Gardenias and weeds...

When I walked up our street with Gracie tonight, I saw our next-door neighbor V walking back to her house with two gardenias in one hand and a huge trash can filled with pulled weeds. While Gracie sniffed the grass at the corner, I stood there and waited for V to get closer to us, then I said to her "Now you know I have to ask you what you've been up to!"

V told me that she had been around the corner at someone's house whose gardenia bushes needed trimming and whose flowerbeds needed some serious weeding. I asked her whose house it was. "I don't know who lives there.... around the corner yonder.... the second house."

Well, I just couldn't resist. I said to V: "You mean to tell me that you're pulling up weeds for a neighbor you don't know when my own flowerbeds are just crying out for attention? I feel so neglected!"

As you may remember... our next-door neighbor V is always in our front flowerbeds, pulling up weeds for us. She does a much better job than I do, and even a better job than our lawn service does. We think V does this manic weeding when she gets frustrated with her two teenaged daughters, and we've told her countless times that she doesn't have to weed any yards other than her own, but she persists. So, being good neighbors, we look the other way when she's out in our front flowerbeds talking to the weeds and apologizing for pulling them up so abruptly.

It was just a funny sight to see this evening.... V holding two gardenias in one hand while she struggled to carry her trash can back to her own driveway. I suggested that she should have taken one of her trash cans with wheels on the bottom, so she wouldn't have to carry the un-wheeled can and risk soiling her Sunday dress. "And why are you holding two gardenias?"-- I asked her.

"Well, while I was trimming that neighbor's bushes, I figured the least they could do for me is let me have two pretty gardenias for my trouble." V held the gardenias up to my face so I could better appreciate their sweet aroma. She suggested that should I want to go around the corner and trim those bushes further, I might want to take some gardenias for myself.

I resisted the urge to remind V that here in Texas, a property owner can legally shoot someone who trespasses on their land. I wonder if that law applies to neighbors in pink Sunday dresses holding two white gardenias?

"When Elephants Weep"

The above is the title of a book I'm reading now which was written by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. This same author also wrote "The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats" and "Dogs Never Lie About Love." I highly recommend all of these books, to all of you who love animals. Not only love animals, but respect them. If you believe that a dog is just a dog, and a cat is simply a cat, then don't bother.

This book is just amazing, and will give you such a broader perspective on many animals you previously believed to be just "wild."

I need to quote two sections that made me re-read the words three times. Very powerful, very profound. The author offers these words, taken from James Froude's studies in 1886:
"Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one for whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself."

And, from the 19th century French naturalist Buffon, this passage: "Humans lead lives of quiet desperation, and most men die of sorrow. In contrast, animals do not search for pleasures where none can be found; guided by their feelings alone, they never make a mistake in their choice; their desires are always proportional to their capacity to enjoy; they feel as much as they enjoy and enjoy only as much as they feel. Man, on the other hand, wanting to invent pleasures, does nothing but spoil nature; wanting to force feelings, he only abuses his being, and digs a hole in his heart which nothing is capable of later filling."

Webster needs to re-define the word "animal." Put a picture of a human being there, instead of a lion or tiger. In my humble opinion.

And..... thank you to the reader who left a comment saying that Los Angeles passed a law which charges a high fee for those people who choose not to neuter/spay their dogs and cats. The same should be done in cities and towns from coast to coast.

SteinMart

Still Saturday......... I was just now paging backwards in Sprinkles to have a look-see at some of my past postings. When I got to the one about my NY cousin loving SteinMart, I found a comment from another blogger, saying that her visiting relatives have also put SteinMart on their list of tourist attractions.

So I guess my cousin isn't the only one. I knew she would like that store, but I honestly didn't realize how much she would love it. We're both apples from the same tree, however, so I guess I should've realized how much she would truly enjoy it.

Honestly, SteinMart has an ambience all its own. Unlike the larger stores that you can get lost in, with a warehouse/discount-house atmosphere, SteinMart is small and cozy, with gorgeous wood floors and displays that don't threaten to topple down on you. Soft music plays while you browse... if you're shopping with a friend, you can find her easily by just walking from one end of the store to the other. The dressing rooms are private, and the clerks let you take in as many outfits as you can carry or fit into one of their soft-mesh, clothing-friendly carts. They just tell you to please bring out the clothes that you don't want, which I'm always more than happy to do. Sure makes it a lot easier to bring in 20 items, rather than just 5 or 6. (Let's see... my cousin's little shopping cart had about 132 separate items of clothing.)

Anyway.... it was nice to read that someone else's family enjoys making SteinMart a must-see stop during their vacation. And, of course, it was nice to see that people I don't even know are reading Sprinkles. Imagine that.....!

Saturday... Memorial Day Weekend

The weather has been heating up and up...... my cousin left just in time because I don't think she and her hot flashes would've enjoyed the 100-plus-degrees we've had since she went back up north. Although, if she were still here, she probably wouldn't be feeling the heat at all because she'd want to be back in the air-conditioned comfort of SteinMart.

I had to go back to that store yesterday, to return one thing that I bought when my cousin was here. Of course, you can't just return something to that store without having a look-see at what's new. And of course, I found something. Always something in that store. No complaint from me... my closet has never looked better.

I also had to go to Home Depot in search of a "barn light" for the driveway. Ours burnt out, and I called the electrical repair service to come take a look at it. The young man they sent out, who looked to be about 15, told me that the ballast was no longer good and it would be cheaper for me to buy a "whole 'nother fixture" than replace the ballast and the bulb. "Easy as pie," he told me. "Just go to Home Depot over yonder by I-45 and ask for a barn light."

So that's what I did. Except that there were about 29 choices of "barn" lights to pick from. All I wanted was one that looked similar to what we already had up there. Miracle of miracles, I found an orange-shirted Home Depot person to help me within three minutes, rather than having to search the aisles for 18 minutes before finding someone who works there. (Sorry, Home Depot, but you never seem to have enough people working in your stores. Either that, or those orange shirts are equivalent to Harry Potter's "Invisibility Cloak.")

