A family of "cool chicks!"

I've just returned from Dallas, where I spent the weekend celebrating life and love and new adventures with four amazing women. Specifically, my mom, and my sister K, travelled together to Dallas to visit with my sister J and her family.





P-1 generation



I guess I should start at the beginning...I have four sisters. Yep, there are five of us girls and no boys in our family, (my dad was VERY spoiled by all of the women in his life). I am the first-born, or as my mother always says: "the oldest." Each of my sisters brings different gifts and talents to the mix, but at the same time, they are all the same in many ways. I love each of them. We are all moms ourselves. I have two boys, K has one son, J has a girl and a boy, Ca has one girl and Ch has a boy and a girl. You see in the P2 generation, boys out-numbered girls by 5:3. Since this visit and blog entry is about some wonderful women, I'm only going to address my nieces: S, A and H.

"A" just finished high school and will be starting college classes tomorrow. She has an incredible sense of humor and is a beautiful young woman. She works very hard and is responsible with her earnings, something I wish I had learned at her age. "A" has very impressive career and life goals and I know she can achieve them and anything else to which she sets her mind.

I introduced you to "H" during my posts about our crazy trek to see King Tut. "H" is still in elementary school but she is very smart and is a joy to be around.

"S" is the eldest of my nieces. She is beginning her senior year in college and will be studying abroad in the UK this semester. In fact, the main reason we went to Dallas was to spend some quality time with her before she begins her newest adventure and to see her off. "S" is the "free-spirit" of the three nieces. Her strength is in her self-confidence and her willingness to try new adventures. She also has some very impressive career and life goals and she is going after them with such a gusto for life, I have no doubt in her ability to achieve them all.

Mom, S and J

The five of us women, ranging in age from early 20s to mid-70s, certainly proved that when there is love and common ground, there are no age-gaps. We shopped for western boots, (a real Texan must not leave the country for any amount of time without at least one pair); we laughed, told stories, shared experiences, laughed some more, gave each other opinions and advice, shared cocktails and wine and ice-cream and laughed some more, and most importantly, further strengthened the bonds that make family special. In short, we had a BLAST! 

I am so blessed to have the amazing family that I do. I never take any of them for granted and wish that we could spend more quality time together. Maybe that's why I am so thankful for the times we do get to be together.    

Yoga and a night-time varmint.

My mom joined a gym several months ago. It is actually part of the local hospital and is simply known as "The Wellness Center." Its real name is probably something like that with the name of the hospital thrown in for good measure, but, who knows? Anyway, like a lot of us, she went regularly for a time but then hasn't been back in a while. Well, I am actively engaged in the "Weight War" and am fighting the "Battle of the Bulge" everyday.  So, I decided I'd join the same gym and we could be "Wellness Pals." (I asked Haime to join with me, lets just say he opted out).

One of the activities offered at the WC, is a "gentle yoga" class. Since I have never done yoga and am about as flexible as a steel bar, I talked mom into attending the class with me. Yesterday was our first session. We got there late, (actually we were not that late, but when we got to the yoga room, the lights were off so we thought we were in the wrong place...we weren't but our wild goose chase through the entire building added to our tardiness).  Anyway, we go barging in like a couple of rude late-comers, (which we were), and made our way, as gracefully as possible, through a room full of bending, twisting, reaching arms legs and bodies to the opposite side as directed by the instructor. (Had we been allowed to blend in to the wall nearest the door like we intended, those few bending, twisting, reaching bodies that we wove through might not have fallen to the floor...but you never know). So, once we were in our assigned "inner circle" spots, we started trying to do the same "crouching tiger, dog barking up a pyramid" and "eagle resting on a warrior one," (or something like that) poses...God, please don't let there be any hidden cameras in that room!



Yes, that's me...in another
life maybe



The instructor had us going through the paces and would say "breathe through your nose, not your mouth" (I said there is a difference between breathing and gasping! I'm trying to stay alive here...she was not amused). She'd say, inhale when you bend down and exhale when you come up, repeat. Well, between trying to learn the poses, look where I was told to look, align my feet, stretch my "other left" hand toward the sky etc, sometimes I forgot to breathe at all. Then, when I remembered, of course I inhaled when I should have exhaled and vice-versa. Finally, as we were nearing the end of our session, she says that yoga isn't supposed to hurt...WHAT!? Well, I was obviously doing another thing wrong because my legs were literally wobbling (I interpreted this as sobbing), from being manipulated into positions that they haven't been in for over 35 years, OK, NEVER! I asked mom how she felt, of course she felt great! Yep, and we get to do it again tomorrow...yippee.

