Beginnings: Now, Color OUTSIDE the Lines...

Beginnings: Now, Color OUTSIDE the Lines...: Most of you know that I retired a couple of years ago...(WHOOO-HOOO!!!) Well, today is my sister, Karen's last day in the office (so,...

Now, Color OUTSIDE the Lines...

Most of you know that I retired a couple of years ago...(WHOOO-HOOO!!!) Well, today is my sister, Karen's last day in the office (so, I'm not sure how much actual "work" she is doing today). Mom and I attended her "official retirement reception" yesterday and were touched by the number of people that shared stories of how Karen went above and beyond in her duties for the State of Texas, and what she meant to them personally. Karen has risen to a pretty "high" level in her career and works with some very "brainy" and "high-placed" people. Well, I could brag about that and tell you how impressed I am and how proud I am of her but, you really don't care about that and she knows it, (I hope). Instead, I want to tell you about my contribution to her retirement "reception."

It will probably come as no surprise to any of you that I am not shy about speaking to large groups, in fact, I really like to do so. Well, after hearing all about how wonderful Karen is from some brainy-muckity-mucks, I approached the microphone. Actually, I took it from Karen before she had a chance to speak. I explained that as the older, (wiser?--probably not), sister, I had retired first, just to test the waters for Karen. In so doing, I had done a bit of prep-work or research in anticipation of Karen's retirement and her possible desires to join me in some of my travels etc. The research was illustrated by various "props" and gifts for Karen to use in doing her own "research." Of course, most of the "props" were actually various wines from representative countries around the globe. There were some other equally-clever (I told you I'm not shy around large groups) gadgets and toys. However, the one serious gift in her "retirement survival kit" was a set of pencil colors made from twigs. The message I had for her with these is that it is now officially time to "Color OUTSIDE the Lines." 

In retirement, the biggest, and possibly the hardest, lesson I have learned is that there are few rules that must be followed. Deadlines are mostly suggestions; alarms need not be set, unless you have to catch a plane; if you don't get everything, (anything) done on your "list of things to do today," then tomorrow or next week or whenever, works just as well. Retirement, is freeing. If you wake up and decide to stay in your pajamas until the next day, do it. If you want to go bra-less, do it, (this is a bigger thing for some of us and I suggest that for those of us for whom this is a big deal, bra-lessness should only be done in certain situations and places. For example, bra-lessness for some should never be a condition you try when out for a jog. Take it from me, the resulting black eyes are PAINFUL!) OK, I didn't share this paragraph with the crowd, I do still have a few filters...just saying.

OK, so maybe there should be some general guidelines to this retirement thing. The most important things are to spend time with your loved ones, enjoy yourself, give back to your church/community/charity etc, find new interests, use the "good china," burn the "special candles," develop and begin working on completing things on your "bucket list" and mostly, Color OUTSIDE the Lines! 

TTFN

Lois

Nature or Nurture? OR, is it SOMETHING Else?

I've been on a long-time rant. You may have read part of it on my post: "'Common' courtesy?" whereby I began my rant. Well, it continues. I am constantly reminded of our societal lack of courtesy, manners and general niceness to each other. However, I think I've discovered a possible cause...bear with me here, but, you might want to pick up a copy of James Patterson's novel, Zoo. Now, wait, stop rolling your eyes, hear me out. In this novel, for those that have not read it, our hero, Jackson Oz, (no relation to the land of the same name, with the yellow-brick roads), discovers the reason for animals exhibiting an exponential increase in violence on humans. The reason is actually pretty simple, it's a human cause. Specifically, "electromagnetic radiation and the by-products of petroleum." 

Well, what if the rude behavior demonstrated by servers at drive-through windows, or the repugnant driver who cuts you off to "steal" the parking space you have been waiting for, or the contemptible clerk who's job is supposed to be to "help" you with a purchase, are just acting out because of physiological changes in their brains, caused by pollutants in the environment? Could it be more than the question of whether people are born with certain behavioral traits or tendencies or whether these are learned? The science-lover part of me wonders about the cause and effect of such things as genetics, surroundings, birth order, poverty levels, environmental pollutants, educational levels of caregivers etc on our young. The member of the consumer-public part of me, that is so increasingly frustrated with having to interact with discourteous others, is finding myself becoming more reliant on electronic and Internet-based communication and purchasing, just to avoid dealing with unmannerly people. 

