A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW

A couple of weeks ago, I had the world's best house guests. I debated over whether to even write about them, for fear my other friends would feel like I was holding these gals up as an example they should aspire to. Rest assured, I am not. And don't expect me to follow their example either, next time I come to stay with you!

The guests were my friends Lynn and Hazel, who helped me form a playgroup for our toddlers about 24 years ago, back in Houston. The first thing they did to win brownie points was to send me an email message saying I should not worry about feeding them, they would take care of their own meals. Then they proceeded to hit all the ethnic markets in Houston, and stock up on all the delicacies that are hard to come by in small town Texas. They brought exotic melons, mid-eastern breads, kalamata olives and French feta cheese, not to mention several bottles of wine, then insisted on taking me out to eat a couple of times, so we hardly made a dent in it all.

Second big plus was that Lynn knows her way around Wimberley even better than I do. At one time, she and her husband were planning to buy a house here, but then opted for a townhouse in the Houston museum district. Unlike John and I, who almost always buy a house after only a day or two out with a realtor, Lynn is an extremely thorough house-shopper. She left no stone unturned, and no neighborhood unexplored, when they were looking for a place here. Consequently, the girls didn't really need me to act as tour guide, and were perfectly happy to go off on their own to visit the tourist hot spots, which I have already visited untold times. I was able to stick to my usual routine, going to work out and coming back to write, then we met up for a nice float at the Blue Hole, followed by dinner out.

As if that weren't enough, Lynn has recently taken up jewelry-making. She brought along several matching earring and necklace sets that she had crafted, and insisted that I choose one for myself. I hesitated only a moment before grabbing the set, made of gorgeous green glass beads, which matches my new linen top perfectly. Now they have invited me to come stay in the townhouse, next time Lynn's hubby goes on retreat. We will be three not-so-hot chicks having a Sex-less in the City weekend, and I bet it will be a riot!