SNEAKING OUT OF THE HOUSE

So sorry for the long lag between posts. It was my Hubby's fault. Apparently my computer acted up one time too many, and the next thing I knew, he had ordered me a new one. Some people get excited about things like that. I do not. It's only taken about 40 years for him to catch on, but he's finally glommed on to the fact that I learn differently than he does. He always wanted to be sitting at the helm, typing away at lightening speed, calling instructions out to me over his shoulder. Not only could I not see what he was doing, but anything I heard was going in one ear and straight out the other. Then there was the fact that every time he transferred stuff from one computer to the other, I either lost months worth of recipes I had typed into the computer, or ended up with duplicates, then triplicates, of every photo I had ever imported. So, every time he announced that he had bought me a new phone or computer, I cried. This time it was different. He actually let me sit at the computer, and gave me time to take notes that I can refer back to when I have forgotten how to find or do something. I learn by doing, and by repetition. Give me two or three years and I'll have this down pat! And he'll be shopping for my next one...

Anyhoo, a week or so ago we had a pretty adventurous day, at least by Covid-19 standards. First I had my weekly meet-up with my Muses, via Zoom rather than coffee shop (Aaach, more new technology!). Then I actually got to go for a car ride, which led to a bit of synchronicity. Squeee! It started with daughter Lex sending us a message saying she had sewn some masks for us, and if we'd like to come get them, she could leave them out on the porch for us. Since we had a big box of diapers we needed to give her, we said "Heck yeah, a porch swap would be great!" I knew that Calvin would be pretty sad that we couldn't come in and play with him, and was wishing I had a little surprise I could take to him. So, I went to dig around in Mima's Magic Closet and found a fantastic book full of pre-decorated pages that you pull out and fold into paper airplanes. Perfect!

Lex and Calvin came to the window when we got there, and when I held up that book and pointed to him, you should have seen his face light up. In fact, he started to run to the door to throw it open, and Lex had to grab him fast, and remind him that we can't be together right now. That was hard. Really, really hard. But, on the bright side, as we were driving back home I reached into the sack to pull out a mask, and discovered a new letter from my little pen pal was in there as well!

Shortly after I discovered it, I got a text from Lex saying "Calvin really loves his paper airplane book!", so the two things got me to thinking -- about paper airplanes, and about what I should paint on the next card I send back to Calvin. That's when synchronicity struck. Suddenly a memory floated up, of a class I took online with Danielle Donaldson a while back, called Wild Blue Yonder, where we painted skies full of clouds and suns and birds and paper airplanes! I dug around in my stash when I got home and, sure enough, there was a little painting, just the right size to turn into a post card for my favorite pen pal. How lucky was that?

This week I started another art class online. This is a monthly subscription class, where I get new lessons each month, so it ought to keep me busy for the duration of this pandemic, and beyond. It's being taught by one of my favorite artists, Lucy Brydon, who lives in Scotland. I sometimes wonder which I love more, the way she teaches, or the way she talks! So, I'm off to paint mushrooms now. Catcha later!

KEEPING SPIRITS UP

Well, guess I'm overdue for a blog post, huh? Being confined at home, it takes a bit longer to accumulate enough worth talking about and the photos to go with it! Guess I'll start with the bad news and get that out of the way. Our little town finally has its first confirmed case of Covid-19. I guess we are lucky to have held out this long, huh? Oh, and we finally watched a couple of episodes of Tiger King, just to see what everybody was talking about. A couple was more than enough, since it just reminded us how many crazy-stupid people there actually are in the world. Which is why this plague has spread across the U.S. like a wildfire out of control, even though we had plenty of warning and could have been sooo much better prepared, if only we'd acted quickly and decisively on what we learned from the countries who were hit first.

I let myself wallow over it all for a couple of days, but, being a bit of a Pollyanna by nature, I couldn't stay down for long. Before I knew it, I was thinking about all the positive things that have come out of this, and the way people here jumped right in and started helping one another, just as they did a few years back when we had that tragic flood. And, even though I miss seeing my friends and family in person, it hasn't kept us from staying connected. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, right?

