Home from Utah with Chris

I left on May 22 for Utah, intending to drive back with Chris and Alyona. I had a delightful time there, spending lots of it with my little ggrrls. Also saw mom and Squirt a couple of days, then helped Chris pack on a few days. We left on Tues around 3 pm, drove to someplace until 10pm, then stopped. Got up and left at 8am, and arrived in Cedar Park at 1am.

Pics and more to follow.

Old Peeple drives

I realize this post is going to classify Rick and me quite quickly as old peeple. Here it is: We like to go for drives and see the countryside. But lest you assign this as old peeple ways, we have always enjoyed doing this. Illinois, Indiana, didn't get to do it much because we were always busy doing kid stuff on Sat mornings, afternoons, and evenings, the times that we now go for drives (along with various Sunday times).

In North Carolina we saw our first tobacco plants (they are huge) and cotton. In PA, we saw stuff, historical, scenery, parks, rivers, etc. Here in Texas we see - Historical Marker signs. First we see the sign saying a historical marker is one mile ahead. Then we see the Historical Marker. So we started stopping and reading the markers. They tell us stuff like on this river/creek, the first settlers used a natural limestone bridge just below the water, then they built a concrete bridge, then a real bridge over a period of 100 years or so. Oh. Then we drive across the old bridge (no sides). On a 5-10 mile section we came across 4 Historical Markers. Texas has to do everything bigger than anyone else, that includes having more Historical Markers than any other state.

Rick has been searching for a body of water in which to launch the sail boat, a place that is not too crowded, doesn't necessary flow downstream (like Lake Travis on the Colorado River, at least I don't want a river that flows down, for how will we get a sail boat back up?), and that doesn't cost mucho dinero (little Spanish lingo). Enter Lake Granger. We came across this lake on one of our drives. It is on the San Gabriel River, but really does seem more lake-like and not river-like. The attendant at the guard shack told us Texas only has one natural lake; all the rest are man made, mostly by the Army Corps (corpse if you are Obama) of Engineers for water shed and flood prevention. Lake Granger will cost $30 for a year pass and wasn't crowded at all, but then it had been raining all morning. So maybe the little sailboat will see more water than the swimming pool here in Texas.

We saw quite a few buzzard hawks sitting and flying around. Looking for carrion, I suppose.

Celtic Woman

Rick and I both love to watch YouTube clips of these singers, so last Jan we decided to look and see if they are doing any US tours and they are. Last night and tonight Austin was scheduled, and we  bought tickets for last night's performance. It was wonderful, loved their music and dancing, and it wasn't even too loud. I brought and used my ear plugs, but the sound level was great.

In Jan when we visited Fred and Barbara, Fred really wanted to come to Austin, see us and go to the concert. We bought tickets for him and Barbara even tho we really suspected they wouldn't come. Two weeks ago they decided for sure to not come. Fred is on dialysis 3 times a week, but dialysis centers are all over and his doc encouraged him to come and enjoy; the dialysis center in Indy would even arrange it all, but when it came down to it, Fred just didn't feel up to the trip.

We gave the tickets to Peter and he brought a date. We didn't want them to not be used since they were $73 a ticket, so really happy he wanted to come.

In this age of sexualized everything, twirking, etc, it was so nice to go to this concert, hear lovely music, and see elegant ball gowns and dance.

Incredible shrinking bananas

Rick and I have been eating more bananas. The last time I bought them he was with me, and I got some that were fairly large. Then on Fri or Sat, after I ate the last one, I bought a few more but these were little. They started ripening too quickly so I put them in the fridge. This morning Rick asked me where the bananas were and I said in the fridge. He got one out and noticed how little it was and asked, why's it so little, what happened to them, thinking they were the other larger bananas. I said, these are new ones, I put them in the fridge because they were ripening too soon.

It just struck me funny that he thought the bananas were shrinking.

Showhouse

When I was growing up we called the movie theatre a showhouse. I have mentioned here before that Jason comments on my use of (old fashioned) language when I call it that. Most people say they are going to watch a movie, but the elitist term to use is film. "Watching a film." Interesting how language is, with some words being high class and others low class, yet they are all just words. It's the connotation our society puts on the words.

So when we saw this theatre near where we live, I just had to take a pic and blog it.

Hawks

Because we live on the top of a hill with wooded areas all around, we get lots of hawks that love to fly above us, circling and catching air currents. I love to lie back in the pool and just watch them circle. I suppose they might also be looking for vermin to eat. Rick snapped these the other morning. There were 6 of them, and sometimes they got fairly low in the sky. Beautiful.

