a sweet friend you haven't talked to in a while; sitting on the porch swing on a summer-in-winter evening with your sweetie

Thursday: a puppy's face at the door, first thing in the morning; getting your run out of the way before the sun comes up; a walk along a running creek at dusk with your sweetie, and capturing a photo of the first star of the evening

 

 

Friday: dramatic storm clouds; wind whispering in your ears; pizza, wine and movies with your sweetie and middle son

Saturday: sleeping in before the rush of a busy weekend begins

Hope you've had a week full of sweet moments, too!

Ripped Apart and other Sweet!s of the Week

A collection of colorful bags and pieces of luggage grows beside me. Today's the day I take TG back to campus to start the spring semester. Wasn't it just a few days ago that we carried all of those bags down from the car?

Christmas break went by so fast. At the beginning of it I had two kids at home; soon it will be just me and Tom again. Sweet, yet bittersweet.

Sweet because, luckily, Tom and I enjoy being together - we easily fall back into our pre-kids selves. Bittersweet because I enjoy having the kids around, too, and not only for all the help they give us with dishes, dog care, laundry... although I do miss that, too.

This might have been the last long break TG spends with us. By this time next year, she'll be living in an apartment, probably working near campus through the break, coming home for a weekend every now and then. Sigh.

I'll take it a semester at a time, though, and right now I just pray this one will be the best ever for her.

Well, while I wait for her to finish packing, I'll tell you a little about my day yesterday, spent in the World of Writers.

I finally made it to a meeting of the Austin Chapter of the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators) held at BookPeople, a wonderful independent book store in downtown Austin. I don't think I've every met a friendlier group of strangers in my life - the support and encouragement was palpable!

I sat in the only open chair I spotted,  After introductions, I discovered the woman beside me, as well as the two directly behind me, all live just a few miles from me and are eager to form a writer's critique group.Talk about serendipity!

The first session of the meeting was a presentation by author Brian Yansky on plot, character and structure of your story. Some of it was knew to me... some I already know but don't necessarily put into practice... and that's why I need reminders like this, especially from successful authors who are willing to share what has worked for them. Judging by the others who were scribbling notes, I'm not the only one!

Next, a few of us went to the third floor for the open critique group... the part I had been most eager for! I passed out copies of my first two pages, cleared my throat, took a deep breath and read out loud while they followed along.

When I finished, I could see they were hesitant, not sure if I wanted brutal honesty or encouraging pats-on-the-back.

"Rip it apart!" I told them. I've read too many books lately that began with seeds of great stories, but because of neglected pruning, had grown into huge distracting messes. I don't want mine to end up that way!

So with my blessing they ripped it apart, so to speak. Some of what they mentioned I had already wondered about myself, but needed another opinion... which is why I was eager for the critique group. Other things were surprises, and so even more helpful.

A critique can be painful if you take it personally, but I look at it as a really good workout... tough to get through but so invigorating and energizing when it's all over... and the only way to get stronger.

We took turns reading and critiquing, everyone offering concrete constructive comments. Writer heaven!

After a quick break (I walked to Whole Foods and enjoyed a cup of tomato basil soup at a small table outside, great for people-watching!) we gathered on the third floor again. Two of the members had attended a recent Story Masters Workshop where they took pages and pages of notes, all of which they shared with us. 

Spending a day with such a great group of talented writers (many published authors in the group) who encourage and support each other... very sweet!

And now for some other sweet! moments of the past week... 

 

Monday: a fire in the woodburning stove on a cold, rainy day; cedar pollen that's been attacking your nose and making you want to scratch our your eyes washed from the air by the rain; finally meeting a previously only 'online' friend in person; loose ends neatly tied up; joining a writer's group, at long last, to help you with your book 

Tuesday: the moment when dark clouds break apart to reveal blue sky; frogs singing in the distance, grateful for the recent rain; watching "The 10th Kingdom" with your daughter; cell phones that allow you to talk to your mom and your dear friend, despite the miles between you

 

 

Wednesday: $300 worth of free jewelry, thanks to your party!; a Post of the Week award from Hilary for one of your photography posts; that sparkling-clean-teeth feeling you get after a trip to the dentist; a jingle-jangle in your pocket for stuff you didn't want anymore anyway  

Thursday: getting word that a sweet kid you know was found before you even knew he was missing; scratching things off of your list; finally fulfilling a months-old promise to a friend

