Familie und Freunde sind ein Segen

We survived OKTOBERFEST!

                        

No, we didn't travel to Bavaria, (at least not this year but maybe in a couple). We held our (maybe first annual) OKTOBERFEST this year at Lois' mom's home. Amid German beer, mostly authentic German food, German "Oom papa" music and combo OKTOBERFEST/Texas A&M-tailgate tent, we partied the night away with family and friends. I've previously written about how blessed we are to have an amazing group of friends and family and Saturday night's festivities certainly did not lessen that feeling! While we did not have an exceptionally large crowd, (actually one of the smallest parties, in number, that we've ever hosted) each person there was an especially important person in our world.  

But I've gotten ahead of myself...

Saturday morning was perhaps the most awesome fall morning yet this year! The weather was "Chamber of Commerce" perfect. I met Chipper, Mallory and Carter downtown to walk through vendor booths and enjoy some small-town "trade day" activities. Carter obliged the adults by offering smiles and good humor until he saw the "Wiggle-Waggle Choo-Choo." At that point, he was a toddler on a mission! He was all about the train. Don't misunderstand, he was still very well behaved, however, he was very clear that his interest was on riding the train. So, after just a few stops to get a closer look at some of the offerings at the local artisan's booths, we were bound for the Choo-Choo. Mallory's mom, Lana, was with us as well. As us Grans watched Carter, we were both struck by the sheer joy on his face. Here was an example of what every child's life should be like...surrounded by loving, caring adults who would do anything in their power to make sure he is safe and happy.



My Great-grandparents and their brood.
My grandfather is third from the left in the back.



My mom's family is of German descent. My paternal grandfather's parents immigrated to the U.S. in about 1884 and settled between Shiner and Moulton, TX. They were farmers and raised a large family of children who, in turn, raised their children to put God first, family second-only-to-God, work hard, laugh much and enjoy life.  I mention this because a few of mom's cousins and one of her sisters joined us for this inaugural OKTOBERFEST celebration...what a hoot these folks are! As you can tell by the picture to the right, my grandpa had several brothers and sisters. Most of them had children of their own. My grandpa, though he wasn't the eldest of his siblings, had the first (OK, my grandma actually "Had" them, but you know what I mean) "grandchildren." Then, since there is obviously a pretty big gap between some of the older of my grandpa's siblings and some of the younger ones, we are one of those families with second and third generation off-spring that are relatively close in age. (WHAT???). ANYWAY, some of mom's cousins are mostly within 10+ years of me in age so I have always felt closer to them than other "second" cousins might. Now their children are the same general ages as my own and some of us are experiencing the joys of toddler grandchildren together. After spending time with them last night and listening and sharing stories (until the wee hours this morning with Aunt Mary Louise...), I just kept thinking about how happy and how proud Great-Grandma Mary and Great Grandpa Joseph would have been.

I'm going to use my "writer's privilege" and include a "shout out" (when your writing, should the term be "type out"?----hmmmm), to two friends that joined us. As you know from previous posts, I have four biological sisters. Unfortunately, two of them were unable to make it down for the "bier und brats." I haven't told you about my friend Annette. Annette and I have known each other for 48 years and have been the best kind of friends for as long. We've survived Catholic school, high school, weddings, births, deaths of dads and many miles together. Although we live relatively close to each other, we rarely have a chance to see each other and visit. Her children are younger than mine and she is still getting them through high school and college and working full-time herself. I am so lucky and so thankful to have her in my life. She is my sister in every way that matters. It was so good to see her and her hubby, Robert Saturday night as well.

I have three brother-in-laws but no biological brothers. My dad enjoyed being the only male in a house with 6 women. He was as spoiled by the female attention as any man could possibly be. While I was never lonely as a child, (with four younger sisters, how could I have been?) I always wondered what it would have been like to have had an older brother. Well, when I was studying for my master's degree, I found one. Dick and I met at UTSA while we were working on our MAs in Ed. Leadership. After he got used to the back-row-sitting-loud-mouthed-Aggie-full-on-native-Texan (and damn proud of it, thank you very much!) we began teaming some "group" projects in a couple of classes. We brought another friend into our team and the three of us forged into a formidable group. Dick and I became great friends. He and his wife Laura's children are around the same age as mine and we love spending time with them. He really is my brother and no family get-together is complete unless he and Laura are included. (I am totally serious, when I lived in California, mom and dad were sure to include them in the annual July 4th parties whether I came home for them or not!)   

There were other friends with us last night. Some were my mom's friends, others were my sister's, but all enriched our evening. The cold weather, other obligations, illness and other "life events" kept more friends and family from joining us but we are sure they'll be at the next Haime and Lois production. We feel truly blessed by the wonderful folks in our lives.

TTFN

Lois

Will I be Bored?

When I decided to retire, I announced my decision about 7 months prior to my actual "retirement date." I needed the time for Haime and I to get used to the idea and I hoped that my coworkers, many of whom were surrogate family, would be better able to plan for filling my space if they had sufficient notice. Although I had always told my friends and family about my plans to retire at as early an age as I could, as the magic date drew ever nearer, I began to wonder what my "next chapter" would entail. Would it be some type of hybrid version of my first 30 years in the work-world or would it be something else entirely? Would Haime and I be able to coexist and be happy together when we were in each other's company 24-7 or would one of us meet our demise at the hands of the other?