Lord knows, I am not perfect, FAR from it! I have a tendency to use very colorful language at times, I do not suffer fools well, and I don't like large crowds. However, I have learned a few things in my old age. I do not use "extremely profane" language in public, I tend to avoid fools when I can, and if I can't, I try to keep my hands and mouth busy...large amounts of alcohol usually do the trick, and I just avoid places where there are going to be thousands of amateur drunks. But, what if, by avoiding interacting with people, I am also adding to the problem? 

Recently, I told a couple of friends that I had realized the path to my next, (OK, first), million...I would create a company that would conduct "mandatory customer service" training to all managers and employees who interact with "Joe Public." (I've actually taught these "classes" several times during my administrator days in my previous life, with excellent results.) But, then, since these behaviors, in my experience, are becoming more and more "common," maybe I'm in the minority. Could it be that since I am retired and no longer spend most of my days surrounded by large numbers of "others," that I am just becoming ultra-sensitive to "perceived" abhorrent behaviors? What do you think?

TTFN

   Lois

  

When "Critters" Attack!

I have debated about writing this post for a couple of reasons. First, after reviewing the "audience" of my previous posts, I noted that there are "readers" from approximately ten countries that have read my posts. What if, after reading this post, representatives from those countries, not to mention readers from other states, (Bob, I'm referring specifically to you here...), are scared off from visiting Texas? What would the State Tourism Bureau think? Secondly, what about readers who attend our annual July 4th picnic, might they be so frightened that they decide to forego our annual salute to sending the Brits packing? I mean, there are potentially serious repercussions to this post! Oh well, as you see, I decided to throw caution to the wind and write it anyway...

It all started innocently enough. I was at my mom's, mowing her yard and cutting shrubs etc. I had finished the front yard at her house without incident and moved to the back. I really don't mind mowing. It's the kind of mindless activity that allows one to ponder all manner of things at random. You know, important things like: "what do I want for lunch?" and "with over 175000 miles on my vehicle, how much longer can I expect it to last before I have to deal with 'Satan's spawn' aka "the car dealers"? (refer to my previous post if you don't recognize that reference). So, I had really just started mowing the back yard when I neared an intersection of two paved areas of the yard...a sidewalk intersecting a sort of patio when I noticed something slither under one of my mom's portable fire-pits. 

I should stop here for a bit of education. There are four types of poisonous snakes in the United States. These are divided into two categories: pit vipers and coral snakes. Rattlesnakes, copperheads and water moccasins are all pit vipers with the coral snake being in its own category. The pit vipers are generally considered "hemotoxic," meaning their venom causes local tissue damage, vascular endothelial damage and pulmonary, cardiac, renal and neurological effects (bad stuff!) Coral snakes' venom is more of a neurotoxin that can cause a presynaptic neuromuscular blockage which can lead to respiratory paralysis. These little guy are particularly nasty! Of these four types, Texas has..........all four! (We are extremely special!!) Anyway, having grown up in the house in which my mom still lives, we have seen 3 of the 4 types of snakes there over the years.

Now, back to my tale...I saw the snake slither under the fire pit, turned off the mower and whistled for mom, who was in the house...I can whistle VERY LOUDLY! Mom came out and I told her that I needed a hoe or a shovel. "Why?" she asked, "to kill a snake" I said. "What kind of snake?" she asked...(REALLY?!)..."a coral snake", I said...WOW, she moved fast to get the tools! I was afraid to leave the area because I didn't want the little critter to slither away. Coral snakes are really pretty snakes...especially once they are dead...They are relatively small snakes, our was only about 12 inches long, and their bands of color are actually stunning. Anyway, mom brought the tools and we dispensed with the snake in no uncertain terms!

