Since we were to meet up with Pickles and everyone else at around 10AM, Saturday morning had the potential to be an easy, restful time.
A nice workout, a shower, a leisurely breakfast.
This mimi just doesn't "do" leisurely.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed using a very nice, new, techie treadmill that made sure my heart rate stayed where it belonged automatically by adjusting the incline all by itself.
Taking a quick shower (again, I was careful to remember, this is a desert), which I reveled in no less because it was quick, was also a pleasure without any knocks at the door and yells of "Mom, are you in there?" "Yes." "What are you doing?" "Baking a cake, what in the world do you think I am doing?!!!"
Breakfast was a joy, since it was lots of fresh fruit, cut up by someone else, and made up of fruit that is too expensive for me to purchase at home topped with chopped macadamia nuts. It also was not interrupted by barfing cats and screaming kids (or, if there were screaming kids in the dining area, they were not mine, so I didn't even pay attention!).
Though it is against my religion as a janitor to leave the dishes for someone else to clear from the table, all I had to do was set my plate and fork and napkin in the busboy pan set off to the side or my convenience.
It still was not a totally restful morning.
First, there was the fact that there are computers where you can check email, which I did. Problems with paypal, of course. Had to get into the checking account, make sure those had not translated into charges that we had not made.
Then, got onto a very dear online friend's blog -- she had been back to the ER for an infection at a biopsy site and gotten the news that yes, it was cancer, and no, they did not know where it had originated. This just a year after her husband died of cancer. The one thing I hoped she would be spared.
And, of course, as I mentioned in an earlier post, there was the Angel Food snafu where Sweetie called, multiple times through the nice breakfast and the online stuff, to straighten out the mess.
Grace, for her part, was steady and wonderful and tolerated me.
Today is:
Anti-Columbus Day
Chrysanthemum Festival, Japan
Curious Events Holiday -- Fairy Calendar
Feast of High Places Kite Flying Festival, China
Felicitas -- Old Roman Calendar (goddes of good luck and joy)
Fire Prevention Day
Give Peace a Chance Day
Independence Day, Uganda
Instant Karma Day
International Alan Day
Korean Alphabet Day, Korea (Hangul Nal)
Leif Erickson Day, Iceland, Norway, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Magic Lantern Day
Moldy Cheese Day (Sorry, but I do not like the stinky, moldy cheeses, at
least not the heavier ones.)
National Day of Dignity, Peru
National Submarine/Grinder/Hoagie/Hero/PoBoy Day
Season of Glass
St. Demetrius' Day
St. Denis' Day (patron of France; against frenzy, headaches)
St. Dionysius of Paris' Day (Protector from headaches & the devil)
St. Ghislain's Day (patron against twitching)
St. Louis Bertrand's Day (patron of Columbia)
Universal Postal Union Day
World Egg Day
Birthdays Today:
Eddie Guerrero, 1967
Tony Shalhoub, 1953
Scott Bakula, 1954
Sharon Osbourne, 1952
Jackson Browne, 1948
John Entwistle, 1944
Brian Lamb, 1941
John Lennon, 1940
Jacques Tati, 1908
Bruce, Catton, 1899
Camille Saint-Saens, 1835
Mary Ann Shadd Cary, 1823 (with her husband, the first black newspaper publishers in the US)
Robert de Sorbon, 1201 (founded Sorbonne University, Paris)
Today in History:
Leif Ericson discovers "Vinland" (somewhere in New England, possibly?), 1000
Leif Ericson lands in L'Anse aux Meadows, Canada, a definitive European landing in the "New World", 1003
The Korean Hangual alphabet is devised, 1446
Wedding of King Louis XII of France to Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII of England, 1514
Collegiate School of CT (Yale University) chartered in New Haven, 1701
City of Hobart, Tasmania, founded, 1804
Official opening of the University of Ghent, 1817
Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine motor, 1855
Joshua Stoddard of Worcester, Mass., patents the first Calliope, 1855
The first US underground pipeline for carrying oil is laid in Pennsylvania, 1865
Aaron Montgomery starts the mail order business that will later become Montgonery Ward, 1872
The first 2-way telephone conversation over outdoor wires occurs, 1876
Washington Monument opens to the public, 1888
Woodrow Wilson becomes the first US president to attend a World Series Game, 1915
National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) forms, 1926
Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to L.A., 1936
We tried to put the miles behind us as much as possible and did not stop unless we needed gas. The traffic cooperated for the most part and we only passed one major accident. Also, at the US Border Patrol stop that we stopped everyone, there was little traffic and once glance at Grace's
Midwestern light hair and blue eyes and we were waved through.
I tried to stay square with Grace and promptly pay for my half of the gas as soon as she bought it. Only once or twice did I not have the exact amount to give her, and I made up for it right away at the next stop. I needed to do that so I could keep on top of the money thoroughly. Every penny is so precious these days, if I had anything left over it would be for groceries when I got home.
The conversation eventually turned, as such conversations on road trips always do, to dinner. I mentioned that pretty much every chain restaurant, from burger joints on up, has salad, but that the mid range sit-down-and-order chains have nicer ones, so we stopped at one of those.
The place also had a vegetarian "burger" on the menu that was black bean based, I think. I know, cooked, and beans, and steamed veggies on the side. I ordered it anyway, along with a house salad, and ate everything but the bun the "burger" came on. I knew when I came on this trip that there was no real way to stay totally raw, but I ate a lot of salad when I could get it, and low temp dried trail mix, and fresh fruit I had brought and that I bought when I had the opportunity.
