Bits And Pieces

Once in a while, we are given an opportunity to catch a glimpse into a stranger’s life. Today mom and I went to yet another beautician to try to get the mess that was once our hair fixed. A couple was ahead of us. They come to Padre Island during the winter and back home to Missouri for the summer. This will be the wife’s last visit to Padre Island. Her husband has been caring for her since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He brings her in twice a week to have her hair done and according to the beautician; he does a wonderful job of caring for her. They purchased a home in Missouri close to the necessary doctors and family. There was a sense of sadness there.

I have a habit of attracting unusual people. Hannah, how could you have forgotten this? When we picked up Hannah and Robert at the airport, we immediately took them to the best restaurant in town, “Whataburger.” Okay we are cheap people but that is okay. After we had eaten, Hannah got an urge to run across the parking lot and Robert decided to race her. A man appeared and was watching and I guess waiting for them to come back because once Robert and Hannah returned from their race he wanted to race them. He said “I bet you $5 I can beat you, come on now I really need the money. I smoke pot all day and weed all night but I can beat you.” We didn’t take him up on the offer; instead, we just quietly walked back to the car…. Once the doors were closed and no one could hear us, we just started laughing. It became our war cry “I smoke pot all day and weed all night.”

Received a wonderful phone call from James aka Rusty. His four year old daughter, my granddaughter, Isabel received her monthly IEP report from pre school. Her speech has shown improvement, she is doing well in school, and they are pleased with her progress at this point. Now the bad news; she is improving slightly with the physical therapy but she will need more intensive care. This means she will be seeing a physical therapist when she is not in school. Rusty aka James is hoping to run her physical therapy and her speech therapy back to back. He says her behavior is improving as well both at home and at school. The judge decided on a September court date to determine custody. All of us were hoping this would be resolved sooner. Please no comments on Isabel’s mother. Isabel has dyspraxia /apraxia. In addition, his wife, Nicole is due at the end of April but they think the baby will be coming sooner. Rusty is putting together the crib and getting the room all set up. They want Isabel to have her own room so the baby, Jaeda will stay in their room until she gets a little older. They are still hoping to move into a larger place. Their son, Hayden is a character. He has discovered his poo and has become quite artistic with it. I am putting this so nicely. He is back in onsies. I will say this… His diaper is checked frequently. Potty training is just around the corner for him.

Today mom and I headed for Padre Island and found a very reasonably priced RV park. We were so happy with it that we went into the office and paid in advance for a week. We will be heading for the island Monday. It will be nice to step outside, walk a short distance, and sit on the beach. Surley will not be happy because she will be surrounded by water. It will be the first time that I will be driving the rig over a bridge that is two miles long. I am a little nervous. I hate wind.

Surely has been sick. Her cough is worse but not happening so frequently that it requires medicating her. She will be seeing her Doctor when we return to Missouri in April.

Tomorrow we are heading for a battlefield. Expect pictures.

Port Isabel, Texas

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TOURISTS PRAYER

Heavenly Father, look down on us your humble obedient tourist servants who are doomed to travel this Earth, taking photographs, mailing postcards, buying souvenirs and walking around in drip dry underwear.

Give us this day divine guidance in the selection of our hotels that we may find our reservations honored, our rooms made up and our faucets running with hot water.

We pray that the telephones work, and the operators speak our tongue,
Lead us, Dear Lord to inexpensive restaurants where the food is superb, the waiters friendly and the wine included in the price.

Give us the wisdom to tip correctly, in currencies we do no understand. Forgive us for under tipping out of ignorance and over tipping out of fear. Make the natives love us for what we are and not for what we can contribute to their worldly goods.

Grant us the strength to visit the museums, the cathedrals, the Palaces and Castles listed as must sees in the VT member’s pages.
And if perchance we miss a historic monument to take a nap after lunch, have mercy on us, for our flesh is weak.

