Holiday Hello

I have thought about posting here many times in the past few months. This year has been the kind of series of events that is hard to write down and hope to make any sense whatsoever. The ups have been very high and he downs very low. Since I am someone who dwells most comfortably in the "neutral" range, that means it's been rough on my fascinating collection of issues. Perhaps the most interesting discovery that I have made is that when things get unexpectedly better than I ever expected them to be...trying to figure out what to do about it is really stressful! Of course, I can learn to cope!

Holiday Stuff

First, let me share with any of you still reading this blog my little piece of holiday cheer--the kids playing music together for Lee's dad.

They had never played together before, but I sure hope they do it again. We spent Christmas with Lee's dad, who is dealing with some bad health issues. We have been visiting there at least monthly since we got Ursula the RV (he values his privacy, so staying in the trailer is a real invasion of space). I have grown to really enjoy the visits--it is fun watching Lee's dad enjoy his fancy new tractor and watching Lee and his nephew, who has been mostly staying in the area since Lee's dad has needed someone around these past few months, do stuff with each other. The farm has become a lot more organized, and a lot more fun.

For example, when there was a scary brush fire caused by a welding spark, a bunny got injured by the tractor. Lee's dad has been caring for it for a couple of months. It has really grown!

Bun Bun wishing it had more of that gourmet lettuce Suna brings

They lost half the hay crop that had just been baled, but saved the buildings! Yeah, stuff like this happened all year. But fun also happened. I got to play with the cows. Of course, the friendliest two are now someone's dinner. But one bull calf did get to become a Daddy Bull at a friend's farm. More cows are coming, too.

He was a sweetie pie.

I got a real Stetson hat. That is because it's the only thing that doesn't blow off in the heavy winds, and I can't see without a hat, due to my hair growing out. I look very official, don't I?

Why I Have So Much Western Gear and More Ups and Downs

I said there were ups and downs this year. Maybe it will be easier to just enumerate things. Then move on.

1. Jobs. I really loved working in the small office with the wonderful view and the wonderful coworkers and the wonderful lunches together. However, I did not love never knowing if there was actually something to do on any given week. When people began to leave, I decided to stop ignoring all those calls about other jobs and go for them. I had turned down one job this time last year, and resolved to not repeat that. I told myself I would take the first thing that came up, even a contract. There seem to be more jobs out there now, so I had more confidence I could find something else. So, I took a job at Dell. The pay was most excellent, and I learned about Agile Project Management and Oracle products. However, in the entire time I was there, no one ever said "hello" or "goodbye," or asked me how I was doing. I was spoken to about work and that's it (they were perfectly nice and very smart people, but sitting in a cubicle staring at a 200 page technical document with no breaks was more than a little tedious). So, I kept applying for "real" jobs and ended up having two offers at the same time--one for the job I didn't take last year and another very similar job that had more training to it. It was hard to decide, since the people were nice at both places, and while the second one paid more, the first one was much closer to home. I decided I would lose all that extra money in gas and traffic sitting hours, so I took the first position as contract to hire. Hip, hip, hooray they actually liked me and I am now full time there. It's a really nice company with good ethics, and I am doing better than I thought I would at doing nothing but making one e-learning module after another. They do let me do a bit of editing, too. So, ups and downs, yes, but it has ended on a big up. The people are fun, and I have made more good friends!

2. Life and Death. After a truly wonderful 80th birthday party, I hugged and hugged my dad before I left. I am glad I did, because 5 weeks later, his best friend died at the wheel of the truck he was driving. Dad was the middle passenger. They veered straight into Interstate traffic. The next two weeks were unbearably difficult. I went to NC and stayed as long as I could with him in ICU. That was horrendous. Since people read this, I will omit some of the reasons, but it is sufficient to say that emergencies bring out the worst in some people, and Dad married into that kind of family. Dad's funeral was not quite as bad, because I had my wonderful husband and kids with me, and my wonderful husband did a great job easing things for everyone. The ensuing issues with wills, property and other stuff were difficult, but my brother did a good job executoring. Hopefully at some point the remaining little bit of bucks in Dad's checking accounts will be taken out and that will be over with. Sigh. I cannot tell you how much I miss my dad. There are a lot of things that come up internally when something like this happens!

Dad's 80th Birthday

And it hasn't stopped. There have been some deaths of friends' family members that have been very sad, too. But, it's a part of life, and most of the time I bear that in mind and do OK.

