Snow day project - finding vintage Pyrex

Colburn said he had an old box of dishes from his sister's estate that we needed to go through. She had inherited some stuff from their mother. He thought there might be some old Pyrex in there. As our snowday project we hauled it in from the storage shed and look what we found!

Thomas helped us unpack the box. His favorite part was rooting around in the packing paper.

Dear God: Tonight I am thankful for...

Zipply little convertibles with 300 watt Bose radios, Janis Joplin, a boyfriend who's an excellent driver, the big West Texas night sky and a second chance to live a full life

Day Two Report

I've had two full days on the new job at Cancer Care Services (www.cancercareservices.org). As I've told friends who have asked, it's been the most relaxing two days I've had in WEEKS. I knew when I first walked in the door for my initial interview that it was a place of healing. Not just for our clients but for me as well, I hope. The last two weeks on the previous job were quite stressful ('nuf said on that). I miss my friends over there and sincerely hope to stay in touch with them, but it was time to move on.

I want to say a special thanks to Colburn and Susan for being so supportive during the transition. Their love and encouragement is one of the constants in my life and I can't possibly express what that has meant. If you know either or both of them, you know what I mean.

"Museum-quality northern liberal" goes to Abilene

On Oct. 18 Colburn and I went to see Prairie Home Companion perform at Moody Coliseum on the ACU (Abilene Christian University) campus. Who woulda thought? GK (Garrison Keillor) described himself as a "museum-quality northern liberal" in the early part of the show as he himself wondered what he was doing there.

I won't repeat moments of the show here because, as the saying goes, you had to be there.

What I will hesitantly admit is that it was a very moving experience for me. As I listened to the audience sing songs that I haven't heard in 30...40...no...45 years, I flashed back to sitting in my seat between Grandmother and Grandad at Woodlawn Church of Christ and singing "Just As I Am." As Colburn knows, hearing 4,000 people sing that hymn a cappella made me cry.

Those of you who know me well know I have little contact with anything or anyone from my childhood. My own mother doesn't remember it - partly because of her mental health and partly because she just wasn't interested. My grandparents are dead, and my father and I are estranged. So, I never, ever expected to sit there in a basketball coliseum and fall in love again with Abilene, see the wisdom of the practices of the Church of Christ, and weep while singing an old-fashioned hymn. I only went to the show for laughs, to see a minor celebrity, and have a good time.

I think it moved the tectonic plates underneath my life.

If you want to hear audio clips of the show, go here.

To read GK's article in the International Herald Tribune about his two days in Abilene, go here.

The photo above is of the Women's A Cappella Choir from ACU with Jearlynne Steele, guest performer with Prairie Home Companion. (I like the choir better than her.)

Yes, I picked up an armadillo

The weekend after we went to the balloon fest, I did two rounds in the armadillo races. It was the evening of the Rentech sales meeting (Colburn's company), and we had dinner at Perini Ranch Steakhouse in Buffalo Gap. The prime rib was fantastic, the margaritas were dangerous and the entertainment afterwards was...well...memorable. The emcee of the races said the best way to get your 'dillo to run fast was to blow up his butt. However, you'd have to stand on your head to do that, so most of us just pushed 'em along. My first race went pretty well; I came in second. Okay, there were only three contestants. In my second race, I got a baby armadillo, and evidently it was way past his bedtime. He just plopped down and wouldn't move. Baby armadillos are cute and squishy. I guess their shells don't harden until they get older. Now you know. See the photo album here.

One more thing: I also had my picture taken with a 44-year-old black buzzard. Her name is something like "Vera." She's been on Letterman and Leno and travelled all over the world. I've been to Buffalo Gap.

The only thing worse than daytime TV...

...is daytime Olympics. How do I know this? Because I've been home with the stomach flu since Wednesday evening. It's Friday evening now and I'm watching the USA vs. Serbia water hockey game, or whatever it's called. Colburn and I have observed that many of the Olympic sports are simply a variation on getting the ball into the net. IMHO*, there is only one game of that type that is worth watching: soccer. I'm sure Adam and Annie would agree.

I mean, really, one beach volleyball game is one too many.
Now, swimming and diving is different. After all, men in Speedos!

*In my humble opinion

How lucky am I?

