LIFE AS WE KNOW IT

Two weeks ago our biggest problem was this dang squirrel, who demolished an entire outdoor carpet last year, and a mop this spring. I'm guessing she may be a mama squirrel, building a nest or something? Surely she can't be digesting all this stuff!

Just a little over a week ago our best friends were here visiting, daughter Lex was planning to bring her kids over for a few days while her hubby volunteered at SXSW, and my sister and her hubby were planning to come for a visit right after that, so they could finally meet Miss Rowan.

We actually knew very little about this Novel Coronavirus at that time, so when SXSW decided to cancel everything, we thought they were just erring on the side of caution, and still weren't all that worried. Instead of just Lex and the kids coming over, the whole family came over last weekend. They still took Calvin to the children's play I had bought tickets for, and we went out to eat a couple of times, happy that the restaurants weren't packed for once. But by Sunday my sister had called to cancel their visit, and the morning news was sinking in. Hubby and I decided to stay home with Calvin, instead of going out to breakfast with Lex and Nate. 

Magnetiles Are Awesome!

The kids went home after breakfast, and the next morning we got a message saying Calvin woke up with a scratchy throat and a fever. Needless to say, we just about went nuts. They rushed him to the doctor, who tested him for strep (negative) and said there were absolutely no signs of anything respiratory going on, so he was almost positive it wasn't Corona. Almost.

By the next day his fever was gone, but schools and businesses everywhere were shutting down, and I haven't been out of the house since, except to take a walk in places where there were no people. We are taking it very, VERY seriously now, and I hope you are too.

On the plus side, this calming mindfulness journal I've been working in is turning out to be just what I needed!

Stay well, my friends!

GONE TOO SOON

We almost had it -- enough fall color to impress our northern relatives who arrive next week, and who are forever going on about their dang maples when they come to visit!

But then, this dang arctic blast came barreling through our little town like a runaway locomotive, and took most of our newly-turned leaves with it!

It just isn't fair...

IT STARTED OFF WITH A BANG!

Sorry to go so long with no word, but when one gets the chance to go explore a new part of the world, one really shouldn't waste too much of that precious time messing around on social media -- especially when one has a hunch that this may well be one's last such adventure!

So where did we go? Portugal! We headed for the airport mid-day on Wednesday 5/1, but by the time we got to our hotel in Lisbon, it was lunchtime on Thursday. Since we couldn't get into our rooms that early, our Wimberley tour guide had decided we'd drop our bags off and go have the famous Bifana sandwich that Anthony Bourdain made such a big deal about in his Lisbon episode. It got me to wonderin'... about the fact that I don't believe I ever heard Anthony Bourdain say something was actually bad on any of his shows. And if he never said anything was bad, how could you trust him when he said something was good? Case in point -- this was not a bad sandwich, but it was certainly not a great sandwich. It was a piece of pork on a piece of bread, and you could add regular yellow mustard if you wished.

We wandered around until time to check in, then collapsed on our beds until time for our Welcome Dinner at the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Lisbon, Café Martinho da Arcada.

Grouper

Now this food was pretty darn good. But one thing you will notice is that the Portuguese aren't really into spices. Pretty much everything you eat, be it fish or fowl, will have been cooked in olive oil and chopped garlic, and that's about it. Nor did I ever see salt and pepper on the table. I probably could have asked for it, but didn't want to risk insulting anyone.  After dinner John spotted a little kiosk across the road selling Ginjinha, a sour cherry liqueur, and he ran across the street to grab a glass. Why? Because Anthony Bourdain said he had to!

Never saw him drink another one after that.

The next day was supposed to be our easy day. Instead of a grueling walking tour up and down steep cobblestone streets, we got chauffeured around in tuk-tuks - something like a golf cart on steroids, holding six passengers each and sitting much higher off the ground. Easy enough to get in and out of at the beginning and end of your trip, when they provide you with a step stool. Not so easy at the stops along the way, when you have to back out while searching blindly with your foot for the one little toe-hold on the side.

We made it almost to the end of the tour without incident, but then Hubby's camera bag got him tangled up and caused him to trip on the way down from the tuk-tuk and go splat on the sidewalk. So you might say this trip started off with a bang! No biggie, right? Unless you take blood thinners. Then you'd better pray you didn't hit your head, otherwise you might find yourself being life-flighted to the nearest hospital with bleeding in your brain! Been there, done that. Needless to say, I watched him like a hawk the next several days, which my hubby really, really hates! On the plus side, he went splat right in front of a really cool place called Time Out Market, a giant food hall where you can try all kinds of good stuff. We lucked out by nabbing one of the last spots in their Academia, where they serve a meal of the day at lunchtime, and teach classes in the afternoons. It was delicious!