Before we went to yoga, I mowed my mom's yard. Mom has a beautiful property. It has several feet of river frontage and the house and yard are on a bluff so there is no danger of flooding etc. Anyway, there have always been critters around the house. Raccoons, armadillos, small foxes, dogs, cats, opossums, snakes etc. Well, one of the critters above, (or maybe a Sasquatch) dug a huge hole at the end of the patio outside her back yard. I say Sasquatch because the hole was HUGE!

OK, probably not a Sasquatch, I figured it was probably an armadillo because there were several small "rooting" places that are typical of those pesky little critters. I started to just fill in the hole but whatever it was had actually dug down below the patio slab and I was afraid it had decided to take up residence. If I filled in the hole, I surmised, and it was indeed having a little snooze, it would either A) just dig another hole and we'd be right back at the original problem; or B) suffocate and die under the patio and the accompanying decomp odor would be most unpleasant. Therefore, I decided to go on a night-time stake-out and if there was some unwanted tenant, I'd fill-in its new abode with large rocks mixed with the dirt while it was out foraging.

Well, I only lasted about 45 minutes before I was bored out of my mind (and finished my vodka/tonic) and decided there had to be an alternative plan. I snagged a bag of flour from mom's pantry (I hope she doesn't read this) and put down a nice coating of flour in and around the hole. I figured that if there was a resident varmint, it would displace the flour when it exited the premises and I'd know that I had to do something to evict it prior to filling the hole. Go ahead, say it with me...GENIUS!

The good news is that the flour was undisturbed this morning so I filled in the hole under the patio with concrete and will back fill the remaining hole tomorrow morning with dirt. The fun and adventures just keep on coming!

TTFN

Lois

 

Teaching me patience? Really?

My father and I had an amazing relationship. We lost him 5 years ago after he had battled cancer for about a year. I miss him everyday and for those of you who don't know yet, CANCER SUX. Having said (written) that, one of the things I miss most is our time together doing "projects." Through my dad, I learned some wood-working, carpentry and basic "handy" skills. From a very young age, daddy had us help him with whatever project he was doing. When we were little, helping usually meant: "hold this for me," or "hand me that hammer," or "what was the length of that supposed to be?"  Then as we got older, we advanced to actually doing the measuring and cutting and checking for square and plumb; (for me, square and plumb are more relative terms but daddy was a perfectionist). Together we built shops and a garage; we constructed patios and put roofs over them; and we built furniture. With the furniture, I usually did the designing and we worked together on the construction. God, I miss him.

OK, that brings me to today. I designed a pretty cool nightstand a while back and decided that I'd build one today. The thing that makes it unique is that I'm putting in a hinged top with a locking mechanism that is accessible from a drawer in the front. When you open the locking mechanism, the top pulls up to reveal a hidden compartment in the back for storing stuff. There is a "false back" that you see and interpret as the back of the cabinet when the nightstand top is down and in place. (I'll post pics later). 

One of the perks of the mega-hardware chain stores is that they will make your cuts for you if you ask them. I spent considerable time calculating and diagramming the cuts I wanted them to make for me out of a piece of plywood. So, drawing-in-hand, off I go to the mega-hardware chain store. The man working the saw was very nice and very friendly and I thought OH HAPPY DAY, I finally found someone who knows customer service and is going to make this an enjoyable experience. (The biggest complaint about mega-hardware chain stores is that they have terrible customer service and, in fact, often have no one working in the departments where they are needed). So I selected the plywood, gave the nice and friendly man my drawings and prepared to watch him make my cuts.

SCREECH>>>>>>Halt.