We arrived in Albuquerque as the daylight faded and promptly passed our exit talking. Turned around, got back on the interstate, got off at the correct exit, and found that there are 5 hotels in a row right where we were staying, with 3 of them owned by the same company, one of which was the one we were staying at. It took me turning around and coming back to it to figure out which side street to enter to get into the right driveway, but once I learned the lesson, I hoped it would stick.
When I was a child, the family would sit in the car while dad checked in to the hotel/motel/inn/whatever they term it, so I was more than willing to sit with the vehicle while Grace did the same. After all, it was her free points we were using to stay here. If not for that, I would not have been at such a nice place. Funny thing is, she was staying on points and they were giving her points for the stay! She remarked that she traveled so much with work that she could never use up all of her points, and this confirmed that it was probably an accurate assessment.
We unloaded onto a bellhop's cart and parked, and got to our suite. Very nice indeed. Separate bedroom for Grace, a couch just long enough for a short person like me to not need to unfold it, and a real kitchenette that could be used to make real meals. I drank my coconut water/greens/supplement mixture, and we called to tell Pickles we were in the area.
At first we figured we would go visit with her for a while that evening, since we had driven so far to see her and the others who could come, we might as well go "see" them. A quick talk with Lades, one of the other people we were meeting up with, and we changed plans. After all, her
place was remote, it was now after dark, not much to see of farm area after dark, we were tired from the drive, etc.
We decided that meeting up with the group at the Rio Grande Nature Center the next morning would be a better idea, and Pickles gave me directions. She would be the one at the poetry/art booth the next day for the 10AM-2PM shift. It was a work opportunity that had come up for her after she invited us to visit that weekend, with a person she was attempting to cultivate as a regular client, so she could not pass it up. She had run a shift that day as well, with Lades and Script for company. The whole thing may sound a bit scattered, but meeting up as a couple of us here, a few others there, actually did work out well.
So that is how, instead, Grace and I went to a local grocery store, right up the street. It reminded me of a mom and pop store around the house from my neighborhood, except that they had prepacked salads and a pack of organic spinach for me to add to it, for the next day's lunch.
I also stocked up on more bananas and made sure I put the fresh fruit out on the counter where either Grace or I could grab what we wanted whenever we wanted it, just as I do for the family when I am at home.
When Grace pulled out the iron (ack! my allergy! did I mention I am allergic to ironing!), I felt guilty enough to use it on my blouse. I didn't do a very thorough job, but when to I ever, seeing as I tend to get hives just looking at those weird shaped boards and demonic little appliances.
After the long day of driving, I did not object to turning in at a decent hour. For me, that meant simply grabbing a pillow and blanket from the closet, cleaning up and wrapping up in my huge robe, and crashing on the couch until 5AM local time.
Today is:
American Touch Tag Day
Bearing of Green Branches -- Ancient Athenian Calendar
Day of the Navy, Peru
Feast of St. Bridget, Sweden
Fire Prevention Day
National Depression Screening Day
National Dessert Day
National Fluffernutter Day
Sergeant Alvin C. York Day
St. Demetrius' Day (patron of Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia)
St. Pelagia's Day (patron of actresses)
St. Thais' Day (patron of fallen women)
St. Triduana's Day (patron against eye disease)
Vanderbilt Cup Day
Walk to School Day
World Lions Service Day/World Sight Day
Birthdays Today:
Matt Damon, 1970
Stephanie Zimbalist, 1956
Sigourney Weaver, 1949
Chevy Chase, 1943
R. L. Stine, 1943
Paul Hogan, 1939
Rona Barrett, 1936
Juan Peron, 1895
Eddie Rickenbacker, 1890
Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, 1676
Today in History:
Constantine, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, defeats Licinius, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, at the Battle of Cibalae, 314
Great standing on the Ugra river, a standoff between the forces of Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde, and the Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia, which resulted in the retreat of the Tataro-Mongols and eventual disintegration of the Horde, 1480
The supernova "Kepler's Nova" is first sighted, 1604
The Massachusetts Bay Colony forms its first government, 1633
First recorded eruption of Galunggung (volcano of West Java, Indonesia) sends boiling sludge into the valley (this volcano would later erupt at such a time as to cause passenger jets to be damaged and forced into emergency landings), 1822
The first Hawai'ian constitution is proclaimed, 1840
The telegraph line from LA to SF opens, 1860
A gas explosion causes the Peshtigo Fire, in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which killed between 1,200 and 2,500 people and consumed the entire town of Peshtigo and surrounding forests and several other villages -- the deadliest fire in American history, it covered 1.5 million acres, and occured on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire, 1871
The Great Chicago Fire, which consumed 4 square miles, killed 200, and destroyed the original Emancipation Proclamation, began, 1871
The first women's prison run by women opens at the Indiana Reformatory Institute, 1873
Dow Jones begins reporting an average of selected industrial stocks, 1896
Ah, the beauty of west Texas. Actual elevation! Something to look at besides swamp! (Not that the swamps aren't lovely, by the way, but I get to see them all of the time.) An 80 MPH speed limit during the day! (That "during the day" part is important to remember.)
I drank in the views as a thirsty person takes in water as we traded off driving and spoke "of shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings." And of what brought us together, which, as I have said, was housekeeping, or the lack thereof.