Friday: a "Happy Anniversary" first thing in the morning from you sweetie before you even realize it's Friday the 13th; puppies stretched out comfy and warm on the laundry room floor on a below-freezing morning; shopping with your baby girl; getting $17 for from a local resale shop for things you were going to toss out; any Ryan Reynolds movie

Saturday: a day spent with writers; getting honest feedback and suggestions on your children's book-in-progress; tomato and basil soup outdoors on a gorgeous day; a walk at dusk beside a running brook; home-brewed beer; watching Harry Potter movies with your daughter

Sunday: a friend thinking of you when a job comes open; watching more Harry Potter movies with your daughter; a call from your mom

What were some of your sweet! moments in the past week? (I know you can come up with at least one!) Please share them here!

Kids, Jewelry, Birthdays, Weddings and other (belated) Sweet!s

A rumble of thunder and whisper of rain woke me in the night. It continues today, another steady, soaking rain falling from a colorless sky. We've had enough rain in the past few weeks that I almost take it for granted, despite the months of drought.

Almost, but not quite. Waking to the sound of rain is still a sweet sound, especially when I can roll over, snuggle deeper into my covers, and go back to sleep.

I would also almost start complaining about the soggy weather... the mud that gets tracked in, the slippery roads... despite those months of drought, but in between our frequent rainy days, we've had warm days with crisp blue skies (Saturday) and cool days with skies of rainless clouds (yesterday.)

I love it when things balance out that way! Very sweet!

Yes, I realize I'm running late with this post. I've been keeping up with my sweet!s this week... but my photos, not so much.

Well, I've been taking plenty, but all of them from the past week were still stashed on my camera until last night. I didn't have a chance until now to tidy my sweet! list and glance through my photos - it was one of those on-the-run weekends that I love, but that leave me breathless!

First, Daniel came home for a visit this weekend. His face is always a sweet sight, but I hadn't seen him since last year, when he moved out to his own place just after Christmas!

So you can imagine how happy I was to see him!

We spent Friday evening talking and watching a movie, just hanging out and relaxing. I was hosting my own Silpada jewelry party (one of my other "hats") the next afternoon, but thought I would have plenty of time Saturday morning to get everything done.

But after letting myself sleep in and then mentally comparing what I had left to do with how much time I had in which to do it, I realized I was wrong!

My kids were lifesavers, though, bless them... they pitched in and helped me pack up the last of our Christmas decorations away, tidy up the house in preparation and followed whatever other orders I barked at them. Such sweet kids!

Consequently, it was a relaxed open house. And what a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon... sitting around a table, sipping wine, munching on yummy snacks, talking to friends and looking at beautiful jewelry!

Tom and I headed out right after the party to help my dear friend Darla celebrate her birthday at Z'Tejas. (It was my first time there, and oh my gosh, it was soooo good! Great twists on traditional Tex Mex... I got the Wild Mushroom Enchiladas.)

(Again, my kids were lifesavers... they helped clean up from the party for me! I just hope Daniel will come home again some day... I don't think he was counting on all the extra chores!) 

Just getting together with these longtime friends from high school is a sweet way to spend a Saturday night, but we were joined by a face none of us had seen since graduation day. We reconnected with Wayne via Facebook and discovered he'd been living in the Austin area for the past fifteen years or so, too. We've probably passed him on the highway a zillion times...

After church Sunday morning, I met my future daughter-in-law in town for another day of wedding venue sightseeing. There are so many possibilities, it's mind-boggling! I'm glad I'm just a tag along and not the one having to make the decision!

I can have fun snapping photos...

And now for my belated list of Sweet! moments from the past week...

Monday: walking at sunrise; checking out wedding venues with your son, his future bride and her family (photos HERE and HERE); one of your blog posts listed on Pioneer Woman's sidebar links

Tuesday: frost sparkling in the caliche road like tiny diamonds; working on your book for hours, even if it doesn't feel like you made much progress

Wednesday: almost getting caught up on your email; a friend pinning a link to your blog on Pinterest; not burning the chicken legs on the grill even though you were distracted with writing; catching a movie with friends; extra-sweet... the movie starred George Clooney and was set in Hawaii ("The Descendants")

Thursday: the excitement and joy of puppies on a morning walk; words flowing onto the page without effort, for a change; a phone call from your sister; your kids helping you take down the Christmas decorations

Friday: fresh morning sunlight; bumping into a friend at the grocery store; the Epiphany; photos of your husband's aunt ziplining in Costa Rica in honor of her 74th birthday!; the sight of your middle son for the first time in two weeks