After declaring victory over the snake, I finished mowing and put the mower away into mom's storage shed. I had used the "grass catcher" bag because she still has some oak leaves on the ground and they do not decompose well. I removed the bag from the mower and proceeded to leave the shed to dump the clippings. As I was exiting the shed, I accidently banged the bag against the shed's metal door. I hadn't taken more than two steps out when I suddenly felt like someone had pressed a lighted match to the back side of my left arm...YOWW it stung! I turned to see a red wasp making a quick retreat back to it's nest. I emptied the clippings into the trash can and returned to the shed with a giant-economy-sized can of wasp spray.  Let's just say that that wasp, and all of her sisters, stung their last arm.
 

I have been stung by "yellow-jackets" several times over the years, however, I had never been stung by a red wasp. Let me tell you, there is a difference! Mom has some "swabs" for stings that once you crush the inner glass tube of the plastic vial, the active ingredients soak a cotton fiber end that you rub onto the sting and they work pretty well in stopping the stinging/burning sensation. With the previous stings from yellow-jackets, that was the end of the story...not so with this little beastie! The pic shows my arm the following afternoon. I was swollen, hot to the touch and just plain uncomfortable!

Normally, I'm a live and let live kind of person when it comes to interacting with Mother Nature. However, if you are a poisonous snake in my territory or once "attacked, "I tend to go straight to "seek and destroy" mode. For this season, I'd say we've got a score of Lois 2, Mother Nature 1.

So, don't be afraid to join us in celebrating our independence. This was only the second coral snake we've seen in over 45 years of living in the same house, and I can promise there are NO red wasps there any longer.

TTFN

Lois

DON'T Push!

If you are a "regular" reader of this blog, then you know that I suffer from bouts of wanderlust. That is, I love to travel. Haime and I have travelled abroad and to Canada and Mexico but most of my travel is here in the US. When I was in high school, we had a sub-teacher tell us that she had travelled to all 50 states and to every county in Texas. I don't know why that stuck with me and I really don't keep track of the counties I've visited in Texas, though I'd be surprised if there are more than 7 that I haven't visited, I took the "all of the 50 states as a challenge. It doesn't count if the state happens to be a "lay-over" where the only thing we do is change planes. So, to date, I have visited (as a destination) 37 states, including the hardest ones-Alaska and Hawaii. Much of my travel is done by car because I like taking "roads less travelled" and stopping when and where I feel inspired to do so.

My 2007 Chev. Trailblazer has been an AWESOME traveler! I have put over 175,000 miles on it and it still runs like a champ! Haime is a fanatic about keeping it serviced and it has never given us any serious trouble. Well, with that many miles in a relatively short time, it is starting to have a few "hic-cups." Nothing major, just little things. Well, one thing you should know before I go any further...I HATE buying cars! But, even more than buying cars, I hate fixing major problems with cars, AND, even more than buying cars and fixing major problems with cars...I HATE, LOATHE, DESPISE AND AM INTOLERANT OF PUSHY CAR GUYS!!!!!

Another thing you should know is that I believe cars are an excellent mode of transportation. They get you where you want to go much faster than walking and without the hassle of public transportation. Beyond that, I am not a "car person." I am not "make-specific" and after driving everything from a junker to a convertible Mercedes, I am not impressed by cars. With all that "said," I have come to the realization that my Trailblazer is not going to last me forever. Sr..o, I decided that I need to START looking for a possible replacement. First I started on the Internet. I have few parameters for my new ride. It must get more nor fewer than 30 miles per gallon on the highway; it must have ample storage room for suitcases and golf clubs etc; it must be comfortable; it must have enough room in the back seat for at least one person, (preferably two) to sit comfortably with a car-seat between them; and it must priced at no more than $30K. Seriously, it should not be hard to find SEVERAL choices...right?

ANYWAY, I've done my preliminary Internet searches and decided it was time to go look at some of my options in person. Well, the first thing I learned is that the "small SUVs" are too small; secondly, most of the "cars" are too small or don't get the mpgs I want or are too expensive. So, I'm back to looking at comparatively sized SUVs to my Trailblazer. (Unfortunately, they no longer make Trailblazers or my search would have been much easier!)