Grace told me a bit more about her own battles to make her home the haven that it is. She discussed her parents, how her mom is still on her own, how her grandmother is doing. Her in laws, my outlaw (meaning my brother-in-law, "The Mouth"). I talked about my parents, "Miss Prissy" and "Mr. Born Organized Clean".
We talked about our children, her son, whom I had met briefly, and her daughter, who was at her high school's football game that night I came in, and was at school when I arrived back at their home later, so I never got to see her. I get the feeling she is a typical teen, however, by the fact that we got a call that first morning from Grace's husband saying the daughter could not find her ID and was it in the car. We did find it in the car, on the way home actually, and it gave me a quick glimpse of a lovely young woman, just as I would have expected.
My kids, and my Sweetie, were averaging one call every hour and a half as I have said, so Grace got to know them rather well, also.
Our discussions over the course of driving to Albuquerque and back ran the gamut from why each of us chose vegetarianism to childraising to work and religion and music and back again.
Grace works part time in the school testing industry. This is the slow season, but come spring "the joint will be jumping" as the saying goes.
She discussed how the states set the standards, the company she works for just follows the guidelines, designs tests, grades tests. The company does hear a great deal, though, from people not satisfied with the tests -- on all sides. As she pointed out, they have to design the tests to cover what the state tells them to cover. It never pleases everybody.
She talked about how difficult it can be to teach some former teachers to grade essay portions of standardized tests. Also the difficulties of grading when it is recordings of young children's answers, kids who take oral tests because they are still to young to write. If the child is shy, or mumbles, and especially if the teacher administering the test has the microphone pointed at him/herself not the kid, it can be a challenge.
Sometimes when she is the senior person who has been sent out of town, or even the only person, she is the closest those she is training have to tech support, and she is not a tech support person in the usual sense. She talked about how that can keep her working from the moment
she arrives until she walks out the door to try to catch a plane home.
We talked about unspoken policies in work places. One of the unspoken "rules" at her company once kept her, the person raised in the Midwest with real winters, and the only person in the vehicle who knew how to drive in icy conditions, from being allowed to drive on one of their out of town forays. She spoke of being amazed at being allowed to live through that one.
She speaks knowledgeably about costuming and staging of period piece movies. She is well read and tells Ole and Lena jokes, quite well.
She is on the hospitality committee at her church. We discussed beliefs, and while she is more liberal on some things than I am, we found we could talk about differences without being rancorous, which is how such things should be discussed.
As for me, what did I have to talk about? I am a mom, with a struggling part time janitorial business. I teach Sunday School and I scrub toilets. I teach my kids and I wipe noses. I bottle feed orphaned kittens and get messed on for taking the trouble to do so. Get up, do the laundry, teach, scrub, feed humans and animals, dole out meds to whomever or whatever has been prescribed something, sleep about 5-6 hours, wake up tired, lather, rinse, repeat. Boredom personified.
Today is:
Balloons Around The World
Deed of Cession Day, Fuji
Festival of Food
Lepanto Day, Greece
National Frappe Day
St. Justina of Padua's Day
Victoria, Lady of Victories' Day a/k/a Pallas Athena (old Roman goddess of triumph)
World Smile Day
Birthday Today:
Simon cowell, 1959
Michael W. Smith, 1957
Yo-Yo Ma, 1955
Vladimir Putin, 1952
John Cougar Mellencamp, 1951
Bishop Desmond Tutu, 1931
R. D. Laing, 1927
June Allyson, 1917
Vaughn Monroe, 1911
Andy Devine, 1905
Niels Bohr, 1885
Today in History:
The epoch of the modern Hebrew calendar (Proleptic Julian calendar), BC3761
The first public burning of books in Louvain, Netherlands, 1520
Ralph Wedgewood patents carbon paper in London, 1806
The first chartered railway in the US, the Granite Railway, begins operations, 1826
Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba, 1886
Henry Ford institutes the moving assembly line, 1913
Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland college in the infamous 222-0 football game, 1916
160 consecutive days of 100*F temperatures begin at Marble Bar, Australia, 1924
Morning came early as it usually does for me anyway. We wanted to be heading out before the AM rush hours, so I tried not to mess around. It doesn't exactly take me that long to brush and braid my hair and brush my teeth anyway, my clothes were already laid on top of my suitcase ready to go, folding my pajamas and tucking them back in took about two seconds, and Grace had made coffee, so breakfast was easy.
I also remade the bed, removing the duvet from under the bedspread and folding it at the bottom of the bed. I tried to get the hospital corners right, but I'm not sure I did a very good job of that. The towel and washcloth -- I remembered to ask where they belonged, and got them on hooks to dry in the laundry room, so they wouldn't get moldy before they were washed.
As to the coffee. Yes, most of my diet is raw vegan. Yes I cheat with coffee. Actually, except on this trip, and the occasional bite of grilled veggies and fish to please my father, coffee is my only non raw item in my diet. But, after all, a morning without coffee is like ... sleep.
I snatched my frozen and cold foods from the fridge/freezer ready to put it all back in the cold bag. Since Grace planned to bring a small ice chest for drinks, and there was plenty of room, I put one of my freezer packs in that and the frozen food went in there, too.
Packing the car didn't take long either. Grace's husband proved to be similar to my dad in his ability to fit items into a trunk and back seat. Still, looking back, we would have been much more cramped, and had more fun juggling stuff, if Bonnie had come. I was sorry she was missing out, and would have preferred to leave behind the coffee maker, even though I promised to bring it to Pickles' house. I know that we all would have preferred another person over an appliance any day.