 

 

 Yesterday morning I was walking on the trail between the houses. I love to be in nature; it renews my soul. Although it's not even close to Blanton Woods, yet it does have shrub trees and live oaks and I would rather see that than concrete sidewalks and asphalt roads (please keep the snakes).

Crochet hat

Emily had her 5th little baby, another sweet girl. Katelynn. I asked her what she needed or wanted and she said a pink crochet hat. She has one for each of her other little girls, with pics, and wanted one for this little cutie.

I searched out patterns on the internet and came across about 5 I thought were "quick, easy, free," and bought some soft pink baby yarn. I'm not a great crocheter, not like my mom who could see an item, pick out the pattern, and follow it. I'm not even close to being able to do that.

I began crocheting and would do fine until I reached a certain point, and then just could not understand what the instructions were telling me to do. Finally, yesterday afternoon I read instructions from another pattern at about my blockage point and finally, Finally, FINALLY, understood and was able to complete the little hat. This morning I made the flower, packaged it up and will mail it today. Yay. I really enjoy doing stuff like this.

1st unsuccessful attempt

2nd unsuccessful attempt

Completed hat, yay

New Testament

I am reading the New Testament, going slowly and trying to not just read words but reading for understanding. I just finished Romans 7. I really liked and resonated to what Paul was trying to teach starting in verse 7, but especially noted verse 21:

The Law and Sin

⁷ What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”^{[b] 8} But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. ⁹ Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. ¹¹ For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. ¹² So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
¹³ Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature^[d] a slave to the law of sin.

I read on in Romans 8 and Paul expounds further. I'll blog it later today or tomorrow.

59

Today is Rick's 59th birthday. Hard for me to believe, it seems like such a short time ago we met and got married, started a family, finished college, then a job. Seems short, but then again, seems like such a long time ago also.

We have such great kids - calls from all of them wishing him a Happy Birthday. Plus all the cards (and more in the mail), I accidently threw away Scott's, but that's because he got it when Scott was here. The sandals are ones Scott and Jessica got him (which he loves!), and the carrot cake is his birthday cake, just one slice.

Sixty sounds like old people, and I don't feel like an old people, but that is next year. Days go slowly and months and years whiz by.

Please ignore the man thighs

Hospira Family Event

Amour (and then the other 3 names it was) used to have a yearly family picnic type thing. Liposome also had the yearly family picnic, along with an adult Christmas party. They were all great fun that we enjoyed as a family, but no other company that Rick has worked for had a family picnic. Hospira had not had such an event for 5 years, so Rick decided it was time, they formed a committee, and yesterday was the event. It was from 1-5, but we arrived at 11:30 (some people had been there since 8) to help. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and condiments that go with grilled meats, drinks, chips, cookies, ice cream and snow cones, bouncy houses, air slides, petting zoo, face painting, crafts, and of course, don't forget the dunk tank, were all available. Turned out quite well. Clean up didn't take long with many hands, and we left by 5:30.

When I told Paige, she expressed disappointment that they weren't there to participate. I wish they had been also - there's always next year.

It was enjoyable; I wonder how much it really does for employee morale and feeling of good-will towards the company? I would think it must be good.

Walking and thinking of old songs, motions, dances

This morning while out walking I was talking to Miz Chero on the phone, and when I got home it reminded me of all the songs, dances, etc we used to do while I was growing up. Then a little later I was talking to Squirt and it reminded me of it all once again.

We used to do a line dance type of thing, I think it was called The Hustle, so I looked that up online. It must have been made famous by the John Travolta film "Saturday Night Fever," but we did this while I still in high school, so long before the movie. (Not too long ago, I called a movie theatre a show house, and Jason told me to change centuries or something like that.) Anyway, some of the steps done in The Hustle are the same, but we did more also. I would love to know all the steps and motions we did with whatever that line dance(?) was.

I have taught a few of the songs we used to do to my kids, and we sang them on road trips when they were growing up. Now I'm teaching a few of them to my ggrrls. I'm going to list them below just so I won't forget them.

Songs:
This old man, knick knack paddy wack, give a dog a bone
A Sailor went to sea sea sea
Fee, fie, foe, fum, vista
One black two black
Chicken/Rufus Rafus
Peas porridge hot
Do not laugh when a hearse goes by (this is gruesome)
Salt, pepper and vinegar
The ants go marching

Dance steps:
The Hustle?

I'm going to write the words to Fee, fie, foe, fum. This song is echoed or repeated after every word or refrain.
Fee
Fie
Foe
Fum
Vista
Kumala, kumala, kumala vista
Oh, no, no not devista
Eenie meenie ess-aminie, oowa oowa dameenie
Ess-ameenie siidameenie oowa oowa
Eaten beaten oaten doaten be-bot-en dee-en-dot-en
Ssshhhhhh