HOWEVER, the topic of this post is really not about a car...she said after four paragraphs...it's about PUSHY, EGO-MANIACAL, SALESJERKS! OOPs, I might have gotten ahead of myself. So, I decided that it was time to go visit the dreaded car dealerships. (As it turns out, I should have stopped at a bar first.) At the first dealership I visited, I had barely exited my car before a saleswoman came out to greet me. Ordinarily, this "vulture-mentality" just irritates the crap out of me, but she was wonderful. She approached with an easy manner, she introduced herself and asked if I needed help or if I just want to browse. WHAT? She gave me a choice? She let it me my way? OK, mental note...if I decide to buy this "brand," I'm definitely buying from her! I explained that I was seriously just shopping at this point, what my parameters were, and she took it from there. She showed me several optional vehicles and gave me a brochure for the one that I was most interested in and told me to call if I had questions...dream car shopping experience!

With this under my belt, I decided to give another dealership a go....This one started off a bit shaky...they had no place to park, not because there were tons of people looking to buy a car, they just had three "customer" spaces, two were taken by trucks and the third was taken by the door of one of the trucks that some jerk had left open. I pulled into a space that looked to have been vacated by someone doing a "test drive" because it was literally in one of their "we have these cars for sale" spaces. I started looking at the window displayed stickers using my first "must have"...at least 30 mpg estimated highway. The pickings were slim! As I was approaching the final option, a salesman approached. He was young and obviously new. I told him that I honestly didn't know what I wanted other than the parameters I had for a new vehicle. He was also a JOY! He showed me a perfect vehicle. I mean it punched every button. He answered each of my questions and was wonderful to work with. I told him that I was just starting my search but that this looked like a real contender. I asked if he had a brochure and a card. He went back inside to retrieve both and came out with...SATAN'S SPAWN!

It turns out that the spawn was his supervisor who "wanted to be sure that" wonderboy "wasn't driving me off." I assured the supervisor that "junior" had been wonderful. That he had been thorough in his information, professional in his manner, and had actually made me seriously consider a vehicle that had not previously been a real contender based on my Internet research to date. Then the jerk opened his mouth....

I just looked back at the length of this post so I won't go into the details of this jerk's "conversation" with me, however, I will say he single-handily personified every stereotypical "this woman should let her man buy her a car" mentality ever used as satire on any late-night comedy show. I was angrier when I left there than I have been in a very long time. The kind of anger that even chocolate won't appease...you know that's BAD!

So, if you (or someone you love) is a car salesman/woman, please show them this post. Is it too much to ask that if you want me go write you a check for $30(ish) thousand, BE NICE! Treat me with some respect, answer my questions and give me the courtesy of time to make an informed decision. DON'T PUSH!!!!!

OK, after a double "adult beverage" and several hours, I'm feeling human again. Thanks for letting me rant.

TTFN

Lois

Back to Search for Haime's Mothership...

In September of 2013, I kidnapped Haime and took him to Marfa, Texas. I actually blogged about the trip so some of you may remember it, if not, please read the post at http://losborn81.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-stars-at-night-are-big-and-bright.html, it's kind of amusing.

For those of you who have already read it (or just don't want to go back in time...I getcha), let me give you a quick recap...First, you should know that Haime is a bit of an "astronomy nut" (yes, he is other kinds of nuts too but that's for another blog...). Second, Marfa is famous for it's "mystery lights." I first saw the lights about 20 years ago and was fascinated by them. Haime has never seen them; and third, Haime is also fascinated with the thought of "extraterrestrials" (yep, another sample of his "nuttiness"...) so, combine "mystery lights" and "extraterrestrials" and POW! perfect birthday present. Sadly, after driving about six and a half hours into the middle of west Texas, we found ourselves in the middle of fog, mist, clouds and occasional rain...and NO MYSTERY LIGHTS. We combined the "mystery lights" with a visit to the McDonald Observatory for one of their "star parties." Unfortunately, the rainy, cloudy weather followed us and we were unable to see anything through the telescopes...BUST!