Apparently little Calvin is loving this whole pen pal thing I started. I finally got my first letter from him, accepting my invitation.

I immediately sat down and made this new card for him, inspired by the time he got a head start on his preschool teacher and dived straight into a big muddy puddle on the playground.

A couple of days later I got a video chat from him and daughter Lex. Calvin was super excited about the Peppa card, and wanted to assure me that he was going to send me another letter. He then turned to his mom and said "We should go do that. Right now!" She replied "We're talking to Mimi and Papa right now." But no, it could not wait.

My best friend Paula and I have spent most of our lives in separate cities, but ever since she forced me to learn to text, we've been talking to each other all day every day -- so much so that I often forget how long it's been since we've actually seen each other in person. We especially like talking at dinner time, about what we got from Blue Apron, or new ideas we've come up with, or what we could or couldn't get at the grocery store. She still can't get toilet paper, but the new Cooper's BBQ place that just went in near her house is offering a free TP roll with each food delivery. They are eating lots of BBQ!

As for the Muses, Hubby just added the Zoom program (which I had never even heard of pre-Covid) to both my phone and computer, and we are now able to pick right back up with our Tuesday morning coffee meet-ups, albeit virtually. The first one was a doozy. We had so much to catch up on!

As for that wallowing slump, it reminded me that I'm a person who needs purpose and routine in my days. So, I came up with a loose sort of schedule, just to insure that every day doesn't turn into a jammy day! And, one thing I made certain was on it, was a couple of hours of creative time each afternoon. It can be reading, writing, painting, working in my journal, making cards for Calvin, or anything else I can come up with. But, I must do something. Yesterday, it was an acrylic painting on a gelli print which I had inserted into my mindfulness agenda -- inspired by one of the many hummingbird carvings my dear mother-in-law Theda suddenly got the urge to make in her 60s and 70s, after a lifetime of being a painter.

Just goes to show, it's never too late to try something new!

THE BIRTHDAY WRAP-UP

On day six of our "seven days of squeedunk" celebration, Hubby opened a package with a new puffy vest in it, and a note that said "Brrrrr. Better bundle up, there's a blizzard headed your way!" A DQ Blizzard, that is.

Then, on his final day, I was a little bit cruel. I told him it was BBQ and Tattoos day. I could tell he was fretting a bit all through lunch, but he told me later that if that was what I really wanted, he would have gone through with it. The actual goal was just to get him a new turquoise ear stud for his one pierced ear, and I'd been told this tattoo parlor sold them individually, instead of in the usual pairs. Unfortunately, they don't have anything for "traditionally pierced ears", just for larger holes, like expanders and stuff. Luckily, I had done my research in advance, and was carrying a nice set of turquoise studs in my purse. I stuck with the BBQ and Tattoo theme, however, because I just like the way it sounded, and it was kind of fun to see him sweat!

And, then it was on to this gal's birthday celebration!

I asked her if she preferred a big family celebration, or a mother-daughter thing -- like a good chick flick, or maybe high tea. She chose the mother-daughter thing. But, when she told me that where she really wanted to go was to Loro, I had to say "Sorry babe, we can not go there without your father. He's been dying to try it!" Fortunately, she was delighted to have him along.

Loro is the love child resulting from the collaboration between two of Austin's premier chef's -- the guy behind Franklin's Barbecue, and the one behind Uchi's. We went at 3:00 since our son had warned us that it can be a madhouse at normal dining times. Lucky for us, their happy hour starts at 2:00, and you can make quite the feast from the happy hour menu alone, and for a lot less money!

Start by walking up to that bar counter and placing your order, then sit down at one of their big communal tables, a cozy booth, or head out to the patio. We feasted on the following, though I may not get all their names straight.

Kettle Corn With Brisket Burnt Ends

Chicken Karaage With Aioli Dipping Sauce -- To Die For!

Pork Sausage

Brisket Sandwich

I think they liked it!

So much more to try...

SEVEN DAYS OF SQUEEDUNK: DAY 5

I knew there was going to be a conflict on Day 5 of Hubby's week-long birthday celebration.

