Developmental Stages of a Little Swimmer

Developmental Stages of a Little Girl and a Swimming Pool

I started this post weeks ago, but yesterday, we had a rare teenager-in-the-pool with family day so I was inspired to finish and post this blog entry.

When we were house hunting 19 years ago, a pool was not on our list of needed features.  However, when my husband looked over the fence at the backyard of the foreclosure house we were thinking about buying and said, "We'll fill that pool in," my response was, "Shouldn't we see what having a pool is like before we fill it in?"  We bought the house and, as the years have passed, we have throughly enjoyed the pool.  Jim has even enjoyed maintaining an old pool.  There were "poor" years, when $100 of chlorine for the summer, food and games made for the only vacation we had.   During the early years, we were in the pool at 75 degrees.  Now, we are more picky.

Then a baby came and we entered the developmental stages of pool and child.  The first step for the adults was a lock, very high on the door.  We were very strict.  She was never allowed to touch the water in the pool unless we were going swimming.  No floating boats, no kicking the water, no leaning over the side unless it was swimming time.  She easily followed those rules.  Visiting children were the ones we had to watch closely.  Her rule of no running was much more difficult.  She was always in motion and, when she succeeded in following the no-running rule, that same amount of energy was displaced into an up-down motion, a very exuberant  walk.

First stage - The Flinging Baby:  The first summer with a baby, we went in everyday, at about 3:00, because that was when the shade appeared over the pool.  She was pulling up, almost walking.  I would sit her on the side of the pool and she would fling her little body forward into the pool.  We had a little boat and she was happy to be in the boat, leaning over the edge to splash.  Once a day, I would let her go completely underwater.  To this day, I have to think "don't breathe" when I go under water and I was determined that she would be more relaxed in the water.  This succeeded.  She was never allowed to wear nose plugs, my own personal downfall.  She eventually became a fish in the water.    

Second Stage - The Slippery Soap Toddler:  This summer was the most difficult.  She was determined not to be in that little boat.  She was too little for arm floats.  It really was like hanging on to a bar of soap most of the summer.  Finally, by the end of the summer, we tried arm floats.  During the first session or two, she had no concept of holding her head upright, but soon, she was moving all around the pool independently.  She even jumped off the diving board a couple of times into her dad's arms.  Of course, it was a full time job watching her.  No relaxing by the pool that year.

Third Stage - The Emerging Swimmer.  I honestly don't remember if she was almost three or almost four during the summer she learned how to swim.  She seemed very tiny.  We went to swim lessons every day for two weeks when she consistently refused to let the male instructor touch her.  And she refused to try to swim during lessons.  She was happily glued to the girl who was his assistant.  But when we went swimming each afternoon at home, and she exclaimed "It's magic!  It's magic!" as she realized she had traveled a couple of feet without me.  I wondered if that's the way babies feel when they realize they are walking.

I can't remember the exact years for the other stages but I do remember the stages.

Fourth Stage - Independent-Swimmer-But-Must-Be-Watched.  My best friend and I, spent much time out by the pool, counting 1-2-3-4, constantly.  Whatever the number of children that were in the pool, that was what we counted, constantly.  They thought didn't need us, but they needed us more than they realized.  When my daughter and I were alone in the pool, we played all the pool games, often until I was worn out from the effort, if not physically, emotionally.

Fifth Stage - Independent-Swimmer-Who-Needs-To-Be-Spotted.  We moms thought we had won the prize when we were able to move to the covered patio.  There was only occasional counting but constant listening.  The children were never without an adult spotter.  This was the summer we played water volleyball, constantly.  We stood on water noodles in the deep end and tried to knock each other off the noodle.

Sixth Stage - Moving-Toward-Separation - At this stage, she was moving toward the preteen years and she frequently said she did not want to go swimming with me, so that was my opportunity to be alone...out by the pool.    But, irritatingly and delightfully, soon after I gathered my relaxing tools together, a hat, a book, a crossword puzzle, sunscreen and parked myself in a chair, within 10 minutes, the back door would slam, and here she would come.  Back into the pool to play we would go.

Seventh Stage - Separation-For-Sure - Finally, the stage came where she did not want to be out by the pool with me.  If I came in, she came out.  If I came out, she came in.  Hard stage for momma.  Probably a necessary stage for daughter.

This summer - Separated-and-Confident - This summer has been a joy.  She has her tanning time, but, this summer, she says, "Come sit by me at the pool.  Tell me stories."  Yesterday, there were some of our old games in the pool.  Lots of laughter.  Lots of yelling.

This all happened so fast.  Where did the time go?

Recipes - Happy Hour Success

Pesto Tomato Spread

1/4 c. pesto

1/4 c. roasted red peppers

1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes

8 oz. cream cheese

Put all in the food processor and blend.  Leave the peppers and tomatoes a little chunky for a red and green Christmas dip. 

