2:30 pm "I've decided to become a vegetarian. You'll have to take the chicken out of the chicken noodle soup."
7:00 pm "Would you make me some pigs in a blanket?"
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Once upon a time...
She moved into the apartment the weekend before the 4th of July. It was a new job, a new town, a new salary, and, of course, a new apartment. She had never lived in a town that large or lived in an apartment with a pool. She'd hit the big time. She had moved over 600 miles for this adventure, after searching the nation for a unique job that would excite her. And she had found it, in this university town that would come to mean more to her than she could ever imagine.
The first week of her work went well. Then Saturday came. New town, new adventures. What to do, what to see? First on the list was going to the apartment pool. How fun to just run down to the pool with a towel! The sign on the fence said pool should be open but it was locked. Disappointing. Well, on to plan B.
Back to the apartment to peruse the map. She had just driven 600 miles so it would be no problem to drive to where ever. She picked out a state park about 75 miles away. Maybe there would be a place to swim there.
As she dumped her towel and purse in her car in the apartment parking lot, a man passed her and said, "Too bad the pool is locked." He walked on to his car. Who was he? How did he know that she wanted to go to the pool? She wondered about him all the way to the park. Maybe she should have asked him to come with her. That would have been interesting. But you can't just meet a man in the parking lot and ask him to go some place with you. Even though that would be bizarre and possibly dangerous, she thought about him off and on the rest of the day.
The next day was Sunday and the pool was open. A day at the pool, and, guess what? That same man was at the pool. He lived in the apartments. Soon introductions were made. He was a sun worshiper and, while she was not a fan of the sun, she certainly could stay out in the sun for the right reasons. They spent much of the day together at the pool. By the end of the day, he asked her to go to the Fourth of July party the next day at a local city park. She accepted and they spend a second day together.
Back to work the next week, another good week. The next Friday evening came and she heard a knock on apartment door. She looked through the peephole and there was her new friend.
Almost 30 years later, my friend is still here, sitting right now beside me. We married over two years after we met. He was the first "non-work" person I met at my new home, new town, new state. Neither he or I were looking for romance at the time or, at least, neither of us would admit it. I was entering an exciting time in my life and wasn't settled in enough to look around for dating. While it was certainly "like" at first sight, neither of us admitted to anything such as "love" at first sight. But when I retell this story, I realize maybe it was love at first sight. We just didn't know it.
The first week of her work went well. Then Saturday came. New town, new adventures. What to do, what to see? First on the list was going to the apartment pool. How fun to just run down to the pool with a towel! The sign on the fence said pool should be open but it was locked. Disappointing. Well, on to plan B.
Back to the apartment to peruse the map. She had just driven 600 miles so it would be no problem to drive to where ever. She picked out a state park about 75 miles away. Maybe there would be a place to swim there.
As she dumped her towel and purse in her car in the apartment parking lot, a man passed her and said, "Too bad the pool is locked." He walked on to his car. Who was he? How did he know that she wanted to go to the pool? She wondered about him all the way to the park. Maybe she should have asked him to come with her. That would have been interesting. But you can't just meet a man in the parking lot and ask him to go some place with you. Even though that would be bizarre and possibly dangerous, she thought about him off and on the rest of the day.
The next day was Sunday and the pool was open. A day at the pool, and, guess what? That same man was at the pool. He lived in the apartments. Soon introductions were made. He was a sun worshiper and, while she was not a fan of the sun, she certainly could stay out in the sun for the right reasons. They spent much of the day together at the pool. By the end of the day, he asked her to go to the Fourth of July party the next day at a local city park. She accepted and they spend a second day together.
Back to work the next week, another good week. The next Friday evening came and she heard a knock on apartment door. She looked through the peephole and there was her new friend.
Almost 30 years later, my friend is still here, sitting right now beside me. We married over two years after we met. He was the first "non-work" person I met at my new home, new town, new state. Neither he or I were looking for romance at the time or, at least, neither of us would admit it. I was entering an exciting time in my life and wasn't settled in enough to look around for dating. While it was certainly "like" at first sight, neither of us admitted to anything such as "love" at first sight. But when I retell this story, I realize maybe it was love at first sight. We just didn't know it.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Gaylord Texan - A Review
The view from our hotel room at the Gaylord Texan. This is indoors!
EM and I decided that we needed to go on an outing, maybe to the Dallas area. We had never gone on a "vacation" without AT. He came up with the great idea that we go to the Gaylord Texan for one night. I had toured the hotel once before, but had never stayed the night. EM had never been there. Our interests of road trips, dancing, water play and food would be rolled into into one, fun-filled 24 hours. Start your engine and hold the car door open!
We arrived at 11:00 AM with the possibility of an early check-in and immediately had a room. The staff always seemed delighted to be able to assist. There was no detail missed by a staff person. It was like Disney World for adults. EM was fascinated with how every detail seemed to be perfect. Who has that job of reviewing every corner? They were certainly doing a great job. What a fascinating operation! As an aside, I was intrigued with iPad sightings. The concierge at the entrance had an iPad in hand. An iPad was at the pool, at a restaurant, in the hands of the leader of the band.