Well, we decided to try again. This time we arranged to meet our friends, Jim and Kathy, to do another search for the lights and the stars. (Haime was actually hoping to have a "close encounter with the mothership"...wooOOOOooo). Kathy and I were much more methodical about our date planning for this trip. We looked for a springtime "new moon phase" and decided on the last week of April. So, we made reservations for lodging and bought our "star party" tickets and we were set.

Haime and I drove to Marfa...this is no small feat! For those of you not familiar with the drive to and through west Texas, let me try to describe it...its........LONG!!! There are gazillions of opportunities to look at the wonders of nature; the towns (most of which you don't have to slow down to go through), are about 100 miles apart; the speed limit is 75 mph for most of the drive, since there are no towns, and few other cars/people with whom you may crash. However, it is a LONG drive, oops, I just said that, didn't I? Anyway, we made it. In Marfa, Haime and I love to stay at the Paisano hotel. It was built in June of 1929, (terrible timing if you think about what happened four months later...look it up). The architecture and the decor are stunning. Their restaurant and bar are definite bonuses!

Kathy and Jim were coming from a business trip in New Mexico and arrived in Fort Davis a couple of days before us. They drive a MONSTER RV and tow a "scooter" (I use quotations here because their "scooter" is actually a "rice rocket" that is capable of exceeding the speed of sound!). ANYWAY, after we checked into our hotel, we drove to the Indian Lodge State Park, outside Fort Davis, to bring them back to Marfa for dinner, drinks and "mystery light" hunting. "In Real Life", they live about 25 miles for us but we don't see them nearly as often as we'd like. We all joked about having to travel over 350 miles from home to spend time with each other...sad. So after dinner, we went out to the "Mystery Light Viewing Park" (when I was there 20 years ago, you just pulled off the side to the road and stood in a field...). Lo and Behold, we all saw the lights. They were much more distant than my previous experience but there were more people so maybe they were scared off by the crowd...who knows? Anyway, Haime saw the lights, so scratch another thing from the list.

The next day, Haime and Jim decided to play golf, Tin Cup style! If you've not seen the movie Tin Cup with Kevin Costner, you must do so to really understand this reference. We had driven by the course the night before and spotted an antelope on one of the fair-ways...they guys had a great time!

While they were on the links, Kathy and I decided to explore Marfa. If you read the "travel" tourism sites etc, you might read things like "Marfa, the new Austin," or "Marfa, a mecca for the arts," or some other equally alluring advertisement. Well, after walking through the ENTIRE town, let me assure you this...I've been to Austin, I have worked and played in Austin, I know Austin, and Marfa is NO Austin. Now, to be fair, we were there on a Monday, of course, I thought Monday was pretty universally known as the first day of the "work week." Of course, I didn't take into account that Marfa is the home of the "mystery lights" so maybe the laws of this known universe don't apply to Marfa. Most of the shops/galleries/studios we tried to visit gave their hours as Wednesday through Saturday, noon to five. At least my bank account was happy with these odd hours.

So, since buying and admiring art wasn't in the cards for us, we decided to take a short drive out of town to see the "Marfa Maid" dairy and goat cheese company. We followed the directions given by a couple of locals and were assured that the proprietors were really nice people. Well, we turned onto the "dirt road" off of "Antelope Hills" and started looking for goats and hoping for a sign...we got several signs...not any of them warm and welcoming, in our opinion. The first one, we were on a DIRT road. Now, I'm really not a snob, nor am I a germaphobe, however, I kept thinking about the whirlwind of dirt we were driving through and looking at the "houses" we were passing and wondering about what "all natural ingredients" were really in the "all natural" goat cheese. The next sign was the "tumbleweed Easter Bunny" pictured here. I'll grant you that it is unique, some might say clever, BUT, given its juxtaposition with the surroundings, we took it as a sign that clearly read: "keep your eyes and ears open!" The final sign, whose meaning we heard loud and clear was the property where we found the goats. It resembled more of a commune than anything else. There seemed to be a "main house" with several "auxiliary houses" surrounding it; there were overgrown "vegetable" beds, goats, a couple of cows, an alpaca (or was it a llama?) that seemed to be purposefully teasing the horses across the road, and no sign of a "cheese-making" facility. OH, they had a bunny too. Theirs, however was a large stuffed bunny that they had tied around the neck and hung loosely to a fence post---CREEPY! We decided that we really didn't need to see what "natural ingredients" they put into their cheese and decided to go find a liquor store/bar instead...good call, I think!

