Saturday, November 29, 2008

So Close....

We were so close to getting into the parking lot at Rice Stadium. We had idled along Greenbrier and then made the turn that would take us to our entrance. We sat there for the longest time, we didn't seem to move much. It dawned on me the radio wasn't on and I thought sneaky Roy who wasn't really ready to listen to Christmas songs one right after the other had distracted me and turned it off. I mentioned this to him and he was all, I promise I didn't turn it off. But we couldn't get it to turn on either. The trac light was on for traction on wet roads. How did that come on? Then I looked at the gauges, my theft light was on, then low fuel, my oil, battery and temp gauges looked like metronomes. It was freaky and we were stuck. I gunned the motor a little and everything settled down and back to normal. Roy kind of miss planned how many people would be at an inner town rivalry football game, both teams with good records, and great football weather. He has been going to Rice games and it has been nothing to leave at 2:00 and be in the seats for the kick off at 2:30. He was frustrated and he was a little harsh in how he talked. The traffic, car, and voice stressed me out. We both made the decision to blow off the game and just go eat lunch.

We decided to get on the freeway to charge the ol' battery and we decided on Sweet Tomatoes. Roy totally apologized about his frustration and said what would you like to do? Where would you like to go? Dang it, I couldn't really think of anything... But then I remembered how much he hates to go into Pier One. So, that is what I wanted to do. He wasn't thrilled but he was agreeable. Turned out OK for him. He found some new coffee/tea mugs. He is a huge hot tea fan. I found some place mats on sale for 98 cents each... So, we both had stellar finds at the Pier One.

Off to the Kroger for yogurt and bananas then returning home. Just as we pulled into our parking lot again I noticed the radio off and the gauges doing the haunted car thing again. But this time the battery gauge was in the orange beyond low. Roy got the cold stuff out of the car and then took off for the Shell station where the battery died as he pulled up. We are the proud owners of a new 3 year battery.

I love how God took car of us in the midst of the ordinary. This could have happened far away from home or in less desirable circumstances such as stranded in the Rice parking lot after the victorious Owls won. It could have happened at the airport when I was dropping off my friend. Uh, that would look great, can't start my car on Thanksgiving weekend in front of the departure area. It happened when I was with Roy and not by myself. God watches us and knows our coming and goings, when we rise and when we sit. Tonight we have given Him some praise, He knows the times...He knows the seasons. I have been reading and praying Proverbs 3 for my friend especially toward the end of the chapter about not fearing the storm of the wicked and not being afraid to lie down...to be led by wisdom because all the ways of wisdom are peaceable. Don't you know I was rejoicing and praying Proverbs 3 for me today.

After Black Friday Comes Gray Saturday

It is an easy going morning. Leisurely breakfast and nothing too pressing this morning. Roy and I are going to the U of H -Rice game this afternoon. Although we both are Cougars, I think we will be rooting for Rice this afternoon. All season I have been telling Roy I would go to a game and it has worked out, barring post season play, that I am attending the last game of the season. Rice has become Roy's "wish I had gone there" university. After the way LSU let the game get away yesterday, you can see why he is looking for a pretend school right now. Actually, it is his love of college sports and the atmosphere and spirit of college games.

Yesterday morning I took a friend to the airport. I need to take packing lessons from her. If I was traveling as far and as long as she is, I would be packing at least two suitcases. She got everything in one and didn't even use her expand zipper or the outside pockets. That is one amazing packer. On the way home from the airport, I stopped at Starbucks, then headed home for a day of reading. It seems like I get so few days like that. I was in no way interested in Black Friday.

