And now it is Easter

 It’s been a tough Spring!  My azaleas produced buds about 3 weeks late but another cold snap and they just hung there.  They never did bloom.  There seems to be a lot of perennials that are still in hiding so I have no idea how much replanting I will need to have done.  I haven’t seen a single bluebonnet!  This is the smallest yard we have ever had and the one we have spent more money on than any of the others including Florida.

Other than fussing over the yard we didn’t do much else as we waited for depositions to take place.  They had moved the dates a few times so we just kept our calendar as clear as we could.

We went to our never ending doctor appointments.  Routine and follow ups keep the cycle of constant vigilance going!  

We played cards on our three regularly scheduled dates.  And finally we were deposed!  We met with our attorneys to discuss what sort of things they would ask and how to answer them.  Say as little as possible, just answer exactly what they ask.  OK!  

Ted went first and I was not in the room but they allowed him to stay when it was my turn.  It started out funny … where did you two meet, how old were you, how long have you been married.  Ok, Donna, just answer the questions.  “In front of a firehouse, 14 and 15; 61 years next month.”   Response - Wow!  I answered as carefully and truthfully as I could.  

Then it was Kara’s turn via Zoom.  She and Bill flew down the day of the accident because I was in Florida with 4 of our family.  She had knowledge of those first days that I did not.  She did great.  Our lawyer said we all did great and he was very encouraged.

And now we wait for mediation in July.  This is keeping my travel plans in flux and that is hard for me.  

Ted needs to go to Michigan to the oculist to have a new artificial eye made.  As he ages the socket and muscles change.  That will take a week of appointments.  We will drive and take 3 shorter days versus our previous normal 2 to get there.  Then after we will stop in Ohio to visit some family and take 2 days to get home from Cincinnati.

Kara has planned 5 days at Disney at Bay Towers at the Contemporary followed by a 5 day Disney cruise for all of us and Morgan at the end of August.  She does so much for our whole family that we agreed.  We have no interest in the parks.  Too much walking.  Last year we went to a “free evening for DVC owners”  to Animal Kingdom.  We rode the Safari train, ate some free food and left Kara and Bill there with their friends.  We will use the pools, visit our friends in The Villages and Palm Coast and spend time with Kristin too.  Then we will get on the ship!

Kelly, Ally and CeCe just spent a week in Orlando with Auntie Kristin.  They spent lots of time at Disney and stayed there a few nights.  CeCe was living the good life with three adoring adults indulging her every wish.  But she never gets demanding or “bratty.”  She understands “no” without arguing.

Then we are invited to a week at Hilton Head with my old Hoechst boss at the end of September.  How we are going to handle the time after the cruise until that week we are still working on.  I am leaning towards driving home after the cruise taking our new pace of 3 days and then flying to Savannah.  Gus has offered to pick us up and they will have a car.   Time will tell. This house is Gus’s son’s VRBO so a rental could cast us out.  That happened once and we understand it could happen again and we are ok with it.  But we have been there twice already. Fingers crossed. 

We had a neighbor that lives across from us fall using his walker trying to navigate the curb.  I heard him yelling and shouted to Ted while I ran to rouse his wife. We got him up and into the house. He had no injuries thank goodness. 

Then I get a message from our neighbor next to us who is away that he received an alert water was running non stop in his home.  He wrote to me so I went over and their hall toilet was running.  I flushed it just in case it was just stuck but when it filled it kept running so I turned the water off to it completely.  I wrote him and said it was ok for now but I think the float may need replacing when he gets back.  The man who fell had his wife bring me a lovely Easter lily.  That certainly wasn’t necessary but it was appreciated.

I did attend Newcomers Continental Breakfast and had a great time.  Lots of beautifully displayed delicious food and conversations with old and new friends. 

We have no Easter plans other than Mass at 11 followed by breakfast out somewhere that is not a reservation only buffet.  We just don’t eat that much anymore.  

And Another Month of Not Much Has Happened

The early weeks were very quiet.  I played cards and won (!) then came in second the night we played at our couples’ group that meets in homes.

We met with camping buddies Tommy, Susan, Stella and Jay.  Our venue for lunch was Saltgrass and once again I got burnt food!  Last time was a slab of burned bones posing as ribs.  This time was a bloody filet  that came back as a black ball!  We need to find a better restaurant at the half way point!  We all miss our RVs but agree that it gets a bit harder as you age but we don’t forget our friends!

Our new king mattress finally arrived and I decided the blankets and bedspreads in the twin room needed to be replaced.  We had been sleeping in that room waiting for our new mattress to arrive.  The blankets and bedspreads are so heavy I could hardly handle them anymore.  Not sure why but making a bed sets my back acting up.  Christine our cleaner happily left with the bedclothes and 5 blouses.