Mr. Orange Shirt showed me all the options I had for barn lights, spot lights, security lamps--"fine enough for home, barn, pasture or pool," said he. "Now if y'all want an industrial light, we have those going up to 4,000 watts." I kindly told the man that I wanted to light just my own driveway, not illuminate all of Clear Lake.

I told him the fixture that was there before held a 70-watt bulb. Seems that those fixtures were older, taking bulbs that aren't energy-efficient. The newer models have bulbs with some sort of mercury-sonar-something filaments, 175 watts, with a soft blue hue that doesn't attract bugs and isn't blindingly bright. Off I went with one of those, which didn't fit into the truck of my Thunderbird, but sat very nicely on the passenger seat next to me and seemed to enjoy the Manilow music on the way home.

The 15-year-old electrician was here first thing this morning to install the light, and I will find out at dusk tonight whether my driveway has a soft-blue bug-free haze, or whether the planes flying towards Hobby will mistake it for Runway 17.


We're planning another Charades party for June. This will be our first party without our dear friend Frankie. Our last party was on Valentine's Day, and we all thought she would be well enough to attend, but her lung capacity proved us all wrong. (To all of you out there who are still smoking: Quit! Stop! Enough!)

We thought we'd have one last party to kick the summer off, before everyone starts making plans for vacations. So, June 17th it will be..... pot-luck dinner, followed by Charades. My husband keeps reminding me that the men got the higher score at the last party. I keep reminding him that the men won for the simple reason that the person who made the clues for the women (my husband) pulled song and movie titles out of the depths of Dante's Inferno. The person who made the clues for the men (me) had the graciousness to pick popular song and movie titles, each with the word "love" in the titles, to celebrate Valentine's Day.

I swear, I can still see, in my mind's eye, all the men beating their chests with their right hands as their faces dropped into frowns as they mimed the word "love" to their team-mates. You would've thought they were miming the word "death." One of the wives suggested that an entire psychological study could've been conducted on the husbands' reactions to the word "love."

For this coming Charades party, we'll use the cards that came with the Charades game. I found that game on eBay about 5 years ago. There must be over one thousand cards in that box, each of which have a dozen choices to pick from: songs, movies, plays, books, people, places. We'll have enough Charades clues to last us for the next 75 years. I was trying to keep the cards we've already used separate from the cards we haven't looked at yet. Everyone in the Charades group laughed at me when I said that. They told me that they can't even remember what they had for breakfast the day before, much less remember the Charades cards from the last party.

Never Say Never.....

I've always said that I wouldn't ever pump my own gas. I can hear myself saying years ago: "You want me to actually touch that gas thing? Put that hose into the car and stand there while the tank fills up with gas? No, no, no.... not this city-girl."

However.... yesterday, my husband and I went to a local gas station and he showed me how the gas pump works. What a sad, sad day in the history of womanhood. I mean honestly--- isn't that what we have men for? To pump gas?!

It happened ever so slowly.... one by one, without too much of a fanfare, the full-service gas stations have turned into self-service stop-and-go markets. Pull up to a gas tank, fill up your car, run inside to the market and pick up soda and chips, beer and cigarettes.

Well, pardon me, but I don't drink soda or beer, I don't eat chips, and I don't smoke cigarettes. But my car, bless my sweet little Thunderbird, does indeed run on gas. And there are just two gas stations in Clear Lake that still have one full-service gas pump at their stations. You remember those, don't you? You pull up to the pump, and a nice man walks out and cleans your windshield, checks the air in your tires, checks the oil, and (lo and behold!) fills the tank up with gas.

I have given those gas stations all of my business since we've lived here. And I've never driven away without giving the gas-pumping man or young boy an extra dollar or two for his courtesy. I've noticed, however, that at both of those gas stations, the full-service pumps have dwindled from two gas pumps to one. Just one. I know what that means: they're getting us ready for the other shoe to drop.

Before you can say "Unleaded regular or premium?"... they will be taking away the full-service pump and replacing it with yet another self-service pump.

And before they do that, I need to be prepared. What if I'm on my way to SteinMart for a great sale and my car is low on gas? I can't be driving all around Clear Lake searching for a full-service gas pump.

So there we were yesterday, my husband and I, eating lunch out on our deck. I casually asked him to show me how to pump gas the next time we were driving on Bay Area Blvd. Well.... thank goodness we were eating salad, because you can't easily choke on a piece of lettuce, and that's about what happened when I said that. If my husband had been munching on a hamburger, I would've had to dial 911 for the Rescue Squad.

Try explaining that to the paramedics: "All I did was ask my husband to show me how to pump gas and he turned blue and fell on the floor."

It was 103 degrees yesterday. My husband and I stood there at the gas station while he showed me how to put my credit card into the gas pump, take the hose and put it into my car, set the little clicker-thing so the tank will fill up, take out the hose and put it back into the pump-thing, then press the buttons for my receipt. Seems easy enough. I guess I can do that. I won't be smiling while I'm doing it, but if I have to do it, at least I'll know what to do.

For now, I'm praying earnestly that the full-service pumps stay right where they are. But just in case, I have a good supply of Wet & Dry towelettes in my car.... just in case I have to actually touch one of those self-service gas pumps.

I have just one question: If I break a nail on one of those self-service things, can I bring Texaco to court?

Rusty 2 - Mice 0

Well, score another field mouse for my Rusty. I swear, I would never have believed that my Rusty cat could move fast enough to catch a mouse. But he has... not once, but twice now since he's been spending most of his time out on our backyard deck.

I put him out there a few months ago, when the weather got really warm and stayed warm. When Rusty is in the house, he overeats.... he steals food from the other cats' dishes, and also eats from Gracie's dish. He has no mercy.... if it's food, he'll eat it. As a result, he's overweight. We took him to the vet to check his health a few months ago, and he's just fine... he simply loves to eat and he seems to have a bottomless cat-belly.

Keeping him outside in the backyard (covered deck, comfy chairs, fresh water) seemed to be the smart thing to do. I thought I could control his food portions that way and he'd lose a little weight. Silly me. Never underestimate the appetite and determination of a hungry cat.

