A Good Day For Dog Walking!......

 A nice, sunny late September afternoon calls for teaching Brooklynn the art of "walking the dog".

 Apparently it is not as easy as it looks.

 When you have a dog that is determined to take a sock along for a stroll, and grandchildren who have a knack for getting him tangled up in a leash, a short way can take a LONG time!

But...it really doesn't matter because we have nothing but time and sunshine today!

Not Just A Pumpkin............

Today is the first day of fall. 

 I do not have wonderful pictures of all the decorations I have gotten out, or the Pinterest projects for the season because truth be known there are no decorations.  We are leaving town for ten days and I am not dragging everything out just to turn around and put it up to do Christmas.

It is, however, the pumpkin season whether I am embracing it or not!

 Just a quick google of the subject and I have found out that we raise 1 billion pounds of pumpkin every year.

What to do with all of that pumpkin???

You can only set so many on the front porch and a few pumpkin pies each season is enough.

You only have to navigate one aisle of Kroger to realize that you can get out your new iPhone and snap more than a small photo album full of pumpkin products.

There is no place in your kitchen (or stomach) that you cannot incorporate pumpkin!

I am trying to imagine a pumpkin flavored beer.  Since I cannot even drink a normal Miller Lite, I doubt that I am going to stocking up on a brew loaded with pumpkin flavoring.  

This, however, calls my name!

Give me good cookie with a dose of pumpkin and in the cart it goes.  

I am all about the sugar and spice mixture.  

I can load a cake, a pie, or muffins with the fall type squash and be in total fall happiness!

If I don't use up all of the pumpkins in baked goods I also found out that pumpkin puree is a cure for a case of freckles.  What I cannot figure out is why anyone would want to cure freckles.

Just Thinking....

On a very personal note...let me say that this month always stinks.  I would be lying if I said it didn't. To go from the euphoria of watching your firstborn marry, move with his wife to California, settle in to being a husband, celebrate a 27th birthday, and then die a month later sucks.

I look forward to fall with very mixed emotions. 

 I love the season, but I hate the memories.  

I am pretty good at being happy...when I need to be.  I am a content person and I am grateful for all that I have been blessed with...but I miss my child.  I want him to call and say "Hi mom, this is Matt".  He always did.  Did he think I would confuse him for someone else?!

I know that I have no right to expect that I am going to live a trouble free life.  None of us do.  We all have baggage, burdens, and worries.  I know that what I foresaw as our future is not what God had in mind.  I accept that and live that daily.  I am not mad that I was chosen for this.  My whole family was affected by what happened but we seldom talk about the awful period in our lives anymore.  I don't yell at God now...but I did when it happened.  I am thankful for the strength that came along with this burden for otherwise I would be pretty tough to be around.  I know what will be someday, but I also know what is now, and there are just some days that I am sad...and I guess that is today.  

I know that tomorrow I will be back to normal, but I also know that if for today I cannot automatically paste on a smile that it is okay.  We all have the right to live in the past for a moment, wish for what might have been,  and then we move on to the reality of our future.

Tuesday Buddies.....

 Sometimes the day just calls for unscheduled and lazy!

Sometimes it is just a stay in your pajamas because there is no reason not to kind of day.

 Tuesday was a that kind of day and it was fun.

We did not have a plan....so we played.

 And then we packed up a lot of boxes for the Visiting Nurses Association because it is North Texas Giving Week!

Finley sorted, Brooklynn taped and labeled and I supervised.

Teamwork....in our pajamas!

It was that kind of Tuesday!

Another Adventure......

Before I have even packed my bags to take what I know will be the trip of a lifetime to France, I have paid my deposit to embark on yet another amazing adventure. There seem to be endless opportunities coming my way, unexpected surprises that I did not seek out, but simply fell in

my path.

For all of the years we did not do anything, we are now being rewarded with things we never imagined.

Next July I am headed to the Holy Land. 

 I have no bucket list.  I have always thought I would rather just wait for an opportunity I have never really imagined to present itself and then be surprised by what lie ahead...but if I did have an official list I do not think my mind could have comprehended putting this (or France either) on it.  

It was there, in the bulletin at church, like France, and we talked about it and decided I could go.

I can go to the Holy Land!

Another pilgrimage with my church friends and with my other favorite priest, Father Jacob.

I can walk the roads that Jesus walked.  I can walk in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed the night before his crucifixion.

I can pray at the tomb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Together we will swim in the Dead 

Sea....a sea that is a body of water so far below sea level that no life can survive in it.  It is the sight of many healings due to the high mineral and salt content of the water...and yes, we will all swim in it,  unbothered by body size and varicose veins.  What an awesome feeling.

My husband very clearly said that if I can soak my arthritic hands in the mud and come home healed, he will be in church with me every Sunday.  Just healing my hands will be enough reward!

I can go with our group and stand where Jesus and his disciples shared the last supper...Where Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, "this is my body, this is my blood, do this in remembrance of me"...and we still do, and will in that very spot.

I can envision it in my mind...but now I can be there.

We will have mass at Golgatha, the sight where Jesus was crucified.  

And we will travel the Sea of Galilee in a wooden boat...the very sea where Jesus walked on water.

It is almost too much for my mind to comprehend right now.

The bible will come alive, 

the stories have I heard in church since I was old enough to remember will be real.

I have believed by faith alone, but now I will see what I believe and I cannot imagine that I will not be touched in a way that is beyond comprehension.

There just are not words for the blessings behind and ahead for us.

So France soon and then off to the Holy Land....I may just be getting started.

Old age is a gift!....A beautiful gift!

I Am That Person........

