WEEK SIX OF JUST WE TWO

Spotted From Our Balcony Porch Just The Other Day

Well, I can't believe it. We're into our sixth week of sheltering here at home together, and we haven't even been tempted to strangle one another yet! In fact, I think we've actually grown closer, despite the fact that he made me get a new computer in the middle of all this. However, I just now noticed that several photos have disappeared from previous posts, for no reason at all, so the jury's still out on that. 

We had a serious scare last week, when I got a message from my best friend saying her hubby woke up convinced he had a fever, even though their two very old thermometers both said he did not. Still, he couldn't risk passing anything to her, since she has a heart condition, so he had isolated himself in the bedroom, and she was leaving food at the door. She mentioned, however, that he had a lot of congestion, and had been doing a lot of work in the yard. Sure enough, it turned out to be really bad allergies, but it got us all to thinkin' -- about what it would be like to lose someone now, not even being able to be there with them as they pass, or to grieve with other loved ones surrounding you, and to have to continue on alone. It gives you a different perspective, doesn't it? Yes, Easter was a bit of a downer, not getting to be with my grandbabies, and with nary a Cadbury egg in site, but we have soooo much else to be grateful for!

For instance, I think one reason we seem to be so content in this unusual situation could be that a lot of outside stressors are removed when everyone is on lockdown, and you have a legitimate excuse not to do all those things you don't actually want to do. Then there's the fact that you become more and more aware of what is really important, and what just isn't, the longer your confinement lasts. I know I have! To still really like the person you've been with for more than 45 years, in such a "That's it, I'm outta here!" era? To have kids and grandkids who are all healthy and happy and actually missing us? That we are all fortunate enough to be doing ok financially, and won't be left destitute, as so many others will, losing not only their loved ones but also their jobs, businesses and health insurance? Yes, I'd say we are very, very fortunate. And, I think I am most grateful for the fact that all my friends and loved ones took this thing seriously, right from the very beginning, so hopefully none of them will get sick either.

Oh yeah, and one other thing I'm grateful for? Online art classes, and art supply stores! I have artist Lucy Brydon to thank for her little mini class on mushrooms, and can't wait to see what she has to offer next month!

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!

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!

 

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.

LUCKY GYPSY MASH-UP: THE EVENT

It suddenly occurred to me, just this morning, that although I told you about the town and the venue where Lex and I went for our little weekend getaway, I never told you anything about the event itself. DOH!

 
Registration opened up at 1:00 on Saturday, then we all headed over to the big tent for our classes. We started off with a talk about our circles of women, or tribes, and what they mean to us. When it was my turn to talk, I shared the very happy story of how stepping out of my comfort zone and introducing myself to a table of strangers at the first Story Circle Network conference I went to, led me to my circle of Muses who have been my support and inspiration for the last ten years. Before I could stop it, my voice got all quivery, tears were running down my cheeks, and my daughter was beside me, laughing her buns off! However, when it was her turn to share about how much the women of Lucky Star have meant to her, she did the very same thing! From that point on, pretty much everyone who spoke followed suit. Apparently ugly cries are contagious. After that, we were given paper and pencils, and told to doodle whatever words popped into our heads when we thought about our circles and tribes. Then we were asked to use the paints and markers laid out before us to express those words and thoughts in whatever way we chose to. I somehow ended up with this spiraling mandala that has my tribe of one -- my BFF for the last 40 years -- at its center, and works its way out through my familial tribe of sisters, my creative Muses, and on to my universal tribe who are out there fighting to insure that women finally secure their rightful place at the table. I loved the final product so much, it's now hanging on my inspiration board!

Next up was some leather fun, making earrings first, then trying our hands at leather stamping.

Lexi whipped these beauties out in nothing flat! Mine are still unfinished.

After that we had to choose either "glee club" with our favorite Austin singer-songwriter Mandy Rowden, or throwing tomahawks with Kate O'brien.  I, of course, chose singing, but my very pregnant daughter chose this!

So much fun packed into a single afternoon, and just a small sampling of what's in store for you if you ever decide to attend the real, full blown Lucky Star Art Camp in Hunt, Texas, at the magnificent Camp Waldemar! And, just like the real
full blown camp, it wouldn't be Lucky Star if it didn't have fabulous food...

 
followed by some singing 'round the campfire with Mandy. Ya shoulda been there!

A SMALL TOWN 4TH OF JULY

This year was the year -- the one where we finally decided that our Little Goobs was old enough to take to Wimberley's annual 4th of July parade. Probably the most popular event of the year here in Wimberley, it draws quite the crowd -- and not just the locals, but lots of visiting friends and relatives as well. They close the streets off an hour before the parade begins, and you have to get there extra early if you want to nab a choice spot in the shade. But then, how do you entertain a three year old for more than an hour, while you wait for the parade to start? I surveyed all my friends on everything from where to park and what to bring, to the best viewing spots and exit strategies. I made a detailed plan of attack, and before we'd even left the house, my plan was blown to smithereens. Thank Goodness!

Our first stroke of good luck was that, for the first time in my memory, it wasn't hotter 'n Hades here in Texas on the 4th. In fact, it was almost COOL!

Because we were late leaving the house, the streets had already been blocked off before we got there -- even further out from the town center than we were expecting -- so it was a good hike from our parking spot to where we'd hoped to meet up with friends. About halfway there our little Calvin was done with walking! So we ended up stopping right in front of Blanco Brew, the coffee shop where the Muses and I usually meet up. Which wasn't a bad location, as it turns out. For one thing, it was much closer to the beginning point of the parade, so we wouldn't have to wait as long to see anything. I went inside to nab some iced tea, and when I came back out, I discovered this.

Now THIS is how you entertain a kid while waiting for the parade to start!

I don't know who the couple was who thought of putting this in the back of their truck, or whether they had grandkids nearby that they were doing it for, but we were ever so grateful that they invited Calvin to join in on the fun.

Plus, the Blanco Brew had restrooms, and tables set up outside selling lemonade, and cookies!

Then it was finally time for the parade to start...

Y'all Vote!

By the time he had seen the fire truck and his favorite instruments, trumpets and tubas, he was done, and ready to go back to Mimi-Papa's house to play with Uncle Austinootie and Aunt Areej, A.K.A. The Noonies. Which was fine with us, since it meant we were able to avoid the huge traffic snarl when everyone leaves the parking areas at once.

All in all, I don't think his day could have gone any better, regardless of blown plans and schedules. Which, come to think of it, is usually the case with us.