Now that I've seen him catch his second mouse (and he was starting to chew on the poor thing till I got out there) heaven only knows how many other mice he has caught. (And ate? Yuck!) He certainly hasn't lost weight since he's been out in the yard. And he wouldn't be gaining weight if he's been munching on grass inbetween his meals. So now I'm wondering if he has caught more mice than I know of... and would he really have eaten them? I have no idea. I do know that I've never seen tiny mice-feet and/or tails in the backyard. Then again, I haven't exactly been looking. (And could he have been hungry enough to eat everything on the mouse?)

I'm glad my husband was home when I saw Rusty catch the mouse this morning. I usually don't have a problem scooping up a mouse from the yard, as long as it's already dead when I see it. But this morning, I saw Rusty run after the mouse and I saw him shaking its little body, so the thought of picking up a warm mouse-body was just a little too much for me. Especially since I had to get Rusty away from the mouse quickly before he could sink his teeth into it and turn the poor little thing into a mid-morning snack.

Oh well.... Rusty was just being a cat. I praised him and told him what a great hunter he is, all the while cringing inside to think the poor little mouse had just taken his last breath just seconds ago.

I guess the only way that Rusty will ever lose some weight is if I put a muzzle on him. But he's a smart cat... he'd find himself a straw and make himself a mouse milkshake or something.

Saturday... Sunny and hot..... 104 degrees

If you don't like the heat, then stay out of Texas. I happen to like the heat... you just walk slower and keep calm...... and unless you're having a hot flash, you'll be just fine.

My husband and I went out to lunch today, then stopped in at the new computer store called Fry's. Amazing store..... filled with men of all ages, just browsing along the aisles and testing out all the store has to offer--- computers, televisions, radios, CD players, appliances.... all sizes, all brands, all price-ranges. A man could walk into that store when they opened their doors in the morning and not have to leave till they locked up at night. There's even a cafe in the middle of the store so you won't starve. And if you don't want to spend money on the food inside the store, then just walk outside the store and you can buy a hot dog and a Coke-- both for 25 cents, courtesy of Fry's.

This was our first time in the store, so we looked up and down most of the aisles. I found a blow-dryer that's smaller than the one I have (easier to pack), and we bought a telephone/answering machine to replace the one here that gives off a lot of static from time to time. My husband found a back massager that can be fitted to any chair in the house. Interesting seat/back cushion made of leather... you plug it in, and press some buttons, and you get a very good massage. His back bothers him a lot because he sits at the computer so much, and I'm not good at giving a massage because the amount of pressure you have to use for a really good massage hurts my hands. So the device that he found is just perfect.

We stopped at PetCo on the way home to see our young friend C..... she volunteers there on Saturdays, for Second Chance Pets. Of course, we had to look at all the puppies and dogs, kittens and cats. So many cute ones.... is there any puppy or kitten that isn't cute? And even the mature dogs and cats... they all look at you with such sad and hopeful faces. Truly breaks my heart that I can't take any of them home.

Our inn is definitely full. Honestly....... AngelBoy would have a hissy-fit if I brought another kitten into his house. I don't think ShadowBaby would be thrilled, either, but AngelBoy would certainly take it personally, being that he's the most sensitive of our three cats.

I swear, I wish there was a law stating that if people didn't spay or neuter their house-pets, they would have to donate $5000.00 to their local animal shelter. All those kittens and puppies today.... just very sad to see. Second Chance Pets doesn't kill homeless animals, but still, they have to find volunteers to take care of all those unwanted animals. And for as many puppies and kittens that are at Second Chance Pets who don't get "put to sleep," there are thousands and thousands in the municipal animal shelters that do get put down.

Life for kittens and puppies just isn't fair at times. But it could be, if people were more responsible. Don't get me started....

Thursday.... Back to Normal

My husband got back from his business conference shortly after noon-time, and within the hour, we were sitting at "our" table at Babbo Bruno's for lunch. The waiter (not our usual waitress) jokingly told us that the owners should put up a sign in that corner with our names on it. The owner/chef came out of the kitchen to welcome my husband back, and seemed very touched that we drove there straight from the airport.

During lunch, my husband told me all about the conference and I told him all about my cousin's visit. He was surprised that we didn't get much sight-seeing done while she was here. I told him her favorite "sight" was the inside of SteinMart and she just couldn't seem to get enough of that store.

When we got home, I came in the front door by myself while my husband waited in the driveway. I let Gracie out the front door, which I usually do, so she can "use the grass" for a moment. Out she came... slow as a turtle... her usual routine with me when my husband isn't home. After a minute or so, while Gracie was still out in front of the house on the lawn, my husband came out from his hiding place behind the car and Gracie saw him. Well, Miss Slowpoke suddenly turned into Seabiscuit and raced across the lawn.... nearly knocked my husband over as she practically tried to hug his neck with her paws. She was just so happy to see him. Without a doubt, he is her favorite person on this planet.

We watched the last show of this season's Apprentice tonight.... I was glad that Trump chose Kendra as the one to be hired. For the longest time now, I was hoping that Tana would win. But between her cutting remarks about her co-workers last week, and her pumped-up attitude on the show tonight, she just wasn't as polished and as poised as Kendra. So that ends another season. Now that The Apprentice and The Amazing Race are over, I won't be watching night-time television for a while. At least not until those two shows begin their new seasons.

So.... my husband is back home from his business trip.... my cousin is back home from her shopping trip. The master bedroom is back to its normal state and no longer looking like a cyclone hit it. The cats are allowed back into the house instead of being kept on the screen-porch, and none of them seems to be holding a grudge.

Speaking of cats.... I had a phone call yesterday afternoon from the lady who used to own our house. She knows I'm a cat-lover and she wanted to know if I'd like to adopt a stray kitten. Her husband found two identical-twin cats where he works and he brought them home to her. She has been bottle-feeding them and she decided to keep one and find a home for the other. I told her that we already had three cats, plus a dog, and I couldn't possibly add another kitten to our little zoo.