It turned out that both Grace and her husband, who works from home most of the time, travel frequently for their respective employers, and he had been suddenly called to travel to, of all places, Albuquerque. He would go by plane, and would be leaving Monday a couple of hours before we got back. Since Tuesday was his birthday, it meant she wouldn't be there to give him his gift and see him off on his trip. I busied myself transferring items from my van to the car to make sure I gave them time for a proper good-bye, settled into the passenger seat, and we left.
It was not quite as early as we had hoped, but the traffic was light and we had pre-printed directions from home to the hotel in Albuquerque, from the hotel to Pickles' house, back to the hotel we would be staying at on Sunday night, and back home. All of this was Grace's husband's doing, along with the GPS he had pre-programmed and packed, but which we never used. Turned out that first morning, we could have used it.
Grace is a lovely woman, with, like me, a tenuous sense of direction. San Antonio is not her native home, she has only lived here a few years, since her husband was transferred here, before he retired from the military. So it seems the loops still confuse her at times also, and with the stress of leaving, and me reading the directions as navigator, we were headed in the wrong direction before we even got out of town.
I told her my theory of being lost. We are not lost. We are after all, still in the US. We are still in Texas. We are still in San Antonio. No mistake is fatal, get off the loop or interstate, turn around, get back on, find the right exit. If you have to, ask for directions.
Then we got off to turn around on a road where there is no turn around for at least a mile.
It wasn't a fatal error, we did finally find a place to make a U-turn, got back to the loop, she figured out where we should be (I read the directions out loud a couple of times just to make sure I was getting it right), and we got back on to the interstate going west, just like we wanted. After a while, she figured out that if she had kept on the original direction, the loop would have joined the interstate going west to begin with, but that's okay, what matters is we had made it out of town without accident or major traffic jams.
Now we were on the open road with the beautiful west Texas scenery in the sunrise, and just us two to talk and learn about each other and keep each other company. Talk we did, to keep alert, and because she is as smart as she is funny, it was lots of great talk.
Today is:
Armed Forces Day, Egypt
Ashura -- Muslim
Brussel Sprout Festival
Chowderfest
Come and Take It Day, Texas
Ecological Debt Day
Erntedankfest, Germany (Potato Harvest Festival)
German Pioneer Day, Pennsylvania
Gopher Hill Day
Ivy Day, Ireland
Mad Hatter Day
National German-American Day
National Noodle Day
Physician Assistant Day
St. Faith's Day (patron of prisoners, soldiers)
St. Bruno's Day
Anniversaries Today:
American Library Association founded in 1876
Birthdays Today:
Elisabeth Shue, 1963
Britt Ekland, 1942
Carole Lombard, 1908
Le Corbusier, 1887
George Westinghouse, 1846
Jenny Lind, 1820
Today in History:
The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman Republic army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus in the Battle of Arausio, BC105
Founding of Germantown, Pennsylvania by 13 Mennonite families from Germany, 1683
The Americans and French begin the siege of Cornwallis at Yorktown, which becomes the last battle of the American Revolutionary War, 1781
Benjamin Hanks patents a self-winding clock, 1783
Louis XVI accedes to the demands of the women of Paris and returns to that city, 1789
Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead begins shortly after midnight, leads to 53 deaths and hundreds of injuries, 1854
The American Chess Association is organized and holds the first major US chess tournament, in NYC, 1857
The American Library Association is organized in Philadelphia, 1876
Thomas Edison shows his first motion picture, 1889
Nabisco Foods debuts its Cream of Wheat, 1893
Beatrix Van Rijk becomes the first licensed Dutch woman pilot, 1911
As I had unpacked some of my things (I left the coffee maker I had promised to bring and the heavy cast iron) from the van, I had noted that Sweetie had not, as promised, put more tape over the tail light assembly. Great, I thought, another leak waiting to happen. I noted to Grace's husband that it was a good thing it had not rained that day, and that I was sorry my vehicle looked so scraggly from the back with the tape that was there peeling off
.Grace had told me their area had received two solid weeks of rain after a drought, and that she hoped my drive in wouldn't prove slippery. I had only had one light sprinkling of rain, although the skies had been overcast and the gray gloom looming overhead threatened the whole drive.
I had also thought of this part of Texas, and New Mexico where we were heading, as hot desert, so I was unprepared for how cool it was. The last part of the drive, I had used only the fan and no a/c in the van.
It was now dawning on me that, yes, this time of year, desert = cool to cold in the evening.
Her husband, as kind and gracious as she was, said he had some tape and, since I would be leaving my keys with him in case he needed to move my vehicle, he would take a moment to tape the assembly, although the rain was no longer in the forecast for the next couple of days. Later, Grace also lent me a couple of light jackets, since I only had the one denim shirt I keep in the car for going into meat lockers...er... I mean, stores and restaurants. She said her husband never got rid of a jacket, and when I mentioned, as he talked about looking up the temps where we were going (another thing I had forgotten to do, but he is as smart as he is good looking, typical!), that she had done this, he commented that he remembered the one from Disney World.
When she and I sat down to eat that evening, not in the more formal dining area, but at the small table in the kitchen for family meals, I found out she is ovo-lacto vegetarian, and she had some questions about being a vegan. I mixed some green powder I had bought to substitute for my usual fresh greens in the blender (no, I was not going to haul the Vita-Mix also, although I do on family vacations to the condo) with some coconut water I was using instead of the fresh juice I usually had, while she warmed up something for herself. I also ate some of my raw nuts and low temp dried fruit, and a banana.