At Gold Dust Boutique

For Christmas, in my further efforts to shop small and local, and to choose experiences over stuff, I gave both my girls a stack-pack of little boxes, each one containing a small gift certificate to one of their favorite shops here in Wimberley, along with a card explaining that my gift to them was a Lady's Day Out, starting with lunch at The Leaning Pear, then going to each of these shops to spend their certificates. Since the day they chose happened to be Day 5 of Hubby's celebration, we secretly arranged for son Austin to accompany his wife down to Wimberley. John's card that day announced that it was Have Fun With Your Son Day, and included a gift card to their favorite local brewery. They also had lunch at Creekside Cookers, then came back to the house to play with the new VR set that John thought our son was just loaning him, but which ended up being a gift! I don't think he missed my participation that day one iota.


We gals had a pretty great day as well!

They both agreed, though for different reasons (Lex is a tea lover, and Areej is a scientist who is very picky about what goes into her face and body products) that The Herb Room was definitely their favorite shop.

But, then we ended up at The Wooden Spoon, our frozen yogurt shop, and that may have changed their minds. One of the flavor options that day was sea salt caramel, to which I added Butterfinger and Reeses bits. I'm still moaning at the thought of it!

 

SEVEN DAYS OF SQUEEDUNK: DAYS 3 and 4

Hubby's holding one of several humorous signs sent by his big brother.

Well, we weren't very far into Day 2's Jammy adventure before we got a call that required my getting dressed and hopping into the car, but at least it was for a happy reason. The Wimberley Cafe called to say "Guess what? We're gonna have that apple pie for you today after all, and it'll be ready in 45 minutes!" I was going to leave John home in his jammies while I ran to get it, but he said "Ah well, we might as well both go, and have brunch while we're there." Great idea Snookems! We did, however, come straight back home afterwards, put our jammies back on, and spent the rest of the day binge-watching a new Netflix series called Virgin River. And, of course, there was pie!

Day 3 ran into snags as well (do you see a pattern forming here?). It was supposed to be "Hanging at the Bookstore Day", using up a gift card I have on the both of us and spending some time in the cafe with our purchases and a hot beverage. However, when I got the call that daughter Lex had developed a case of mastitis, and was running a fever -- on the day her hubby was supposed to head back to work -- we decided instead to go grab Mr. Goobs and bring him to our house for a sleepover, so that she and Rowan could get the rest they needed.

If you have grandkids, or kids, or even pets, you know that the first one is the practice kid. And, ever since Calvin outgrew sleeping in a crib, where we could keep him contained, getting him to go to bed, and stay there, has been a problem. We'd tried every different combination of location and who he slept with, if anyone, until we finally figured out that the key was to wear him to a frazzle first. This time we took him on his first hike at Blue Hole Park, let him play on the playground there, then took him to Wimberley Cafe for his favorite dinner, their grilled cheese sandwich.

While I was waiting for the bill, Papa took Calvin next door to the new candy store, to try his first ever Tootsie Roll Pop. He liked it!

Soon as we got home we all got into our jammies and brushed our teeth, pulled open the sofa bed in the living room, and started up a good movie I had recorded for him. This time it was Paddington, and he was sawing logs within fifteen minutes, and stayed that way for 10 or 11 hours, never even noticing when Papa and I snuck back into our own bed! We started the movie up again the next morning, and boy, was he tickled to death when he discovered that I actually had some Paddington-style marmalade in my fridge for him to have with his breakfast, thanks to a dear friend down in Louisiana who is in his 90s, but still manages to make a batch every year using kumquats picked from his own trees!

So, day four was supposed to be our biggest adventure of the week, but when Hubby discovered that our rain tank was almost empty (we never got the fall rains that usually replenish it after our harsh summers) he had to call and order some water to be delivered, and take whatever day they gave him, since we couldn't risk running out altogether. So, instead of the adventure, he got to sit at home all day long, and of course, they didn't come until the very end of the day.

We're really on a roll now!