Cheese Cookies

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 stick butter
1/4 t. cayenne pepper (more if you dare)

Let butter come to room temperature.  Put all ingredients in the food processor.  Blend until the dough begins to form a ball.  If the dough is too crumbly, add 1 teaspoon of water.   Do this one teaspoon at a time until the dough forms a ball.  If the dough is too wet, add 1 teaspoon of flour, etc.  When the ball forms, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Then roll out to 1/4 inch thick.  Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter or into squares.  Put on greased cookie tray.  Bake at 300 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  (I cooked it for 18 minutes).  Remove from oven and cookie sheet to cool on cooling rack.

A Bit of Dancing History

Way back in the 80s, when I was living in Madisonville, Ky, I visited the Club Trocadero once or twice.  It was located in Henderson, Ky, near the Ohio River.  As it turns out, I was visiting a bit of history that was only reopened for about six months in the early 80s.  At that time, I loved to dance, but was not a ballroom dancer.   I will never forget that dance floor.  In my memory, that dance floor was as large as a football field and I've always wanted to return.  The floor could hold 220 couples dancing at a time.  Jim and I now go to a dance club that is packed with 100 couples.  How I would love to be on an uncrowded, larger dance floor spinning around the floor!  This photo below must have been taken during the short time the Troc was reopened in 1981.

When our group decided to drive up to the Trocadero, we told the dad of one of our group that the Trocadero had reopened for the first time since closing in 1951.  His wide-eyed reply told everything.  "The Troc?  The Troc!!"  The Troc in its day was the most glamorous and scandalous thing going, dancing, big bands, and lots of illegal gambling.  The gambling was what led to its closing.  You can read more details here:  Club Trocadero

The art deco style was beautiful.  As I remember it, there was an upstairs room with a string quartet, a lounge area to get food, then you emerged onto the large dance floor.  Of course, when I was there, there were no big bands, just DJ disco.

In the 90s, the building burned in a fire, another bit of the past gone.

Hot Rod Power Tour, Day 4

Today we traveled from Texarkana to Little Rock.  Since it was announced at the drivers' meeting that the drive to Little Rock was only a couple of hours, we decided to travel with the convertible top down.  When you are traveling in the sun for 6 hours a day, having a convertible top down is not such a treat.

But, two hours, what fun!  I knew that we were in Arkansas when I saw the road side rock shops.  Never mind that we did not look at the 176 miles listed on the daily schedule.  You can't travel 176 miles in two hours, can you?  Well, maybe if you go 115 mph all the way.  I realized that we were going to drive down Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs.  Exciting!  We have been to Hot Springs several times.  Hot Springs is such an old town.  Seeing hundreds of hot rods pass down that street would be something special.

The scenery was probably the prettiest of the trip so far.  We traveled up 70E, up 70E, and up 70E until we saw hot rodders turning around and telling us that 70E into Hot Springs was closed.  By this time, we had been on the road at least four hours and now, we had to find our own way to Little Rock.  There was an alternate route that would take us through Hot Springs, but the driver was ready to be in Little Rock so we cut across to I30 and traveled an hour to Little Rock.

Every night of the tour, the drivers meet in front of the venue stage.  Each sponsor hands out free giveaways, hats, shirts.  Kicker sound from Stillwater gave away $2000-$4000 worth of equipment to one person each night.  Contintential Tires gave away a set of tires each night.  That was our goal, to win the tires.  Usually, you had to know trivia about a company, what year it was formed, what accessories the company sold, what transmission went with what engine.  Many of these facts, you would learn by spendng time at the vendors booths.  Once you were at the evening venue, you really had to act like you were on the Price is Right to get the MCs attention, basically like a fool.  .  So I'm finally catching on and starting to act crazy while my stoic husband sits beside me.  He points

After a total of six hours, we were in Little Rock, in the Rivermarket District.  We stayed at all the Hot Rod Power Tour host hotels, and Little Rock's hotel was the Peabody, with the ducks.  We follow the GPS to 3 Statehouse Plaza, the correct address of the Peabody, but there is no Peabody, only the Marriott.  After passing it twice, we convince ourselves to stop and, guess what?  As of May 1st, the Peabody became the Marriott.  The ducks were gone.  The comforters and sheets were luxurious.  There was no swimming pool.

Very nicely, the hotel allowed us to pay the $20 for valet services, but allowed the hot rod owners to drive their own cars to the lots with shuttle service back to the hotel.  I guess they understood very quickly that valet drivers would ot work.  The shuttle driver was a young gearhead and he said that day of hot rods was the best day of his life.

However, we were at the Rivermarket District, a cool area that reminds me of Bricktown, and I knew exactly where we were headed.  The Flying Fish, an East Texas fish joint.  I almost hyperventilated waiting in line.  I ordered the fried oyster Po Boy with red beans and rice, and pickled green tomatoes.  Jim had the catfish and fries.  Then we walked across the pedestrian only Junction Bridge, that goes over the Arkansas River to North Little Rock.