We followed that up with a leisurely walk back to our hotel, some unpacking, a nap, and then dinner at this lovely little tapas bar that we had passed on our way down to the river.

Not a bad start to the adventure, all things considered.

WHO'S GONE GAGA?

You'd think it would be the women in the family who'd be going gaga over the news that our next grandchild will be female. You'd be wrong.

Last Friday Hubby and I had some time to kill before a movie, so I suggested going into Marshall's for a quick scan of the toy department, where I occasionally find good deals on Melissa & Doug or Green Toy products.  It didn't take but five minutes for me to see there was nothing I needed there. However, by the time I made it back to the front door, Papa John had already purchased these!

I have a feeling we're gonna need to keep a close eye on that boy!

IT HAS BEGUN...

Happy Cedar Fever Season, Y'all!

 

HOW NOT TO SPEND YOUR HOLIDAYS

Wouldn't you know. The only mail I had waiting for me when I got back from art camp was a jury summons! I reported to the courthouse over in San Marcos yesterday morning, we sat there for a couple of hours doing absolutely nothing, then they sent us home and told us to come back today. Never had that happen before. Fingers crossed that I don't get selected. This is not how I want to spend the holiday season. For one thing, it would totally wreck that super schedule I spent so much time working on!

I decided to be sweet and make the bed before I left.

I might be a tad jealous that he's all warm and snuggly, while I have to head out for the frigid drive to San Marcos when it's only 29 F out!

THE DOWNSIDE OF A CREATIVE BRAIN

Well, I finally finished my second "folk art fusion" project using techniques learned in a book by the same name. This time, however, I started with one of my own sketches, instead of one from the book.

I was so tickled with how it turned out, I was ready to jump right in and start another one. But then I remembered my "no sew" travel journal from our Marfa/Marathon trip, and decided I really ought to get back to that, before the memories fade.

The thought of fading memories reminded me of my baby Calvin journal, started  in 2/17, and still with only one spread in it!

At this rate, the kid will be headed off to college before I ever complete it!

But, then I remembered that I still haven't even started the cigar box journal I had in mind for our Cuba trip. I went over to my art shelves to grab the cigar box. Only, it wasn't there. Then I checked in the closet, and the cedar chest, and every other place I could think of. Still no cigar box. Finally I decided that my only course of action was to totally rework all of my shelves, drawers and closets. Which will probably take all week, if not longer.

So, now you know why, out of all the art journals on my shelf, the only one that ever got completed was my circle journal -- the one where I did the first few spreads in it, then I passed it around a circle of friends, all around the country. When it finally made its way back to me, it was full of wonderful art! Just not mine. Some of mine is now in each of their journals. I really miss it.

THE SHADY LLAMA SNAFU

When we heard there was to be a postcard-signing event, encouraging people to get out and vote for Beto in the upcoming election, and that it was to be held at Wimberley's newest wine and beer garden, The Shady Llama, the Muses all agreed. We simply had to participate, and we'd bring our hubbies too! 

They asked that we bring some postcard stamps with us to the event, and one Muse who knew she wouldn't be able to make it gave me about a hundred of her old ones, then I went out and bought a bunch more to top them up to the current rate, and added in all my old regular mail stamps as well.

When we arrived on Friday evening, we looked all around, but didn't see any large groups of people who looked like they were set up to work. So we went up to the bartender to ask her where they would be seated.

She looked at us kinda funny, then said "That Beto group? The one that was here last night?" DOH! 

So there we sat, with a purse full of stamps, and nothing to put them on. At least, she told us, they had a really good turn out. On Thursday. Ah well. When life hands you lemons...

Comfy Chairs Situated For Sunset Viewing

The Fire Pit

Not A Sandbox, A Gravel Box

The Swinging Bridge

Various food trucks park here on a rotating basis.

And yes, they do have llamas here! Unfortunately, by the time I got around to taking some photos, they must have headed back to the barn for the night. This is such a great, family-friendly place, I'm sure we will be bringing the kids and Little Goobster here before long. Maybe when it's just a tad cooler .

Fortunately for me, one of the Muses had picked up an extra pile of Beto postcards to take home with her, and we were able to crank them out and use up all those stamps at our weekly coffee meet-up yesterday!

P.S. Here's a funny factoid. When I decided on the title for this post, I looked up the word snafu, to make sure I was using it correctly. Did you know it's actually a military acronym which stands for "situation normal, all effed up"? How appropriate!