I did, however, ask her what the kitten looked like. Her answer: "Blue eyes, light gray long hair, with darker gray on the ears, face, legs and tail." I told her that she had just described my AngelBoy, who we adopted from the SPCA. I said that as much as I would like to help her out, I just couldn't, under any circumstances, bring another kitten into this house. AngelBoy had hissy-fits when I brought ShadowBaby home as a kitten. And there are times even now when I believe that AngelBoy hasn't quite forgiven me for that.

Just what I need.... another blue-eyed Birman who thinks he's King Cat.

C's 8th Grade Graduation

Tonight was C's graduation and awards ceremony... I was exhausted from the last few days but C and her mother invited us to the graduation and I told them I'd be there even though my husband was out of town. The ceremony started at 7:00.... and the air-conditioning unit in the auditorium kicked off at 7:30. Wonderful. It was 89 degrees outside the building, and it quickly got up to 129 degrees inside the building.

The speeches were long... and we were sitting on wooden bleachers made for 14-year-old students. I could hear the parents around me, comparing the graduation ceremony to The Oscars.... "will this never end?" The orchestra (all students) was wonderful, however. They played some of the music from "The Phantom of The Opera" and it was absolutely beautiful. The audience gave the musicians a standing ovation... partly for the breath-taking music, partly because we needed to get our blood circulating again after scrunching up our bodies for so long on those wooden bleachers.

The principal called up every student by name, and of course, C's mom and I clapped the loudest for C. She even earned some special awards, which made us very proud. I got tears in my eyes when the principal handed C her diploma, but I promised C that I wouldn't cry, and I kept my word.

Every time I look at C, it just seems impossible that I've known this little girl since she was in the second grade. Amazing how fate can toss people into your life. A simple volunteer job as a reading tutor resulted in having this extraordinary young girl in our lives. Makes my eyes puddle up just thinking about it. I say it all the time, and I'll say it again--- I couldn't love C any more if she were my own child. I was very proud of her tonight.

The Cousin Party is Over

My cousin R went back to NY this afternoon. We didn't go anywhere this morning..... just got up and talked a bit before we both got ready to leave. Getting her suitcases into the car was a major struggle. Especially the largest one, which weighed 70 pounds--- we found that out at the airport when they put it on the scale and charged her for the excess weight. Plus she had the two smaller carry-on bags.......... all filled with SteinMart clothing.

After she checked in the larger bag at the ticket counter, we walked around the concourse a little bit and found a gift shop that sold Texas-made chocolates. She bought some of those for her mom and our Aunt Dolly. We never did get to the gift shops around town here... we never got to see a lot of the usual spots for visiting Yankees.... but I'm sure she'll come back again. And we'll do all of the tourist-y things before SteinMart.

We both had tears in our eyes as we said good-bye. We were doing just fine until my eyes puddled up first, then she started. We had such a good time, even though she just wore me out with the shopping. We had dinner at Babbo Bruno's every night she was here. Tonight, I was so tired from getting the house back in order that I just made myself a bowl of oatmeal.

First thing I did when I got home from the airport was change the sheets and make the bed. I make that bed every morning, without fail. While my cousin was using that bedroom, the bed never saw the coverlet or the throw pillows.

I also let the cats come into the house when I got back from the airport. AngelBoy went straight to the recliner in the TV room and curled up for a nap, and ShadowBaby jumped up on our bed and sat there looking around the bedroom. They were both very happy to be back inside the house. And AngelBoy doesn't seem to be in a bad mood about his banishment to the screen-porch, but I'm watching him carefully anyway.

So.... that's about it. I'm back to my normal routine here...... cousin-time is over, shopping is over. I hope not to see the inside of SteinMart for a good long while. And tomorrow, I'll be at the airport again, to pick up my husband when he comes back from his conference.

Tuesday Shopping.... and Shopping....

.... and shopping........... and I am all shopped out.

My cousin R and I started the morning with a visit to the jewelry store.... a local jeweler that I've known since we moved here. R loves jewelry, and so do I.... this trait must run in the family. We got to the jeweler's a little after 10:30 this morning and we didn't leave there till 1:30 in the afternoon. (It's after midnight now.... so Tuesday was yesterday.... I am losing track of the days here.)

After drooling over the jewelry showcases, we went to La Madeleine for lunch.... a local French bakery and cafe. Then, believe it or not, we went back to SteinMart. By that time, it was about 3:00 in the afternoon.... I didn't have the heart to walk around that store again, since we were there for nearly five hours the day before. I suggested to my cousin that I could drop her off at the store and I could drive back home and take care of Gracie and the cats, then go back and pick her up. She also wanted to go to Marshall's and have a look-see around there.

I thought I was a good shopper..... but my cousin takes the cake. She is tireless when she's shopping and she will look at every blessed thing on every blessed rack. I sort of scan the racks looking for certain colors and styles and fabrics. R inspects everything that the store has to offer. And since SteinMart has such great variety, she had lots to inspect.

So that's what we did...... I dropped her off at SteinMart, and I drove back home and walked Gracie, enjoyed the sun for a little while, fed the cats and played with them and told them it wouldn't be long till they were allowed to come back into the house. I wonder if they believed a word I said.

When I got back to SteinMart, my cousin was trying on the huge pile of clothes she brought into the dressing room. While she tried them on one by one, I made piles of "keepers," "maybes," and "what was I thinkings." Then I felt sorry for the saleslady in the dressing room... she had all those hangers to sort out from the clothes that my cousin tried on, so I helped the woman sort the hangers into separate piles (different hangers for skirts, blouses, slacks).

When that adventure in the dressing room was over, we made our way towards the check-out counter at the front of the store. And what happens? My cousin sees something else that she likes and wants to try on. Back she went... and I went with her, so she wouldn't make another detour. When she was done, I told her to hold onto the shopping cart, look down at the floor, and I begged her not to make eye-contact with any of the clothing racks.