Saturday: your kids pitching in to get your house ready for your jewelry party; finding out one of your photos was chosen for FlickR's Explore; friends gathered around your table, chatting; a friend putting in an order for jewelry even though she sells it herself, just in hopes you have a good party; celebrating a dear friend's birthday and reconnecting with a friend from long ago

Sunday: kneeling and praying next to your sweetie in church; checking out more wedding venues with your future daughter-in-law; hearing from your oldest, letting you know he made it safely to Arizona for a business trip

(Monday: I didn't plan to add Monday on here, but first thing this morning, I received a message from a friend I've been praying for that he's met 'someone'. It made me smile, inside and out, so I had to add it here.)

I hope you had tons of sweet moments this past week, too. I confess, there are days when I have to think really hard to find one, but I always manage to... and often it triggers recollection of a few more. If you haven't tried it yet, I encourage you to!

 

Sweets On Christmas Eve Eve

Who is rich? He that rejoices in his portion.

~The Talmud

Dishes overflow the kitchen sink.

Fudge waits in a lined pan to be cut into squares and shared.

Three twenty-something kids and I huddle around a laptop within the glow of Christmas tree lights, laughing at You-Tube videos.

Favorite cookies fill gold and silver tins, tumble off of plates and cool on a metal rack on the kitchen counter... Chocolate Chip, courtesy of TG, while I made a last minute dash to the grocery store, and peanut butter Cyclops Cookies by me, assisted by Daniel.

I haven't taken one single photograph. The one above was taken earlier this week.

There are no gifts piled under the tree... the cookies are our gift. Our laughter is our gift. We are our gift.

I'm headed out in the morning with my kids, leaving Tom behind to care for the puppies... his gift to me. For the first time in decades, I'll wake Christmas morning in my childhood home and enjoy Christmas dinner with my parents. What better gift could I receive? 

 

And now for a few my sweet! moments of the past week. I hope you've gathered a nice, shiny collection yourself!

 

Sunday: placing your gifts under the church Giving Tree, imagining the faces of two 9-year-old boys when they open the gifts you bought for them; recovering treasured ornaments you thought were lost forever; fresh tamales and guacamole; your son's rants about the commercialization of Christmas

Monday: rainy days (good for writing); getting back to work on a dusty project; forgiving scales after a week of peanut butter and chocolate bars

Tuesday: tangerine sunrises framed in a window; brisk mornings and frisky dogs; listening to your daddy's stories; your pop-in-law finally released from the hospital; Pinterest, at last!; chili so spicy it makes your brow sweat on a cold night

Wednesday: your husband and daughter home with you, but quiet enough that you can still write; your college student child getting the official report of good grades for her past (really tough!) semester

Thursday: walking along a fog-shrouded country road; driving on a two-lane highway that zigs, zags, rises and falls over and through the hills; a surprise Christmas bonus; Lammes dark chocolate pecan and caramel Longhorns; a glass of wine and a movie with your son after seven nonstop hours on your feet

Friday: warm chocolate chip cookies baked by your daughter; your son helping you bake his favorite cookies; the mailroom scene in Elf; all three of your kids home, laughing over You-Tube videos and watching movies

Saturday: traveling with all three of your kids; Christmas Eve spent with your parents for the first time in decades

Another very special sweet... Kamana of Journalling Through Photos recently posted a series of "Six Question" interviews with women bloggers. I was honored and humbled that she asked me to participate.

Go HERE to read the interview, but be sure to stay there awhile... meet the other bloggers she interviewed and also take a stroll through Kamana's beautiful poetry and photographs. Thank you again, Kamana!

I wish all of you a blessed Christmas, filled with peace and joy, love and laughter...

I'm also joining Otto at Münchow's Creative Photo Blog in challenging each of you to use Christmas to make a difference in someone's life who, instead of love and joy during these holidays, feels despair or sadness. Perhaps they've lost a job or a loved one or have just forgotten the meaning of the season. Even if all you do is smile at a stranger, try to do something. ("...it might be the only sunshine they see.")

I'm challenging myself as well.

Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.

~Janice Maeditere

Peanut Butter/Chocolate Bars, a Snow-Squeaky Beach and other Sweet!s of the Week

Wednesday evening I spent an hour sitting at my in-law's dining room table working on a post to update you on our Florida week. I just had one more image to add before I hit 'publish' when Tom's laptop froze on me. As a last ditch effort, I refreshed the page.