Thumbs up today - 8

Hot Rod Power Tour, Day 3

Today was really our first cruise day, traveling 231 miles from Arlington, TX, to Texarkana.  Jim says, and I agree, that the most fun part of the HRPT is the cruising.  It is fun to be in a line with hot rods stretched for a half mile.  It was especially fun to be lined up with 1200 cars in one parking lot this morning.  The route was through small towns such as Mineola, Pittsburg, Terrell, Great Saline, and Atlanta.  At farmhouses, corners, and small towns, groups of people were sitting, ready to wave at us. I saw the turn off for Canton and the small towns we drove through had frequent antique stores.  Jim and I had never been through east Texas and we thought it was pretty country.  Lots of trees and hills.  I reminded me of where I grew up in West Tennessee.  We left Arlington at 9:00 and arrived in Texarkana at 3:00.  We heard later that many in the HRPT were unhappy with the route and how long it took.  Jim and I, as newbies, were just happy to be on the road.  Traffic did slow down as 1200 cars passed through the small towns.  We just thought that was part of the package.


We haven't learned the names of many people, but we are naming people.  There is the Buick Guy, who drives a 68 Buick stationwagon and let us back into line when we tried to take a wrong turn.  Unfortunately, he wasn't there when we made our next wrong turn.  That error was corrected with a quick turn around.   The Mustang Guys are a father and son team were at the starting line with us.  Son just graduated from high school the night before.  Mustang Guy Dad saw me 100 miles later and said, "Your husband just pulled into the parking lot."  Everyone watches out for each other.  I met one guy, who looked like he was under 40 years old, who said he had been on the HRPT since 1999.  There is 'Kuda Man, who drives a 2009 Barracuda with his 11 year old son.  There are several children on the Tour and obviously, some of them have grown up on the Tour, because the celebrities have commented on how fast they are growing.  Jim and I agree that our 14 year old would not have been interested this year.  She would have loved it a few years ago.  

One of the top braces of the Buick top has broken.  It doesn't keep us from traveling or from putting the top down.  Jim has been pleased with the Buick's performance.  We travel the long distances with the top up.  No point in riding without shade.  The car has been quite comfortable without AC.  Occasionally, it's been hot while stopped for traffic.  I have glanced longingly at some rolled up windows.   At one point on a four lane, "running with the big boys", Jim was going 115 mph for a brief period.  The car handled it well, obviously, because I had no idea.  I would have been yelling.  After he told me he had done it, I watched that speedometer more closely.  The four lanes roads in east Texas are 70 mph, and I'm not referring to the interstates.  Highway 80 is a pretty, narrow four lane, 70 mph with driveways right and left.  Swoosh!

Tell me this: why are I always on the sunny side of the car?  Jim finally commented how hot the sun was today, when he was in it for the first time of the trip.

Snapshots of the day:

The "what the heck" look we saw in some of the small towns.  Many people read Hot Rod magazine and many people do not.  

Driving in the middle on the middle of no where, with only an occasional farmhouse, we would smell BBQ.  Texas BBQ is great.  

Favorite road signs of the day:

"Willie Nelson for President" and "Smiths Funeral Home...A Better Funeral Experience"

I am delighted with the HRPT.  I don't expect us to go next year, but I'm already ready to find out where the tour 2014 will travel. It's Americana at it's best.  Old cars, small towns, roads with stories to tell, people watching out for each other, good food, what's not to like?

Thumbs up today - 13

Hot Rod Power Tour, Day 2

Another fun day.  It started with breakfast in the hotel, then, with appropriate GPS input, we were quickly at the University of Texas at Arlington campus.  The campus is surrounded by treed neighborhoods and people benefited with many setting up under the trees to watch the hot rods enter in parking lot.  We entered the first parking lot, having no real idea of what we were doing.  It was easy to find a parking place.  We went to the registration tent.  We were pre-registered and were quickly through that line.  Then we went back to our car, still getting oriented, when cars suddenly started their engines and started to form a line.  We quickly followed.  Today was a day to be a sheep.  If you see a long line, get in it.  If you see a longer line, go faster.  This time, the line led our car to the venue parking, a great parking place, where maybe 1200 cars were parked.

We had hats autographed by Vic Eldebrock.  Missed an autograph by Linda Vaughn, Miss Hurst, obviously someone famous in her arena.  Those lines were long.

All morning was spent walking from vendor to vendor, getting freebies, signing up for contests.  We enjoyed talking to other hot rodders.  We set up our chairs and, even though it was a hot day, I wasn't minding the heat.  If you go on the Hot Rod Power Tour, just decide to be hot and sweaty for days.  If you can make you peace with that, you'll do great.  An frozen cappuccino at the middle of the day helped.  Finally, at 1:00 PM, we thought we had seen enough for the day and came back to the hotel.  Once I was in air conditioning, I realized just how hot I was and it took a while to cool down.  We had a rest and went back out to the venue at 4:00.  Hundreds of people set up their folding chairs at the venue stage to wait for giveaways.  The best prize was a set of Continental tires.  Someone won $200 of gas.  That was what I wanted.  The long-haulers (people who travel the whole five days) have the potential to win the best prizes.

At 6:30, we went to eat BBQ with the Dallas-area Buick Club.  Three people were there.  Great BBQ.

After supper, it was back to the hotel for some visiting and swimming.

I've tried to post photos with my iPad but have not figured out how to do that yet.

Jim's favorite cars of the day
     - Rat Rod with LT1, lowered to the ground, great rust effect with the bottom edge of the doors
        rusted through
     - 54 Mercury, great custom job with great seats, beautiful
     - 57 white Cadillac convertible (Jim's dad had one that his mom did not like and Jim, the 8 year
        old, loved.  He was a gearhead even then.