We never did get to see Kemah... or Galveston. We didn't get up to my friend A's house, nor did we get over to see my young friend C and her parents. This vacation was a shopping trip for my cousin, not a see-Clear Lake vacation. One thing is for sure... SteinMart loved having her visit there. I swear, I think my cousin tried on at least 200 items and purchased about 75 of them.

The two of us went to Babbo Bruno's again for dinner.... one last splurge.... another late dinner, which is why I'm up so late again. I don't want to go to sleep yet, and my cousin can't go to sleep till she finishes packing her suitcases. She brought down an empty suitcase, knowing that she'd be shopping while she was here. It's just a small one... I don't know how she's going to fit all the SteinMart clothes into it, but she says there are lots of hidden pockets in all of her luggage. R says not to worry.

One thing I am worried about...... lifting that luggage into the car tomorrow morning. R says not to worry.

When I get back from the airport tomorrow morning, I will be getting the master bedroom and bathroom back in order. I had given those rooms over to my cousin while she was here, and I slept on one of the sofas. I knew she'd need a lot of room to spread out all of her clothing and cosmetic items (she's such a city-girl), and that's the biggest bedroom and bathroom in the house. If my husband could see the cluttered state of those rooms, he would be thanking his lucky stars that I'm so neat.

It's been a great four days for the two of us, and I'm pretty sure that my cousin will come back for another visit. I can now say that I honestly know what "shop till you drop" means. Except my cousin doesn't ever drop. She just shops and shops and shops.

Late Monday......

....... Another late night...... and another busy day today.

This morning when I checked my computer, I found a problem with eBay. Someone had gotten my account information and tried to list a BMW on my auction page. eBay suspended my account till we straightened out the problem. Good thing I checked the computer this morning! Long story short.... it's all fixed now..... and everything is back to normal.

After that nonsense, my cousin and I left and went to Babbo Bruno's for lunch...... then we went to SteinMart and were there for the rest of the afternoon. Let's just say we did our part to contribute to the economy of southeast Texas. My cousin loved that store so much she wants to go back tomorrow.

So much for Galveston.... she won't get to see that on this trip because she leaves on Wednesday. We'll save that for next time. Now that she has been here once, I'm hoping that she'll make the time to visit again. We have really been having a great time together.

After the SteinMart shopping, we came back here to freshen up and change clothes....... then went back to Babbo Bruno's for dinner. Lots of restaurants here, but why not go to the best one? So we did........ and we were there till they closed.

Tomorrow is another day....... another adventure...... I'm tired, but I know I won't be able to fall asleep right away. These past few days have just flown by.

Late Sunday Night.....

Nearly midnight again..... I've got to stop drinking hot tea after 7:00 in the evening....... I've just finished vacuuming the house and I'm on a roll with the typing here.

My cousin R and I had a busy day. We left here around 11:30 and went to the Greek restaurant in Kemah for a late breakfast/early lunch. After that, we went to the antique shop in League City so I could introduce R to my friend J.

I knew that J and R would be a good match...... they both love to dance, they both love to go out and have a good dinner, they both love to take cruises. We had been in the antique shop for about an hour........ I invited J to come out for dinner with us either tomorrow night or the next...... and he said "How about tonight?"........... So tonight it was, and we met at Carrabba's restaurant after J closed up the antique shop. We also brought along the lady who helps J in the shop........ his friend L who mothers J in a good way and comes with him to all of our parties.

By the time dinner was over, my friend J was smitten. They were talking, laughing, joking.... and then myself and L... we were looking at one another and smiling and giggling because we knew that love was in the air. L turned to me and whispered in my ear: "You've done good, girl.... J needs someone like R in his life." I told L that my cousin also needed someone like J in her life.

As we were all leaving the restaurant, J was telling R that she should've planned to stay here for more than just a few days...... he told her that she should plan another visit real soon and bring her dancing shoes so the two of them could go out dancing....... and he asked her to join him and a group of friends who are taking a cruise to Mexico this coming November.

And there was myself and L.... looking up into the sky.... and I told L that sometimes good things just fall out of the sky when you least expect it. Of course, L and I are hoping that my cousin will join the cruise group in November.

But let's not get carried away here..... one day at a time...... and tomorrow is another day. Right now, I'm just tired....... I guess the effects of the tea are wearing off. My cousin and I also drove to the shoe store and looked around (and bought shoes, of course) and we also stopped in a Fashion Bug clothing store for a look-see (didn't buy anything there).

My poor cats must think I've lost my mind....... they keep looking into the windows from the screen-porch..... they want to come into the house...... I keep explaining to them that R is allergic to cats....... they meow and give me such sad-kitty faces. Breaks my heart........ but there's nothing I can do but go out on the porch and sit with them as much as I can while I'm home.

Saturday, After Midnight....

... After midnight, so I guess this is really Sunday. Whatever.......

My cousin R got here just fine..... her plane landed early, but I was there anyway. So nice to see her right here in Texas for a change, rather than me seeing her up in NY. The two of us have "done" NY... now it's time to do TX.

I laughed out loud when I saw the size of R's suitcase..... I told her that her huge suitcase could hold enough clothes for the rest of the summer. Plus, she had a carry-on bag, and a huge pocketbook that was as heavy as her carry-on. She hasn't yet learned how to "pack light," and I'm sure she has enough clothes in that suitcase to carry her through any kind of changes in the weather.

Being that we'll be spending much of the next few days shopping, R will be adding even more clothes to that suitcase. As it was, it took the two of us to lift it up into the trunk of the car. And thank goodness I drove my husband's car to the airport....... her suitcase wouldn't have fit into the trunk of my Thunderbird. (I'll bet that massive suitcase weighs just about as much as the T-Bird!) By the time she's ready to leave here, I'll have to hire a crane to get that suitcase back into the trunk of the car.

My cousin had a good first meeting with Gracie....... the two of them hit it off right away. Maybe Gracie knows that my cousin is a dog-lover. As for the cats--- they're all out on the screen porch, so my cousin's allergies don't act up. We were looking at the cats through the windows of the breakfast room, and I was telling R their names and a little bit about them. AngelBoy came right up to the window for a closer look at R, and she started to make faces at AngelBoy as he stared at her. As soon as R made a face at AngelBoy, my little blue-eyed cat scrunched up his nose and his whiskers and made a cat-face right back at her.