 

THE WONDERS OF WONDER WORLD

Little Goobs came over for another sleepover this weekend. So, of course, I felt another Christmas Adventure was in order. This time we took him over to the college town of San Marcos -- the same town where we took him on his first real adventure a good while back, the glass bottom boats. This time we were headed for Wonder World Cave and Adventure Park, home of the Holiday Express!

My first impression left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed. In fact, it reminded me a lot of that movie Adventureland, where the teenagers are working at a derelict amusement park that had seen better days. For one thing, the Holiday Express isn't really a train. It's just several carts hooked together, and there are no tracks. Also, the animal park it drives you through is pret-ty tiny! Then there was the gift shop, which had definitely seen better days.

However, once I started looking at it all through Calvin's eyes, I realized it was just about perfect for him. For one thing, he's not a fan of crowds, long waits, and loud noise. Not a problem here! He's still at the age where you don't even have to put any money in the video game for him to be happy.

And, even Papa and I got pretty excited when we realized our "train" was headed straight for that waterfall you saw above!

Careful on the right, you just might get wet like Calvin did!

Papa was a bit sad that we didn't buy any of the food packets for the animals, but I think Calvin was quite content to let them poke their heads through the bars and pester everyone else, instead of him. Those guys were aggressive, and likely to steal the whole bag right out of your hand if you weren't careful!

Best of all, coming back through the tunnel it was Papa John who got all wet! 

All in all, I think Calvin had a wonderful time. Plus, I think it was only about $6 each for John and I, and Calvin, being only 3 yrs. old, got in free! How's that for a bargain? We will definitely be coming back when he's a bit older, to do the cavern part of the tour.

THE MAGIC SLEEPOVER SOLUTION

As soon as we got back from our little Thanksgiving trip, we invited grandson Calvin over for a sleepover, hinting at a special "Christmas Adventure" we had planned for him. We picked him up in Austin, stopped for lunch at "the orange stripey place", aka Whataburger, then took him straight to one of his favorite playgrounds at a church near or home. He got about a five-minute nap going from there to our house, then spent the rest of the afternoon running from room to room, pulling out and playing with every single toy he could find. Then it was time for dinner and our surprise adventure -- his first trip to the Wimberley Trail of Lights at the Emily Ann Theater!

Turns out, that kid just looooooves face holes! He insisted that both he and I stick our faces in every one we passed, so Papa could take photos. Who knew there could be so many?

The biggest surprise was when this kid -- the one who wanted nothing to do with the mall Santa, both last year and this -- hollered for me to stop so he could go talk to Santa!

And, it wasn't even as if Goobs had a long list of "wants" to give him. When he was asked what he wanted Santa to bring him, he just smiled sweetly and said "A toy." Santa, a bit taken aback, asked "That's it?", then chuckled and replied "Well, yeah, I think I can handle that!"

As for the title of this post, we discovered something amazing this year. You see, ever since Goobs got too big for a baby bed, keeping him in any sort of bed at our house has been difficult.  We tried sleeping three in a king bed together, which was a bit of a disaster, since that kid changes positions at least 50 times per night. Then I offered to go sleep with him in the guest room downstairs, which worked pretty well, except for the fact that he wanted me to go to sleep when he did, at 7:30 or 8, and kept sneaking out of bed every five minutes, to tell me it was time for me to come to bed!

So, this time, I had a brainstorm. Between the time running around at the park, the time running around at our house as he pulled out every toy, and the time running around at the Trail of Lights, I knew he would be one pooped pitootie by the time we got home. I managed to keep him awake in the car, then, while I got him ready for bed, Papa opened up the sofa bed in the living room and cued up the new version of The Grinch on the TV. We all snuggled under a cozy blanket together in the sofa bed, and five minutes into the movie that boy was sawing logs. Seriously! And, he stayed there for ten hours straight, while Papa and I managed to tiptoe back to our bedroom, and both got a good night's sleep in our own bed for once. It's a miracle!

Now all I have to do is figure out other ways to absolutely wear him to a frazzle, once the Trail of Lights shuts down for the season.