EM waited until we were in the Grapevine area to purchase needed swim trunks. I was about to pop with excitement about wanting to get quickly to the water park at the Gaylord, but I managed to keep myself calm. He said, "But you said you wanted to shop at the mall." Yes, I did, but that was when I thought we would have time to kill, before I learned about early check-in! He quickly found his burnt orange swim trunks (think Texas) and a Texas hat for his poor head in the pool, since he forgot his hat. He is not a Texas fan, so I teased him about that, but he fit in well at the resort.
By the time we were back at the Gaylord, we were hungry. We entered the sports bar, Texas Station, which had a 52 foot long TV screen. Interesting. We ordered a monster burger to share and it was a monster, a Kobe burger with pulled pork piled on top. We were glad we were sharing. After our monster burger, we headed for the water park. You put on your bathing suit, a cover up and take nothing else but your room key and get on the shuttle to go about a mile. We have been in bigger water parks. This one just had a lazy river and water slide, but was still fun. We learned that Wednesday is a perfect day to hit a place like this. There were not many people and we easily got lounge chairs (often a problem in resorts).
Our first time around the lazy river was the most fun. EM and I "tied" up together with our inner tubes and he ended up (with my help) going under every waterfall. Lots of laughter. Twice down the water slide was plenty for us. We found lounge chairs with the legs in the water. After we tired of the sun, we took the shuttle back to hotel and went to the hotel pool, which appeared to be a more grownup up place. We had a total of about 4 hours total in the sun. We did not get sunburned except each of us had a spot where we neglected to put sun screen on! Good sunscreen.
The fun continued. When it came time for supper, we had to eat Italian, EM's favorite. EM had the spaghetti and a great Cesar salad. I had the "jumbo crab cakes". I love crab cakes. It was an appetizer and I thought since it was "jumbo" it would be plenty. The crab cakes were quite petite and fancy, with an artichoke spear, endive, and a olive, caper, pepper compote. It was excellent and it was plenty, but about halfway through my meal, I had to laugh. I realized the crab cakes were from a "jumbo crab", and were not supposed "big crab cakes". I'm glad Mrs. Clampett didn't decide to complain about the "jumbo" part.
The waiters here wear their place of birth on their name tags, good way to start a conversation.
The final piece of our plan was to go dancing. So we loaded up on the shuttle to go to the Glass Cactus, the resort's nightclub. We are old and early people. Nightclubs don't really get started until 10:00 for the young people. We got there about about 7:30. There was a beautiful view of the sunset. At 8:00, the band, Limelight, started. We had no idea who they were. They are Dallas-area band. Wow! Did we ever luck up! The band was a 10 piece band, playing everything - Chicago, Michael Jackson, oldies, Black Eyed Pea. They were full of personality; it seemed like they were having a blast. We immediately got up to dance (the only people on the dance floor - it didn't bother us). They played Michael Buble's, Sway, just for us because we were dancing. The band had a 3 piece brass section and, with different songs, they would go out on the floor or next to the tables. Every musician also took a turn as a lead vocalist. At one point, we were the only dancers on the dance floor, with the band in a circle surrounding us!
After they played probably for a hour and a half, they took a break. Most of that time we were dancing. The DJ played mixed music and we did not dance to that. When the band came back, I quickly found that my feet had blisters and were very sore. So we danced a two more songs, listened for a while and shuttled back to the hotel.
We then put our our hotel robes and sat in the dark on our balcony, watching the people below. The next morning, we had breakfast at the restaurant by the riverwalk, then hit the road to be back home by 2:00.
Mission accomplished.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Dear Grandmother
Today you would be 107 years old. It has been a long time since I wrote you a letter. You were such a good letter-writer with beautiful handwriting. Even when you apologized for your handwriting in the last years of your life, it was better than my left-handed writing is now. I remember going to my mail box when I lived in the dorm, reading your letters. You sent me letters no matter where I lived. I miss you and I miss those letters.
EM and I continue the same, older, but not much different. At least, we don't think we are different. I'm sure photos show something different and AT insists were are different. You would not believe how much AT has changed and how much she has stayed the same. She was just almost four when you passed away. She is now a 13 year old teenager, in every sense of the word. She is beautiful, and strong, just a little taller than you. This week she is at cheer camp, her first camp away from home. She can do a backflip. You would not be surprised at that, but you would laugh aloud. She was always athletic, even as a toddler. She is at the push-pull time of trying to push her parents away, then reaching back for them. It has been painful for me. I am tearing up now as I write this. I have been the most important person in her life since she has been born. No longer. at least she tries to make it seem that way. Now, she is careful not to give me too much attention in public.