 So...no I am not posting pictures of my dog, or children, or grandchildren on Facebook daily.

I am not taking pics of my lunch and putting them on my newsfeed....

but I am updating the strides we are making with our new family member as he turns two months old.

 Harley is great!

He fits our family.

In the week he has been here he has only had two accidents, he crawls in his cage at night at 9:30 pm and whines at 6:30 am to get out.  Not a sound in between.

 He loves to be outside, but inside is fine too if that is what is on the agenda. 

He loves to chew socks, toys, and laundry if I do not fold it fast enough. And toilet paper...yes, he can undo a roll from one end of the house to the other in seconds!

Brooklynn thinks she is his mother.  She totes him all over the house and makes sure he takes ample potty breaks.

Finley...that is another story.  She is not quite as smitten.  Actually she wants nothing to do with him.

She will pet him if he is not looking, but as soon as he turns around she is off and running.  

He will grown on her...we hope!  

 All of that being said...

Jimmy is happy again...

Sara loves having a new roommate....

And if we have to have another dog, then Harley is welcome here!

REAL Estate!!!....

 I have been driving by this "stone" house for 35 years.

It sits less than 1/4 mile from our old house, and practically across the street from my present house.

For years I packed my children into whatever form of van I happened to be driving and passed this house on my left and the old Capricorn Riding Academy on my right.  We made it down a blacktop road that was once named Blackburn to some sort of civilization where I could purchase groceries.  

Kroger was not 1/2 mile away and you did not run quickly for bread.  You had to plan...which is now a lost art at my house.

So there is a point to this story!

Every time we drove by here Tim boldly declared that he was going to live there someday.  He had a strong attraction to this stone cottage behind a bunch of overgrown vines.

I humored him and thought it was cute he wanted to live by his mom!

After all of these years there is a "For Sale" sign in the yard.

Thinking Tim would find this a bit nostalgic I googled the property.

This 1400 square foot, sold "as is" home is on the market for......

$1,153,000.00

This is not thousands...that is over a million dollars.  

It sets on 3 plus acres.  Really?  Have they discovered oil here or something?

I logged out and looked it up again to make sure I was right.

No doubt about it.  That is the price. 

I don't think if Tim was the chairman and head CEO of JCP he would be willing to drop that kind of money on this!

So, I am sad.  Soon someone will buy it and probably level it and build something more fitting on the land.  My trips down the road will not be the same.  The space will no longer conjure up memories of a van load of kids and a son that wanted to live in the woods.

Progress just stinks.

Puppy Love!.......

 Yes, Harley is here.  

And yes, we are pretty smitten!

 He is an 8 week old, 5 1/2 pound ball of fur.  

Underneath all of the curly is not much body...but he is one big hug!

 He seems to like it here!

He has bounced from room to room, chewed on his toys, and snuggled in everyones lap.

He has won our hearts quickly!

 Yes, this "there will be no more dogs in this house" woman is so glad to have a baby here.

A whole day of no accidents in the house and I am even more in love!

This is no dumb dog!!!

So we will see how the first night goes.  

Since retirement I have become a big fan of sleeping in and peacefully enjoying my coffee and an early morning read....I am betting I am soon to have my schedule interrupted.  

I am also betting that there will be no complaints from here....unless he starts eating my shoes.

Coming Soon.............

It is September 1st

.  Time to put away all of my red, white, and blue.  I tend to think in terms of July 4th until after Labor Day and so now it is time to remove everything patriotic and reset my mind to fall..despite the ever present heat and humidity.

I love this time of year.  I am a football fan but I have given up loving the Cowboys.  I did that years ago when I became totally disenchanted with Jerry Jones face.  I know that if you want to watch a game you have to be willing to look at the owner and general manager way too often and I just cannot do that anymore.  I have kind of switched my allegiance to wherever Peyton Manning plays, so Denver I am following you on Sundays.

College football....yes, please.  I could look at Kliff Kingsbury all day so I will be tuning in to watch the Texas Tech Red Raiders regularly.

And next on upcoming happenings....

 We have a new family member arriving on Saturday!

 Meet HARLEY!!!!!

 After being dog free for about two months and making a stand against ever having another dog in our house, I caved!  I finally convinced the family that starting over with a new puppy at our age was a very bad decision and we just had to enjoy the freedom that being dog free brings.

Well, what I quickly discovered was that I missed having an animal.....yes, me....I am the one that missed a dog.  I also decided that if this was going to happen I had to quickly find a dog that would work for us....cannot bark, does not shed or slobber, is under 25 pounds, does not smell like a dog, looks cuddly, easily trainable, excellent with small children, and is playful and loving.  Just try googling all those traits and see what comes up.  Not much but an Australian Labradoodle.  I found the perfect dog, announced my find to the family and put in my order.  We have patiently waited and Saturday is the big day.  Jimmy and Sara will travel to Austin to finally pick up our dog.  Who is the most excited...probably me.  But, do not ever tell my husband I said that!

 Harley's home is ready and Brooklynn tested it out.

Little did I know how entertaining a cage would be!!  

She put herself in and out for hours!

 Next...one month away from Paris.  

I am suffering from sleep deprivation just thinking about it!

I am going to be packing my new luggage very soon and traveling nine hours across the ocean to hang out somewhere I never in my life imagined I could go.

I have all my birthday gifts ready to go...

passport holder

umbrella

purse

electrical converter

and a beautiful new bracelet to keep me safe when I am airborne.

Until the middle of October I see nothing but good things on the horizon.

After the middle of October we can begin the countdown until Tim's African adventure is over.  

I would have to say the last quarter of 2014 is going to be AWESOME!!!