3. Spirituality. The church I have attended for well over a decade continues to be a big ole source of stress, strife and difficulty. There are also good parts, which is why I have so much trouble separating myself. I guess it is a good thing we spend so much time camping, farming and ranching these days--being in nature settles my soul much better than crabby infighting ministers, power plays, political maneuvering and public displays of all of the above! They way people have treated fellow church members in the past few months appalls me. Much like how people on different ends of the political spectrum just say awful stuff about each other. Why on EARTH do that? These are your friends who have a different perspective from yours, not enemies. I have tried really, really hard to listen to everyone, act according to my conscience, and plug away, but it is very, very hard. I had loved singing in the rock group, but the leader moved away, and while choir is OK it is no longer much of a challenge--I feel like more of a hindrance than a help there these days (to be proactive, I have rejoined the choir I sang with a few times years ago, and hope that will be a fun experience over the next few weeks.)

Fun with Funkatonic

4. Windfalls. There have been opportunities opened up for us that we never foresaw, thanks to the concept of "mineral rights." Trying to figure out what to do with unexpected income? Save! But, savings have no interest nowadays. So, we are planning to invest in a place to retire to, part of a lovely ranch. We go there often. I hope to share more photos when we start making improvements.

Ranch, looking toward woods.

I love looking at the birds around the tanks (ponds), wandering in the woods, and exploring the fields. The place feels good. That's what counts. Obviously we are still working, so we won't be moving anywhere for some years, but it will be great to have a place to retreat to. I need it. The world is such a contentious, unpleasant place these days. I can cope better with some "hermit time."

There is more, way more. But at least I have sort of caught up on this year. Next year I hope will be calmer, with more travel (RV and otherwise) and fun with friends and family. Because for sure, friends and family are what counts most. It's been a transition period for friends, but the ones who remain are treasured all the more, and I feel fondness for the good times with those who have moved on to new adventures!

Decision

I think I am going to start a new blog about driving around with the RV. I will link to it, so any of you who are interested can follow along.

I will keep this one for personal writings, which I will try to do more of these days. I think maybe it's not so overwhelming now.

So here is a picture of my dad, in honor of Father's Day coming up. He had a really crappy 2011, and lost his life in April. He was finally feeling better and hadn't counted on his friend dying at the wheel of the car he was riding in...in Interstate traffic.

 I just found out I will be inheriting his car soon. Not how I wanted to become a two-MINI family. 

Ethel meets Princely. Princely has been very lonely since March.

My Work Buddy (well former work, still buddy) and I were talking today about his parents and ELAB's dad and how they don't want to spend any money, even though they are quite elderly (his mom won't buy a book for the Kindle--would only want free ones). I realized that one reason I went along with the plan to buy the RV was that I I have been putting off doing fun stuff, having adventures, and seeing the world around me for a long time. Oh, I had no money in grad school. Focused on the kids and expensive trips to visit the Irish relatives when the kids were small. Was struggling to make ends meet or had no vacation as a contractor after the divorce. Well, I can take a day or two off now.

I'm still saving for the future, and not planning to go wild, but it will be nice to go relax in places I've never been before. Now's the time to enjoy my husband and my kids, while I can. Off I go. Follow me on Ursula's new blog...soon as I figure out where it will live!

Another Visit to the Farm and a Nice Mother's Day

So, I may not be able to blog as often lately, but I have a big ole post for you today. I just thought I'd share some photos and stories from this weekend with those of you who manage to visit this little blog...



Lee and I went back down to the vortex between Yorktown and Nordheim, Texas to see his dad again over the weekend. It was a very lovely drive, as you'll see below. It rained a lot right after all the crops got planted, so everything was quite green. And the three black cows from last visit had turned into 6! The calves are very tame, and as a matter of fact, Lee's dad was napping with the cows when we came up. That's right, he was all curled up next to one of the Mama Cows, with a baby next to him. Yep, that's some tame cattle. One calf was born in January, one in February and one in March. Just one is a little boy.
Here Ernest is talking to one of the calves. They listen quite hard to him. We enjoyed visiting with them, and watching the Mama Cows licking each other's babies and nursing. They sure have enough nice green grass this year!

The corn is up and looks good. Here it is at a nice sunset angle. We were trying to get back to the farm in time to get a nice photo of the sunset, but those are fleeting, you know. Lee also tried to get some full moon photos, but had no luck wrestling with his still-new camera. We had left the farm after playing our choir service for Ernest. I think he liked it, though he isn't good with stuff about other people. That's fine, he has a nice tidy world and doesn't like to have it interrupted by outside things.

Nonetheless, we took him to Victoria to buy him an 86th birthday dinner. He liked the peanuts at the restaurant better this year, and enjoyed some catfish. Lee and I had tasty little steaks and sweet potatoes drowning in marshmallows.
On our way out of the restaurant we were treated to this sight. This truck was covered in leafy oak decals. Wow, in the woods it would be INVISIBLE! You may be able to see the very interesting star things on the wheels. You can't miss the interesting tires. I am not sure what the truck was all tricked out for, but it sure looks different!

