When I last spoke to you, I was planning a trip to Texas to visit Adam and his family. I did go and I had a stupendous visit! The girls, Gracen and Avery, who are so shy around non-family, lose all their inhibitions when they feel comfortable, and can aptly be described as "wild women". I had such a wonderful time with them and got to spend some precious one on one time with my youngest son. His wife Shanna and her sister Annie also contributed mightily to my enjoyment!
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| Shanna and Annie |
I used to like to fly, but the hassle of dealing with rude TSA agents has tarnished the magic of "slipping the surly bonds of earth". They fail every test aimed at stopping a terrorist event, but seem to love the power of being able to treat the traveling public like something lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut. Nevertheless, I got to Austin safely. The weather was very cold: so cold, in fact, that the night before my trip I had to repack my whole bag to accommodate the warm clothing I would need. Normally, it is much colder in my mountains than in Austin, but that was reversed during this visit and I spent the time in sweaters and warm coats, a completely different feel than the shirt sleeves that were needed here.
Adam was very attentive to me which warmed the cockles of my heart. I see him so infrequently that anytime spent with him (or Jon) is a precious memory. We ate lunch out several times, took a tour of downtown Austin, went to a short concert provided by a radio station at the University of Texas, grocery shopped (where, since I didn't have my purse with me, I asked for everything in the store...payback is hell, I hear). We also went with Shanna to a movie (Catching Fire) at the Alamo (not the historic site, but the eat, drink and be merry movie house). I have known that those places existed where you could order food and drink while enjoying the movie, but had never been to one. (It's amazing how little I get out!) Shanna and I went Christmas shopping for the girls and had a wonderful time. She is such a sweetie, and I felt really good about choosing gifts for the girls that I knew they wanted. It's hard to do that long distance, and since I really don't keep up with the latest in child offerings, I appreciated the assistance.
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| Cookie Monsters |
And the girls...what fun! We did all the grandma things like reading books, snuggling on the couch, and making cookies. I also cooked "MiMi beans" several times. "MiMi beans" are what Gracen calls fresh green beans that I cook differently than her mom does. I took them to school and picked them up most days, and just loved the interaction and conversations that I had with them. Jim came for part of the trip and Gracen decided that we should have a "fake" Christmas dinner before we left since we wouldn't be there for Christmas Day. So Adam cooked a small turkey and I cooked "MiMi beans" and we celebrated the season in fine style. The girls opened a few of their gifts and it was almost as good as the real thing!
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| The Opening |
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| Just a Few More |
Their Christmas decorations were region specific in some ways and they had this wonderful Christmas cactus in their yard. I loved it, and briefly considered getting one for myself, but then common sense intruded and I resisted the temptation of ordering one from Home Depot.
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| Merry Christmas! |
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| Mama |
My mother, who has been rather unwell for some time, has improved a great deal in recent weeks and we are grateful. She maintains a good sense of humor and gracefully accepts the vagaries of growing old. She posed for this picture as a Christmas card. I messaged it to everybody she knows (mostly) with her wishes for a happy holiday season.
Patti, my daughter-in-law, sent this picture of the Charlotte grandchildren. Aren't they pretty? I haven't seen them in a while so am planning to get down there for some ball games pretty soon.
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| Jonathan, Katelyn, Lauren |
We had some friends over for New Year's Eve and, though none of us could stay up until midnight, we made it until about 11:30. The new year came anyway, and time marches on inexorably.
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| Chris and Curt |
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| Karen and Joe |
Here is hoping that all of you have a happy and successful 2014, being grateful for the opportunity of life and love, and using each day to add to someone else's happiness.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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| Silly PapaJim |
I leave you with a porch portrait taken from Adam's deck in Austin. Beautiful!