I attended Newcomers “Breakfast Out” at House of Pies.  They have really good breakfasts.  There were only about a dozen of us but a smaller group makes it easier to converse with everyone.  The following week I was asked to sub in a Shanghai group.  Craziest thing, I put the address in my GPS and when I stopped it said 117 but I was looking for 119.  There was no 119!  Marleah pulled up and pointed to the 117 house.  On the curb it said 119.  Whatever!  I guess removing the stone numbers is too much trouble for builders!!  I didn’t win.

The next week we didn’t plan much because we had been told we were going to be deposed.  But they moved it to the third week in March.  We played our regular Tuesday night cards at the country club and I went to my 6 month routine check up at my PCP.  All is good!  Ted had a doctor appt. to keep an eye on a nodule on his thyroid that has not changed in a year and a half.  Hopefully it still has not.  He has a sonogram scheduled next month.

Our Sustainer outing this month was brunch at Little Hen in downtown Houston.

followed by a visit to Houston Fine Arts Museum.  A Lourve Couture presentation was presented along with a Freda Kahlua expedition.

No travel plans until we get this lawsuit settled.  They move things around and if we have to go to court we don’t want to be away!  

Into February

Seems the wreaths were put away just in time for the hearts to come out!  And Mardi Gras right behind. Not a whole lot going on but we did both get dressed a bit warmer than usual for our two week “deep freeze.”  Today is 2/6 and finally it has hit 76 and sunny!  Hooray!

We had dinner and played Shanghai at the country club on our usual first Tuesday evening.  I think Ted won but I didn’t.  Ted has been shooting skeet a little bit with a new group.  It has been 1.5 years since he was hit by the truck and is just feeling enough stamina to complete a round.  Sporting clays allows him to sit in the golf cart between stations but skeet is 8 stations on one field so everyone stays close.  He puts his gun in a rack and leans on something.  However, both cause him to miss out on a lot of camaraderie with the fellows.  He still walks very slowly.

I found myself double booked on Thursday that first week in February.  I was to help at Continental Breakfast and bring a French toast casserole.  I was also signed up on a CWJF Sustainer outing!  Yikes!

I offered to make the casserole and bring it over that morning before picking up my friend Pam to go on the Sustainer outing.  It worked!

Our outing was to Houston’s historic Glenwood cemetery where many of Houston’s founders and famous residents are buried.  Our guide was excellent and told many stories about Wm. Hermann who has a hospital conglomerate named after him.  There are Memorial Hermann Hospitals all over Houston.  In fact, it is the one we use here in The Woodlands.  Hermann Park remains a very popular place in downtown Houston.  He was philanthropic and at one point accepted some useless land as payment for a cart he had built for a man.  It turned out later to be the Humble oil field.  One of the biggest finds to this day.  

There is the Rice family plot with quite a true story about Mr. Rice who funded Rice University.  Very interesting!  There was also the Allen’s, 6 brothers, 4 of which were very successful businessmen and helped settle Houston.  Allen Parkway exists to this day.  

The most popular deceased is Howard Hughes.  

It was a 4,000 step, 1 1/2 hour stroll through gorgeous gardens and many beautiful monuments.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  

Then it was off to Annabelle’s for lunch!  Such a lovely place with excellent food and service.  We were told to wear our fancy clothes.  Some did, some wore nice, and some came as they always do!  However, everyone was welcome.  

The entire ceiling is covered with silk flowers.  Two Valentine teddy bears graced the entrance.  The food was delicious but it was a long day and I was very tired when we got home.   Poor Pam had to turn around and go out again to the country club!

Boy Oh Boy!

The whole month of January has slipped by and I had little to write about.  Forefront now is doctor appointments, taxes, insurance renewals, cleaning out files, and making a trip to Destin, FL.  Ted’s brother Kevin rents a house in the Destin area each year.  They invite friends and family (in an orderly fashion) to join them.  We were offered 1/18-25.  Terry and Carol joined us from Alabama but both their Cincinnati sisters were unable to come.  

We played Shanghai the night before with our regular group before our 7:30 departure Sunday morning.  We tried a new way to go a bit north, then east, but we didn’t like it.  Taking I-45 south to pick up I-10 takes you way south to bring you back up north.  So coming home we took our normal route which is picking up 105 out of Beaumont, TX straight west across to I-45.  