For Husbands

Dear God keep our wives from shopping sprees and protect them from bargains they don’t need or can’t afford. Lead them not into temptation for they know not what they do.

For Wives

Almightily Father, keep our husbands from looking at foreign women and comparing them to us. Save them from making fools of themselves in cafes and nightclubs. Above all do not forgive them their trespasses, for they know exactly what they do.

~Art Buchwald~

My Daughter

This is my daughter's description of herself

I am 21. I do not fake smiles or wear stilettos. I believe in God. I often contradict myself. No I don't. I always wear lip gloss, even when I sleep. Geese scare the hell out of me. I am a student. Sometimes I hit the curb when I park. When I am bored I put other people’s shopping carts away. I giggle and snort a lot. I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian/chocolatarian. Someday I am going to marry a gay/republican/gothic farmer and have 2 horses, an F350, and beat up chevys in our back yard. I never ask for too much. Open fields are for running and making love. I do not know how to merge, kiss, peel oranges or knit. I am southern in a cold Maine kind of way. I am majoring in underwater basket weaving. I am not the governor of California but I sound like him sometimes. I have a bad poker face. I think there should be a mute button for sermons, lectures, bad puns and thunderstorms. I leave junk mail in my car for emergency lipstick blotting. I own over 1000 books. I am loved. Most importantly I do not look like Cher.

Ah sweetie you might be going through a rough patch in your life but you are becoming the person I wanted to be. I am so proud of you - hang in there. This video is for you and Robert.... even though I didn't know he was a gay, republican, gothic farmer.

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Yaxche

For the Mayan Culture, the tree of life, called Yaxche, is a Ceiba tree. This is a tall tree with buttressed roots, a straight trunk and a high horizontal crown (underworld, earth, and heavans). The ancient Maya of Central America believed that a great Ceiba tree stood at the center of the earth, connecting the terrestrial world to the spirit-world above. The long thick vines hanging down from its spreading limbs provided a connection to the heavens for the souls that ascended them.

I have found my version of “the tree of life.” No, it is not as majestic as the Ceiba tree and definitely not as tall but the music that comes from this tree is indescribable. I walk outside every morning and I hear music of at least 20 birds coming from this tree. What makes this tree magical is you don’t see the orchestra (the birds). The tree’s branches are so full that it hides the birds and gives the illusion the tree is creating this symphony. To stand under it is deafening and birds have no fear of me standing there looking up. They know they are protected by this tree. This afternoon I finally saw two Grackles flying out of the tree but the symphony kept playing until dark.

Texan Ticks and Skeeters (mosquitoes)

Texas has the most vicious bloodsucking varmints I have ever encountered. The mosquitoes are big enough to carry off a small child. Okay, I am exaggerating a little here but believe me when I say they are huge they are HUGE. They also have stripes on their derriere, which to me is an ominous sign. The only way to avoid being bitten is to slather your body with nasty smelling repellent three times a day. Sorry if this grosses you out but some of them are so full of blood they just drop to the floor in mid flight with a splat. I have never seen mosquitoes like these. It makes one afraid to step out side.

Then there are the ticks. Texan ticks have an attitude and unbelievable survival skills. I have been trying to keep this a secret but I am going to let the proverbial cat out of the bag. I am a sadistic bitch when it comes to killing ticks. If I find one crawling on me I will plop it in the nearest ashtray and set it on fire. All of the ticks that I have known (very briefly) succumb to this method of death. Not Texan ticks. I set one on fire, and then I went back to working my logic puzzle. I see something out of the corner of my eye and the darn tick is crawling out of the ashtray. I take the cigarette I am smoking and grind it out on the little sucker. Satisfied that he is sufficiently dead I went back to my puzzle… Then I got the urge to look in the ashtray to make sure it was dead and it was ALIVE. So, I grabbed some toilet paper, captured it, and sent it to a watery grave. Now when I go in for my constitutional I can’t help but think it is in there waiting for me. It is a different take on the bathroom scene in the movie “Psycho.”