While my cousin laughed herself silly in the breakfast room, I went out on the porch and told AngelBoy to have mercy on my poor cat-allergic cousin. Having mercy is not AngelBoy's style, however. I will have to watch that cat very carefully after my cousin leaves so he doesn't find himself a little corner of the house to show me what he really thinks of my cousin and her allergies.

My cousin and I talked all the way back from the airport,we talked all the way through the little snack we had when we got back to the house, and we talked all the way through the tour of the house and what we could see of the backyard in the dark.

We are all talked out for the first night. Tomorrow is another day. Oops... I forgot. It already is tomorrow. Whatever......

Busy Saturday.........

I'm just about ready to leave for the airport...... my cousin R is flying in from NY...... can't wait to see her. I've been getting everything ready for her here...... the cats are on the screen-porch, and hopefully, the vacuum got every speck of cat hair out of this house so my cousin doesn't start to sneeze ten minutes after she walks into the front door.

I called her mother in NY, just to make sure everything went well there and she got to the airport in plenty of time..... which she did. My aunt told me to find her a "Texas husband." Well, I will try and do just that....... although, I tried to do the same for my dear friend Frankie and it never seemed to work out.

But I'm always hopeful..... the glass is always half-full, not half-empty, in my opinion.

I called my dad yesterday, to say hello and to tell him that R was flying in today. He must have been having a real senior-moment. He told me: "R is coming down there? Good! She's a nice girl--- you'll like her."

I resisted the urge to remind my dad that R and I were born just 4 months apart and we grew up together, so of course we know one another quite well.

The next five days should be the real test: we've never lived in the same house together. Thank goodness there are two bathrooms in this house. We're both "city girls" (she more than I, in my opinion), so one bathroom mirror for make-up and hair just wouldn't cut it.

Name That Car

There is a southern tradition to give your car a name. Whether it's a new car or a used car, one that you've paid for or one that has been given to you... it needs a name.

I don't know the history behind that tradition, but I know it to be a fact of life down here. Just about everyone who has seen my new Thunderbird (I love this car!) has asked me what name I gave it. And they look at me as if I've lost my mind when I tell them I haven't given it a name. (Yet.)

The way I understand it, the owner of the car gets to decide its gender. So that's the first decision that must be made. Do you want it to be female, as in Betty-Jo or Grace? Or should it be a male, such as Jimmy-Bob or Bubba? Or should it be androgynous, such as Wild Thing or BlueBell?

Decisions.... decisions.

Well, no car of mine is going to be called Bubba, that's for sure. As for Wild Thing.... not for me, thank you.

I went through a bunch of names.... such as Bluebonnet, Blue Bunny, and Blue Diamond, thinking to play off of the color of the car. None of the "blue" names sounded good to me. Besides, once you christen your car with a name, you don't want to be changing it for a different one. So better to just take your time and think of something that will work for both you and the car.

I heard the prettiest name the other day........ Annalise. The girl who works in the jewelry store told me that Annalise was her mother's name. Not that I was asking her for suggestions for the Thunderbird's name. We were talking about oil paintings, and I mentioned that my husband's mom was a talented and prolific painter. D told me that her mother was a painter also, and she mentioned her name.

When my husband and I were talking about names for the car, I decided that my car just had to be of the female gender. After all, it's not a macho-looking car, which a black or a red car would certainly be. But the silver-blue color of my car is definitely a feminine color in my eyes, and the all-black interior reminds me of a sleek pair of black high heels.

Back to the name.... I thought of Blue Angel. Nice name, but it didn't sound quite right. And D's mom's name, Annalise, is a very pretty name, but I didn't want to be naming my Thunderbird after someone else's mother.

Which got me to thinking..... Blue Angel, Little Angel...... Angelina. Which means "little angel" in Italian. Angelina was my grandmother's name (my dad's mother). Grandma was little and compact, fast and efficient. I remember her as pretty, competent, strong, and more powerful than she looked. She could be quietly gentle with such a soft heart, but when need be, she could be a strict disciplinarian and work as hard as any of the men in our family.

I loved my grandmother and spent a lot of my growing-up years in her home. I loved going to that house. It was always safe, always warm, and no matter who walked in the door, Grandma always made them feel comfortable and at home.

Perfect name for my little blue Thunderbird. Angelina: little and compact, fast and efficient, pretty, strong, more powerful than she looks. I christen my Thunderbird... Angelina!

I'll have to call my dad and tell him I've named my car after Grandma. He will think I have had one bowl of grits too many.

I Know Why The Caged Birds Talk....

.... Because they have a lot to say, that's why.

A simple trip to the dry-cleaners can be cause for joy, if your dry-cleaner happens to have two pet birds in his store. Our local dry-cleaner has just that...... a black mynah bird, and a gray parrot. Both in separate cages in the shop, near the windows and near the counter where you drop off the clothes.

Lucy is the gray parrot.... she doesn't say all that many words, but her whistles and sounds are numerous. Her "wolf whistle" is very impressive... so much so that the first time you hear it, you would swear that a man is whistling at you. Most of all, Lucy likes to make friends, and she has done so with me. I swear, that bird recognizes me when I come into the door of the shop.

Lucy's cage is very big, compared to her size, but she comes right up to the front of the cage when I walk into the store. She looks at me closely--- maybe to make sure it's me? Then when she's satisfied that I am who she thinks I am, she puts her head down near the door of her cage so I can stick my fingers inside and pet her head and her neck. Very trusting, wouldn't you say?

So I stand there and talk to her, saying her name with each sentence and phrase, because her owners have said that she indeed knows her name. Her feathers are soft, for the most part, but just a teeny bit prickly near the tips. Gorgeous shades of gray and white and cream, with a splash of orange near her tail-feathers.