Poof! My post vanished! 

Sigh. 

Of course, it was a brilliant post - one of my best ever! Ahem. But I decided playing cards, exploring thrift stores and walking on the beach were more important than trying to remember what I'd written, and I procrastinated re-writing it until now, after a twelve-hour drive home and lugging in all of our suitcases and before starting the laundry.

I'm sure you understand. 

I do recall that Nobel-worthy post had something to do with eating lots of peanut butter and chocolate. In my mother-in-law's kitchen there were these cute little Christmas plates that magically filled with all kinds of cookies overnight. Tom and I did our best to eat them up every day but then, the next morning, it would be overflowing in sweet yummy goodies all over again!

It was so weird!

Christmas magic, I'm sure.

We did more than eat peanut butter and chocolate, though; we played lots of cards... mostly 3-13, a kind of rummy. Tom and his family also play cribbage, but they're so fast at it I'd rather just sit and watch in awe.

One of Tom's eight brothers, Joe, lives near his parents; he and his wife Erin used to live in Texas and we've always had a great time with them. On this trip we trekked through antique/junk shops and along the beach, searching for all different kinds of treasure. We also spent one evening catching up over margaritas and 3-13 (they stomped us!)

Martha Stewart has nothing on Mom and Erin when it comes to Christmas decor. I came home totally inspired to finish my tree and create a beautiful table setting. Both of their houses twinkle in Christmas spirit.

Friday, our last day there, Mom had planned to take us to the infamous McGuires Irish Pub right after Pop had a small test run. Unfortunately, we ended up eating in a hospital cafeteria instead of McGuires. (Barbecued ribs, since you asked. And they were pretty dang good!)

Pop didn't even get any lunch... unless you call the stuff that drips through an IV "lunch".

You see, over the last few years - more frequently in the past few months - Pop has been getting anemic. So anemic that he requires transfusions. On Friday the doctor felt his blood count was low enough that he needed another recharge.

I'm glad Tom and I were able to be there to help them out, at least for a day. And we still had fun with them, playing cards and listening to Pop flirt with the nurses (that old rascal!)

As I write this, he's still in the hospital. We're praying the doctors can figure out why he keeps getting anemic and what to do about it. Please join me! (Thank you!)

And now for my sweet! moments of the week... 

Sunday: your parents-in-law's faces on a long overdue visit; playing 3-13 even if you lose every game; a tree covered in angel ornaments; chocolate and peanut butter bars

Monday: chocolate and peanut butter bars; chocolate and peanut butter bars; chocolate and peanut butter bars; laughing with your brother- and sister-in-law over margaritas and games of 3-13 (even if they always win)

Tuesday: chocolate and peanut butter bars; Tums; running with your sweetie so you can eat more chocolate and peanut butter bars; swingsets sturdy enough for adults; an evening penitential service in a beautiful church

Wednesday: exploring thrift/antique/junk shops with your sweetie, brother- and sister-in-law; Victorian houses draped in Christmas

Thursday: walking on a deserted Pensacola beach with loved ones, searching for shells; your heels sinking deep into squeaky snow white sand; wearing a swimsuit in December; purple beach flowers; finally winning a game of 3-13!

Friday: spending a day laughing and playing cards with your in-laws, even if most of it is spent in the hospital; old globes; watching old episodes of MASH, Taxi, Gomer Pyle, Petticoat Junction...

Saturday: starting off on time for your return trip home; a pre-dawn deserted interstate; sharing a footlong turkey sandwich with your sweetie; your tail-wagging, grinning puppies greeting you when you arrive back home after a week away; the sight of 2/3 of your kids after a long absence; your son helping you out when you're feeling frustrated and exhausted; three paychecks in the mail

A Birthday, a Graduation and Texas Heaven...

We let Max sleep inside the past two nights. Belle, too, of course, although it was more for Max's sake than hers. They have a large dog house, nestled up against the house and the hill, protected from the elements, but even though temperatures were just in the low forties Sunday night, it was bone-chilling damp and he's an old dog with sore joints.

So I found an old comforter and Daniel spread it in on the floor of the laundry room. Comfy cozy and warm.

Then yesterday morning I discovered Max isn't the only one with old achy, slow-moving bones and joints. The winter chill seems to be affecting my computer, too! (You thought I was going to say it was me, didn't you?)

Tom asked me to scan and email him some documents for our health insurance... would you believe it took me over 40 minutes to scan three photos!

