Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Colonoscope, Boots, and Broken Glass


What does a colonoscope, boots, and broken glass have to do with each other? They were all part of our week last week. Barry had scheduled a routine colonoscope for himself last Thursday. Everything was hunky-dory. I have the pictures to prove it, if you are interested. This planning on Barry's part proved to be fortuitous.

Barry also planned a birthday celebration for me with all the kids and grand kids. Who knew he was such a planner? Since it becomes increasingly difficult to get everyone together, this past weekend was chosen for my early birthday celebration. Brett suggested the rodeo, arrangements were made, and all I had to do was wait for Saturday.

The ten o'clock performance was chosen since we had four little ones with us. We soon discovered that everyone with little ones attends activities that begin at 10:00am. (Brett and Joanie knew this, of course) My only regret for the day is that I didn't take a photo of the stroller check-in.


We made it to our seats and Ben showed respect to our country during the National Anthem.



Besides the rodeo performance, the kids enjoyed some cotton candy.



While Jacob waited in line to retrieve the stroller, we had enough time to take some pictures. Okay, I have another regret. I wish someone had told me to brush my hair and put on lipstick.



Ben had helped Scarlett with her outfit for the rodeo. He suggested she borrow his belt.



Ava had brand new pink boots. Scarlett decided hers were made out of cat fur. (If you are a client and are reading this, they are most definitely not made of cat fur.)



Barry and Lucy looked at some animals in the Children's Barnyard.


Ben just looked cute. 



Shannon's dad was working at one of the exhibits, so we stopped by to see him. 


We all enjoyed a little break by that time. 



Later at our house we continued the celebration with dinner, cake, and games. A glass was accidentally knocked off the counter. You cannot believe how it shattered. Here it is three days later, and I am still finding shards. 


Even though the candle says, "Ageless," Ava said we were celebrating my "last birthday." We are hoping she is not one of those people who can see into the future. 


But just in case, I didn't feel a bit quilty about eating that cake. 

Around two thirty or three on Sunday morning, Barry and I awoke to hear the bath water running upstairs and Ava crying. Barry started upstairs then turned around and came back to bed. He recalled that bathing a child in the wee hours of the morning is never a good sign, and decided her parents were more than capable of handling whatever was happening.

Poor Ava, (and Joanie and Jacob), she had awoken with a stomach virus. Joanie has declared that only Angel Food cake will be served for birthdays in the future. Due to the colonoscope a few days earlier, I had a refrigerator full of jello, sprite, and gatorade for Ava. I even sent a little plastic trash can for her to take in the car. It came in handy, I heard. Unfortunalty, Jacob had to sleep with it the next night.

These were just the final loads of laundry. Joanie had already started some during the night. 


The Esparza's are on the road to recovery. I haven't heard from the rest of the family, so I am assuming they are all okay at this point. 

I had a great birthday and thank my lucky stars for my family. The preparedness due to the colonoscope, the fun of the rodeo (did you know I am a cowgirl at heart?), and the amazement at how far glass can shatter were just icing on the cake. 







Tuesday, January 24, 2012

It's the Little Things

When Barry and I were engaged, we were out shopping one evening before our wedding. I guess salespeople noticed the engagement ring, or more than likely, we told them we were getting married soon, because all evening people had been telling us congratulations.

One of our last stops that evening was a shoe store.  The salesman that waited on us was a young man (a few years younger than us). When the subject of our impending marriage came up, he said, "Oh, you are getting married."

We waited for the congratulatory remarks to follow, but instead, in a very serious tone, he said, "I'm going to tell you something about marriage. You know those little things that don't bother you much right now?
They drive you crazy after awhile."

Barry and I laughed all the way to the car about his remark. But, to this day that was some of the best bits of marriage advice we received. Of course, we can drive each other crazy, but we have this story to bring up and remind ourselves it IS a little thing. Then, Robert Earl Keen wrote a song, called It's The Little Things, so we can even sing about it.

All this being said, I am now going to share a little thing that has been going on since we moved into this house.


For some reason, Barry does not close this closet door all the way. I have to walk by it going in and out of our bedroom. Yes, I just close it as I walk by, but I just don't get why he doesn't close it. It is definitely a little thing.

(Of course, I know I am opening the door for a Barry Rebuttal.)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

An Important Date

Today is a very important date in our marriage. It is our thirty-seventh anniversary!  Wow! It has been great.