After our liquor run, we went out to the course to collect the guys and sipped an adult beverage while they finished. We drove back to the state park and Haime and I checked into the lodge. Later that night, after a yummy dinner at a "Bar and Bistro" in Fort Davis, we had a successful star party, even though it was FREEZING!

The most fun part of the trip was getting to reconnect and visit with our friends. It's funny too how much faster time seems to go when you are with people you love and the trip back home also seemed to go so much faster, partly because Haime and I talked about our time spent with them. Thanks Kathy and Jim, and of course, it must be shouted: BTHO Arkansas! WHOOP!!! (Did I mention that they are big fans of the piggies?)


TTFN

Lois

 

Happy Mother's Day

I fully understand how blessed I am. One of my biggest blessings is the family into which I was born. It would be hard for many of you who know me as an adult, to believe that I could have been a challenge for my mom, growing up. You'd probably be surprised to know that I might have been a bit "strong-willed" and my sense of humor might have been, (still might be), a bit "warped" sometimes. For example, I bet you didn't know that when I was about 5(ish), I ran away from home...my sister cried for me to come back but I think mom probably secretly thought, whew, now I only have to worry about raising 4 girls rather than 5. HA, I bet she was surprised when I came home in time for lunch!

As I got older, it seemed that mom and I were often polar opposites about nearly everything. If she wanted to make me a pink dress, I told her I hated pink...oops, did you get that? Mom made all of our clothes as we were growing up. The thing is, even as we disagreed about nearly everything, I never doubted that I was loved and cherished...the same can be said for each of my sisters. Mom had a knack for making us all feel special. She managed a household, raised five daughters and maintained her sense of humor and her sanity throughout! She was/is a very talented lady. To this day, she makes designs and "hand-quilts" beautiful king-size quilts and decorative wall hangings, she is active in our church, volunteers her time at the local hospital, and spends time with her girlfriends.

Mom at one of the "antler arches"
at the entrances to the town square
in Jackson, WY

Since my retirement, mom has become my most frequent travel-buddy. I definitely got my "wanderlust gene" from her. In fact, she is often the first to question, "when and where are we going next?" I've decided to insert some of our travel pics here to illustrate some of our adventures.

Guess...

Mom on our
gondola ride in Venice,
Italy

with my sister Carol and my niece Hannah

Seattle Space Needle

at the Grand Canyon

Bar Harbor, ME

with mom's friend Doris & my sister Karen

Boston

By far, the most important thing in mom's life is her family. We are as close as any family can be and probably a lot closer than most. Sometimes, we might feel a little "too close" but I cannot begin to explain how comforting it is to know to the very marrow of you soul that you have a host of strong, intelligent and loving women in your corner. Our mom is our matriarch, our role model and our biggest cheerleader. All I can say is Thanks mom! We love you to the moon and back!!!

Happy Mother's Day!
TTFN,

Lois

Herding Cats

I think I've devoted plenty of space in this blog in the past, giving examples to support my grandson's exceptionally gifted status so I'll just cut to the point of this post...are you ready?....T-BALL! Yes, the "most amazingly gifted grandson, in the history of grandsons, is playing t-ball!!!

OK, just as a note of explanation to those not familiar with the sport...t-ball is "baseball-light." That is, the players hit a baseball from a tee. After that, the only obvious difference between t-ball and regular baseball is that each player plays every inning and each player hits every inning. 

I have to say, this is the single best hour of my week! The kids have a great time, the parents cheer for every player, (often on each team), the coaches are encouraging to the players and the overall atmosphere is one of excellent sportsmanship. (It's unfortunate that doesn't continue very far beyond the t-ball field!) Wait, I forgot to mention that t-ball teams are composed of 4-6 year old (mostly boy) players...

