Coming to an end

Yesterday we drove down to
Galveston, oh Galveston...looks to be in a lot

better shape after Himacane Ike than I thought

it would be. We drove the length of the island, from The Strand to San Luis Pass. There was lots of new construction with big money behind it. Some of the new beach houses are really gorgeous! The beach was very clean, and the water, surprisingly, cool. Most of the shops on The Strand were open and the place was kind of busy for a Wednesday. You could see that there had been major roof damage (houses either had a blue tarp over the roof or had brand new roofs) and lots and lots of trees were dead.

My sister is walking on the beach, enjoying the surf.

The fools who lived in the house below stayed in their house during Ike, ended up having to get on the second floor, then the roof, and had to be rescued by helicopter. Their truck is trashed, as is the house, and so is most of the pier going out into the sea behind the house. The end of the pier is still standing but the walkway out was washed away.

According to Kiki's son, Will, this place (The Spot) was THE place to eat in Galveston. It was right on the seawall and we sat at a table overlooking the ocean. We split a hamburger which was huge, and very delicioso.

This is the former home of the famous cowboy poet, singer and all around good guy George Ray Russell. Notice the boarded up windows and the peeling paint. This is not Hurricane Ike damage; it always looked like this! Ah, the toga parties, the luxurious inner courtyard and pool, the pseudo-leather sofa with big rips in the cushions with stuffing poking out! Those were the good old days.

These are the appartments that Darla and I lived in during our Post-Master's Fellowship at the Medical School. They also had an inner courtyard with a pool; very elegant! The address was 711 (I think) Holiday Drive, and they are about a block from the ocean. Frankly I was amazed that they looked exactly like they did when I lived there in 1970, despite numerous hurricanes and general wear and tear!

Finally, as any of you who have ever been to Galveston will be relieved to know, Col. Bubbie's still stands, and it's inventory is as replete as ever. I didn't see the cats this time, but I didn't look very hard for them either.

Tomorrow we head out, back to AZ. Kiki has planned out a really nice road trip, and it will be a fun drive. Her IPhone tells us where all the storms are, we've got a bunch of CDs, the Garmin, credit cards, and, of course, three dogs (they are all getting baths tonight). We are going to try to take the kennel apart so it lays flat in the trunk and all three dogs can ride on the back seat. We may have so much fun that it takes us three days to get back instead of two!

The Tobster

Isn't this the cutest picture ever? I love Toby!

And so they continue..

The swimming lessons are still underway. Here are Toby, Bailey, Harley and Ted practicing laps in the big trough. The algae in the water turned Teddy kind of green and he had to have another dip in the baby pool under the trees. Toby liked this tank so much that he got out rolled and ran around, and then came back for another go at it.

Where oh where can they be?

Here I am digging through my purse for the thousandth time, looking for my car keys, while we wait and wait and wait for Jason.

Locked up

This is my sister watching Jason the Jerk at work breaking into my car in the Kroger's parking lot on Cinco Ranch. It was 98 degrees with 55% humidity. I'll admit it; I never would have met Jason the Jerk had I not locked my keys in the trunk. What followed once Jason got into the car and gave me back my keys was a big fight over his fee. He showed up an hour plus late (we were literally hot, hot, hot!). He lied to us on the phone. He "jokingly" told me that I owed him $200 because he had gotten a ticket on the way to Kroger's. Negotiations quickly reached an impass. We called his dispatcher and then his supervisor and finally got the fee reduced from $139.50 to $100. Then he wouldn't accept anything but cash, so I had to beg the customer service lady in Kroger's to let me have the money. Thank god they had a Starbuck's!

At last!

The dining room is finished at last! Here is the family wall that Kiki, Carrel and I created. The word on the shelf is "cowboy" and the picture is of Wesley and Will riding ponies when they are 3 and 5 years old.