I knew I was in trouble when he looked at the drawing of the 4 x 8 plywood (drawn to scale), and turned it 360 degrees in his hand. Uh-oh. He asked me about which side I wanted him to start the cuts. I thought that was sort of strange, really I didn't care, and didn't know why that mattered as long as he made the cuts with the identified dimensions, but I decided that he was probably just trying to make me feel engaged. I suggested a first cut, which he made, but then he lined the sheet up to repeat the same cut. I stopped him and asked what he was doing. He pointed to the drawing and asked, don't you want two of them? "No", I replied, "you just need to cut the one" and pointed to the applicable part of the drawing. At this point, I should have thanked him kindly and done the cuts myself at home. But, its just so nice to have them done there so they have a better chance of being square, (remember, left to my own devices, plumb and square are pretty relative terms).  You know where this is going, yep, since we were clearly not speaking the same language and he clearly did not understand plans (drawn to scale) etc, his second cut was wrong and caused me to reconfigure my drawing in an attempt to salvage as much as I could from the plywood. I decided to just have him make cuts that were rough approximations, then I brought them home and finessed as needed. He thanked me kindly for my business, apologized for his misunderstanding and sent me on my way. Ugh! 

All I kept thinking, while trying to conceal my frustration and my growing annoyance so as not to become a raving lunatic, was "Lord, are you really still trying to teach me patience?"      

WOW! What a GREAT Day!

If you ask him, Haime will tell you that all Thursdays are Great days. Haime is a golfer and he has played with the (generally) same group of guys since the mid-70s. They are a hoot to be around. The group has transformed more in the last 7 years than it had in the previous 27. Some members have died, others no longer play the game and a few, like really mature men do on occasion, got twisted and quit the group. You will recognize them immediately if you happen to be on the course with them. They are the slowest moving group on the course. You see, they are really gamblers, posing as golfers and they cheat! So, they basically hover over each other's ball to be sure that they don't break any sacred golf rules in an effort to minimize the cheating...whatever. So, this being Thursday, Haime had a Great day.

I have to admit, since retiring almost a year ago, days are all about the same to me. I am usually engrossed in some project, (yes, there will be posts about projects coming soon,) or off on an adventure, or catching up with the household administrative tasks that I'm not crazy about but must be done. Today was a combination of the first and third of those tasks. My projects were nearly all computer-based. I compiled, edited and published a book for my niece that chronicled our recent trip together; I updated a similar book (part of a series that I do every year for my grandson); finished work on an Adirondack chair and worked in my garden. Since I really enjoy all of the projects, having the opportunity to work on them would have made for a good day. BUT, I had a GREAT day!

They (whoever the infamous "they" is) say things happen in threes and my GREAT day certainly had three GREAT parts.

First: my season tickets to Texas A&M football arrived today. WHOOP! Yes, I know that certainly wouldn't put any sparks in some of you, and we Aggies are accustomed to making allowances for the less fortunate of our friends who misguidedly cheer for other schools. (Yes folks, the trash-talking has started!)

Secondly: I haven't mentioned my son's yet, I have two. I am proud beyond words of each of them! The older one, Chipper, graduated from Texas A&M in 2006. He is the manager/supervisor of a metal recycling yard, a job usually associated with much older, more experienced individuals. Those of us who have known him forever know he is a natural leader and were not surprised when he was promoted to his position. Any kid who earns his Eagle Scout badge at the ripe old age of 13 is a pretty amazing person. He is a hard worker and leads by example. Some of the people he supervises are his mom's age and older and he has earned their respect and loyalty.

Boo graduated from Texas A&M in May of this year. Boo's education was a roller-coaster ride at times. He started at a local community college to get his core classes completed. After about 2/3s of the first semester, he arrived at my office one day and announced that he was done; as in, been there/done that, not going back. I decided that my first reaction was probably not going to get us anywhere; you know the one...("what the hell do you mean you're not going back?!") so I took a breath and we had a chat. As it turns out, he decided that he needed a break so he stayed out a semester and went back in the fall. Fortunately, as he continued to take classes and worked full-time, something amazing happened; Boo grew up. He was accepted into Texas A&M's Ag. Leadership and Development program (think business and management with an Ag. focus). After graduation, he received a job offer with an oil & gas related company and he loves it.

So the second GREAT thing that happened today was, we received notice that Boo was nominated for membership in a national leadership organization. Its like an outward sign of validation for him that even though he had a shaky start, he has certainly proven to himself (his hardest critic) and everyone else that he made it...WHOOP! GREAT job Boo! 

Thirdly: I have some amazing friends! You know that song from Wicked that goes:     

                 

"I've heard it said

That people come into our lives for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

And we are led

To those who help us most to grow

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today

Because I knew you"?