The Visit

My daughter, Hannah and her boyfriend, Robert made it to Texas and we had a wonderful visit. They saw the ocean, the zoo, the Iwo Jima Memorial, Matamoros Mexico and had a wonderful dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack. I miss them already.

We went to a “natural” beach. No raked sand, sea weed covering the shoreline and it was beautiful. I became a beach person the minute I saw it as it was meant to be. The water was wild, we could see a ship in the far off distance, and of course the sea gulls. I have a love for birds that other people dislike. We had a lot of fun playing in the water. Mom and I plan to go back and bring lawn chairs. Just sit and watch the waves roll in and roll out.

I liked the fact that in Matamoros Mexico a trolley was available that took you directly to the marketplace plus showed you points of interest. The market place was intimidating. Merchants would grab you and try to get you in their stores and sell you everything under the sun. A lot of trinkets were made in China and gone were most of the Mexican handicrafts. It was fun and I think I said no more times that day than I said in my life time. Considering I have 3 children that is a lot of nos. We ate a wonderful lunch there and headed back to the good ole US.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Visit, Part Two

Three Generations of Wonderful Wacky Women

The Zoo

The Beach

Mexico

While Waiting For My Turn

In the morning, if time allows I enjoy sitting down with a cup of Joe and perusing the blogs. Zach’s blog was fun this morning. He took a lot of quizzes and posted the results on his blog. While waiting for my turn in the bathroom I decided to take a few which of course led to many. Why are these things so addicting?

According to all these quizzes I took this morning I am beyond quirky, I am just downright bizarre! I have lost touch with social norms and what is appropriate. I am a lunatic, operating on 100% animal instincts. I am just downright scary.

My Activity Level is high; I am in the normal range of cheerfulness and assertiveness. That is only after I have several cups of coffee. I am not a people person. I have a very low gluttony quotient…. Until I see cake, ice cream, and cheesecake and then it soars to over 100%.

Fortunately I am only a tad bit gross. Even thought I am not a sociopath I can spot one easily. Not unless one is lurking in the woods waiting for an unsuspecting female. Then he creeps up on her to see if she smells like Irish Spring.

I have wild, amazing thoughts. My dreams and fantasies are intense. I have created a world that is all my own. It’s very likely I have dabbled in drugs or I am just naturally trippy. I believe that art, love and freedom can change the world. I fight fair. I am more of a grown up than a kid.

I believe that life is controlled internally. I value my independence. My convictions are strong and unwavering. I am a true believer in luck, karma, and fate. When it comes to who's in charge, it's ME! My life is a kingdom, and I am the grand ruler. I don’t care much about what others think BUT they better care what I think! . That is because I am operating on my animal instincts… KILL KILL KILL

My idea of fashion is jeans and a t-shirt. Clean, if I’m lucky. I am more female than male.

I AM NOT A DUMB AMERICAN!

I think like George Bush…. On that test I think I will go and shoot myself.

Zapata Texas

We spent the last 4 days in Zapata Texas at the Four Seasons RV Park. Nice place to stay, reasonable price with cable TV. We were parked on a second tier and when we were shown the lot I expressed my concerns about being able to get out. I was reassured that the two lots in front of me will not be rented and all I would have to do is pulled forward, then backed into one of the empty lots, and then drive on out. It looked fairly simple so I took the spot. I woke up one morning and found the out that we had a next door neighbor. This morning when it was time to leave I asked for help at the office and the lady was so nice. She found a fire fighter and a truck driver to get me out. The truck driver ended up having to back up the hill, which was quite a thrill but we were out.

I knew when I left this morning; the drive to Brownsville would be a little scary. The wind was ferocious. I kept my speed down to about five miles under the speed limit and torked off every driver that liked to drive 20 miles over the speed limit even through constructions zones. The main thing is we arrived and we arrived alive.