Chiggered at Concrete Heaven

For those of you blissfully ignorant about chiggers, they are teensy, tiny reddish colored bugs who viciously attack ankles and calves, causing severe itching, scratching, even clawing and significant whining at those body parts. And they got chiggers at Concrete Heaven. Here are Kiki and Wesley looking over the lion selection. We went there on Sunday instead of going to church, as we figured anything with "Heaven" in the name was almost as good, if not better.

New friends

Here I am with two new friends I made at Concrete Heaven. Who knew you could pick up hot guys at Concrete Heaven!! I am going dancing tomorrow night with the guy on my right.

I am making progress on Lindsay's sweater!

Leslie's house, looking at the back as you come up the stairs from Buffalo Bayou

Tessie

Last night we visited Tessie and Leslie (Tessie's step-daugher) and her family. Leslie and her husband have 4 kids and live in a beautiful house on the west side of Houston. I've known Leslie since she graduated from high school in 1986, but hadn't met any of her kids. The three daughters were there last night, plus Callaway...the girls were all adorable. The middle daughter is named "Milan" which I think is a very cool name, and it suited her. The youngest, Erica, reminded us of Lindsay Rose at that age, quite the fashionista; she wore silver sparkled shoes, lipstick and pink crystal drop earrings (8 years old and so cute). After a tour of Leslie's beautiful Spanish-styled mansion, we went to eat at Papacita's; ahhhh, love that TexMex!

Friday, July 24

Friday! I am so sad because NEXT Friday, we have to leave to go back to Arizona! I can't believe my adventure is coming to an end. And the summer, too. Boo hoo :( I have a long list of things I still want to do, and I know we won't get to all of them next week!

Here is Teddy, making for the shore during his last swimming lesson. Actually Kiki tossed him in where it was so shallow, I think he is walking to the shore in this picture. She tossed him back in where it was deeper the second time, and he did have to swim. The funniest part of swimming lessons is when they get out of the water and go crazy rolling and running wildly in the grass, drying off and feeling very frisky!

A recent stampede, as photographed from the safety of the barn: Cindy, Solano and Doc racing around, dust flying, dogs barking and in hot pursuit, wind blowing, lightning off to the north...just a regular afternoon around here. Oh by the way, one of my jobs is keeping that trough you see full of water. In a day's time the water level goes down about halfway!

Below is "Goober", my sister's latest rescue. They found him half-dead and starving in the barn and nursed him back to health. He is just adorable, tearing around with a catnip mouse and fighting with Harley. Kiki contemplated naming him "Barney" since they found him in the barn, but Carrel and Wesley insisted on "Goober". Since I don't like that name, I just call him "Kitten". Teddy and Toby pay him no mind at all anymore (after their initial, predatory interest). Got to go...breakfast is ready!

Spa Day

This morning my sister and I want to a spa salon over across the freeway, and it was so much fun! Like so many others, it was staffed completely by adorable young women from Viet Nam (with one papa san who pretty much stayed out of sight). This place was the best nail salon I've ever been to! The girls all wore these cute little green striped aprons, and the place was sparkling clean. There were no big screen TVs playing movies, only nice watercolors of big flowers and soothing music. Each station was very neat with only the few tools or lotions actually being used on top; everything else was kept out of sight until needed. The foot bath water was scented with menthol, and the girls used fresh limes to rub our toes and fingers. We had foot masks, massages, parafin treatments, hot rock massages, cooling gel, lavender massage lotion, heated deep lotion treatments, warm towels...I could go on and on. I am sure I am not remembering all the nice touches. We were there for over two hours, and felt oh so beautiful when we left. Here's my sister enjoying the attention (see picture).

We are painting the living room now. Another shopping trip for curly willow is in the offing as the reeds we bought at Hobby Lobby are too short (for the dining room).

Both of us have been enjoying the Sho Time series, "The Tudors". We have watched 6 episodes from Season 1 so far. I am in love with Jonathan Rys-Meyers (Henry VIII), and I think Natalie Dormer is adorable (Anne Boelyn). I mailed the disk off to Netflix today so we may have another three episodes to watch by this time tomorrow. Meanwhile, my nephew Wesley says that "Rome" is a good series too.