Thumbs up today - 13

Hot Rod Power Tour, Day 1

Oh. My. Goodness.  I said I was going to blog on the Hot Rod Power Tour.  Really?  What was I thinking?  Between tornadoes (with a daughter still back in Norman), entering the wrong information in the GPS which caused us an extra one hour of travel, having a freakout/breakdown because I didn't get to eat for seven hours, meeting an old friend in the area, and dancing late into the evening, I'm not sure how this blogging is going to go.  Now it is 11:30, we are back in our room and watching the weather summary of the evening.

So, let's dial it back and see if I can recall some of the more pleasant and interesting events of the day.  We left home at 10:00, and again at 10:20.  You know how that goes. I think I left the computer on.  Oh, well, but I think I remembered everything else.  The cool, windy weather felt wonderful in the morning.  I had a flashback to the 60s, taking non-AC vacations.  I don't think I've been on a long trip without AC since then.   Flying down the Interstate, everything was green, the ponds were full, the Oklahoma countryside was beautiful.

Headed north was an amazing RV outfit, a semi-truck, pulling a semi-worth travel trailer.  On the trailer, between the trailer and the truck, was a little Smart Car and all three pieces were painted with a matching paint job.  The car was on top of the flat trailer, not being pulled on the ground.  Wonder how they lifted that car up.   I just googled images of "million dollar RV" and those images were piddly compared to this RV system.  If you're that rich, do you RV around the country?  Apparently.

As we reached the Arbuckles, the sky began to clear.  I think I saw the same dead armadillo, spaced in the exact same 3 foot distance off the road every three miles.  Maybe it's some kind of conspiracy, secret mile markers that only certain people knows about.

On I35, we had nine thumbs-up from people passing us on the Interstate.  I'm going to give a thumb-up count every day, but I will only count thumbs from non-hot rodders.  When we passed through Gainesville, we began to see hot rods headed south.  We were happy to have a 20-something man pull up beside us, roll down his window, and yell, "Moonie Eyes! Are you going to the Hot Rod Power Tour?"

When we stopped in Gainesville, our last opportunity to get ethanol-free gas, we calculated the Buick's mpg at 18.  We may have the highest MPG hot rod on the HRPT.  Jim was very pleased.  He kept the speed at 60-65 mph on the interstate.

Then, at 3:15 PM, the excitement started:  a GPS that doesn't understand that if you enter "The University of Texas of Arlington", you'd like to be headed to Arlington, going east on 635 at 4 miles per hour (when you have no need to travel east), a person in the car who is ravenous and irritable answering warm, fuzzy and frequent texts and phone calls from family, and watching tornado weather where your child is.  Don't ask about this.  Just don't.

By 5:00, we were fed and happy at the hotel, with a room on the 15th floor with good view of the car below.  Jim carefully parked the car beside 40 Ford Coupe.  He trusted that person not to ding his door.  We've had some good conversations with other gearheads and expect more today.  Everyone is very friendly.  About a third of the parking lot is hot rods, from the 40s to new cars.

Hopefully, today will be just as fun at the fun parts of yesterday, without the drama.

Thumbs up count today - 9

HRPT Here We Come!

Only 23 days!

When Jim first presented the idea of going on the Hot Rod Power Tour, he pointed out that, since it was starting in Arlington, we would have an opportunity that would not easily happen again.  The Hot Rod Power Tour begins in the town where it stopped the previous year.  The 2012 tour was from Detroit to Arlington, TX.  This year, it's from Arlington to Charlotte, NC.  We are planning on drive four days from Arlington to Texarkana to Little Rock to Memphis.  If you are a "long-hauler", you continue on through Birmingham, Chattanooga, and, finally, Charlotte, NC.  The 14 year old daughter is anxious to ditch the parents and stay with friends back in Norman, but we aren't anxious to leave her for over a whole week required for the long haul so it's a short haul for us.

Jim's been reading up in the Hot Rod magazine. I've been reading online. Hotel reservations are made. We're staying in the main venue hotels so should be close to the center of the action. There are suggestions to bring extra of everything, fan belts, tool kit, extra thermostat.  We just paid for the tow package on the Buick's insurance.  I should put that number in my phone right now.  Jim pointed out that the car has only been put together for 3 years so we should be good.

I am not the gearhead in the family, obviously.  Jim is happy to take care of the two convertibles by himself.  Usually, he fills the cars with gas, cleans them, and does much of the mechanical work.  I, on the other hand, have a learning disability with maintaining cars.  Jim reminds me what repairs he has completed and I can't remember if the head gasket was replaced in 2006 or a transmission in 2011.  While I'm not a gearhead, I am a good passenger and, since I've had my little laptop, I've learned that I can type and enjoy the scenery at the same time. I'll be typing as we fly down the road, or crawl along in a traffic jam. We've heard there were 1600 cars in last years HRPT.  That will make for some slow exits out of parking lots.

