Thanksgiving

Last Thanksgiving we left Austin on Tuesday, right after we picked out my new frames at the eye place. It was a 4 hour trek that had us driving the bulk of it in the dark. As we drove through one town we passed a place that in big red neon letters said “Meskan Restaurant”. I was horrified and went into one of my rants to Roger. He was very confused as to what I was talking about. Turns out I was seeing the sign so blurry that the X-I-C had merged in my eyes to form an S-K. Roger teased me about that for weeks.

Half way to Conroe Roger received a call that his grandmother had fallen very ill, and his father would be skipping Thanksgiving with us to drive to Dallas to care for her. It was to the point that we weren’t sure she was going to make it through the holiday. (She did but passed away this summer). My own grandma had just died 3 weeks prior.

The doglets were super excited to get out of the car when we arrived, but some of that was curbed by the presence of Molly, their extremely large lab puppy cousin…. Technically their aunt I suppose.

Wednesday was a flurry of family, baking, last minute grocery store runs, wine consumption, and this new fangled game called Angry Birds. (I’m sure it wasn’t new, but it was to us.)  In between the various stages of my pie making, I became a pro-bird thrower, and by the end of the day Roger, Kim, Joan, and I were all playing, though perhaps not as rabidly as myself.

Thursday we ate a late afternoon/early evening dinner. We set the table with 3D foam trees we had made the year before with leaves that read things we were thankful for. During dinner we all took turns saying what we were thankful for that year. I don’t even remember what mine were.

That night the Williams clan piled in the living room to watch the UT-A&M game while I started my re-read of Harry Potter 7. They were loud (primarily Roger and his dad with their big booming voices), and I remember getting irritated by just how loud one could be over a dumb football game. I wouldn’t mind hearing him cheer now.

Late Friday morning we did a little Black Friday shopping before Roger and I headed out for the 5 hour drive to my parents. He read HP7 to me in the car as I drove. He was a really good reader and made it interesting. He was such an HP trove of knowledge that any reference to another book I had forgotten he was quick to refresh my memory.

The time with my parents was pretty laid back. Saturday we played 42. I’d like to say we won, but I honestly don’t remember who did. I tried to get my parents hooked on Angry Birds too, but they seemed uninterested. I remember talking about grandmas.

Sunday Roger loaded up the trunk with firewood and we headed home. There’s still a lot of woody junk in my car from that trip. I’m too lazy to vacuum it out. He read until it was too dark to see, and we tried to listen to Christmas music, but neither of us were in the mood.

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Today we shared Thanksgiving dinner, Williams clan and mine all together. There was a lot less pomp, but I was glad to share it with the whole family.  While we didn’t have any foam trees or a specified time to share, I AM THANKFUL FOR:

*both sides of my wonderful family

*my puppies that keep me sane and silly at home

*my job that amply keeps me afloat and super busy

*laptops

Me Time

I am in dire need of some Me Time. I absolutely love my job. I love the kids I work with every day, even when I don't. But I'm tired.

My band is taking a trip to Seattle this week, courtesy of a fabulous CD we sent in that won us the chance to give a showcase concert at a music convention. We found out back in April, and 95% of my life since then has been focused on our upcoming concert and making the trip a reality. I'm happy to do it, and I'm more than glad to be a part of one of those lifetime memories the kids will make up there in the rain. :) But I'm tired.

I am incredibly thankful for this trip. It has given me a focused purpose these past 7 months and in the process helped me handle the past year just a little bit at a time instead of stewing in my own emotions. I am so thankful for that because in a weird way in the insanity that comes with the trip has kept me sane. :) But I'm tired.

my overly bounteous purchase

SO TIRED that when I went to Barton Springs Nursery a couple of weekends ago and bought 12 new plants (shouldn't have done that...) I've only managed to get 7 in the ground. I've currently planted 2 mexican sages, a mexican mint marigold (the second died before I could plant it...), a winter senna that looks strange, 2 almond verbenas (yum!), a rock rose, and one of 3 somethings that I can't remember what it's called. Many of them replaced plants that didn't make it through the summer. Several though have required a bed extension that I'm super pumped about!!!!

I also bought some bamboo muhly that I got very excited by but have absolutely no idea where I even want to put it.

Here is one of my extensions that is still in the process of being created. I spent about 2 hours tearing up the crap grass that was growing there, removing all of the old roots and rocks, and preparing the soil for real plants. The Mexican Sage has already grown a lot since I took this picture, and hopefully I spread them out enough that they won't crowd my Hot Lips Salvia come spring. Just FYI... the bit of fencing was just to keep the dogs away, and the rock is testing how I feel about that look.





This is another of the projects I've started. Nothing grows in this part of my yard, aside from the rogue crape myrtle that I have finally just accepted is going to grow here after 2 1/2 years of trying to get rid of it. I usually have a few adirondacks in this corner which get a great view of all the yard work I've done, so I thought I'd do a little "masonry" project by laying some brick to create little seating area. This is my first round of bricks that is pseudo finished. It will eventually be brick and crushed granite in at least 3, maybe 4 rings. Lots of work, but a lot of fun in the process.

 As for all of the indoor projects Dad completed to the point of me needing to finish... that'll have to wait until I actually get some of that Me Time after this trip.