We sat at the table and discussed protein, and eating choices, and she mentioned her concerns about her teen daughter choosing to be vegan. I told her about how greens, when you break open the cell walls with something like a Vita-Mix or K-Tec, have more bio-available protein than steak, and that if she was very serious she should get one and use it. I told her about mixing the greens with banana and making green smoothies, and as I prepared my substitute for my usual smoothie, it hit me that I had forgotten my new bottle of kelp that I consume for the iodine.
I rolled my eyes at myself and mentioned my forgetfulness, and Grace wisely suggested that we go to a local healthy supermarket, and a major chain one, and see if we could find more. That way, she could also buy healthy snacks on the road. Then it hit me that yes, I should drive her around San Antonio, so she could see that I was not going to be a crazy and wreck her car if she let me team drive with her. I told her that I should have thought of that to begin with, and said I would be glad to drive her around, and see what we could scratch up. By this time, we had talked enough, and I guess I had shown myself harmless enough, that she agreed to get in my van and direct me around those loops.
I put my groceries out of the reach of her dogs, since I did have tempting-but-bad-for-a-canine-goodies like raisins and raw cacao nibs, and we left to go first to the local healthy grocery store. It was a nice place, I would have enjoyed looking around more had I been staying in the area longer, and saw the kelp pills I had used in a pinch before when I couldn't get the sun dried flakes. She then directed me to the chain healthy store, further away. There, they were out of the flakes, so I bought the substitute, she got something healthy to nibble on the road, and I drove back to her house.
She must have trusted my driving after that, as we talked about the differences in drivers where I came from, and how following too closely was a recipe for disaster that so many people ignore. Later in the trip, she did let me drive their hybrid vehicle, which was an amazing car.
It was during this trip, though, that she really got to know what she was in for. In the parking lot of the chain grocery, I got a call from the family, the second she had witnessed (the first had been while we were talking in her tv/sitting area, and was Sweetie telling me he had gotten Bigger Girl and Neighbor Boy from school, and they were on their way home). This call was about how #2 Son had overcooked the fish sticks, and had boiled the Velveeta shells and cheese noodles until they were about double the size they should have been, and way too soft. As I told Grace, the kid can BBQ, and bake, and cook lots of things, but 13 year boy has his interests elsewhere, sometimes, and had cooked in a very distracted manner, ready to bolt to go play with friends at the first opportunity.
By now, I think she truly realized that I am just generally nuts, not clinically so, and have a whacky family that has to tell me everything that happens. I told her about #2 Son coming home from his cruise with his stories, and how he held none of them back. I had freely offered descriptions of my slob housekeeping everywhere except the kitchen and bathrooms, and how kids, neighbors, and friends cheerfully stop by despite my chaos. I also got a text message, which is rare for me as I only have one friend who sends me those. She knows I pay for each one, so she only sends them when she has lots of people to tell something to, and it is always medical updates on her family. I told Grace what the text was about, and it was the good news from this friend that her father was out of surgery and recovering well.
She, for her part, remained for the whole trip exactly what her name implied -- gracious. She put up with my foolishness and shenanigans and calls from the family with unflappable equanimity.
When we arrived back at her house, she and her husband accompanied me back up to the room I would use. He retrieved his laptop from the room, and she showed me the duvet I could use if I needed it. I noted that it was probably best to leave it out of the closet and that I was always c
old, and would use it. So, they put it under the bedspread, and left me to take a quick shower and turn in early. We had agreed to leave quickly the next morning, so I didn't want to take up any more of their evening.
I did make it a very, very fast shower, using as little water as possible. This is not the swamp, I reminded myself, this is a desert that is trying to recover from drought. I made a mental note to find out in the morning, before we left, where to put the washcloth and towel I had used (no way was I going to leave them for someone else to clean, or worse, to just sit the whole time we were gone).
I set my alarm on my phone, got in the bed, read and prayed as usual, turned off the light. Both had expressed concern that their wireless network device, with its flashing lights high up on a shelf and facing away from the bed, would keep me awake. I told them that it would not bother me, and found that indeed it didn't. I ended up having about the same amount of light in the room as I would have had at home, and slept very soundly. I didn't even wake to use the facilities in the middle of the night like I usually do. I was probably more tired that usual, and I know I had consumed less water than I normally would. I was not planning to dehydrate myself, of course, but I know when I have to drive long distances, if I drink the same amount as I usually do at home, I prove a very poor traveling companion to those determined to go a long distance as quickly as possible.
Today is:
Autumn Leaf Festival
Buccaneer Days, California
Big "C" Attus Day
Child Health Day
Day of Bansko, Bansko, Bulgaria
Dionysiad -- Husi -- Romania
Do Something Nice Day
Feast of the Empire of Lies
Festival of the Five Toes -- Fairy Calendar
Improve Your Office Day
Independence Day, Bulgaria
Indian Day, Oklahoma
Mania Mundus (Festival to remember departed ancestors.)