My biggest concern...will I be bored?

Boredom is my biggest enemy, it always has been.  I remember one especially rainy day of my childhood when we were trapped indoors; (I was never able to entertain myself for very long periods of time with dolls, books, coloring or other quiet "little girl" stereotypical activities); I entered into a gloomy, whiny funk to the point where my mom finally caved to my pleas and allowed me to go out and play in the puddles. I got drenched but I remember that as a particularly great rainy afternoon. Honestly, I'd rather have a root canal, (and I loathe going to the dentist for anything), than be bored.

I am very happy to report that retirement is AWESOME! Yes, I know, I've written that before but I want to be clear.

My official date of retirement was in early November but the last day that I reported to work was September 20, 2011. Even though I didn't choose that date, (it actually just coincided with the last day I had to report prior to being able to use my accrued vacation and personal leaves), it was particularly significant for me because it would have been my dad's 76th birthday. My dad also hated to be bored.  He retired four different times, each time he thought he'd be happy doing "just what I want to do, when I want to do it." He wasn't so he'd go back to work, always doing something slightly different but basically the same. Unlike my dad, I am very happy, so far, with my post-retirement life.

In the past year, I have made some progress on the never-ending list of projects that I want to get done around my house and around my mom's house.  I have travelled, built some furniture, started exercising again (with determination this time) and have actually embraced my battle of the bulge. I've also re-entered part of my "Suzie Homemaker" past...that is, I've made jelly (from grapes we grew), canned salsa (from veggies from our garden) and made sugar-free pumpkin pies from the pumpkin that I carved for Carter. OK, side note needed here about the pumpkin pies...

One of the local churches near us hosts a "pumpkin patch" every year as a fundraiser. Haime and I took Carter over there so he could choose a pumpkin for us...yes, it was really just an excuse for some cute "Kodak moments." Anyway, we took the selected pumpkin home, I carved it and lighted it with a small electric votive candle...CUTE, right? Well, another "side-effect" of my retirement (or maybe just my age), is that I am becoming more conscious about our environment and try hard to do things to embrace the "reduce, reuse, recycle" mentality. So, after the carving was done, I had a bowl of pumpkin (and pumpkin seeds and stringy pumpkin guts-yuck!). Well, one of the best things about fall is, in my humble opinion, pumpkin pie. I cooked the pumpkin (steamed for 2 hours and I'm really not sure it was done yet) and mashed it in a food processor and added lots of cinnamon and spice and (fake) sugar and tasted it...not impressed! I couldn't believe it, it tasted a lot like grass (the kind you plant in your yard, not the other kind that people might use for medicinal purposes or buy from some shady person on the street that comes in a baggy). So, I added more spices and pecans (another fall favorite) and some shaved BRIX chocolate and baked the pies (without shells, of course, so I could have pumpkin pies with as few carbohydrates as possible---brilliant right?) NO...DISASTER! The pies had absolutely no pumpkin flavor at all! They actually tasted like grass with pecans. I couldn't even taste any of the chocolate. I was so disappointed I nearly cried (OK, not really cried, but I was really disappointed that I didn't get any sugar free pumpkin pie).  

Now, back to the most amazing part of retirement...believe it or not, Haime and I are both still alive and actually we are both very happy being retired together and I have not been bored...yet!

TTFN:  

Lois

Nature and Stuff

Haime and Aggie adding to the "Halloween" decor

Thank goodness, fall is slowly making her way to our little piece of the world. For those in much cooler climes, you probably can't share our enthusiasm for cooler days (mid-80s), but those of us in south-central Texas are loving our fall weather.

When asked to name my favorite time of year, I am always torn between fall, (autumn for you purists), and spring. Here in Texas, where the winters are typically mild enough that we are never without some type of flowering plant, fall wins. However, during our time in California, they were pretty evenly matched. We lived in the high-desert region of S. Cali. so our summers were HOT and our winters--FRIGID! Fall was always a very welcomed reprieve to the 105+ summer days, (but it was a dry heat), and spring was like receiving a lost Christmas present in March/April. Aside from the temperature changes, I love the look, smell and feel of fall. The fall colors are warm and welcoming; the homey smells of soups, roasting meats and cinnamon make my weight-war much harder to fight but bring peace to my soul. And the brisk mornings and cooler evenings seem to speak of the coming of a much anticipated gift...
 

Niagara falls




Some species of pretty bush



Most of my associations, not counting the foods of fall, center around nature. A couple of years ago, mom and one of her friends, and my sister Karen, (the use of first initials has become a bit confusing for me so if you are included in one of my posts and don't want your name spelled out, please tell me what your preferred "blog name" is), and I went on a leaf-peeping expedition to New England and part of Canada. We were all awestruck, (I might have written "dumb-struck" except Karen was with us and she is never at a loss for words), at the beauty and magnificence of Nature's show. 