There's been so much going on the last three weeks that I'm not even going to attempt complete sentences in paragraphs. In chrono order:

• Colburn pinned by 400+ lb. motorcycle
• Right bicep tendon torn from lower arm
• Emergency trip to Abilene instead of trip to Elgin & San Marcos
  
• Next weekend at San Marcos River with kids/grandkids
• Cold, cold water
• Annie and Dalton calling me Grandma thus getting anything they want
• Lukas and Dagan laughing, cuddly and sweet smelling
• Maggie, Adam, Joanna and Danny are smart, fun and loving to their kids and me
• Back at the office - produced Trinity Habitat's first Annual Report in 8 years, only their 2nd in 19 years. Got lots of kudos for my work
• Took time off from work to care for post-op Colburn
• Lots of pain, his from the surgery, mine from watching him suffer. Fair amount of tears on my part. Lots of gratitude and affection on his part.
• He gets better every day. Thank God.
• Five days and five nights together = a real and rare blessing
• Sweet grandchildren, loving children, and a man who adores me and treats me that way.
  

How lucky am I?

Show us how you would have us be

12:11 a.m. Saturday
Why am I sitting here at midnight updating my blog? Because Colburn is in the emergency room in Abilene -- alone, without me. [Gotta stop, the phone is ringing.]

Okay, I'm back. That was him - still sitting in the ER. So anyway, he called around 9 to say he'd be "out of pocket for awhile'. (Usually we talk for an hour or two on Friday and Saturday nights.) When I asked what was up, he told me he'd hurt his arm. Felt something in it snap. We were afraid it was broken. He sounded like he was about to faint from the pain. He was on his way to the ER.

About 20 minutes later he called back to say the ER was full of people so he went back home. Luckily he only lives about a mile from the hospital.

To make a long story short, he's back in the ER waiting his turn. Now he thinks it's probably a snapped tendon or ligament inside his right elbow.

I called Joanna to tell her I probably won't be going down to visit this weekend. She understood and sympathized.

Damn, he lives too far away. This reminds me of when his sister died and I couldn't go comfort him. Damn. Damn. Damn. I absolutely HATE this.

I told God this evening that He has to find a way for us to be closer so we can take care of each other. I can't for the life of me figure out how to do it. There's a prayer for couples in Illuminata by Marianne Williamson with a section that says:

Let us always remember that in each other we
have the most beautiful woman, the most
beautiful man,
The strongest one,
The sacred one in whose arms we are repaired,
May we remain young in this relationship,
May we grow wise in this relationship,
Bring us what You desire for us,
And show us how You would have us be,
Thank You, dear God,
You who are the cement between us,
Thank You for this love.
Amen.

From girlfriend to grandma in one afternoon

At 3:15 this afternoon, Colburn and I were loading his truck for his return home when Joanna and the boys zipped past en route to Mike & Susan's B&B. Joanna had decided to make a quick trip up to visit with her friend and bridesmaid Jessica. Yes, I knew they were coming and was surprised because I'm going down to spend next weekend at her house. Wow, a chance to see her, Dalton, and Dagan on two weekends in a row!

First of all, she looks FABULOUS. All that baby weight has disappeared as a result of a lot of hard work on her part. The boys are adorable, of course. Dalton has turned into a regular little boy having lost most of his baby fat. He was fearless playing outside with Mike and later, me. Dagan, however, is the roundest little kid I've ever seen. I don't have any pictures of the afternoon because I wanted to play with the little ones without hassling with a camera.

It's 9:47 now and I'm exhausted. It's been a busy day. First, Colburn and I went to a kayak demo in Pappy Elkins Park in Dalworthington Gardens this morning. It was great fun but I'm not used to that much sun. I haven't rowed since I went to camp when I was about 13 years old, but I did pretty well. The first kayak I went out in was a pedal one with a rudder. I felt like it turned me into a duck. I was paddling all over that little lake. Then we rode in a tandem kayak. It was more work but the people on shore said we did well.

I feel like I'm rambling here and not the least bit clever, so I'm going to sign off. The weekend was a real gift having spent time with Colburn, Joanna, Dalton, Dagan, Mike and Susan. It doesn't get much better than that.

Special message to Julie: I'm trying to stay in deep denial about your move but not succeeding.