National Apple Betty Day
National Storytelling Festival
Sea Serpent Day
St. Placid's Day
Unicorn Questing Season begins
Wild Turkey Calling Tournament
World Habitat Day
World Teacher's Day
Birthdays Today:
Maya Ying Lin, 1959
Bernie Mac, 1957
Bob Geldof, 1954
Karen Allen, 1951
Glynis Johns, 1923
Donald Pleasence, 1919
Allen Ludden, 1917
Larry Fine, 1902
Chester A. Arthur, 1829
Denis Diderot, 1713
Jonathan Edwards, 1703
Today in History:
Heraclius' fleet takes Constantinople, 810
Founding of the city of Concepcion, Chile, 1550
The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Italy and other Catholic countries, 1582
March on Versailles by the women of Paris, 1789
Spain declares war on Britain, 1796
Shawnee Chief Tecumseh killed in the battle of the Thames, 1813
Founding of the City of Anaheim, 1857
Destruction of most of Calcutta by cyclone, approximately 60,000 die, 1864
Surrender of Chief Joseph, after the 1,700 mile retreat, marks the end of the Nez Pierce War, 1877
First appearance of the Little Orphan Annie comic strip in the NYC Daily News, 1924
With two short pit stops for fuel, decaf, and restroom, I got to the edge of San Antonio, found the exit Mapquest said to take, and found another way Texas is different than Louisiana. Sometimes, when you get off the interstate, what we would consider the exit lane, which is always a one way, is actually already the frontage road and is two way. I turned the way the directions said, and promptly got lost again.
I turned around and tried again. This time I got on a bit further, but still couldn't figure out the loop system. We just plain do not have loops, so this eluded me. I pulled into the parking lot of a small local coffee shop, and headed inside, forgetting as usual to grab my reusable travel mug. (Yes, I'm one of those annoying recycle everything you can and carry your own coffee cup and shopping bags with you wherever you go people. I also have to go back to the car for one or the other much of the time, having lost all the working brain cells after years of doing nothing but mommy-speak. If I ever had any, that is.)
I told the nice young man that I would want a cup of decaf as soon as I could go back out for my cup, but that first I was lost and second I needed to use the restroom again (smallest bladder in the west, I guess). When I emerged from the facilities and showed him my instructions, he told me, just like the manager at the WhatABurger, that I was not lost. In fact, he lived on one of the streets I would be turning onto, and to just get back out on this road, get up on that loop right over there -- he pointed it out through the front window, and on his handheld-does-everything-but-give-give-you-nine-cents-change-and-they-are-working-on-that-too phone/calendar/internet device that had maps and GPS -- drive past the mall, the exit is not far from that.
I went back out for my cup, came in and paid for some decaf and left almost as much in a tip as the coffee cost, because he was such a nice young man and I had needed the reassurance he gave me, and got back on the loop as per his instructions. I stayed put on the thing until the proper exit, followed the turn right here, turn left there instructions, and arrived at a very lovely house in a nice subdivision. A moment of truth.
So, just how does a person like me find herself at the home of a stranger, hundreds of miles from home, with the intent of going still further away to meet more people? It all begins with one of the most unique websites I know, which I am blessed to know about. And that website brings together people over one thing -- housekeeping.
A word to anyone who finds this most boring of blogs and/or actually reads it more than once. The website I'm discussing brings us together over the topic of housekeeping. Yes, that is correct. Some of us are better at it than others, but all of us have, what I shall politely term, difficulties. Some of us have severe difficulties. Some of us are just a bit overwhelmed, others have chronic health conditions or mental distresses that make it hard to keep up.
I don't wish to give out too much detail, but while my kitchen is clean and my bathrooms quite usable, parts of my house look like slob city. Others on our site live in nice homes where the mess is contained off into attics, basements, and closets. Some of us use the kitchen infrequently because it is partly unusable, some have paths through their homes. All are welcome, all are supported in a loving environment where they are encouraged, cheered in every effort to get better. No one is allowed, as on so many places on the web, to be mean, hateful, use foul language, be unsupportive, etc. All of us on the site have suffered much anguish at the hands of others over our problems, so on the website, only support and encouragement and positive suggestions are allowed.
So, I walked up to the door to meet Grace (not her real name, I will try to be careful not to use any real names). She was beautiful. We hugged, she allowed me to come in -- well, I'm only 5 feet tall and weigh under a hundred pounds, and with the gray hair and short stature I look pretty non-threatening, I guess -- and her home is lovely, and she is a gracious person.
From the front door you step into a very pretty sitting room which flows into a dining area and has the kitchen beyond it, separated by a kid gate to keep the dogs from flinging themselves at the door at every ring of the bell. Well, to keep Lola, the puppy, from doing that. Cosmo is shyer and must have had a harder life, he was adopted from a shelter as an adult, and is reserved and has some fears. Lola would have made a good show girl, first thing the not even fully grown but already well into medium/large mix breed wanted to do was show me her toys. I didn't learn all of this right away, but it didn't take long.
I went back out and got the insulated bag with its freezer pack and cold contents, and Grace very kindly allowed me to jam things into her fridge and freezer. Her husband, whose good looks matched hers, greeted me also and helped me carry things in. Their son took my bag up to the guest room/office where I would be staying. Looking back, I should have offered to let them search my bags, just for additional reassurance that I may be generally nuts but I'm not a violent clinical case, but I didn't think of it at that moment. When we sat to talk and visit for a few minutes, in the upstairs sitting room where they watch tv. I did think to show her my driver's licence, and tell her about my first name, and how it is spelled different because my mother wanted to curse me with having to explain it to everyone.