When I called the park we are currently residing in I asked for a pull through…. I was told that wouldn’t be a problem. Since I have heard that before I wasn’t surprised to find out they don’t have a pull through. I had to back the rig into a teensy weensy catty-cornered spot. When I got in position to back up I leaned out the window to get a view of where I was suppose to be and when I saw it I said “Uh oh.” This got a chuckle out of man sitting in a lawn chair. I backed this thing in like I knew what I was doing. I am still in shock. I think I am going to like here.

Mom and I found the nicest museum in Zapata. It is called Frontier Ranch Museum. Every nook and niche was filled with stuff. Just when you thought you saw it all you would find something else. They even had items on the ceiling. Outside was set up as a mini western town. The man’s grandkids were playing in this and one little boy had everyone locked up in the jail. What a wonderful place for kids. I posted pictures of the museum.

In two days my daughter, Hannah and her boyfriend Robert will be here and I am looking forward to spending some time with them. Until Later.



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Time To Embarrass The Hec Out Of James aka Rusty

Thanks Jolie for the wonderful post about penises. I hope that is the correct spelling because I am not going to google it to find out.

Your post made me think of my son James aka Rusty. The poor child always twisted words. Example "Violators Will Be Prostituted."

We attended a small church and one day the pianist quit. Every Sunday after that the minister would end the sermon with a prayer. "Please lord send us someone to fill your house with music." This went on for a year. One Sunday I stayed home and I sent my then 6 year old son, James aka Rusty to church. He came home from the service so excited. He actually flung the door open and said "MOM GUESS WHAT HAPPENED? THE LORD ANSWERED OUR PRAYERS THE CHURCH HAS GOT A PENIS."

To this day he will not say pianist, he says piano player.

Pictures of Zapata and Roma Texas Turn On The Sound

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Slide Show Created by Pepper
Photographs By Pepper

When we drove to Brackettville Texas the scenery outside our window was shades of brown. The mesquite trees without their leaves showed their abstract forms, birds were easily seen on their branches, and the fields were barren with the exception of scrub brush. I love scenery like this. So barren of color that when a flash of red from a bird’s wing takes your breath away.

When we left the RV Park in Brackettville and started our journey back to the “valley” mom and I were in awe of the change of scenery. The world outside our window came to life in those two weeks we were gone. I found myself slowing down to an irritating pace for others in an attempt to absorb all of the changes.

The fields were flowing with flowers, white and yellow. The trees had leaves and seemed to have a greenish haze to them. Everywhere we looked there was life, gone were the shades of brown replaced with a vivid display of color. This morning I sat down with my cup of coffee and the birds were so loud it was deafening. The scent of the flowers that has come to life was marvelous. If I could capture all of the scents and put them in a perfume bottle I would be a rich person indeed. I even took a walk at 2:00 a.m. just to hear the noises of the night and I ended my walk by just sitting on the steps of my RV with Surely Not listening. I felt like I had been transported to another world. This is what this road trip is all about. The newness, the changes, the experiences and I am so grateful to have this opportunity.

My Age

I need to start acting my age. I need to go into the next phase of my life gracefully and with dignity. I have too many child like moments when I go scampering out of the door willy nilly.


My latest willy nilly moment.... Despite the fact that I was surprised by my neighbor's desire of smelling me I went back out the next day to look for the armadillo. I found him. I did not know an awkward looking armadillo could run so fast.

This is where he ended up.......


Of course brush, cacti, and varmits will not stop me once I am on a mission. Here he is


We left Brackettville, Fort Clark RV Park. That was one of our favorite places. We will definitely go back to this park. Our last week end Fort Clark held it's annual fair. I took some pictures - enjoy.

I put in a 4 1/2 hour drive today. In less than a week my daughter Hannah and her boyfriend Robert will be down to spend four days with us. I am so looking forward to see them. Right after they leave Scott my son will spend 10 days with us. I am so excited to see everyone again.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Later

Who’s Digging These Holes?