Forty minutes to scan 3 photos!!

My old computer was moving so slow I knew I had to do something, so instead of finishing up the editing of my last photo shoot, as I'd planned, plus catching up on my blog reading, blog writing, book writing, personal history transcribing, etc. etc, I went down the list of installed programs, files and folders with a virtual pair of scissors, Googling the ones I wasn't sure about and getting rid of everything I didn't absolutely need.

Six hours and a couple of defrags later, I gained 3% of my free space back. It was still as slow as ever, but I still felt like I had accomplished something, like that feeling you get when you finally clean out your kitchen junk drawer.

You know, if you keep a computer long enough, and your entire family uses it, it essentially does resemble a junk drawer or storage closet... a repository of all kinds of odds and ends no one needs or uses anymore.

Anyway, I also finished up the editing of my last photo shoot and emailed them to my friend/client so she could get her Christmas cards ordered, although I had to stay up really late to finish it. It was worth it just to help her out... and also for that awesome feeling of finishing something!

It's a rare thing for me; I hope to get more acquainted with it!

The only thing I accomplished this past weekend was spending lots of time with friends and family... even though it means I'm behind on everything else, it was another awesome feeling! 

First came the celebration of my first baby Tommy's 26th birthday. It was just like his birthday parties in the old days: lots of pizza... ice cream cake... singing Happy Birthday off-key... kids sleeping over, staying up all night playing video games and watching movies...

...except this time the "kids" were drinking wine and beer, not just soda. My how time flies!

Me and my sweet boy.

After working at the Bistro Saturday, I rushed home, changed clothes and met Daniel and Tom downtown for Daniel's friend Austin's graduation from UT...

Here, let me zoom in a little more.

See how happy he is?

Afterwards, we joined Austin's parents and some of the boys' friends at Asti (above) for a scrumptious Italian dinner. We arrived a little early, so I filled the time strolling down the street, snapping photos.

Look, someone knitted scarfs for the street posts! (To see more of these scarves, plus other night street scenes, go HERE.)

 

 

Sunday night Tom and I went to our church Christmas party. I look forward to it every year... we get yummy Rudy's Bar-B-Q and a wide open dance floor.

My idea of Texas heaven!

With the busy weekend, I neglected to check and charge my camera battery before we left. Of course it died before I could get any photos of the great dancers, but I did manage to get this one.

I want one of these shirts!

I smudged their name tags to protect the innocent. (You're welcome, Joan and Sherry!)

It was a wonderful weekend, and I think I appreciated it even more because through it all I was praying for a friend who underwent surgery for cancer on Friday, a friend who lost his mother on Saturday, a high school classmate who died on Friday, and fellow parishioners who rushed from the Christmas party Sunday evening when they got word their house was on fire. It burned to the ground; they didn't just lose all of their belongings, but also their dog. Just breaks my heart. Please say a prayer for each of them.

So I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too... but mostly I hope you didn't take a single second of it for granted. 

"The Best Laid Schemes..." (What happened to Monday and Tuesday?)

According to my calendar, I'm in Galveston right now, visiting my friend Ann, finally getting to see the cute little Victorian house she's fixing up and browsing through some wonderful eclectic shops.

Things don't always go according to plan, though, do they?

Instead of strolling the tourist-free beaches and staying up late talking and laughing with my dear friend, I've spent the past two days glued to this old computer, spending hours and hours on projects that should have only taken half the time.

(I'm beginning to wonder if shoveling coal into it might make it go any faster. I don't think it could hurt!)

Ann's free days evaporated, too, anyway, complicated by family schedules. We're going to try again in the next month or two. Why are our lives still so complicated?

I'm grateful for the work that's keeping me glued to the computer, though. One is a photo shoot from a couple of weeks ago that forced me to learn Lightoom. I'm by no means an expert, but I've learned so much, thanks to tutorials and photography friends (thank you, Beth!) and learning something new is so much fun! (And frustrating. And agonizing.)

Unfortunately, one thing I've learned is that my E: drive on my computer has gone kaputz. Nothing like a few hurdles in your path to keep you on your toes, right?

The second project was a review for BlogHer with a quick turnaround, as in, I learned about it yesterday and the deadline was this morning. And I (pretty much) turned it in on time. Ahem.

It wasn't a typical product review... more of a personal essay on health and aging and menopause, so I was happy I was chosen for the project.

I can't believe it's already Wednesday, though. Here are a few highlights from the past few days...