The black mynah bird has lots of words and phrases. Besides the usual hello and good-bye, he will ask Can you talk? I would imagine that nearly everyone coming into that store has asked the bird that same question, so it was only a matter of time till he started to mimic that. Today, after the mynah bird bathed himself in his extra-large water dish, he clearly said "Starch or no starch?" I laughed out loud at that, and I think I scared the mynah bird a little bit because he hopped up to a higher perch in his cage and didn't say peep after that.

I will have to remember not to laugh so loud. Gracious, I hope the birds understand that I'm laughing with them, not at them. I truly enjoy those birds. The dry-cleaners has a drive-up window at the side of the store, but I wouldn't think of using it. I would miss not seeing the birds. Especialy Lucy.

I will have to ask the owner if the mynah bird has a name. Imagine if his name is Ricky!? (Oops.... don't laugh so loud!)

Wednesday Dinner Surprises......

We celebrated our 10th anniversary a day early today, with a dinner at our favorite restaurant. I had called Babbo Bruno's early this morning to reserve our corner table, and also to let the owners know that a special cake would be delivered to the restaurant in the afternoon.

There's a great bakery in Friendswood that makes delicious homemade cakes.... our friend A has ordered cakes from there for her holiday parties. And when my husband and I were driving around the other day, we just happened to pass by the bakery. So I got to thinking.... couldn't they make a carrot cake? (Which was what we had as our wedding cake ten years ago.) Well, they surely could make a carrot cake, and they surely could deliver it... which is what they did for me, as a surprise for my husband.

I didn't know that my husband had also called the restaurant (this afternoon).... to (also) reserve our corner table, and to ask Stefano if he could surprise me with a special dessert. Well, Stefano didn't have to whip up a dessert, since the cake I'd ordered was already there by the time my husband called. When I spoke to the owner's wife this morning, I told her to ask our usual waitress to take my husband's dessert order but just bring the carrot cake to the table instead.

Which she did... and when my husband saw our names on the cake, along with the number "10" inside a heart, and then I told him it was a carrot cake from me, he realized that I had over-surprised his own surprise. Which isn't an easy thing to do, since my husband is the master of surprises.

It was a delicious dinner.... and our "usual" waitress K even surprised us.... we ordered an appetizer tonight (which we don't often do) and as we were getting ready to leave, K told us that the crabcakes appetizer was her gift to us. What a sweet girl she is.... bubbly personality, so efficient, perfect manners.... she makes all of our visits there an "event," not just a dinner.

This has surely been an anniversay to remember.... the Thunderbird is the dream car and was the ultimate surprise, and I have a dream marriage and a dream life.

Sometimes I think someone should pinch me.

Thunderbird Saturday.....

There is now a silver/blue 2005 Thunderbird in my garage........ and I can honestly say I've never been this excited about a car in my entire life. Gorgeous, gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Silver/blue outside, black inside. So perfectly beautiful that when I took the Mardi Gras beads out of my old car, I didn't even want to hang them up from the rear-view mirror in the Thunderbird. Not a drop of Mardi Gras beads in my new car.... will they let me drive over the bridge and into Galveston?

Not only was the Thunderbird a 10th Anniversary gift from my husband, but because this is a 2005 model, there is an emblem on each side of the car which says: "50th Anniversary 1955-2005." Just one more thing to make this car special. I swear, I didn't know whether to smile or cry when I was handed the keys. I think I did some of both. And being that my husband surprised me with all of this, that makes this car a "keeper" for as long as it runs and as long as I'm able to drive it. I can't even imagine parting with this car. What a great Thunderbird.... truly, truly just a beautiful car. Especially those cute little round windows on the sides.... Thunderbird at its classic best!

Before driving home with the Thunderbird, we stopped at A & D's house..... it was a new car weekend for them as well, being that their transmission on their car gave up the ghost the other day. Instead of getting another van, they now have a really pretty cream-colored four-door Hyundai with elegant wood trim in the interior. Lots of room in their car, as compared to the two-seater Thunderbird. When I look at the trunk space in A's car and compare it to the trunk space in my car, there's a world of difference. But I'll get used to that... small sacrifice to make for a classic Thunderbird.

As I said yesterday.... pardon me while I jump for joy and giggle with glee......!

Friday: Another Surprise...

My husband and I were looking at cars today... he surprised me by driving to a car dealership to have a look-see at the Ford Thunderbirds. Our tenth anniversary is coming up and he thought this would be a nice gift for me. What a guy! (Pardon me while I jump up and down with glee.)

I've had Thunderbirds before and loved them, and the last one I had didn't get traded in till it was over ten years old and had over 130,000 miles on it. The car I'm driving now is a 1998 Corolla, a light purple in color. It's a practical car, four doors and more room in the trunk than you would expect. I expected to keep this car for at least as long as I had my old Thunderbird. It was the first Toyota I'd ever bought, but before that, all the cars I had were all Fords.

Since Ford decided to bring back the Thunderbirds and make them sporty little two-seaters, we've seen quite a few of them in this area. All very cute, each one catching my eye and making me wish my own car was older and had more mileage so I could trade it in. The practical side of me won over, and I just drove on with my little purple car.

So... imagine my surprise when my ever-practical husband drove into a Ford dealership on the way back from going out for lunch. "Let's see what they have," said he. I took one out for a test drive... handled beautifully, fit me perfectly, the color was glorious with that metallic paint... two-seater, two-doors, and less room in the truck than I expected. My husband commented that I wouldn't be able to fit as many groceries in the Thunderbird trunk as I did in the Toyota trunk. I told him I'd suffer through that. After all, I go grocery shopping alone, and what can't fit into the trunk can fit into the passenger side of the car, plus there's a cute little space behind the bucket seats. What a great car! (Pardon me while I jump up and down with glee.)

So we shopped for Thunderbirds today... at one, two, three dealerships. We came home and my husband checked the Internet... comparing prices... comparing years... Should we buy the 2005? Or buy a 2002 or 2004 with very low mileage? And do I want the aqua blue one? Or the darker blue one with the metallic paint? This is the last year they'll be making the Thunderbirds, so the 2005 models are the 50th Anniversary cars.