When my children were small, I had each of them stretch their arm out in front and asked them to turn around in a complete circle. I explained to them that is their personal space. If anyone should step into or lean into their personal space without invitation then they are to tell that person to get out of their personal space.

This works, just ask Hannah.

When one of Scott’s friend’s dad offered them a ride home, Scott said sure. He knew him and was comfortable with the situation. Hannah said “No.” She never met the man and was not comfortable with him. The poor man stepped into Hannah’s personal space (without knowing it) to talk to her and she said “GET OUT OF MY PERSONAL SPACE, NOW!” She walked home and Scott didn’t but I was so proud of her.

Around 5:30 this evening I decided to take my walk and find out what animal was digging all the holes around the path I normally walked. So Surely and I went out for a hunt…. We walked off the beaten path and I became very excited when I found freshly dug holes. Fighting the scrub brush and some cacti I found the animal. It was an armidillo. Since it was small, Surely didn’t want to attack it and we watched it until it moved on. I decided to find the path and stroll home. That is when I bumped into my neighbor.

Lets just say this…. You get into my personal space I will leave your sorry ass in the woods.

Lucky for me I found another path for me to walk and bike. Far away from neighbors who just want to smell me.

Hey Hannah – Like daughter like mother.

My Bike and My First Ride

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I Have A New Toy Enjoy The Pictures

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The Alamo

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Who The Heck Is Enrique

Mom and I decided to dine at Vasquez Restaurant simply because of a sign that read "Endorsed By Enrique."

If you like slow service this is the place to go. We were greeted by a very nice gentleman who showed us to our table by pointing to it. The place was packed and he was busy with customers. We waited and listen to great Mexican music mixed with a little Dean Martin. There was only one waitress and she was very busy.

The gentleman took our drink request and talked about his father. The one thing his father taught him was to respect the ladies. When he questioned his father why, his father said "your mother is a lady."

We got our drinks and he promised mom he would drink her tea if she didn't like it. We waited some more and he came back and took our order.

One thing about this man, nothing ruffles his feathers. The phone could be ringing off the hook and he would say "if it is something important, they will call back." He made everyone that came in feel very invited and welcomed. There wasn't a feeling of being rushed.

When we finally received our order it was probably the best Mexican food I have eaten in a long time. The atmosphere of the place was warm and friendly and we walked out not only feeling full but feeling good.

Now the big question...... Who the heck is Enrique? I would like to tell him thank you.

Accents

The other day my mom was reading the blogs of the folks I have listed on my blog page. I looked up and said "Mom you are a lurker."

She smiled and said "Thank you."

I said "No, No, No a lurker."

Mom said "I am not deaf. I heard you."

I finally said "Not looker, lurker."

You can tell where we live by our accents.

Hokey Tombstones

At the set of the Alamo (which I will post pictures) they had a cemetery and I took a few pictures of the tombstones. No one is actually buried here.

You Can't Make Me

This morning was chilly when I woke up. I quickly deflated my bed, threw it up on the couch, and turned on the electric heater. Mom was up already and sitting in the passenger seat. The sun coming through the windshield was warm and inviting. I grabbed Surely Not, put the leash on her, and took her outside.

This rv lot doesn't have grass. It is baked ground with an occasional tuft of dying grass. Surely Not is a very picky old lady, she must have grass to water or she will walk around in circles. So in my PJ's, hot pink bathrobe, and sandals (I am such a lovely sight in the morning) I sneak around to my neighbor's yard because they have a large patch of grass. Surely Not just stood there looking at the grass, then she wanted back in the house.

So here she sits on my lap, buried deep in the folds of my hot pink night bathrobe, snoring and dreaming puppy dog dreams. My lap is more important to her than her morning constitutional and that makes me feel warm all over.

I just hope she doesn't explode.

Inner Peace

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can get going without pep pills,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment
If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him,
If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
...Then You Are Probably The Family Dog!