Equally pretty but obvious
different plant/tree

It is not just the flora of fall that grabs my attention. Animal life also seems to make appearances during this time of year in a "Hey, look at me too!" kind of fashion. Maybe its the cooling air and changing leaves that make us pay more attention to our little corner of the world but the insects are certainly doing their share of the attention-getting around our place. Haime and I live about halfway between two small towns in Texas. So, while we are not technically in a town or city, I don't think we qualify for the "living in the sticks" scenario either. At any rate, we always have various forms of "wildlife" around us. Nothing as cute as "Bambi" but we do have an occasional field mouse or squirrel or skunk. OK, our "wildlife" is more the insect type. For example, we always have wasps nests attached to some fixture of our house. Typically they are attached to the highest section of the eaves of the roof so we have adapted a policy of peaceful co-existence. This year, however, an industrious group of wasps has elected to build a nest under the front eave of my workshop. Since they don't seem to mind my electric saws, air compressor or hammers, we have kept a weary eye on each other but have continued our co-existence policy.

Given their growing numbers, I hope they pass the information along to the newcomers. If not, I could be charging down to the nearest pesticide aisle for some spray. 

When I was a kid, I remember seeing so many more species of insects and other bugs and critters than I see now. We didn't have "fire-ants" but I remember "big-red-ants" and "stinging-black ants" and of course "sugar ants" were always getting any hidden treat that we might have dropped or forgotten about. It seems that praying mantas were much more prevalent than they are now, as were tarantulas, "walking sticks" and of course horny toads, (No, I mean the real lizard kind, not the "bar fly" kind...GEEZ, stay with the topic people!) Well, I was at mom's house the other day and saw this guy on the wall by the front door as I was leaving...

For the "under 40" readers, this is a "walking stick" or,as Wikipedia explains:

"The Phasmatodea (sometimes called Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects, walking sticks or stick-bugs, phasmids, ghost insects and leaf insects (generally the family Phylliidae). The ordinal name is derived from the Ancient Greek φάσμα phasma, meaning an apparition or phantom, and refers to the resemblance of many species to sticks or leaves. Their natural camouflage can make them extremely difficult to spot. Phasmatodea can be found all over the world in warmer zones, especially the tropics and subtropics."

Anyway, I'd guess its been at least 35 years since I've see one of these critters and seeing it last week at mom's house was a lot like turning back the clock to part of my nearly forgotten youth. Yep, another reason I love fall is that the sights, smells, feels and sounds take me back and help me remember so much of the richness of my youth that has helped to shape me into the person I am and has allowed me to enjoy myself as an adult. Thanks mom and dad.

Until next time,

Lois

Birthdays and a request.

I LOVE my birthday. This is one of the (gazillion) things on which Haime and I find ourselves at polar opposite sides. I LOVE the idea of celebrating another year of life. Haime, on the other hand, says he would like nothing more than to be able to forget that a particular day marks another turn of the yearly calendar. He does like presents, however, and suggests that if we gave him more presents throughout the year, we could actually dispense with the birthday celebration and just have several "general present-for-Haime" days (whatever).

So, I celebrated another birthday yesterday. As children, my parents always made each of us feel very special on our birthday and that feeling continues for me today. Generally, I LOVE life. I am a happy person and am consciously trying to find the good and beautiful virtues, gifts and grace God has blessed me with every day. (With that said, those of you who know me best know that I have a warped and wicked sense of humor; so for me, some of those things I count as blessings, might seem kind of strange to others. But, since they are mine, I like it.) This year, one of my blessings came from my son Chipper who phoned earlier in the week to ask if I would like to play golf with him on the afternoon of my birthday...I was thrilled. I used to play golf 2-3 times per week. Of course, that was more than a couple of decades ago, and now, I seldom take the time to play. In fact, the last time I played golf was with Chipper on my birthday 6 YEARS AGO!

 

I have to admit, I actually did better than I was afraid I would. Most of the time my shots remained in the fairway and I only lost 2 of them to the watergod. Perhaps I had forgotten most of my bad habits. The most important thing was that we had a wonderful time. I was really hoping that Haime and Boo could have joined us, but we had an AWESOME day. Thanks Chipper!

After golf, Haime, my mom, Chipper, Mal (Chipper's bride) and their son Car and I all went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. Haime and I went early and enjoyed a glass of some mighty tasty wine while we waited. I've been fighting the weight-war pretty hard for the past year but decided that I was going to indulge myself just this once to celebrate. After a lovely dinner, we all even shared a piece of cake...hey, I was celebrating. We had arranged for Car to spend the night at our house so he came home with us and we played for awhile then all turned in for the night...AWESOME birthday.

Then, I woke this morning to find that my indulgences resulted in a 2 pound gain...CRAP! Well, I still LOVE birthdays so I guess I'll just have to learn to LOVE the extra treadmill/elliptical/crunches that I'm going to have to put in to pay for falling off of the flab-fighting-wagon.

Before I close, I have a request...Boo's girlfriend's mom is pretty ill. Please keep her in your thoughts and offer prayers for her recovery...Thanks.

TTFN

Lois