Jim was initially expecting some objections from me about the trip.  He was startled by now quickly I showed interest in the HRPT.  He should have realized that, while I'm not a gearhead, planning adventure is right up my alley and this is adventure.  Say "road trip" and hold the car door open.  I totally enjoy being with my husband and seeing people react to the Buick.  I joined the HRPT forum.  I have decided on wardrobe (just T-shirts, shorts and hats).  We even have Hoffman T-shirts. We need business cards for the new friends we meet.  I've already designed them.  Should they be referred to as calling cards?  Jim bought a car cover, which means that huge trunk is a quarter full.  We've already had a dry-run for luggage in the remaining space in the trunk.  I'm even planning on making a custom trail mix - red and black M&Ms and unsalted cashews.  Jim wants to carry no food in the car, but he'll agree to the trail mix.  I'm planning on sneaking some bottles of water in the trunk.

Another decision made, not by me, was going without air conditioning.  We have all of the parts; they are just not in the car. We'll see how that plays out.  I am determined that my hair will be up, my hat on, and my lips sealed!  After all, what's an adventure without a little bit of adventure!  Only 23 days!

I'm going to blog about our trip. My information will be "I saw a pretty red car today," but hopefully I can diary some of Jim's serious comments for the real gearheads.  Only 23 more days!

Day Care Tracings

When AT was two years old, she attended day care at my school.  I worked part time, two days a week.  Maya and I had "home days" and "school days".  I so enjoyed it.  AT loved the day care and they loved her.  When you have a little one, of course, you miss more days of work because the little ones easily get sick.  Once, about the middle of the day, Miss Kim called to say that AT was very sick.  She would play happily then suddenly grab her stomach and bend over.  She did it once while playing and once when on the changing table.  I arrived at the day care, and, as I listened to the story, the staff was so concerned that I wondered aloud maybe I needed to go immediately to the doctor's office, or perhaps to the emergency room, but I then decided that I should watch AT for a while so I could better describe her symptoms to the doctor.  

I loaded up AT in her car seat and we headed home.  Before we stopped at the first stop sign, AT's happy baby voice said, "We go home, Mama?"  I remember thinking that this did not sound like a sick child.   Twenty minutes later, we arrived home and I still didn't see a sick child, so I called the day care to learn more about her symptoms so I could report to the doctor.

"We are so sorry.  AT is not sick!"  Since we had left, the staff had discovered why AT was clutching her stomach and bending over.  She was grabbing herself in fear!  While AT had been home the day before, the day car staff had drawn, on butcher paper, life-size tracings of the children.  The tracings were taped on the walls around the room, including over the changing table.  AT happily played, then would grab herself every time she looked up to find a tracing.  "We've already taken all the drawings down!"  

And we had an extra afternoon off!

Our New Year's Eve Tradition

We completed our fifth traditional New Year's Eve last night.  Again, it was great fun.  I'll take you there for a moment.

The Embassy Suites came to Norman in 2008 and, that first year, they announced they were going to have a New Year's Eve party.  We had been taking ballroom dance lessons for about two years and were always looking for a new place to dance.  We were all for the party.  It was a package, the party and a night in the hotel.  The package included a entrance to the party, a glass of champagne at midnight, a bottle of champagne in your room, two champagne glasses, and, of course, the Embassy Suites' breakfast.   At that point, I don't think we had ever spent a night at an Embassy Suites at all so even the breakfast was a big deal to us. When I called to make the reservations, I was advised that the party would have "heavy" appetizers and not to eat before we arrived.  The appetizers!   Pasta bar, huge shrimp, crab legs, every kind of bite size appetizer you can imagine, a chocolate fountain, roast beef.  Enough to make yourself sick (foreshadowing of events to come!)

The first year, we sent AT (who was only nine years old) off to spend the night with a friend.  We had dancing friends who had a room next to us and we not only danced the night away, but then stayed up talking until 4 AM.  The second and third years, the hotel had a party/babysitting for children.  AT invited a friend.  The afternoon of, we arrived early so the girls could enjoy swimming and the manager's special of light appetizers.  I'll always remember those two 10-year-old girls, sitting at another table far from us, enjoying their Goldfish crackers and sodas, practicing being a grownup. When we arrived just after midnight to collect the girls, the staff were very complimentary of the girls and said they had even helped clean up.

Two years ago will not be forgotten, the Year I Got Sick.  I did not drink alcohol, so it was not that.  When I researched food poisoning on the Internet, it was not timed right for that.  The magic hour this night was 11:00 PM.  I was dancing merrily away and suddenly felt nauseous.  I went to the restroom, stayed a long time, and barely made a pass back by our  table to say, without a pause, "I have to go back to our room."  The nausea continued constant and unabated for 24 hours.  Sometime the next morning, we went to the emergency room when I was pronounced dehydrated and given IV glucose and some meds.  Was it viral?  Just dehydration?  You better believe I have hydrated myself since, when dancing.

Last year, I skipped the heavy appetizers, because of the post-traumatic stress from the year before, thank you very much, and did not miss it.  That's saying something, because I don't usually skip a meal.  This year, almost fully over my trauma from two years ago, I had many glasses of water and many appetizers.  I did great, although I was stuffed.   (I still have flashbacks every time I walk in that restroom.  I go to conferences at that hotel so am in that exact restroom several times a year).    This year, we decided to go to the party only, not stay overnight in the hotel.  AT, last year, decided she had outgrown the event and would rather spend the night with friends.