 

My mother turned 80! Middle-son Daniel went with me for the celebration at my parents' house. I enjoy road trips with Daniel - he helps me find good radio stations and doesn't mind me singing along loudly, even when I don't really know the words. 

It was a quick visit with family, highlighted by fried Gulf shrimp, birthday cake, breakfast by Daddy, plenty of coffee, Mexican food, and my mother in a birthday sombrero... 

...which matches this one of my dad from last month...

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Oldest-son Tommy ran his first full marathon! If you knew all the nights I stayed up with him while he struggled to breathe with his asthma, you'd really understand how very proud I am! And how relieved I was that he crossed that line, safe and sound and breathing!

This photo was snapped by his sweetheart, Kirby. She completed her second half-marathon that day. 

Yay, Tommy and Kirby!

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I won a blog drawing!! This cute cup featuring a 'doodle' by Cyndee at Eloise's Collage arrived in my mailbox Friday. I love it! Thank you, Cyndee! 

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Remember the Thanksgiving Comes First campaign? Thanks to Suldog, I found out about a petition to "Tell Target to Save Thanksgiving". If you want to add your name, click HERE.

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It rained yesterday! I mean, really and truly rained!

Well, not enough to capture a photo of the actual rain, but I did get one this morning of a dew-covered wildflower...

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Last but not least, Hilary at the Smitten Image awarded me a Post of the Week for As if I were beside you... Thank you, Hilary!

(Click the icon below to go read the other POTW and see her wonderful photography.)

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I hope you're having a wonderful week, even if your plans went agley like mine!

(At least I wasn't left with "nought but grief an' pain"...)

 

...The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

~from To a Mouse by Robert Burnes

Twenty-Three? How is that possible?

"Daniel, you're going to be 23 in two days!"

"Yeah, I know, mom."

Whoa. That thought hit me while we were driving back from town two days ago. There I was, comfortably cruising along with him being 22, and next thing I knew, a whole year had zoomed by, just a blur out my window, it moved so fast.

And now here we are on October 13, the day 23 years ago that I first laid eyes on this amazing kid... um, man... oh, gosh, what do you call your kids when they get to be so old?

...love at first sight...

...I swear this was yesterday and not two decades ago...

This will be the first birthday in several years I'll get to see him on his actual birthday, since he's back living at home.

I know it's not where he hoped to be on his 23rd birthday, but he's got such a great attitude about it, teaching me by example about hope, optimism and 'chill'. 

He's been spoiling me and Tom while he's here... loading the dishwasher, taking out the trash without being asked, feeding and walking the dogs, cooking dinner, helping Tom with jobs around the property, watching movies with us... whatever we ask him to do, he jumps on it, eager to help.  He even seems to enjoy being with us! Most of the time, anyway.

Tom and I got used to that really quick. I feel blessed having this extra time with him, not because he's so helpful (although that's a definite plus!) but because he's just a great kid man guy (there, that sounds right)... so funny and smart, as well as thoughtful. (I've already written tons about how great he is HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE if you don't believe me.) 

So today I'll make sure I don't ask him to do anything. I'll try to go back to my old ways and spoil him by cooking him breakfast (he's sleeping in for a change... one advantage of not having a job yet!), fixing the King Ranch Casserole he requested (after dozens of "What do you want for your birthday?" pleas from me) and the Cyclops cookies he didn't request but I know he loves.

(Why is it mothering always revolves around food, especially when our babies get older?)

So Happy 23rd birthday, Daniel.

May you have clear paths and bright skies.

And no matter what this year brings,

I hope you continue to "Be silly. Be honest. Be kind."  

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Also... Happy birthday wishes to Kim, my sweet previously-Montana-now-Arizona sister-in-law... young cousins Ashley, Kayce and Kayce's daughter, Tayvie (celebrating her first birthday!)... and Pete, my inspirational blogging friend, who wrote a wonderful, reflective piece today in honor of his birthday (go here to read it - it's great!) 

 

A Top Notch Day

It started like this...

Belle's face peered in from the pre-dawn darkness, much earlier than usual. I had just stumbled from the bedroom, still groggy with sleep.

She seemed nervous about something. Stepping outside, I knew right away what had her up so early, wanting our company...

...The frogs had a croaking chorus coming from the pond, so loud I knew the full moon could hear it through the misty clouds. Belle had probably forgotten what that sound was, it had been so long since there was enough water in the pond to make the the frogs sing.