Family dynamics are interesting observations especially during the holidays. Everyone seems to slip back into the all too familiar role, well at least they do in my family. I tried to stay out of all the roles and rolls this holiday, but from time to time I would find myself reprising the part assigned to me so long ago. It has been some time since Thanksgiving has included anyone else but Roy and me and my parents. Doug, Nancy, the girls, and a friend Ronnie were here this year. My brother gave the evening an 85. It did go fairly well with no sarcastic words or put downs in his direction. After dinner Roy spent the rest of the evening setting up my dad's new computer which kept my dad out of the thick of things and in the office with Roy. To thank Roy, my dad did his customary put down of Roy who happens to be the smartest person in the room. It saddened me to watch my mom and her inability to process everything going on. Even though Nancy hasn't been around for the holidays at my parents for some time, she found herself in a role I am sure she wanted no part of. It felt like Doug and Nancy had never divorced. She had no hope of surviving in a sea of word wranglers and put down artists. I am very happy to report, I did not take part in that role. Praise Him!!! There were some all too familiar scenes reminiscent of an unhappy past that had a role. My dad was making his last gasping attempt to control everything about the evening, but alas he is not feared and his power diminished. Something did catch me by surprise. Nancy and the girls had left, Doug, Ronnie, Roy and I were staying around a little bit so that everyone didn't leave at once. As we were saying goodbye, I walked past my dad. He has never been one to take part in hugs and kisses good bye. He has always waved from a safe distance. He stopped me and asked if I was going to tell him goodbye...I was shocked. But I hugged him and thanked him for everything. He looked at me and here is where I got sucked in because I thought he might say something heartfelt. No, he only wanted to inform me that he had done more than prepare the brisket, he had done everything. Dang it, we were so close to a break through... It does give me hope that he is trying.

I woke up around 3:00 am Thursday morning and I took inventory of the prior evening. On the scale of holiday celebrations this was no where near the worst and maybe even placing in the top ten of all the years. There is still a lot wrong and here is where the enemy tries to trip me up, dwelling on all the wrong of the past and present, but I breezed past that into thanking God for His goodness and mercy. Thanking Him that He gives good gifts. Thanking Him for a glimpse of hope for family. After my time of prayer and praise was over, I turned over letting Buddy and Roy get situated and we all went back to sleep. We were ready to welcome in Thanksgiving Day.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Day Before Thanksgiving and all Through the Store...

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. We had ordered some food from the play grocery store and today is pick up time. Had my quiet time and listened to some praise and worship before leaving. I pondered wearing a HFBC shirt, but that might be going a little too far. My parking space, right in front of the door. Wow! As we all entered the store we were greeted by a man playing a keyboard and singing Christmas Carols. Nice touch. Went straight to the prepared food area and there wasn't even a line. In fact while waiting a manager and several employees asked if I had been helped. Went over and picked up some cranberry sauce and coffee. Now to check out...I pulled right up and checked out with no line. Awesome! Wonderful! I love the play grocery store...

I had a good reminder again yesterday of who I don't want to become. Had a quick look see at the cardio. There is some concern over a rash that is developing on my feet and lower legs. The rash is really my veins bruising when there has been a quick change in circulation. This new development began last week with the stress ambush I found myself involved in. It is something that bears watching...Then I went to get my second set of injections at the Ortho. At 9:45 the waiting room packed mostly with older whinny people and the noise level high. There were people in wheelchairs, on walkers and even one on a stretcher. I thanked the Lord for the ability to still walk. The couples are the ones that get my attention. It seems to be one or the other of these scenarios: spouse who does everything without complaining while the "patient" doles out commands and complaints left and right or the spouse who has given up on the "patient" and makes them do everything even though it looks to be a total pain to do so. There is all kind of sarcastic banter, it saddens me. It took awhile for patients to be seen yesterday, but it didn't matter to me because Kevin was there doing the injections. He looked at my knees and noticed that Dr. K had banged me up a bit last week. Kevin did the injections in the front of my knees yesterday. Never had that done before...no blood, no drama and no fainting.

The highlight of the day was meeting up with my nieces Megan and Erin for pedicures and shopping at the Nord. I am late, late, late so many times with birthdays, but if I do that, it is usually worth the wait. So I gave Doug his May birthday gift yesterday and he had fun shopping in the Nord. The girls didn't have a lucky shopping day. Nothing in BP or shoes caught their eye. So, I gave them checks so that they can shop at their leisure on the rest of their trip or at home. On the way home, we did the drive through pick up at Walgreens for my prescriptions. I now know I am officially old. While most people get one or two bags at the most, mine came in a big ol' Walgreen's bag. I mean really, I am picking up 5, 2 for mobility and 3 to keep my alive.