(I love that song). Anyway, God has Blessed me with several people to whom those lyrics apply. One of them, J, phoned me today. I've know J for probably 20 years. We taught together and it seemed like the first time we met, we were immediate friends. We teased each other and supported each other and stayed friends through years and miles. He is one of about three men that I call "the big brother I never had." Unfortunately, my marriage to my sons' father did not last. J was the person I called for help when my sons needed a man to teach them things like the finer points of throwing and catching baseballs, (apparently they were afraid that if they listened to me, they'd end up throwing like a girl--whatever); and catching/releasing/cleaning fish, (I'll bait a hook but I'm not touching a fish and forget cleaning one!). He's been around for a lot.

Right before Boo graduated, I was visiting with J and his wonderful wife B and soon plans were made to grill the chickens for Boo's party at their place. Well, the chickens were perfect (and the beer cold). A couple of days after the party, Boo went out to thank J for his help and they sat and visited for hours.
Well, J called me today just to tell me that he thought I had done a GREAT job raising my sons. WOW! Of course I accused him of having some terrible disease and trying to make amends with God for all the teasing he had given me over the years. He denied it. Instead, he said that he knew a lot of the circumstances of their upbringing and he just wanted me to know that he thought I had done a GREAT job. WOW! I love you even more J, thanks.

WOW, What a GREAT Day!

TTFN

Lois                  

                              

Beginnings and New Adventures

I didn't really give the title of my blog a lot of thought before choosing it. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, I don't spend a lot of time pondering the merits of most of my decisions prior to making them. Obvious exceptions would be large monetary expenditures (over $1000 as a rule); and ...hmmmm, that may be the only one. I find that most of my decisions or first impulses, tend to work out and if they don't, well, they can be fixed--generally.  OK, back to the blog's title. Now that I've lived with "Beginnings" for a couple of weeks, I think it works. 

I may have mentioned in an earlier post, (I could go back and check but I'd probably repeat myself anyway so lets just stick with "may have mentioned"), that I suffer from frequent bouts of wanderlust. We've been back from our "road-trip-on-steroids" for a few weeks and, yes, I have actually taken a couple of opportunities to hit the road for quick one-nighters and/or day-trips.  Most recently, mom and I went to Houston to visit her sisters--my aunts. Mom has two sisters, one older and one younger. The older one (lives near Austin) was visiting the younger one and we decided that they would have much more fun if we joined their party. I love my mom and my aunts but they can be a bit overwhelming...lets just say, it was a good visit.

On the return from Houston, we ventured off to a TINY community: Praha, TX. The word "community" here needs an explanation. Praha is really just the location of a Catholic church (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary--called St. Mary's church) that was built many years ago by some Czech settlers in the area around Flatonia, TX (not too much bigger than Praha). The church celebrates their annual picnic every year on August 15, the feast of the Assumption (for more information about the feast of the Assumption, visit http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02006b.htm). The Catholic in me finds that fact fascinating, no matter on what day of the week August 15 falls, faithful members of the community and some others, like us, travel 50+ miles to attend the picnic and support this small church. St. Mary's is one of the famous Painted Churches of Texas and is visited by thousands each year.  

While attending the picnic (actual name is the Prazska Pout--no idea why) today, and thinking about my blog, it struck me that "Beginnings" really is an accurate name. We met some wonderful people, we were welcomed to participate in the picnic, enjoy some delicious food, listen to great Umpapa music and just be. There is no question that today could have been a "Beginning" for us to join more fully and participate more actively in this community. Maybe we felt at-home because my mother's paternal relatives settled near Praha (drive Hwy 95 between Shiner and Moulton and you'll pass their homestead) and so many of the people looked like members of our family; or maybe it was the familiarity of groups of Catholics gathering to enjoy the camaraderie that is common at church picnics; or whatever. Regardless, today was another reminder that you really don't have to travel far to see some amazing things and to meet some fascinating and amazing people. 