I have to tell you about the coaches. Before the season's games started, I went to watch Carter practice. It was one of the first practices and the coaches were trying to teach the boys some very basic, fundamental, aspects of the game. They spent a majority of the practice time with the idea of "catch (or run after) the ball and throw it to first base." They practiced "catch the ball and throw it to first, catch the ball and throw it to first, catch the ball and throw it to first..." over and over and over and over. The boys thought it was great fun! Each time the coach bunted the ball toward a player, all of the boys would run to the ball. ALL OF THEM! There was no concept of left field, short-shop, first base or right field. Literally, every player on the field ran toward the ball to throw it to first base. I laughed so hard, my sides were splitting!

The next "drill" involved two boys who were to stand at home plate, then, when the coach hit the ball, one boy at a time would run to first base. Got it? So, the coach hit the ball and....you guessed it, both boys tore out racing each other and all of the rest of the team toward the ball so they could throw it to first base. Hahaha! by now, I'm laughing so hard, I'm afraid I need to find a restroom! Pandemonium ruled the day!

The boys did get better, they actually learned what was going on pretty quickly and they continue to improve every week. But, there are several 4-year olds on the team, and being 4 years old means that you don't have a great attention span and if you don't keep yourself entertained, it might get a bit boring waiting for somebody to hit a ball near you; so, there is a fair amount of dirt drawing and pebble hunting and parking lot watching that goes on. BUT, let a ball get near any of the guys and they are all after it! 

I have to say, the coaches and team moms/dads are AWESOME! They are positive, upbeat and extremely patient with the players. I must confess, though, one of my favorite parts of the whole game is watching grown men try to control these little guys. It really is like watching them attempt to herd cats!

TTFN

Lois

Tripping on Gravestones...

You know the adage: "The best laid plans of mice and men..."? (Adapted from a 1785 Robert Burns' poem, the actual line reads "The best laid schemes of mice and men..."---yep, the geek is back). Well, my plan was to write this post about a month ago, so excuse the time lapse but it must be done!

Haime and I are all about celebrations and parties. Mother Nature is telling us that spring is here. Flowers are blooming, (just ask Haime's allergies if you need confirmation), birds are nesting, temperatures are perfect and all is right with the universe. At the time this picture was taken, Easter was about three weeks away. If you've been following this blog, you might recognize the place. Several months ago, they were having a sale and I wrote about my confusion as to what the heck one sells in a cemetery. ANYWAY, the latest strangeness involved an Easter Egg Hunt on the cemetery grounds. 

OK, I'll admit, maybe the "strangeness factor" is just with me. But I've got to tell you, it nears the top of the BIZARRE scale in my book. Maybe it's the way I was raised. When I was a child, I often went to the cemetery with my grandmother to lay flowers on her parent's graves. As we walked from the parking lot to the grave-sites, she would always remind me to be careful not to walk on any of the graves so as not to disturb the dead. Yep! I've been freaked out about being in grave-yards for decades! 

When I was doing my undergrad work, I took a class, (yes, smart-asses, I actually went to some of my classes...don't forget, I can actually read your minds while you are reading this!), with an assignment to do "gravestone etchings" of some early stones. We were to spend time in the cemetery checking out various things like looking at ages of the dead, earliest death dates, any years that seemed to have extraordinarily large numbers of deaths compared to other years, etc. Anyway, I was so freaked out about spending time in the graveyard, (graveyard seems to have a scarier gut feel for me than cemetery), that I really tried getting out of the assignment...several times...I finally decided that if I had a couple of beers before the graveyard trek, I might be able to get through it...it worked. 

Getting back to the Graveyard Easter Egg Hunt...as soon as I saw the sign, my (extremely visual) mind pictured children dressed in their Easter dresses and little suits, running to and fro across graves, and knocking each other into and over gravestones. All-the-while, their zombie-like parents just sat in lawn chairs and grinned at their little monsters as they ran around hunting and collecting plastic eggs. Seriously, my mind's eye saw some serious "disturbing the dead" happening! 

In all likelihood, it probably was a very tranquil affair, however, let's just say, if there is a Zombie Apocalypse anytime soon in our neck of the woods, Haime and I are sure it will have been the result of the Easter Egg Hunt at the cemetery!      

TTFN,

Lois