We're still thinking.... I'm still jumping up and down with glee. But I'm also trying to keep my wits about me until we truly make a decision to do this and I have the keys to a Thunderbird in my hand.

(Pardon me while I jump up and down with glee.)

Thursday Surprise

I just found out this morning that my cousin R will be coming here for a visit this month. My husband has an out-of-town business conference, so she will fly down while he's away and we'll have a few days of girl-time. (When the cat's away, the mice go shopping!)

This will be R's first visit to Texas, so I've made a list of everything we can do and see in this area for the days that she'll be here. We'll have a good time, I'm sure. My cousin and I are the same age, just 4 months apart (I was born in January, she was born in May of the same year). We grew up together and have lots of family history behind us, so we'll be talking and laughing from the minute she gets off the plane till the minute she gets back on.

I hope the weather is perfect while she's here.... warm sunny days, tiny-bit cool at night. From my lips to the ears of the Big Weatherman up in the sky. Please, please..... no big southeast Texas rainstorms.

My cousin is allergic to cats, so I plan to keep AngelBoy and ShadowBaby out on the porch while she's staying here. (They'll be thrilled. Hopefully, but not likely.) Rusty has been staying out on the backyard deck for the past couple of months, so I'll just leave him where he is. He has plenty of shade, a few comfy chairs to sleep on, and fresh food and water.... and I really think he's happy just being by himself for most of the day.

It should work out just fine. I told my cousin to bring her allergy pills, just in case. And if she starts to sneeze here, then I'll just drive her to the local hotel and get her a cat-free room for the few days.

Piano yesterday went just fine.... I can't believe how all those notes are just clicking now. I really think that learning just one song each week (instead of three) has helped a lot. I told K (piano teacher) that I just don't have time for more than one. I do lots of other things during the week to keep me busy, so one new song (which is two pages long) is just enough for me. I can concentrate just on that one... much less frustrating than skipping from one to the other to the third.

And.... must be something in the NY air that is making those "Yankees" travel south. My friend A just found out that her parents will be coming down for a visit next month. It will be their first visit to Texas, and A is making up her own list of places to go and things to do. A just had out-of-town company for a visit (more family from NY) and before the summer months are over, she will have even more company from up north. In the three years that A & D have lived here, they've had more visits from family than my husband and I have had in the past 12 years.

To that statement, my husband says: "Be careful what you wish for."

Pumpkin Pineapple Cranberry Oatmeal

Oatmeal.... I have a bowl every morning, unless we happen to go out for breakfast. I've tried ordering oatmeal in a restaurant... it's never good, and heaven only knows how long it's been sitting in their kitchen. So for breakfast out, I splurge on an omelet or pancakes, but at home, it's oatmeal.

I've always mixed something into the oatmeal... otherwise, it tastes like soggy cardboard. I used to buy the oatmeal packets that have flavoring added... till I looked at the sugar and calorie count. If I'm going to splurge on that many calories, then I want a piece of chocolate cake or apple pie in front of me, not a bowl of oatmeal.

I started mixing raisins into the oatmeal.... AngelBoy loves raisins and can smell them from the other side of the house. If there are raisins in my bowl of oatmeal, that cat will sit in front of me and I have to take out the raisins and share them with him. Ever see a cat eating a raisin? AngelBoy chews on a raisin like a bunny chews on a carrot. (Totally cute.)

Then I started mixing crushed pineapple into the oatmeal. That was even better than the raisins because the juice from the pineapple goes all through the oatmeal and makes it sweet. (AngelBoy loves pineapple also, by the way. Come to think of it, the only fruits he doesn't like are bananas and apples.)

When I ran out of raisins one morning, I used dried cranberries in the oatmeal. Mmmm.... better than the raisins. Then just a few weeks ago, Oprah was talking about oatmeal on one of her shows. Into her morning oatmeal, she mixes in one tablespoon of pumpkin pie filling. I thought she had lost her mind.

However.... next time I went to the supermarket, I bought a can of pumpkin pie filling. When I made my oatmeal--- after it was cooked, I added one tablespoon of crushed pineapple, one tablespoon of dried cranberries, and then I added Oprah's one tablespoon of pumpkin pie filling. Mixed it all up........ the oatmeal turns the color of the pumpkin pie filling.... I zapped it in the microwave to get it nice and hot again......... and believe it or not, it was the best oatmeal I've ever had.

One thing, though--- don't try and use plain old canned pumpkin instead of pumpkin pie filling. I picked up the wrong can in the store last week and when I tasted that oatmeal with the plain pumpkin mixed in.... it tasted like soggy orange cardboard.

Eggplant Ricotta Rolls

I've been on a cooking kick with eggplant again. I love Eggplant Parmesean, but haven't eaten it in years and years... takes too long to make it, plus between the bread crumbs to coat it and the oil to fry it, the calorie count is just too much.

I had seen an eggplant recipe on the Cooking Channel.... very easy-- just wash and dry the eggplant, cut it length-wise into 1/4" slices, brush it with just a touch of oil, and cook the slices on a cookie-sheet in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The eggplant slices get browned and soft, and you can fill them with whatever you want and roll them up.

So that's what I've been doing, every time I can get fresh eggplant at the supermarket. I have filled the eggplant slices with spinach and feta cheese, and I also made them with freshly cooked green beans rolled up inside. Yesterday, I filled the rolls with non-fat ricotta cheese. (Sure is a different consistency than the 'regular' ricotta, but once it was cooked, it tasted just fine.) Just a little bit of ricotta on each of the slices.... I rolled them up and fit them all snugly in a baking dish. Topped them off with some of Emeril's Marinara Sauce (delicious sauce in a jar, much quicker than making my own). Before baking them, I sprinkled them with a bit of shredded asiago cheese. Baked for about 20 minutes and they were delicious.

Well, I thought they were delicious. I asked my husband if he liked them and he said they were "Okay." (Translation: "I'm eating the eggplant rolls because they're here, but I'd rather be eating a pepperoni and cheese pizza.")