Uncle Roy and Buddy greeted us, well Buddy was interested but wouldn't come close to Doug, Megan or Erin. Buddy sat strategically to keep an eye on them and to watch my movements. After snacking on some delicious cookies from Memorial Bakery, we were off to Collina's were Dena would be meeting us for dinner. Dena is like a member of the fam and I mean that in all the best possible ways and connotations. Megan and Erin are really close to her and a trip to Houston is never complete without spending some time with Boo Foo. That is her Foo name. The girls really wanted her to come with us as we looked for Christmas lights in Mustang Sally, but Dena has a full plate right now at work and it just wasn't going to work out. Besides, there really weren't that many lights, but we had a blast laughing and drinking our hot chocky from Starbucks. I kept driving around the same streets seeing if I could fool them looking at lights. Uh, they didn't fall for it. Highland Village was the light scene last night. Uncle Roy keeps us in line and supplied with hot chocky. We made a quick trip into Anthropologie...yea, Uncle Roy was loving that place. :)

Tonight we are all going over to my parents for brisket and all the trimmings. Today, other than the quick trip to Rice, I am resting. My body is telling me I over did it yesterday.

Have a great Thanksgiving Day tomorrow. Don't forget to give thanks to God. We are recipients of so much mercy and grace. Tell friends and family, thank you. I am thankful for all of you who read my blog, whether you lurk or don't lurk.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Kick Back Sunday

I am still in a kick back mode, but will soon need to make the think about Monday mode in just a bit. We have had a great weekend. The boxes of books accumulating in the den/closet went to Half Price Books this weekend. Clothes for the Mission Training Center, gone, Dyson cleaning along the baseboards and corners, done. Rice football game for Roy...they won, Collina's with a friend, awesome, and to cap off a great Sunday morning, lunch at Lupe's.

Roy is such a great encourager...after church we were having our usual after church discussion of "where do you want to go for lunch" with Roy's standard answer, "I don't care." I mentioned that some Lupe's was sounding pretty good, but with it being so close to Lakewood, it is probably packed. Roy said let's go for it and if it is too much, we will go somewhere else. The beauty of being Baptist and going to the 9:10 is out of the parking lot before noon. Lakewood has just probably finished the first sermon before taking up the offering...we are good on time (in Full Gospel churches there is always a sermon to get your faith up for the offering, then comes the regular sermon). We got there before any crowd. Well,the crowd was by the sand lot. All the prime, I can eat lunch and watch my children play in the sand, tables were gone, but we wanted to be far, far away from that land. We got the beef fajitas, which are the best in the city of Houston. It was the best, great food and lots to talk and discuss with all the great things we heard in big church and in our Sunday School classes. The only thing that would have made the trip to Lupe's complete is, stopping at Border's on Kirby. But Roy has this thing with food and refrigeration, so with all our leftovers, he wasn't too hip on making the stop. That's OK, I just got home a little sooner to take a glorious and soul refreshing Sunday nap... a nap that lasted a little over 2 hours. Ah...fiesta and then siesta...muy bueno.

Our Sunday School class finished up Acts today. We have been in Acts all year. I laughed when Roy said, his teacher covered 15 chapters in II Samuel to finish up their time there before beginning I Thessalonians in two weeks. I have to admit, I almost cried as Dena told us about Paul's last few years before returning to Rome and being executed. I will never be the same after this study of the early church and Paul. Paul has never been one of my top all time favs in the NT. He is now. I've seen him in a whole different light.

This week is in and out of the office, nieces in town, Thanksgiving and then some rest and book reading. I have been on a roll of reading some great stories. Roy is a shepherd in the Christmas program and it is that time of year when I hear these words, words I never thought I would hear my husband say:,
I have to take my make up off before going to bed.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Just Hanging Around on a Thursday Night

The past few weeks we have had roofers overhead, even on Saturdays. The condo bee's usually prohibit Saturday work of any kind as not to disturb the weekends. This roofing work was scheduled to happen the week before Ike. All the supplies were unloaded one day and loaded up the next and stored in a warehouse for safety. The past few days there have been several times Buddy and I thought one of the guys might just fall through the roof and into the living room. On Monday the crane dropped something on the roof and the whole building shook. As loud as it has been, I have been able to sleep right through it in the afternoons. The sky lights have been repaired and cleaned. I thought the natural coating on them was some type of frosted Plexiglass. Nope it was just dirt that had accumulated on the outside all these years. We are greeted in the afternoons by warm sunlight in the halls. Also the fragrance of fresh cut wood is still in the air. The hallway's fragrance makes me think I have moved into a new home. Reality hits when I open the front door.