Grace's home was so pretty, with her bookshelves that she said she had finally purged so they no longer overflowed, that I figured most of her difficulties must have been in the past. I was correct, and we did talk, then and later, on the long drive, about what had brought us together, but the next order of business was that she told me Bonnie, the third person who was supposed originally to join us, couldn't make it due to having to suddenly watch her grandchildren. Then, we went to the kitchen so she could warm up her dinner and I could get something from what I had brought along.
Today is:
Blessing of the Fishing Fleet
Buttering-Up Final -- Fairy Calendar
Carrying in the Pudding, London
Full Harvest Moon
Independence Day, Lesotho
Intergeneration Day
National Golf Day
National Taco Day
See the Light Day
St. Francis of Assisi's Day (patron of animals, ecology, Italy, merchants, needle workers, tapestry makers; against fire)
St. Petronius' Day
10-4 Day (C.B. 'ers) -- fourth day of the tenth month, ten-four, good
buddy, etc.
Vodka Day
Widcombe Fair, UK
Woodland Indian Culture Day
World Communion Day
Birthdays Today:
Susan Sarandon, 1946
Anne Rice, 1941
Jackie Collins, 1937
Alvin Toffler, 1928
Charlton Heston, 1924
Buster Keaton, 1895
Damon Runyon, 1884
Rutherford B. Hayes, 1822
Today in History:
One of the largest naval battles in history, the Battle of Lake Poyang, ends when the Chinese rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang defeat Chen Youliang, 1363
The first full English translation of the Bible, sometimes called the Matthew Bible, which contained the work of translators William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale, is printed in Switzerland, 1537
Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts drafts its first code of law, 1636
Peter Stuyvesant establishes America's first volunteer fire department, 1648
Christian Huygens patents the pocket watch, 1675
The state of Belgium is created after separation from the Netherlands, 1830
The New Orleans Tribune becomes the first black daily newspaper, 1864
The Orient Express, linking Turkey to Europe by rail, makes its first run, 1883
London's Earl's Court Metro Station opens the first public elevator, 1910
Ah, the phone calls.
At one point, I was getting so many that, if you averaged them out, it would have been one about every hour and a half.
Sweetie had called to see if I was on my way yet when I was still putting the laundry on the line, and then again when I stopped at the store. That call was to let me know that he had managed to get the posters over the the correct office, signed, and was going to get them back to the lady who wanted them in time for the charity auction.
Over the course of the trip I would get phone calls on every subject.
Phone calls from Sweetie:
"Okay, I've left work and I'm on my way to get Bigger Girl and Neighbor Boy from school."
"What does this instruction mean again?"
"Is there enough money in the checking account for me to go get a haircut?" (Don't laugh too hard, this is an important question in our house, as Sweetie cannot go to the barber shop and get his hair cut for $15-20, including tip, like most guys. He has to go to a specialty stylist lady who charges $50, and he has to leave a nice tip. We live on the ragged edge of disaster every month, and sometimes he has to leave his hair uncut a few days longer than he should, until payday comes around again. He also has to use lots of products in his hair, and takes forever to work on it in the morning. To compare, I haven't cut mine in years, and take less than 5 minutes every morning to brush and braid.)
"I've decided not to order the pizza tonight, because #2 Son is not here, he is with Grandpa, of course, and Little Girl went to the birthday party and to spend the night, they decided to invite her to stay, so we will switch menus and have it tomorrow, so Bigger Girl has some money saved up, and wants to take the two of us over to B-B's place to get something to eat, is that okay? We will order pizza tomorrow." (Bigger Girl saves most of her money, if she wants to spend some of it on that, it's fine with me, why do they need to ask?)
"Okay, your dad came, got #2 Son, the ID card, the tickets, the programs, and left some stuff. I took the tapes to the guy who will put them on CD. What do I do next?" My response was, you take a nap, and go get the kids from school later.
"Mom, I think I overcooked the fish sticks." (This after Sweetie had complained about the fish sticks being overdone. #2 Son is a wonderful cook in many things, and even took over the BBQ grill when he was only 9 years old. At 13, however, he has very little patience when he would rather be outside with his friends, and didn't give this particular meal his full attention.)
"Hey, mom, I just got back from my trip to see the football team play! Of course, we won the game," "Yes, they sure did win, and did you have a nice trip?" (I have to confess that I had been so busy, I had forgotten about the game, and didn't know who won until he said that.) "It was awesome! The plane broke down and we had to get off before we could even leave and sit around for 4 hours waiting for them to fix it, and football players are boring sitting around with for that long because they all had their IPODS on and wouldn't listen to the coaches. But the oxygen things came out of the boxes, and I yelled, 'I didn't do it!' And the star player on the team, well, he gave me his hat! And when we went in the can at the airport while we were waiting for them to fix the plane, I got to pee in the stall next to him! Imagine that, I got to go in the stall next to the star player on the team!" Very important to 13-year-boy that he got to use the facilities with an admired athlete.
"Hey, mom, when are you coming home again? Dad is being mean to us!" This came from all of the children, who probably call and complain to their dad at work that I am mean when I am home.
"Hey, mom, can I go to friend's house?" "Did you finish the school work I left for you?" "Yes." "Then, it's 'May I go' and the answer is, yes." From both of the younger kids, at various times.
"Hey, mom, before you left, did you find any money in the laundry?" "Yes, walk with the phone down to the laundry room. Stand with your back to the washer, and on the shelf, in the back of the blue basket, you will see some white handkerchiefs with decorations on them. Look in there." From Bigger Girl, who not only saves lots of her money, but absent mindedly leaves some of it in her pockets when she throws things in to be washed.