We arrived a little after 4:00 as expected.  Barb had a pot of chili and hotdogs ready for dinner.  It was chilly so no beach weather all week!  We caught up on family news, played cards, took walks, sat around the pool with jackets on and ate - a lot!  Barb made breakfast each morning and put out things for lunch.  She is the Energizer Bunny!  Ted had brought 6 filets and his sousvide appliance to prepare them.  This is a French tenderizer of sorts that cooks the meat slowly to tenderize it before a final finish on a grill.  They were spectacular.  Baked potatoes, salad and garlic rolls we also brought, filled out the meal.  Barb’s peanut butter pie finished it off.  

The next three nights we ate out.  First was McGuire’s Irish pub that serves 18 cent bean soup.  The recipe is one used to make it for the Senate cafeteria at the original price from decades ago.  It was ok, I like mine better and it was not hot!  Corned beef and cabbage, fish, burgers and an Irish based salad were all enjoyed.  There are dollar bills stapled to the ceiling and estimates are $3 million is up there.  

Barb and Kevin walk 5 miles each morning.  I joined them one morning with the understanding I would go part way being sure I could make it back to the house.  I got 1.5 miles and my impinged nerve at the base of my spine had enough!  So they continued on and I walked back ok.  I used to do 3 miles three times a week with my friend Gerre until she moved!  That was before two impinged nerves became hitchhikers - the one just mentioned and one at L4.  Getting old sucks!

Second night we ate at a Mexican restaurant we visited two years ago.  I think most of us got tacos and margaritas. It was all good.  

Our last night was a fancier place The Ocean Club.  The food was very good and I think everyone had something different except Ted and I both had chicken parm which I can never finish.  So it was lunch the next day.  The strange thing was the spaghetti was served naked!  Ted asked for sauce and they brought a small bowl to the table which was enough.  Never heard of such a thing!  

We had been watching the weather and towards the end of the week we knew we had to leave two days early or stay 3-4 days longer.  We left on Friday early and drove straight through arriving just as it got dark and started to rain.  Whew!  We dodged a bullet.  The temperature tumbled and everything froze overnight.  We made it to church at 5 on Saturday while the temp was about 38 counting on it to not drop below freezing by 6!  We just made it.  Church was packed, just like at Christmas.  No place to park or sit hardly.  They said very few attended Sunday morning!  

The weather stayed below freezing every night for a week.  It is 46 today and the forecast is on the upswing.  By next week we are scheduled for high 60’s and mid 70s, our normal winter weather.  I will be able to move my succulents back on the patio table.  

They are finally scheduling depositions for Ted’s accident when the semi T-boned him a year and a half ago after the truck crossed a solid yellow line in a no passing zone and the driver was cited.  It means we cannot make travel plans until they stop moving the dates and actually do them.  

I hope everyone had a great Holiday season and are not now suffering through crazy weather!

Happy New Year

We returned 12/27 after an enjoyable week on the NCL Viva.  There is a relatively new ship.  Kids love it!  There is a race track, miniature golf, pickle ball, darts, splash pad for the little kids, two 10 story drop water tubes, escape room, arcade, etc.  We enjoyed watching the kids, deciding not to partake of anything that moved too fast!

After being disappointed (in that the specialty restaurants on the Dawn had not been any better than the Main Dining Room in our estimation), we skipped the $60 surcharge for the specialties.  There were lots of places besides the main dining room and buffet to eat and we enjoyed all of it! 

“Beetlejuice the Musical was their Broadway entertainment!  And we hated it.  No intermission so we lost 1 hour and 45 minutes of our lives that we will never get back.  However, their Icons show was fabulous!  They had two comedians, both funny but the one we saw three times (by accident) and it was the same show each time.  He performed with the other fellow two times who did different stuff so that’s how we were roped into three times of the same jokes.  Getting a good seat in the theater was never a problem.  

I had a ton of laundry when we got home, four loads and I have a huge washer!  Then there was the mail.  New Year’s Eve we went to dinner at a restaurant across from the movie theater and saw Song Sung Blue that I thought was spectacular!  Of course I am a huge Neil Diamond and Patsy Cline fan!  The music was just what I like.  But I didn’t realize it was a true story of a legend singing couple until the closing credits.  It’s a “don’t miss” in my book!

We attended Mass New Year’s Day and had breakfast at the Waterfall Cafe (complete with fresh squeezed OJ) and then after Mass on Saturday evening we had Italian at Adriatic Cafe.  

New Year’s Day evening we had neighbors in for snacks and drinks.  Enjoyable evening to end our Christmas season.

I really missed being with the kids on Christmas even though we FaceTimed Christmas Day and the following weekend when they were all together.  I am pretty sure we will go to Michigan next year unless they come here.  That would be great!