This week we in the Ministries Suite have been treated to free lunch both times by the Preschool Ministry. On Monday for lunch we had leftovers from the parent dedication on Sunday. Light lunch fare, cheese, crackers, fruit and veggies. OK, there were a lot of cookies too that were very tasty. Today, we had the leftovers from Director's meeting last night. So we were treated to fajitas and all the trimmings. Delicious! Free food is one of the many unsung bonuses of working at a church.

I had the first major test of dealing with stress yesterday. I found myself quite by accident in a situation where I reacted to a reactor. Midway through, I felt my heart beating so hard, I wouldn't have been surprised if I could have actually seen the beats through my jacket. I'll be honest, I was pretty steamed. Two out of three body stresses showed up, coughing and swollen legs and ankles. This morning at 3:00 am when I woke up, I rehearsed the event in my mind again, mind you with background music from KHCB playing, No Not One, Jesus Cares for Me, Take Your Troubles to the Lord, and Just as I am, I could not go back to sleep. Since I have been listening to a series of messages on gratitude, I decided I better start thanking God and thinking on gratitude things. God reminded me that about 5 or 6 years ago I made a quality decision not to argue or wrangle with words anymore. No brag just fact, I was VERY good at this. He began to reveal to me how much easier it has been for me to practice less stress now because of obeying Him those years ago. Yesterday, I didn't get into word wrangling with this person, but I reacted because I felt I was being unjustly accused of something...and dang it, if we just didn't have a Sunday School lesson on this and what we can learn from Paul. It was a wake up call for me physically and spiritually I know that I will stay in peace if my mind stays on Jesus.

I am keeping a count of extra mail pieces and catalogues that bombard our mailbox every day. Most of the stuff lands in the garbage or in the shredder. In the past week and a half we have received almost 175 catalogues! That is just a week and a half!!! We are still in November. The number of mailings from area churches has shot up as well. If we were so inclined, I believe we could find a Christmas program to attend every night for the first half of December. In today's mail we have received offers to join health clubs, one of the health clubs is in Dallas. Nope, a little too far out of the neighborhood. Magazine offers are plentiful too. Just this week addressed to me was the offer of taking Ode, the magazine for intelligent optimists. I wasn't aware there were unintelligent optimists...maybe this magazine has mistakenly appraised my intelligence. If I subscribe my world will be opened to food for optimists, the search for ethical bananas, what is to be learned from termites, how to free my eyes, and why 10 million giant crabs have been crawling south for the last 40 years. I was happy to see I would learn that God is not dead. That made me very happy intelligent optimists know this.

Roy has a photo shoot tonight at church for the Christmas program. He is a ticket taker on stage and a shepherd. Those are two different scenes. Although, maybe having someone charge entrance into the manger area might have some post modern commentary on social, ecomoic and spiritual matters in this fast changing world. I have $40.00 in Nord Notes burning a hole in my pocket. I know what I would like to go buy. Yet, I really need to mop the bathrooms sometime this weekend. What will win out? I don't know.... Stay tuned to find out if I am an intelligent shoppist or an intelligent moppist.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

An Eventful Morning

I had an early morning appointment at the orthopedic office for my second round of injections in my knees. Hate the early time, but it is much easier to find a parking place. Kevin, the guy who usually does the injections is out sick today. Dr. Kruetzer did the injections. The right knee injection stung a bit more than usual. Then he did the left...oh my! He removed the needle and blood was flowing out of my knee like a fountain. In my mind I am thinking...there is a fountain filled with blood. He gives me this big pad and says hold that and stop bleeding. What? Guess he thinks I can do this on command. He said, I am going to have one of the girls come and clean up your blood. Here is a little known fact about me:

Mention of blood +seeing blood+ warm room = Me fainting

My head was swirling, the room was getting smaller, I am sweating like a pig and I begin fanning myself with wild abandon. I do not want to faint. I tell you, I felt like a well known choir member who has fainted several times in the loft on Sunday mornings cause she is wearing wool and a choir robe, but I digress. The nurse realizes I am heading to the floor and will faint into my very own pool of blood. She being like 5 feet tall, maybe 90 pounds and me...6 feet tall and well, you know, more than 90 pounds was a huge battle for her. She is propping me up against the wall while straddling already mentioned pool of blood. Somehow I don't faint. Although after all that, she looked like she needed to lay or lie down. She barely got the words out...stay here as long as you need. Well, I know they need the room, so after a bit, I get up and walk to the front to pay my bill. Second round of dizzy hits. I ask for a glass of water, they inform me there is a water fountain in the hall. They look at me and know I have gone whiter than white...I am looking rather pale. They hand me a clear plastic cup, I think they want a specimen and they say, here you can put water in this. From the water fountain??? Uh, no thanks, I don't know where that cup has been. I mange to make my way out into the hall, stop at the water fountain, take the elevator downstairs and stumble into my car. I waited a little while and then drove to Starbucks. I go back and get the second set of shots next Tuesday. Gee, I hope Kevin feels better and is there to give me my injections.

Monday, November 17, 2008

This and That with Nancy

Here are just a few random things from last week.
  • Tuesday- I went to the Play Grocery store for a few sale items. I parked close to the front door. On the inside of me I heard the Lord say, put the bags in the trunk. It was only 2 bags and my plan was to put them in the car with me. Again I heard, put the bags in the trunk. So, I did and as I was doing so, a man and a woman came up to me with an unbelievable story asking for money. There were so many holes in the story I told them I can't give you any. The woman looked like she was on crystal meth and the man, he wasn't as rough looking. The woman stayed by the passenger door and he kept coming closer. I finally looked back to the store as to go in and they left me alone. I got in my car and decided to call the store from the road. As I was leaving they had a woman pinned in as she was putting things in her car...I saw why I heard that still small voice. I was talking to the manager and they were coming out to rescue the woman.
  • Got a great deal on Friday using my Macy's money. I love buying at deeply discounted prices.
  • I feel responsible for the October recession in the retail industry. I was not able to be out and about doing my regular shopping for the economy...and even The Nord reported a loss. Roy told me I didn't need to help out the economy this month either.
  • After church, Roy and I had lunch at The Nord. OK, the parking garage was beyond crowded. And they have already shut off certain routes which makes parking even more difficult. I thought there was a recession. The Bistro was crowded and it usually isn't that way on Sundays. It was a break even kind of day. I took back some pants that are now too big and a couple of blouses I never wore this summer. I also took back some makeup stuff that I already had something similar. Found 2 pairs of shoes...not counting lunch, just a few dollars apart.
  • Saturday Roy and Scott went to the Rice basketball game. Dena and I had a late lunch at Escalente's. Their salsa is some of the best, right up there with Lupe's and Pappasito's. We went to the Whole Foods over there and I can't believe how little that store is. I usually make a once a month run to Whole Foods in Sugarland and that store is gigantic.
  • Speaking of Dena, if you want to hear some great teaching, come hear her teach in Dayspring. She brings it!!! We have been in the book of Acts for a while. In fact, I think the ink had just dried on the parchment scroll from Luke's writing when we started. She is finishing Acts next Sunday. It has been an awesome study. For once I understand the missionary journeys of Paul. Really, those maps in the back of the Bible just confuse me. They use too close of colors of ink to differentiate between the journeys. And I kind of like Paul now. He really didn't endear himself to me reading his letters...but he is a grateful man full of thanksgiving for God, His Word and his friends. Really, Paul had a lot of friends that he really cared about and I love nothing better than a story about friends. My friendships mean so much to me and now I have something in common with Paul. Yesterday as we studied the shipwreck at the end of Acts, I was taking frantic notes. There is so much there that I have not ever seen. Bar none, Dena is a wonderful teacher of the Word.
  • I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Bunko and Bunko is the Name-O

Last night was Bunko and it was so much fun as usual. Most of us were friends before Bunko and we've made some new friends along the way. We almost have a difficult time starting Bunko because we all have such a great time talking. But once we are into the game...uh yea, Katy bar the door. Last night at table one, Michelle and I rolled onesies in a row. When you do that, you loose all your points. We made a valiant try to make a come back, but we were laughing too hard. Christine and Linda were the queens of table one last night. When I played tennis, I believed in lucky underwear...and it worked. So, I thought why not try this for bunko. Apparently I did not wear a lucky pair last night. Dang it! CourteyS had bad self talk and Amanda won the booby prize. I won the twosies prize and it was really nice. Afterwards we had some awesome yet healthy dessert. We hung around and visited and we finally tore ourselves away to return to our homes. We are women of differing ages and stages in life and we have so much fun. We'll pick back up in January.