After the restaurant, we went to see our friends Jim and Esther, who moved from Round Rock to Victoria to retire last year. We also got to see their daughter and SIL, and grandkids (who go to our church, so are not strangers). They have a lovely home in a nice neighborhood with lots of space--and parking for Jim's camper and boat! It was nice to see them, though I know it's hard on Ernest to be around new people who aren't farmers or anything! I figure eventually he could get them to talk about politics, and all would be well, though (thankfully, we are all on the same side there). His religion talks would have been harder--he still really doesn't know what Unitarian Universalism is, other than we sure don't study the Bible hard enough. Glad we avoided that topic.

So, we took him home and in the morning had do-nuts. We drove by where his brother, Carroll, lives (he turned 85 the day after Ernest turned 86--guess Oma was in a hurry to get child-bearing out of the way), and lo and behold, he was in the yard. So, they actually introduced me to him! I had wondered if that would ever happen. I guess they don't like Carroll's wife, 'cause she's a Catholic, or something. I thought she was quite nice, and enjoyed the hour we spent on their porch watching lovely birds and playing with the neighbor's quite charming dog, Mo. I liked him. He allowed himself to be "brushed" with a broom, which was pretty darned cute.
We took "the road less taken" on our way back and got to see some really nice scenery. We stopped by one field, near Route 85 and FM 1116 (um, that is near the former town of Pilgrim, near a cool salt flat). This field is all black-eyed susans. There are so many fields like this right now, some also with phlox of many colors. Some had white phlox that looked like snow.

Here's one more view. If you look at the large version, you can see how many different flowers are in there. We passed Cactus World, a huge ranch or two with exotic animals, and much more attractive areas than you see on 183. I have no idea where we were, but it was nice. I guess we were near Bastrop at one point, since there were some pine trees.
When I got home, it was Mother's Day, and that was quite the celebration. Lee got me a very funny card, and totally surprised me with what you see here. It is a huge photograph of the labyrinth where we got married, taken by John Phelps, who did a lot of our wedding photos. He does all sorts of stuff to the photos and they end up looking like paintings. This photo has been printed on canvas and is like 4 feet wide. Really nice (see more by clicking the links). I guess Lee bought it from seeing it hanging at church, and all the profits of the sale went there, so that is another good thing! I think this is just a wonderful memory of where we got married, and it looks great hanging in the gallery between our bedroom and media room. How thoughtful!

But that's not all. Anyone climbing our stairs to see the picture would have the fine experience of using a stair rail that has all the dirt cleaned off it. I was rather appalled at how much "stuff" was on our railings, I guess from people's dirty hands through the years. Well, Tuba Boy and Beccano cleaned it all off as a Mother's Day gift. They even used their own money to buy sponges for the task. And each of them made me a card, in their inimitable ways -- in other words, rather hurriedly created, but very funny and sweet. I was really touched.

As a final treat, we all went to see the Star Trek movie last night. That was a great end to the weekend! I have loved Star Trek since I was in 5th or 6th grade, when my friend Patti from camp and I used to watch the original series every afternoon and then call each other and dissect the plot. I read all the James Blish adaptations of the episodes (and still have the very worn paperbacks to prove it) and Patti and I wore through two copies of our Star Trek book with all the details in it. I loved that book. I was prepared to be pretty peeved if this movie messed around with the Canon too much, but lo and behold, it used very Roddenberry-an plot twists and unbelievable coincidences involving things that go against all rules of physics to make everything JUST fine. It was a ton of fun!

I thought I'd share one last thing, these Mother's Day photos of the guys who made me a mother, in their natural habitat (i.e., surrounded by junk food). Here's Tuba Boy playing WoW on my old computer, with his Whataburger cup.
And here's Beccano in his Springsteen t-shirt, watching bad television surrounded by ice cream containers and um, stuff. He likes his stuff. They are good boys. I am glad to have them around!

Well, if that isn't enough blogging, I just don't know what IS!!

A Little Bit of This and That

dad
Originally uploaded by sunasak

So I have a few moments...here's a photo of my dad, known as Poppy Prince to the kids. He had not visited in quite a few years until last week, because my stepmother is deathly allergic to dogs and can't climb stairs, so he'd have to leave her at home. She is not good at being alone, so it was quite a pickle. I did see him and her for those few days in North Carolina last year, but, sadly, we are unable to see each other as often as we'd like any more. Now my stepmom wants them to move to some old folks home place, which means they won't have a home to go to whenever she gets that to take place. So, I am glad he was able to visit, even if it was for just a few days!