The funny this year was a man walking in to the women's restroom just as I was leaving.  I said, "You're in the wrong room, buddy."  He immediately was embarrassed and did an about face.

The band was less than stellar this year, the instruments overshadowed that vocals, but the female vocals weren't the best anyway, so we may have been winners after all.  There was plenty of dancing, we saw with new friends that we hope to see again, even went to IHOP afterwards (don't ask me why), and made it to church today at 11:00.  A great start to the new year.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas to All!

This year is a different Christmas for us.  Since AT has been born, we have always gone to Tennessee for Christmas, except for one year.  Another year, we went for Thanksgiving plus Christmas.  Whew!  That was too much.  We usually don't go to Tennessee for Thanksgiving.  This year, however, we went for Thanksgiving and stayed in Oklahoma for Christmas.

Last night was midnight mass.  I think it was AT's first.  The Tennessee family does not go to midnight mass so AT has not have that experience.  When AT was little, we went to the children's evening mass, rather than make her stay up late.  For EM, the cradle Catholic, midnight mass was a must-do childhood tradition.  So this year, we were at midnight mass at our church.  AT was totally convinced that she would not be able to stay awake through the midnight mass.  We seriously pointed out that she would have had no problem if it were a sleepover, rather than midnight mass.  The service was lovely.  Lots of Christmas carols.  Our choir is the best it's ever been.

Then home and immediately to bed.  This morning, AT was up about 7:30, totally manageable for me.  We cheerily opened our gifts and had a big breakfast.  AT peeled off to watch movies, using her new iTunes card.  I am now happily typing using my new keyboard, which is much more nicer than my old keyboard.  Next there might be a nap.  EM is already napping.  We have a fire going.

The adventure of the morning was with the dog-that-we-have-NEVER-seen-get-up-on-a-couch.  This dog is currently wearing Christmas bells on her collar.  So cute!  The dog got two rawhide bones for Christmas.  She can demolish any chew toy in minutes. Once, when I said that to a dog trainer, the trainer said to get the dog a black Kong, that she had never seen a black Kong destroyed by a dog.  So we bought the dog a black Kong and she chewed the top off within 30 minutes.  Back to this Christmas morning, the dog got her first bone, ran around the house to make sure we would see and be jealous of her lovely gift, then chewed it up immediately.  She was given a second rawhide bone (big mistake).  Later, AT and I retreated to the fire in the den and there was some horribleness on the couch.  It looked like an animal had been killed on my couch. I never would have known what happened, except there, shoved deep behind the couch cushions, was the second rawhide bone.  The dog had chewed until her gums were raw and bleeding, then buried the second bone in my couch.  Fortunately, she selected the couch with a cover on it.  The cover is already washed, stains out, and is in the dryer.  And, yet, this dog has never been seen on a couch.

I will start cooking today at 3:00, although much of it is already done, so it won't be hard.  We are having a non-traditional dinner, according to me.  Ham, mac and cheese, green beans, spinach casserole, three salads, and three desserts.  There will be lots of leftovers, days of me not in the kitchen!  A traditional dinner for me would include the ham, but with addition of greens, mashed potatoes, and dressing.  Since I'm the only person here who is crazy about those three things, I didn't make them this year.  As a lovely aside, my grandmother, who was proclaimed at the best greens cooker in our family, used to can greens for me.  It was like having her in my kitchen with me when I opened them.  I gave one jar away and am now regretting that.

Sleet is falling.  Currently, we are promised three inches of snow, down graded from 6-8 inches.

Drat!  Now I'm trying to nap on the now-famous couch and the dog is totally convinced that I am covering up her bone.

Merry Christmas to all!

Off on an adventure - to Nashville by 4:00 PM.  It is now 5:30 AM. We are leaving town, seeing the lights of the big city in the distance.  AT is snuggled up in the back seat.  We have always been in unison as a family about leaving early for these road trips (we often have left at 2:00 AM) but, this time, AT struggled to get up.  She may be already asleep.

I have my sugar-free-vanilla-medium-iced-coffee, the nectar of the gods.  I am sensitive to caffeine so I won't be falling back asleep.  EM is almost always the driver. I love to drive on long road trips, but I am a better passenger than he is, so I read, snooze, now blog, sightsee.

This trip, we are taking the small car, rather than the pickup.  The car costs half as much in gas obviously.  We have a pre-trip ritual.  He says, "We'll take the car to save money."  OK.  Then a few days before, he says, "We'll take the truck, to be comfortable."  OK. He's our household mechanic; he has the final call in this area.  But this time, due to a knock in the truck, there was no changing our mind about which vehicle to take.  We are saving money and packed into this car without an ounce to spare.  Hope my back has a much fun as I plan to.

The fog is beautiful this morning, not a problem on the highway at all, but making beautiful views with an accompanying sunrise.  Carl says the fog slips in on cat feet, but it rests in an Oklahoma field with cattle only half visible, seeming to float over the fog-filled pasture.  I wonder if it causes them concern as they look at their brethren floating without legs.