Mustang Sally has sprung a leak. I called Roy on the way home last night to come meet me with some towels. While he did the clean up, I inspected the roof...the roof which was not on fire and found the spot. Roy said he'll take it to the dealership soon to get it repaired. I love that he does car stuff and doesn't make me take care of it. He also takes care of computer stuff and we are waiting to see if Micro Center determines we need a new lap top and replaces our old one or just repairs the CD loader.



Besides water in my car last night, I had another surprise and this one was good. Peggy has finally joined Facebook. There was much rejoicing in the land last night. Many of us have been encouraging her to do this and now she has. I mean really, she has retired and has plenty of time to be addicted.



Another happy happening, my insurance approved a second round of injections for my knees. I begin the process next Tuesday. Note to self...shave legs or at least just my knee caps. With my knees strengthened and my heart pumping along, my walking program should advance really well. Knees, heart...now if I only had a brain....



I so appreciate those of you willing to confess that you sometimes say stuff out loud and didn't mean to. I have heard some funny stories. In fact one I heard this morning involving the same song over sung, Thank You for Giving. Maybe I will start a FB group for people who are just worn out and tired from hearing this song. Surely someone has written something or should write something to take the place of this worn ballad. Don't get me wrong, good song for back in the day...it is time to let it go and move on. Also it is an ear worm song and now I have it in my head. I will start singing It's a Small World After All to replace it.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Friday Thoughts Out Loud

Please tell me others do this. I say things out loud that I am thinking. And until I hear the reaction of people, I truly believe I have just thought it, not said it out loud. This happened to me Thursday morning in our Ministries Staff meeting. It happened right after Cindy's devotion on salvation and Jason asked the group for any additional thoughts. It seems Ben is the only one that has something to share and as he is sharing he references that oldie but goodie, song over sung, song over referenced from way back in the day, 1985...that one time "contemporary" tune over remembered by my generation, Thank you for Giving to the Lord by Ray Boltz. And as he says that I am thinking to myself, and Ray Boltz is gay! Only I didn't think it to myself, I said it OUT LOUD. Well, that disrupts whatever mood was in that room and everyone starts laughing. I asked Harlie who is sitting next to me, oh did I say that out loud? Ben isn't happy, Cindy isn't happy, Carolyn is giving me the universal sign of zipping my mouth (that usually makes me do the opposite but you know heart attack thing and trying to stay calm, so I let it go) and I'm waiting for the laughter to die down. Yea, I did it. On our break I did apologize to Ben and he is OK with it all. Cindy came to me and said she had worked on that devo till after midnight and for it to end that way...although technically the devo was over, and she stood there for awhile, so I apologized to her as well. I think that is what she was looking for. Anyway, for the rest of the meeting there were so many more opportunities to say something, but I didn't. I tried to stay focused complete with filter.


Nancy Mon went walking down the hall
Nancy Mon had a great fall
All Roy's attention
And Buddy on site
Couldn't help Nancy Mon feel alright

It happened again, I fell. Didn't trip, my knee didn't give... It feels like someone pushing me down. Last night I had just returned home from an especially good shopping night at The Nord. Roy had met me at the car to help bring in some Diet Cokes and bottled water that was in the trunk. It was about time for me to bring in all my Mildred stuff from Sunday too. So, we come inside and I'm bringing the Mildred bag to our bedroom, when I fall splat in the hallway. I am so thankful for the bag cause it cushioned my fall. Buddy runs for cover and Roy comes running to assist. Only I hear him laughing... Now, I know he laughs for a moment every time someone falls or gets hurt, but that sound of laughter just didn't sit well with me last night. He's trying to help me, I am assessing damage and Buddy is playing in my hair. Right arm bruised as well as my knees. Pride injured mostly.