I reassured her and stepped back inside. Thirty minutes later, when she was still peering in at me, I gave in and stepped back outside to rub her ears, and this is what I saw...

 

I knew it would be a good day.

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Daniel had an interview downtown. I tagged along to visit the State Library.

It had been ten years since I'd done any research there... it was completely changed! Bigger, more modern... and even a snack room for patrons now. (In the 'old' days, my co-genealogy-nut friends Susan and Donna and I would stand on the steps and eat our lunches.) I caught on to the new microfilm readers, thanks to a lesson from the sweet girl working the Library, and even found a few tidbits on 1880's taxrolls. (Are you yawning yet?)

Something that hasn't changed is our beautiful Capitol building, just across the street from the State Library and Archives building. 

 

 

A scent captured my nose, sending me whirling back into my childhood and memories of catching honeybees in glass jars (released soon afterward, don't worry.)

 

 

Japanese Ligustrum... complete with bees. Too bad I didn't have a glass jar with me! (I took more photos around the capitol - you can see them HERE.)

After Daniel's interview, he introduced me to this Austin icon, used in the movie, Dazed and Confused...

 

 

We both ordered fried chicken and it was, indeed, Top Notch!

But the best part came after we got home and took the puppies for a walk. After just one day of rain, the pond has water again! It might not look like much to you, but it's beautiful to me!

 

The air hummed with dragonflies. Where have they been hiding? They flew too fast to capture their photos, but across the pond, I came across this splash of color, such a welcome sight after months of gray and brown...

 

 

As if all that wasn't enough, this is how the day is ending...

 

 

Hope your day was Top Notch, too!

"And now for something completely different..." Kitchen Tales, a Recipe and Post #1000!

When I was growing up, if I stepped one foot in the kitchen, my grandmother would suddenly appear beside me to see what I was doing. It didn't matter if I waited until she was in her bedroom with the door closed playing the piano and belting out "Oh, What a Friend We Have in Jesus", she would somehow sense a presence in her territory and promptly investigate.

Mam-ma wasn't ugly about it. She didn't forbid me to cook. She would even sometimes sense my uneasiness under her watchful eye and try to give me some space, ducking around the corner to the livingroom and only peering at me around the door frame, but before long she would be back inside, hovering at my shoulder. She just couldn't help it!

Needless to say, I didn't learn much about cooking back then, beyond what was taught in my one semester of 7th grade Cooking Class with Mrs. McDonald. By the time I was out on my own, with my very own kitchen, I was on a perpetual diet. I learned to bake chicken, steam broccoli and even made Magic Cookie Bars and a broccoli-cheese casserole for a company Christmas party, but otherwise I lived on dry roasted peanuts, picante sauce and chips, and microwaved baked potatoes. Quick and easy.

After Tom and I married, I began experimenting with recipes on my days off. I loved cooking - if I had a whole day to devote to it, that is. I scoured magazines for new recipes to try...

Then the children arrived; it was back to quick and easy and trying to cook something everyone liked. Pre-boxed, pre-jarred... even pre-cooked. The more "pre's" there were, the better! 

In recent years, I've cut out all of those "pre's" - I'm trying to eat healthy. But I still like "quick and easy". Cooking, and the inevitable cleaning up, are way down below writing and photography and playing the drums for me, so when preparing a meal lands on my shoulders, it's usually grilled chicken and fresh salad. (Tom will say it's always grilled chicken and fresh salad. And he might be right!)

So why in the heck did I sign up to develop a recipe with Knorr Chicken Stock for BlogHer? Not just cook something, mind you, but develop a new recipe?

Because the top recipes win an all-expense paid trip to the upcoming BlogHer Convention, which I could never afford otherwise, that's why.

But, seriously, what was I thinking? I couldn't win. It's not that I think I'm incapable - it's just not something I'm 'into' right now. You name it and cooking is way down below it. And then there's the time thing. I'm already stretched so thin there are days I think I'm going to POP!

I thought about backing out of it. But thinking about it is as far as I got on that because... well, I gave my word, for one thing. And also, it became a new challenge, a way to grow in an area I've sorely neglected. 

I believe learning and growing and challenging yourself is what this 50 decade is all about, so for two weeks, I tossed ideas around in my head, trying to come up with something new.

That's really, really hard, you know it?

I noticed the chef at the winery creating dishes using roasted cauliflower and that gave me an idea. I had tons of cauliflower in the fridge. I would just roast a bunch and then... hmmm. Then what?