Our plans are to have a trip with laughter, food, communion of family, shopping, sightseeing.  My sister has a new/old house.  I can't wait to see it.  I have a nephew, parents, sisters, brother-in-law.  Life is good.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!  

An Evening in OKC

On a recent Friday night, AT announced her Friday spend-the-night plans too late in the evening for EM and me to go to dance lessons. We'd love to say, "Aren't you going somewhere tonight so we can go to dance class?" We also can make her go to class with us or she's old enough to stay at home by herself, but we made a policy to be relaxed this summer and just wait to see if she makes plans for herself. When we go to dance class, we head for the city at about 6:00 and AT's plans were announced at 6:30. Of course. We dropped her off to a girlfriend's for the night, then, what to do, what to do? It took us a little while to make a plan (after the evening was over, we thought of several things to do, of course).

 Often our evening plans center around putting some miles on the hot rod.  EM suggested we drive the hot rod to Oklahoma City and drive around downtown. We arrived about 9:00 PM. Those of us who are familiar with downtown OKC are amazed at the changes that have, and still are, taking place. Streets that have been one way for over 20 years are now two-way. Many landmarks are gone. At the center of these changes is the new Devon Energy Tower. It's 50 stories tall, by far the tallest building in OKC. It was the first time we had seen it at night. Each corner of the building had changing streaks of light. It is amazing. We did not stop, but we saw many people walking downtown and in the parks, even though it was dark. Unfortunately, I did not take a camera. The night lights were beautiful. We're going to have a repeat trip with a camera.

 Next, we moseyed up north through the Asian District to Whole Foods. All that area looks revived also, with no small part of the credit going to Chesapeake Energy. Instead of a tall building, Chesapeake has a campus, that goes on for blocks and blocks. Landmarks have disappeared from that area also. At Christmas, they decorate hundreds of trees, very beautiful. In years past, we would have been able to find our way around OKC expertly, but, due to all the new buildings, we had to search a bit to find Whole Foods. I've only been there twice and was excited about going there again. Never mind the organic and healthy, which I do appreciate, but I like to eat weird, ethnic foods (which is often healthy) and Whole Foods is the holy land for that. Unfortunately, we arrived at 10:00 PM and it closed at 10:00. Poo. Another identical evening must be planned, camera in hand.

 Today, a man asked EM if the car made it easy to pick up women. EM replied that the car usually carried around his wife, but that last night two women were taking our photos with their smart phones. That was a new one for us. So I guess we're somewhere on someone's Facebook page today. We (EM) often have people comment and ask us questions about the hot rod, as we drive through town. Once a guy leaned out his car window and said, "Isn't that car too heavy to be on the street?" He was serious. It's really fun.

Lazy Girl's Skinny Iced Coffee

It's been a very long time since I have posted a recipe on the blog.  There are so many recipes on the Internet that I rarely come up with something that hasn't already been done.  There are some delicious iced coffees on the Internet. There is International Delight Iced Coffee that already made for you, 150 calories in one cup.  There is another recipe made with sweetened condensed milk that sounds delicious, that I haven't tried.

This recipe below is my own, lazy and easy.  It only has 40 calories, not per cup, but per glass.  It uses instant coffee and if you are a serious coffee connoisseur (I am not),  you may not be interested in this recipe.  If you are interested few calories and ease of preparation, this recipe is for you.  Please tweak to please yourself.

Lazy Girl's Skinny Iced Coffee

Fill a tall glass about 1/3 full with water.
Microwave for 20 seconds.
Add 1/4 teaspoon Stevia and 1/3 teaspoon of instant coffee in the water.
Add the smallest drop of vanilla or orange extract.  Stir.
Add ice to the glass.
Fill the glass with skim milk.  Stir.

Yum!  Start to finish in under one minute.

History

My mom was raised on a farm that has been in her family since Civil War times.  She and her brother still own that farm.  By the time I came along, my grandparents lived on the farm in a house that was built in the 20s.  My grandfather was the youngest of eight children (I think).  My mom completed the family tree for the family in 1987.  After receiving her copy of the family tree, one of my grandfather’s nieces, by then an old woman, wrote this letter to my mom about her memories as a grandchild coming to her grandparents’ homeplace.  This house was on the same land where my mother grew up, although a newer house had been built in the 1920s.  The wood lot in the letter is the same one I played in when I was a child over 50 years later.  This kind of information is fascinating to me.  If I could write historical fiction, it would be bridging from family history like this.  But that will never happen.  Below are excerpts of that letter.

Dear _______.

The picture I have sent to you is the only one I have seen of the family.  You keep it and show it to the girls.  I have arthritis so bad in my feet and hands.  I do not care for such as this as I once did.

If we were together sometime I could tell you about the homeplace and the large wood lot.  The house was east of the house where your mother lives.  And a large wood lot between it and the road.  Maybe you have seen the old house.  There was a large pond in the south end of it and during the fall all the neighbors would take their hogs on the same day to the pen and kill them.  Make a scaffold and a fire and cut and dress them at the pond.  Had large vats to put them in hot water.