Joanie did tell me today some of the bloggers she has been reading are getting divorces. She wonders if they are spending too much time on their virtual lives and not their real lives. Without my real life, I wouldn't have a thing to blog about, so I don't think that will be a problem.

Here's to thirty-seven more wonderful years!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A Hundred and One

We are not talking Dalmatians here. We are speaking of a birthday.

Today we attended the 101st birthday of Aunt Eleanor. Eleanor was married to my mother's brother. (In case you were wondering about the longevity genes.)  We attended her one hundredth birthday last year. I do believe we will be attending her hundred and second birthday next year.

Aunt Eleanor seemed to enjoy her party.



This is her beautiful granddaughter, Cathy.


These are her favorite nieces and nephews. (Actually, she didn't say that. I just said it because it's my blog.)



A surprise letter had arrived. It was from Rick Perry. No one in the family had any idea why it came. Apparently, when you are over a hundred your name pops up on a state database. Or, maybe it only happens during an election year.  We just don't know.


Actually, the letter was very nice. It recognized her for her years of being a citizen of Texas and helping to make it the great state that it is today.

Or maybe Rick Perry just knows a sweet lady when he sees one.

Happy Birthday, Eleanor.



Saturday, January 14, 2012

Barry Responds to deflammatory comments from Blogger Jan.




You don't really think I would let my bride of 37 years risk the horror of having a past due Registration Sticker get on her permanent record do you? BB

Friday, January 13, 2012

I Know You Feel My Pain

For the past few months, I have been having trouble with my right hand and thumb. I haven't complained (except incessantly to Barry). I knew that my tens of readers would be so upset, if I let this annoyance hinder my ability to post about Barry and myself. However, the three days of golf in Palm Springs has forced me to rest my hand and make an appointment with the doctor. (Is this what one would call a first world problem?) This week there has been no yoga, no golf, and a lot of whining.

I have been walking the dogs, and this brings me to another ongoing pain. The coyotes.

Source


Since the dogs cannot go out alone day, night, rain, shine, in the heat, or in the cold, it is a pain.

"It makes me sad when you call me coyote bait."

The coyotes have been spotted walking up driveways at 11:30am. I saw one on my walk the other day at noon. He was in a pasture by the sidewalk, so I am giving him a pass. However, he doesn't need to be hanging around at noon. He should be off napping, so he can hunt rodents between midnight and five in the morning. Then he wouldn't interfere in my life. It's all about me, Mr. Coyote.

I guess I had not walked around the front of my car in a long time. Sometime over the holidays, I noticed that my registration sticker was expired.

You would think a convicted, non-moving violation husband would be more alert to the due dates of the registration stickers of his cars. Besides that fact, the irony of all these registration sticker problems is that I was raised by a father who would never have let this happen. I am pretty sure my dad had his new sticker on his car the first day of the month in which it was due. Thus, I carry a little guilt about the fact that Barry and I are involved in this tardiness. Even so, I don't feel the responsibility of noticing that the sticker expired. Removing that sticker and putting a new one on is man's work, I say!

The hand and registration sticker issues should be resolved soon. The coyote situation could go on for awhile. I may have to hire a Great Pyrenees.

Source

Monday, January 9, 2012

A Place in the Sun and A Place for Old People





We got back from a golf trip to Palm Springs, CA. last night. We called our kids to let them know we were home safely (actually Michelle called to check on us before we called her). I can’t remember what was being said in the conversation with Joanie, but she commented that she knew Palm Springs was for old people. She had seen it on I Love Lucy once. This struck me as really funny, because even though Joanie watched a lot of I Love Lucy reruns, she never remembers anything I ask her about her youth. Since, I was going to write about this, I googled the show this morning to see if I could find a photo from a Palm Springs episode. I actually felt like there would be several, but there was only one episode filmed in Palm Springs. Out of all those I Love Lucy’s, how could Joanie remember that one? 
Of course, all of that really has nothing to do with our trip, except that, yes, there are old people in Palm Springs. To prove that fact, we even held an impromptu shuffleboard tournament one evening with our friends. Barry and I rocked that game!
We played three great rounds of golf while we were in Palm Springs with Terri and Robert. (They, by the way, are not old.)