Today Buddy had her rabies shot and her pedicure at the Vet. Since she was such a good girl, we brought Buddy home some new toys from Target. One is a funny looking crinkly bug with organic catnip. I have never seen Buddy take to a toy as the one with organic catnip. She is rolling around on it, has it up to her nose, and then rubbing her head all over it... She laid there in the kitchen on her back, holding onto the toy for a long time. That caused her to have the ya ya's and she's full of energy. Hmm...we may have to have an intervention.

Roy and some of his friends are going to the Rice football game tomorrow. He is not going into the office, a miracle, and he is going to take a bunch of clothes over to the MTC for me. He is also taking our computer back to Micro Center. It still isn't right and half of it doesn't work right. So if I don't post for a bit, that is the reason.

More Social Than Usual

Buddy must be feeling the effect of cooler temps. She is alive with activity this morning. She is playing with wild abandon. She is playing like a kitten. She is chasing balls, wrestling with toys and is waging war against some ribbon attached to an empty paper towel roll. Maybe she plays this way everyday and I miss it. Soon she will be searching for one of her top five napping places.

This has been a fairly social week. The past month's routine is work, home for lunch, rest, with a few dinners out thrown in here and there. With things at the office demanding his attention, Roy has been getting home a little later than usual. It was very enjoyable to have dinner with him on Monday night.


On Wednesday Amy treated me to lunch at The Houston Club. We had great conversation, fabulous food, and a bit of a surprise thrown in. We were seated in The Bush Room. We were enjoying ourselves when a bit of a stir of activity took over the room. We saw two men with those little cords in their ears and of course we both thought, oh must be Barry West and Tray Mounce...the Pastor is here. No, to our surprise it was the Secret Service and President George Bush 41 who entered the room. He and his guests were seated in the back corner of the room, but his secret service agents sat at a table very close to Amy and me. They had stationed themselves to watch the entrance and the President. Talk about focus, in that room filled with a lovely buffet and all they had was bread and water. I have to share this; Amy stood up to make her way to the buffet. She made an awkward move that was interpreted as a move toward 41. Those secret service men were on her like a sick kitten to a hot rock. (I don't know what that means, but Peggy says it) Being the kind compassionate and helpful friend that I am, I ratted her out to those men. I said, she is from Missouri, who knows what evil lurks in her heart! While one of the agents kept his eye on the President, the other one whisked Amy over in the corner. He asked which dessert on the buffet was her least favorite. He had one of the waiters bring over the key lime pie and a fork. He made her eat a piece of pie and then demanded to know why she had made an aggressive move toward 41. She didn't answer, he made her eat another piece of pie. He asked the question again. No answer. Third piece of key lime and I intervened. Not because of my friendship with Amy, but due to the fact key lime is one of my favorite desserts and if he kept making her eat it, there wouldn't be any for me when dessert time arrived. I pleaded with the agent that she is just clumsy and awkward...and there was no ill will intended. At that time, Amy stood up and made the same stumbling move. Game over, case proved. She was released to continue eating lunch.

Last night I met Dena for dinner. Afterwards, I ran over to The Nord to check out the sale. Ran into CourtneyS and Lisa P. That was a nice surprise. Another nice surprise was buying pants a size smaller. I think I have lost about 40 pounds.

OK...I have to confess, while President 41 did eat lunch at The Houston Club on Wednesday, Amy did not have any engagement with the secret service. They just sat at their table focused on safety and protection. They didn't even move a muscle when Amy threw that fried chicken leg in the general vicinity of the Presidential group. OK, she didn't do that either.

Please over look any misspellings, my spell checker isn't working on blogger this morning.

Monday, November 3, 2008

More Conversations with Peggy

I don't know how many of these I have done on the blog, but I love conversations with Peggy. Since her official retirement, I think she has only had one day in which she has had nothing to do. Peggy encourages me to quit so that we can hang out together, but I am not convinced that she has the time or opportunity to do that. She and Bill have traveled, had several parties at the Bain Compound, had a summer full of guests at the Bain Bed and Breakfast, grand babies being born, kiddos moving into new homes and then all the other stuff that fills Peggy's life.