"Hey, mom, it's Sam's birthday party today, do we have a present?" (No one had told me it was friend Sam's birthday this weekend.) "Okay, you know where we hide the ice cream man money? Under the emergency radio next to the computer desk? Go grab some of the money, and you make him a home made card." This was from Little Girl, who wound up spending the night at the party, as noted earlier.
The following conversation was as I was trying to eat breakfast Saturday morning at the hotel:
"Okay, I got up, got the ice chests packed in the car, got a call from Mrs. S, who had gotten hurt the night before, but she was going to drive out here anyway -- I swear, the people in that family hurt themselves more than any group of people I know! -- and I followed her out to the place so I'm here to pick up the Angel Food stuff. What do I do now?"
"Give them them paperwork."
"What paperwork? You never gave me any paperwork!"
"Yes, I showed you the paperwork on the fridge..."
"You can't just tell me about stuff like that once! You have to tell me where it is, and show me!"
"I told you about it 3 times, when we went over the list all 3 times, and each time I brought you to the fridge and showed you where the paperwork was, and told you to take it with you..."
"You can't just tell me, you have to write it down!"
"It is written with the instructions..."
"Yeah, well, I didn't see that part, so I don't have any paperwork, and this place is a madhouse, and what do I do now?"
"Hand the phone to Mr. N."
Hear him through the phone asking, "Is there a Mr. N around? Well, okay, why don't you talk to my wife, here ... Here, you talk to this lady."
I spoke to two different people at the Angel Food distribution location we use, and they got the items we pick up for Mr. M packed in Mr. M's ice chest and insulated bags, and our food packed into our ice chests, and everything loaded, just like they always do. Very nice people, and
very efficient.
"Okay, they have the stuff packed, and Mrs. S's Stuff is in her car and she is leaving, and I'm taking Mr. M's stuff over to him, then I will go put our stuff in the freezers at home. Then what do I do?"
"Then you go back to bed, you haven't slept enough."
"I may not want to go to sleep by then, I'll find something to do."
At that point, I wanted to tell him to go soak his head, but I restrained myself. I generally take care of all of this stuff while he sleeps in on Saturdays. Yet he always talks about how sleep deprived he is...
A passing note about Angel Food Ministries -- when you have a very limited grocery budget, find out if there is an Angel Food location near you. The food is quality and inexpensive, and is how we actually have enough every month. They are a non-denominational nonprofit group, and you don't have to qualify to buy through them. It may not be free, like food banks, but for people on the edge, who don't qualify for food banks or other help, they are priceless, with their boxes of food for such reasonable prices. www.angelfoodministries.com
Toward the end of the visit, most of the calls were sporadic, and things like, "Where are you now?" (Answer, driving through the middle of nowhere in Texas or New Mexico.) "When are you coming home?" (Answer, same as usual, at some point late Monday, after 7PM, for certain, and maybe as late as midnight.) "The Mouth (my nickname for my brother-in-law) can't eat what you put on the menu for Bigger Girl to fix this evening, so he is going to take us to eat at B-B's." (Answer, fine, whatever he wants.)
Most of these phone calls were overheard by the person with whom I drove from San Antonio to Albuquerque, so she knows just how dysfunctional this nutty family really is. Poor lady had a front row seat.
Her kind words about it were that my family loves me and wants to include me in everything.
My thought is that no wonder I wanted to run away to Albuquerque for a few days.
Today is:
Alternative Fuel Day
Buttering-Up Semi-Finals -- Fairy Calendar
Change a Light Day
Child Health Day
Chung Yeung Festival, Hong Kong
Come & Take-It Day
Dalton Defenders Day
Dionysus' Day
Dog Day
Feast of Free Spirits
Francisco Morazan Holiday, Honduras
Goose Fair, Nottingham, England
Ig Nobel Prizes Awarded, Massachusetts
Inter-American Water Day
International Frugal Fun Day
National Butterfly and Hummingbird Day
National Carmel Custard Day
National Foundation Day, Korea -- BC 2333
NYC Underground Comedy Festival (Through Oct. 12)
Relief of Leiden Day, Netherlands
St. Garard of Brogne's Day
Sukkot -- Jewish (Through the 9th, Primary Obligation Days 3rd-4th)
Techies Day
World Card Making Day
Birthdays Today:
Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1954
Lindsey Buckingham, 1949
Roy Horn, 1944
Chubby Checker, 1941
Erik Bruhn, 1928
Gore Vidal, 1925
James Herriot (James Alfred Wight), 1916
Today in History:
The state of Gojoseon (modern-day Korea) is founded by Dangun Wanggeom during the reign of the Chinese emperor Yao, BC2333
The siege and battle of Alesia is ended by the surrender of Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, to Julius Caesar, BC52
Jews are expelled from Eger, Bohemia, 1430
The Duke of Montrose issues a warrant for the arrest of Rob Roy MacGregor, 1712
George Washington proclaims the first national Thanksgiving Day will be held on Nov. 26, 1789
J.S. Thurman patents a motor-driven vacuum cleaner, 1899
The first conference on wireless telegraphy agrees to adopt SOS as the warning signal and sign of distress, 1906
Leon Trotsky, Adolph Joffe, Matvey Skobelev and other Russian exiles in Vienna, Austria, found the Pravda newspaper, 1908
Mrs. W.H. Felton, of Georgia, becomes the first woman seated in the US Senate, 1922