Terri & Robert
Personally, when I say great golf, I am saying the weather was fabulous and the courses were gorgeous. I’m not saying anything about my golf. 
On our day of arrival, we visited the Joshua Tree National Forest, home of Joshua trees and rock climbers.



A Daredevil




I have to admit, I did not know what a Joshua Tree was (a type of yucca). They were selling these little packages of Joshua Tree seeds, and I bought some for the grand kids. The kids are going to be so excited, because after I purchased them the Ranger showed me a photo of how fast they grow. There may initially be a few sprouts, but it really won’t look like a plant for sixteen years. Hang in there, kiddos. 
Barry was also able to purchase his Senior National Park Lifetime Pass.  It’s the best deal in the USA. 
That evening we attended the street fair. There are interesting items there. Most of the people attending the fair, bring their dogs. But, some people brings their birds.



Friday we played golf and later in the day rode the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up Chino Canyon. Lesser people could not have made that walk from the parking lot to the visitor center. (Note to self, you are close to being one of those lesser people.) 



View from the mountain





Saturday afternoon, after finishing our round at Mission Hills, we met up with the Ray/Stones and the Wrights. They had rented a house, and we headed over to their place to grill some hamburgers and play shuffleboard. 


Mission Hills, Dinah Shore Tournament Course


Sunday, the inevitable happened when two senior citizens in Palm Springs are driving. They backed into one another. But, the day still went according to plan, and we arrived back home in Texas that evening to tell about it. 


Indian Wells

Indian Wells

A good time was had by all. 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The Birds and The Briers

This afternoon as I was sitting in my office, I heard birds flying over. I could tell there were a lot of them, and they sounded like a species of blackbirds. When the commotion didn't stop, I decided to head outside with my camera and see what was going on.

Now it was time for this group to take off.


Since blackbirds tend to flock together, I wasn't surprised to see them. However, I was surprised at their numbers. There were hundreds of them. It was also interesting to watch them fly together. It was almost like they were taking turns crossing the street to the other side of the golf course. A group would land in the trees. Then, they would fly over and another group would come in and land in the trees.

I don't know if they were just crossing the golf course or heading south. But, they are gone now.

A little while later, Ben called to tell me that the Zoo Keeper at the zoo had given he and Scarlett, macaw feathers. They had also watched the keeper feed the Roadrunners and the Kingfishers.

I find it interesting that we were both paying attention to the birds this afternoon. That's the kind of thing that I ponder on a Tuesday afternoon.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012

Happy 2012 to everyone.

I wasn't going to post any New Year Resolutions, but Joanie pointed out to Barry and I that we act like old people when it comes to the television remote. So, I am going to try to not argue with Barry about remote usage and hoarding.

I wish that I had a more riveting blog for the beginning of the New Year. But, "no news is good news", correct? What I do have to write about is just good, old fun, with friends and quiet times at home. There is nothing wrong with that, but probably won't win any Pulitzer prize.  

2011 ended with a Murder Mystery Party with friends. The game was a last minute thought suggested by Jorj L. A couple of days ago Ellen mentioned it to me, and I told her I thought I had an unopened one of those games and would bring it over. (I saw it when we moved. I remembered thinking "how long had we had this game" when I put it in the game cabinet. You would think if I had something that long, and hadn't used it I wouldn't have moved it. I am thinking another resolution should be made here.)

Since the game was a last minute decision, we all just assumed our characters on the spot. The best actor award went to Mike L. for his portrayal of Sven the Ventriloquist. He was able to assume a Swedish accent, later change to German, and finished with an Italian flair. Apparently Bennie, the dummy, had a varied, ethnic heritage.

Mike S, Robert, Barry, Mike L.

Ellen, Jorj L. , Jan, Terri
The murderer was revealed just after the New Year began.

Today has been a day of some work (for Barry) and rest for me. Laughter wears me out. We enjoyed a superb "Good Luck" lunch hosted by friends. That means I have not had to cook today. Woo Hoo! What a great beginning to 2012.

Now we are watching the Cowboy game. Unfortunately, things are not going well for the boys.


Barry could be the announcer. He says something, then the announcers say the same thing. Plus, he has the remote and is going back and forth between the game and The Deadly Women Holiday Marathon on the Discovery Channel.  He looks a little scared.



But, I am not saying a word, because I would hate to break my resolution fifteen minutes after declaring it.