Something I have noticed in doing events and also being in charge of events at church. If there is a speaker, musician, or act coming, we love to have them in house arriving early in order to cross off program speaker here on our lists. When we do Mildred and Gertrude we are asked to come early to do sound checks, get the lay of the land and to talk with the person we will be interrupting. So after all that we usually have an hour to an hour and a half to kill. This is the time we ad lib our lines and some of it sticks enough to make it into the program. I had forgotten a line we used to say years ago; "Ed is like Jesus; he never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow." You would think we would take that time to go over lines, and we do...but maybe just once. We talk about anything and everything otherwise. So yesterday I had Conversations with Peggy.





We solved a lot of the worlds problems yesterday, but we can't get anyone to listen to us. We told funny stories to each other about embarrassing situations we've found ourselves in at the mall. She reminded me that I promised her last year I wouldn't die. I told her that very thought was in my brain and then to God's ear when I was being rushed to the cardiologist on September 11th. I haven't written her lines for the eulogy (I write the scripts, Peggy comes up with the materials we use). We love the conversations we find ourselves in after a performance with people who want to talk to us. We laughed about several memorable conversations we have had over the years. Yesterday we had several ask for more info, so that is always a good thing. I think this is our only M&G for the holidays. Our Sunday School class is studying the Book of Acts and we discussed some of what we have learned. I think that is a first for us before a performance. Don't worry teacher, it was all good discussion. Of course we discussed Bill and Roy, both their good and aggravating qualities. It was almost a shame that we couldn't keep on catching up because once we are finished our part of the program we are ready to change clothes and head on home.


I am sure that I'm forgetting something really funny, but I can't forget and wouldn't want to, how much I love Peggy and our friendship. We have walked many roads together and have a few more roads to conquer. She makes the mundane adverturesome and the sentimental something to treasure and cherish. There isn't too much that is boring when Peggy is around and I love the fact she can fall asleep just about anywhere. She can sleep 10 minutes and be refreshed as if were a full night's sleep. look forward to many more conversations with Peggy.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Fall Back. Thankyou I Think I Will

I love fall back weekend! Went to bed early, slept a little later than usual. It is great to feel rested for the days ahead that turn dark at 5:00 pm. It is wonderful! It is my favorite time of year. I am also glad because that gave Peggy and me an extra hour to prepare for Mildred and Gertrude today at Pine Forest. I'll get to that in a minute.


Friday I went for a massage at Lifetime Fitness. That is where Stacey works now. Oh, it was so wonderful. It has been since the first of August since I have had one. Lifetime has very comfortable facilities. Afterwards, I went to see Lindsey and decided to join the club while there were still good offers on the table. Roy wasn't interested but they gave him a free pass for the month of November. I have to delay several of the amenities they offer since I can't do that type of testing of endurance right now, but I can do it once I get the go ahead from the Dr. Since I felt so relaxed and rested, I decided to make a quick stop at Macy's. Not a good idea.


This is such new territory for me of knowing how far I can go or push the limits. I found 3 tops and a pair of pants on sale. Can I make a mention that the pants were a size smaller...Praise Him!!! Paid for them and went to stand in line for Macy's money. That is where I thought I might hit the floor. I probably looked like I was a shoplifter or something. I was sweating like a bad girl's dream... Just my head. That I have found out is not a good sign. I couldn't decide whether to sit down for a bit or tough it out to the car. I chose car. Probably wasn't the choice to make, but I finally made it, winded, sweaty and breathing hard. I drove home with the A/C blasting and napped until Roy got home.


Roy and I have rediscovered Cafe Express. We went there for dinner Friday night and he picked up some chicken soup for me to have on Saturday lunch. It was great. I love the olives and could chow down on those and eat very little dinner.


Yesterday, I took it easy. I did some cleaning in the den/closet. I had a purpose in it, I had lost my Mildred wig and knew it had to be in that room. It was. I also went through my shoes in my closet and got a bunch ready to go to the Mission Training Center. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon going over M&G lines for today. Even read lines with Peggy over the phone. It is funny, we love to do M&G and I love writing scripts, but we hate to practice the lines.


Today we did M&G for Bear Creek United Methodist Church. They were such a totally fun and wonderful group. We love it when people become a part of the script and we have a lot of interaction. I had them put a chair on the stage just in case and I am happy to report I only had to sit down for a few seconds to catch my breath. We had a blast! And as much as we have a blast we are always glad when it is over. We had several come get info from us to book us for some future things. That is always encouraging.


I think I will now go enjoy some reading time. Hope everyone had a fun weekend!