We are still living in the same house. I know you loved my gardening efforts years ago. That all seemed to fade away once we had AT. I diverted all my attentions toward her. Now, that she is growing up and having more responsibilities around the house, I find I have more free time. Your naked ladies still come up around our house. I still have your hostas but they have not flourished in the hot Oklahoma air, like they do in more humid areas. Your pampas grass is doing great. Somehow your deep blue asters have disappeared. I suspect that EM had something to do with that. I plan to get some more someday. Your bridal veil bush bloomed and there was a successful tulip stand this year. I plan to add to the tulips for next year. I have just a few daffodils. I remember the thousands of daffodils you had in the woods lot. We just had a four inch rain yesterday. I'm not as confident a vegetable gardener as you were. Or maybe I'm just not as hard a worker as you.
You might be disappointed that I do not quilt any more. It surprises me because I thought I would never give it up. But then there was a bouncing girl who would have made me prick my finger or would have landed on the needle or would have yelled for attention every time I moved the quilt onto my lap. And now that I have the time again, I don't have the interest. I still stay very busy in the craft area, mainly when I need to be practical and want to decorate for cheap. I love to paint walls and think of how you liked to paint because it made the room clean. You were so proud of the time you painted every piece of furniture in a bedroom green. Guess my favorite color!
I think of you often, especially on Sunday mornings in church. Remember when I used to call you on Sunday afternoons and report on AT's behavior grade in church? It always made you laugh. Even at 13, she often gets a "C" for church behavior.
I still have so many questions to ask you. For all the hours we spent talking, there is much more I need to know. How often did you ride a horse? How often did you go to town when you were a child? Who was the young man in the photo and what was he holding? He wrote a note to you on the back of the photo. Was he a romance or potential romance? I asked you how you met Granddaddy, but was there romance for you before Granddaddy? I'm sure you would have told me all of this and more. You loved to tell your stories. I remember you telling me about the first time you tasted chocolate, the first time you remember being angry. I've been the same way, telling stories with AT (although she's outgrown her need to hear my stories now). She used to beg for them, until I would say, "no more stories!" or "I can't think of any more!" Now, she quickly says "no more stories", herself.
I plan to age as you did. You were so practical. What happened, happened. With each stage, you seemed to adjust and find a way to enjoy that time. You are my model for the future. Happy birthday and I miss you very much...
Love, Your Granddaughter
EM and I continue the same, older, but not much different. At least, we don't think we are different. I'm sure photos show something different and AT insists were are different. You would not believe how much AT has changed and how much she has stayed the same. She was just almost four when you passed away. She is now a 13 year old teenager, in every sense of the word. She is beautiful, and strong, just a little taller than you. This week she is at cheer camp, her first camp away from home. She can do a backflip. You would not be surprised at that, but you would laugh aloud. She was always athletic, even as a toddler. She is at the push-pull time of trying to push her parents away, then reaching back for them. It has been painful for me. I am tearing up now as I write this. I have been the most important person in her life since she has been born. No longer. at least she tries to make it seem that way. Now, she is careful not to give me too much attention in public.
We are still living in the same house. I know you loved my gardening efforts years ago. That all seemed to fade away once we had AT. I diverted all my attentions toward her. Now, that she is growing up and having more responsibilities around the house, I find I have more free time. Your naked ladies still come up around our house. I still have your hostas but they have not flourished in the hot Oklahoma air, like they do in more humid areas. Your pampas grass is doing great. Somehow your deep blue asters have disappeared. I suspect that EM had something to do with that. I plan to get some more someday. Your bridal veil bush bloomed and there was a successful tulip stand this year. I plan to add to the tulips for next year. I have just a few daffodils. I remember the thousands of daffodils you had in the woods lot. We just had a four inch rain yesterday. I'm not as confident a vegetable gardener as you were. Or maybe I'm just not as hard a worker as you.
You might be disappointed that I do not quilt any more. It surprises me because I thought I would never give it up. But then there was a bouncing girl who would have made me prick my finger or would have landed on the needle or would have yelled for attention every time I moved the quilt onto my lap. And now that I have the time again, I don't have the interest. I still stay very busy in the craft area, mainly when I need to be practical and want to decorate for cheap. I love to paint walls and think of how you liked to paint because it made the room clean. You were so proud of the time you painted every piece of furniture in a bedroom green. Guess my favorite color!
I think of you often, especially on Sunday mornings in church. Remember when I used to call you on Sunday afternoons and report on AT's behavior grade in church? It always made you laugh. Even at 13, she often gets a "C" for church behavior.
I still have so many questions to ask you. For all the hours we spent talking, there is much more I need to know. How often did you ride a horse? How often did you go to town when you were a child? Who was the young man in the photo and what was he holding? He wrote a note to you on the back of the photo. Was he a romance or potential romance? I asked you how you met Granddaddy, but was there romance for you before Granddaddy? I'm sure you would have told me all of this and more. You loved to tell your stories. I remember you telling me about the first time you tasted chocolate, the first time you remember being angry. I've been the same way, telling stories with AT (although she's outgrown her need to hear my stories now). She used to beg for them, until I would say, "no more stories!" or "I can't think of any more!" Now, she quickly says "no more stories", herself.
I plan to age as you did. You were so practical. What happened, happened. With each stage, you seemed to adjust and find a way to enjoy that time. You are my model for the future. Happy birthday and I miss you very much...
Love, Your Granddaughter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)