After the hogs were dressed and pieces cut off, the children had to turn the sausage mill as the women made sausage sacks and stuffed the sausage in the sacks.  Clean the heads and cook them in large black wash kettles.  Run them through the mill where the sausage was ground then pressed in large pans with large tops are pressed down.  That was how they made the souse.  The next day all the fat pieces of meat were cut, clean and put in a kettle and the children all had to stand by the large black kettles and keep the fire built up and the pieces of meat cooked.  Then the pieces were dipped out of the lard.  These were the cracklins used in making corn bread.  The lard was taken from the kettles and put in large lard stands.

The most fun the grandchildren had was the time of year when all of us had to go to the pasture north of the house where they had raised geese and chase them until every one of us had caught one each.,  We would take them to the buggy house (the garage today) where all the women would pick the feathers to make pillows and feathers beds.  That was used instead of mattresses.  

Uncle Onice [my grandfather] was the only child [an unmarried adult] at home and got all kinds of toys, tops, and other things for all of us to play with when we were there.  He enjoyed playing with them too.

When the wheat was ready to cut and thrashed in the wood lot by the pond, there would be a large pile of wheat straw left in the woods by the large pond.  All the women would work together and make new straw beds to use for the mattresses.  Under the feather beds, we got new mattresses each year when wheat was thrashed.

All the children in the neighborhood went to Tatumville to school.  The building was north of the church.  Elsie had a buggy and Ole Red.  She picked Vada, Parker and myself up and we rode to school with her.  The school was a 2 year high school.

Elsie and Babe got married and left school.  That left the three of us the last ones north of the school.

Pops started driving two mules to his wagon and taking us to school.  On the way down there was children standing out in front of their house waiting for the wagon.  When school was out in the afternoon, Pops was waiting in the wagon for all the crowd to crawl in.  When time came for him to go to work in the field, we all had to walk.  We took our lunch with us in a tin molasses bucket.

One day we had had a hard rain on top of frozen ground and the road was getting soft in places.  One morning Parker was leading the way and stepped in a soft place and went under to his knees.  It took all of us to pull him out.  Nada and I had to go back home with him after we had scrapped all the mud off that we could.

I was in 5th grade and Pops heard they were going to give exams in Newbern for a new rural mail carrier.  He said for fun he though he would go to town and take the exam.  It shocked him when he was notified he make the highest grade.

He sold his house and farm, traded his mules for two pretty horses, his wagon for a buggy and we moved to Newbern.

Fifty years later, I had my own “Uncle Onice” to play with at that same farm.  My Uncle John (who was Onice’s son) was not married when we were little and played tag, Old Maids, Authors, and Monopoly with us.  He chased us, and made us popcorn.  I got to ride on the tractor and the combine.  History does repeat itself, and probably much more than we realize.  

Heavenly Father, Help Us Remember

I am about to gear up to start school-school and to start church-school, i.e. Sunday School, i.e. Religious Education.  I teach fourth graders in RE and it is great fun.  This is a prayer that we prayed in RE last year and will pray again this year.  The prayer is not my original idea.  I heard such a prayer for RE teachers, loved it, and came home to copy the idea, adapting it for my fourth grade class.  At their age, their main areas for ministry are at home and in their classroom.  It is so easy to forget that the irritating, loud, not-so-smart, attention-seeking, or out-of-place child sitting in the next desk is a person, too, loved by God.  I guess it's easy for adults to forget, also.  

Here's the prayer...

Heavenly Father, help me to remember that the boy, who pushed me in line at lunch today, may be very hungry, because he does not have much food at his house and school lunch in the only time his stomach is full.

Heavenly Father, help me to remember that the girl who always gets in trouble in class for not paying attention, has a dad who yells at her every day.  She has a hard time thinking about school because she is worried about going home.

Heavenly Father, help me to remember that the girl whose paper you saw, the one with the F on it, that girl has no one at home to ask her what her grades are, no one to pay attention when the grades come in the mail at home.

Heavenly Father, help me to remember the girl in your class who cannot read does not have any books in her home.  No one snuggled with her at night and read to her when she was little before she fell sleep.   No one else can read in her home either.

Heavenly Father, help me to remember that the boy in class, who is so loud and so obnoxious, has no one paying attention in his life.  He sometimes feels invisible when he's not loud.

Heavenly Father, help us to remember that the boy in your class, who falls asleep almost every day in class, that he has teenage brothers who play loud music every night until 3 in the morning.  There is no one to remind them that their little brother needs his sleep.

Lord Jesus, help us to remember that the girl who cries anytime the teacher talks to her, that she has a little sister who is very sick.  Her parents needs to spend all their time with the little sister and she is feeling very scared and lonely now.

Holy Spirit, help us to remember that what we see is not the whole story.  You take care of everyone, but help us to remember that we must  be your arms, your voice, your legs.  

Help us remember.

Amen

That's My Girl

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?"

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.   

Gaylord Texan - A Review

The view from our hotel room at the Gaylord Texan.  This is indoors!

This week, AT went off for her first camp, at age 13.  She had never been interested until this year.  So...what to do, what to do?  When the cat's away....

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.

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