And it was such a nice visit, only marred by a lot of rain that made it hard to do as much work around the yard as we'd wanted. Still, he and I pulled up a lot of weeds and murderized that evil grape VINE a lot more than it had ever been before. And he hung some pictures and other helpful things. I love Dad's visits.

It was too bad that I had to work the weekdays he was here, but it gave him time to hang out with the kids, who were on spring break this week, and with Lee. It is incredibly good that Lee and my dad get along so well. I know Dad is relieved that Lee is around and is a good guy, and I think Lee is happy to have a friendly in-law. Tuba Boy drove my dad around a bit, and no one died, which was excellent.

We ate quite a few good meals, too, between our cooking and restaurant jaunts. We enjoyed the local Mexican and Chinese places. It was South by Southwest week here in Austin, which means famous folks were everywhere in more central areas. We went to Artz Rib House for our combined birthday meal, and Jeff was there too (he was playing the break set, while Danny Santos was the main act, with our friend Eddie on guitar). Jeff came up all excited--he had spotted his literary hero, Harlan Ellison in the back of the restaurant. It was a really important evening for him! Ellison even said he remembered corresponding with Jeff. How cool!

(Jeff also played a local downtown hotel, where he entertained ZZ Top and the lovely Morgan Fairchild, but more thrilling: he got to sing a Beatles song with the star of Across the Universe! That cute English guy! Whoa! A good week for our local down and out singer, huh!)

So, how bout work. It is just fine. I am settling in a bit, and all my services are set up. I can eat outside and listen to carillons, which is very pleasant, and this week the traffic was great on the bus (spring break for the university, too). Today I got some software at discount prices, too. I recall that one of my last acts at Illinois was to upgrade my word processing software, knowing I'd not be able to afford it at retail!

I'll post some more tomorrow, I hope. I have a bunch more photos of the last week or so on Flickr, so click one of those links if you want to look.

Sad about Dad

I heard from my dad today and it seems that he and his wife are way closer to choosing and moving into some Quaker retirement village than I realized. It's what my step-mother wants, apparently very badly. I feel really weird about it.

Of course it's their decision, and perhaps step-mother is less healthy than I thought (I do know she has some medical issues but they don't tell me a lot). And I know that a bunch of their friends (Friends friends, ha ha) think this is a good thing to do--I think you move into a separate condo place, then as you get less able to care for yourself you can go to assisted living, and so on.

But my father's in good shape, and is always very busy doing stuff around the house and yard. What will he DO with no house and yard to take care of? What will they do with their lovely things? (Maybe the retirement place is big?) The thought of my dad with no lawn to maintain in pristine perfection makes me feel very old. And useless, since I am of no help here and can't get out to see them with this brilliant contract work career going.

I am almost 50. My parents want to move to an old folks' home. This all will take some getting used to...but it's my job to be supportive of Dad, not whine about how it affects meeeee. No wonder my dad has not sounded too good lately; this can't be his idea of the ideal thing to do, but he would do anything to make her happy, and that is admirable. I wish I were able to talk to my brother--he is going to visit them this weekend. But, that's not to be.

Sigh. I just wanted to share.

Sweet 16 and not interested in getting kissed

How could you be thinking about kissing when you have Guitar Hero to play for hours and hours? It's a good thing, I guess, since the previous game he was obsessing over for Christmas must be about finished. Anyway, that's the 16-yr-old with his new haircut and new "guitar."

Hey, I like that game, though--all the music is from my generation!

We've all spent the Older Boy's 16th Birthday/MLK Day holiday at home, because the weather got scary here and they sent us all home. Lee and I did crawl into work, but crawled back soon thereafter. Lee is feeling better, but I seem to have the sinus attack germ now, so I am very glad to be home and medicated.

One more of the "milestones" of getting through the transition to a new partner is finally over, too. I finally told my dad about Lee. I think he's thrilled that I asked RM to move along, but probably not thrilled I have a new dude already. I am perfectly aware that it has to be tiresome for there never to be a break between dudes, but honest, this one was different, I swear. Honest. Hee hee. Dad seems to be OK, though my stepmother has a weird issue with her foot that they can't resolve. She will be 70 tomorrow. Wow. My family is aging. We all are.

At least we are proving we can stand each other sick. And having a fun day of laundry and household catch-up. For once, all the websites I do are caught up, I owe no other work, and I can just relax a bit. Well, and think about how I would like to get a new refrigerator sooner rather than later. Ours is still unhappy.