I eventually did come up with a mostly-original recipe. Only 'mostly-original' because I adapted one of my old standbys from when all the kids lived at home, a recipe I got from a co-worker years ago: "Terry Boer's Chicken and Rice Casserole." (I kept it in a recipe box next to "Hoi Tranh's Butterfly Shrimp" and "Larry Corona's Manicotti" and "Jim Josey's Cheeseburger Pie." I loved working with guys who could cook!)

And I really love casseroles because you just toss everything together in one pan, slip it into the oven and let it cook.

But Terry's recipe wasn't very healthy. That was my challenge...

His called for buttering the pan. I used olive oil. His used white rice. I replaced it with organic, gluten-free short grain brown rice. Instead of a whole cut-up chicken that his recipe called for, I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Instead of two cans of 'cream of..." soup, I used Knorr's low-fat chicken stock. Instead of dried onion soup, I used fresh onion and other spices.

Then I added my own twist, adding lots of cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms.

Guess what - it was good! Even TG and Tom agreed, although I think Tom still prefers Terry's (unhealthy) version.

So maybe it doesn't totally qualify for the contest, since it's more of an adaptation than a totally original recipe, but even if I'm disqualified, I feel good about the whole experience. My cooking confidence has been restored - although I think I'll still let Tom retain the Kitchen Crown. 

So without further ado, here's the completed recipe for, um, what should I name it? How about... "Barbara's Chicken, Veggie and Brown Rice Casserole"? Well, not very original, but my brain is tired. It'll have to do. 

Hope you enjoy it!

 

Barbara's Chicken, Veggie and Brown Rice Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb. Monterrey mushrooms, sliced

1/2 broccoli crown, cut into chunks

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into chunks

1 whole onion, chopped

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 breasts)

2 1/2 cups of chicken stock made from Knorr homestyle concentrated stock

1 1/2 cups of brown rice

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare chicken stock. Coat bottom of 9 x 13 pan with olive oil. Pour 1 1/2 cups of stock into pan. Add 1 1/2 cups of rice, covering bottom of pan. Place chicken on top of rice. Mix seasonings together and sprinkle on chicken, then top with  onions, mushrooms, cauliflower and broccoli. Pour remaining chicken stock on top.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8 to 10.

(If you make it, let me know what you think!)

 

And now, for something ELSE completely different...

 

 This was my 1000th post on Long Hollow! Whoo-hoo!!

It's hard for me to believe, but I'm sure my stats don't lie. Thank you to anyone out there who has actually read even half of them!

 

 

 

 

He Knows Me So Well (and Saturday's Week of Sweet!s)

Tom's email read "I saw this and thought of you," with a hyperlink under the message.

My heart fluttered - he thought of me while he was at work? How sweet! Tom never emails me unless it's a two-word response to something I've sent him.

I clicked the link and laughed when the page popped up describing (and showing images of) a 557-square-foot House of Shelves in Japan that can hold 10 tons of books.

Be still my heart!

Yes, Tom knows me well. I'd have shelves on every wall in our house if he'd let me.

Click HERE to see the House of Shelves and read more about it.

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My brother Donnie also knows me well - he sent me a link to something he knew I'd love to read about... a 7-year-old drummer named Jonah. Check him out! So cute! (He's 5 in this video - amazing!)

 

 

Now I'm fired up to squeeze 'playing my drums' back into my schedule somehow. They've gotten a little dusty lately. (Go to Jonah Rocks to find out more about Jonah.)

 

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And now for my Sweet! Moments of the Week...

Sunday: witnessing more than a dozen teenagers receiving the sacrament of Confirmation

Monday: the contrast of cool lake water and hot sunshine on your body

Tuesday: a dusty rose dawn; finding a beautiful shirt on a clearance rack for $7!

Wednesday: a sky full of storm clouds and a few drops of rain on your dusty dry land

Thursday: a text message from your big brother telling you he's in love again

Friday: unwinding on a shady porch after work with a glass of Super Texan; watching "Where the Heart Is" with your honey (what a sweet movie!)

Saturday: Having friends drop in to support you at your new job; Sean's duck and Tom's slow-smoked beef ribs - double yum! Getting word that Shake Russell was finally recognized as "Entertainer of the Year" at the Texas Music Awards! (Congratulations, Shake!)

Hope you find plenty of Sweet! moments in this coming week. Remember...

‎"All things pass; God never changes."

~ St. Teresa of Avila