The end of our trip is in sight...almost

We were greeted by a 60 degree morning of wonderfulness in Durango.  What a beautiful little town! I told the Hubster that I found a perfect vacation home for us there.  It was a cute fixer, literally two blocks from main street and when I told him that it was 60 degrees on July 26th, he was tempted to pack a bag and come sign papers.  Then reality hit and we passed...what were we thinking?????  Anyway, back to Durango.  You may have heard of the Durango-Silverton railroad, yes, it leaves from Durango and is a very picturesque journey through some pretty amazing scenery.  The train is very (in my humble opinion) pricey, especially given the fact that you can drive to Silverton very easily.  My parents vacationed in Durango thirty+ years ago and my mother bemoaned the city's loss of quaintness that she remembers from that trip.  Regardless, I found the city to be charming.

Unfortunately, after only a couple of hours of playing tourists, we were packed up for our long push back to Texas.  We decided to make one last "tourist stop" first, though and headed to Mesa Verde National Park.

 If you visit the Mesa Verde NP website, you will learn: "Mesa Verde, Spanish for green table, offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to 1300. Today the park protects nearly 5,000 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States."  Let me just say that your brain may be able to comprehend these facts as they are written and I'm sure you have all seen pictures of the ruins in books or on television.  However, your mind cannot comprehend what your heart and spirit will feel when you visit this place.  As we walked around the ruins and tried to picture how these ancient peoples built their homes among the cliffs and how they lived and raised their children, I couldn't help but wonder...how the hell did they keep their toddlers from running right off the cliff?  Or, as my friend G asked..."how the hell did they keep from falling off of the cliff after a little too much Peyote?"

 Well, obviously, the answer to both questions...they didn't always.

When I posted a "check-in" via Facebook that we were in the park, my friend S, asked another question, one that I hadn't even thought of..."could you imagine what the cowboy who first came upon those ruins thought?"  Well, no, I hadn't even thought about that but, sadly, had he been a cowboy from our present day, he would have no doubt phoned the Inquirer claiming to have found an alien landing site.  Thank goodness this wonderful monument to humanity's past was discovered by a more intelligent people. 

Finally, after too short a visit, we were back in the car, this time bound for home.  We spent one more night on the road and arrived back home about 8 days and 14 hours and 5540 miles after we left.  I do not recommend this crazy pace and I probably won't do it again soon but it was fun.  

Thanks for accompanying us on a virtual ride along. 

Although this trip has ended, please continue reading this blog, if you have found it interesting, and see what other adventures we challenge.

Later, 

Lois 

Acute Booty-lock...

Our trek continued from Boise, through Idaho, into and through Utah via Salt Lake.  As we neared the southern border of Utah and Colorado, we elected not to go through Arches National Park...mostly because after spending, virtually all day in the car, we were all suffering from various stages of booty-lock and just wanted to get to Durango ASAP.  We did drive through some amazing sculptural scenery.  The red rock in the area is simply stunning by itself.  But, venture a little farther down the road and you can't help but appreciate God's sculptural master pieces along the road.

Wilson's Arch. Utah

For those of you who haven't visited Southern Utah, especially  

Arches National Park, you really should plan a trip.  You will not believe the beautiful and gravity-defying natural wonders there.  Each

"arch" seems to be out done only by the next one.  I was so glad we found "Wilson's Arch" right beside the road for my niece and sister to see.  They definitely need to plan a trip out here again and I suggest they spend at least a week in each of the "highlights" that we've seen so far.

As we made our way to Durango, CO, our plan was to stop at "Four Corners."  This is the only place in the U.S. where the borders of four states come together in one point.  Therefore, it is possible to be in four places at once.  Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona share this honor.  Finally, we got to get out of the car for several minutes (a little more time than it takes to put gas in the tank) and get some blood pumping to our back-sides.   An interesting little tidbit.  Four Corners is actually located on land owned by the Navajo Nation so I think that puts us in five places at once...things that make you go hmmmm.

(The Road Warriors, or as a friend more aptly put it, "Thelma and Louise and accomplices" at Four Corners Monument).

Soon we were back in the car and headed for Durango.  As we approached Durango from the West, we were treated to more spectacular wonders.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, we never doubted that God was with us and showed Himself to us on multiple occasions through the people we met along the way; through the scenery that touched our hearts and spirits and through our relationship with each other.  The sunset that He showed us on that beautiful evening just west of Durango was clearly a spectacular way for Him to tell us good night.

I thought I'd share a poor photographic representation of it with you.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more...

TTFN...

Lois