The Pond

In the back corner of my sister's property is a pond. It's about twice the size of a normal swimming pool. The banks are covered in reeds and grass. The horses and cows get in it to cool off, and the occasional turtle, frog or snake takes up residence there. The water is pretty muddy looking, and the bottom is kind of brownish gray mud. Every evening we take all ten dogs on a "pasture walk" which includes a visit to the pond. Toby absolutely loves the pond, and I think it is his favorite part of the day. He is usually first there and circles the banks right at the water line looking for anything of interest. He has been fascinated with a stick which pokes out of the water about two feet out from the bank, but so far has not wanted to jump in like all the others do (except Teddy). Max swims laps. Blue, Scout and Bailey all swim, get out, shake, and get back in. Harley watches Toby sticking his paws in, and jumps in right in front of him, looking back over his shoulder as if to say, "See? That's how it's done!" This evening Kiki decided to give Toby swimming lessons; she took him over to where the water was a little deeper, and tossed him out about three feet from the bank, and of course he swam back to the bank. Oh was he proud of himself! Rolling over and over in the grass to dry off, just like the big boys!
Tomorrow: spa day for Kiki and Sue! Hooray!

Here's Kiki in front of Pop's. The sign to her right says "Home of the Heart Attack Sandwich" and the one to her left says, "Try our suicide spud".....Yummmmmm

Kiki and I drove over to Brookshire a couple of days ago. We ate lunch at this place, a very typical Texas BBQ joint called Pop's. They had a couple of picnic tables out front; the whole place was decorated (and I use that word loosely) in Texas junk. The sandwiches, however, were out of this world good!

Here's Carrel in the hospital parking lot, having a smoke, the day before he was discharged from the hospital. He is home now and has to give himself a shot in the abdomen every 12 hours to kick start the blood thinner medication. He seems to be feeling pretty good; this morning he drove over to the feed store in Brookshire.

Babies on the farm

Two adorable baby chickies! "Butterscotch" on the left is two days old, and Cleopatra on the right was only hatched the morning this picture was taken. Since then "Lemony" has joined them. Duck Woman is the surrogate mother hen; I say surrogate because Kiki thinks she stole these eggs from Black Mamba.

Toby after being discharged from the Animal Emergency Hospital

Hostpitals!!

Last Friday noonish, the horses were feeling frisky and galloping around in one of the pastures; well, two horses and 3 burros. Kiki and Carrel were leaning on a gate watching them, and here came a streak of brown and white lightning, under the gate and in the melee in the blink of an eye. Toby: ignoring shouts and pleas to return to safety, in amongst the galloping and stomping, disappearing in a cloud of dust! Soon he emerged, running wildly in large circles, clearly not himself, until he fell over. At this point Kiki picked him up and dunked him in the nearest trough. After a few minutes he could walk pretty normally, and Kiki and I, thinking he was okay, got in the car and headed over to visit Tessie at her step-daughter Leslie's. We hadn't gotten very far when the phone rang. Toby's right eye was swelling, and blood was coming out of his tear duct. Back we go, then it was off to the emergency room. Five hours later he was admitted for overnight treatment and observation because his pupils were not equal which is usually a neurological sign. By the next morning he was better, and we picked him up about 7:30 am; he was wearing a bandana that said, "They saved my life at the West Houston Animal Emergency Hosptial" and a blue bandage around his paw where the IV had been (I have a cute picture but can't upload it right now." We never did get to Tessie's!
Then on Monday Carrel went in to the hospital for a procedure to increase the blood flow in his right leg. They ended up putting in two stents because about a foot and a half of his artery was completely blocked, probably as a result of scar tissue from a bullet wound he got in VietNam. He came home that night, but didn't sleep well, and complained of pain in his right calf the next day. The doctor sent him to the ER for an ultrasound, and they found blood clots in that leg, so he was admitted for 48 hours of treatment with blood thinners. We are on our way over there this morning.

Melvin and Sheri, Sierra's parents (Sheri is my brother Jerry's daughter, and Melvin is her husband and our rancher)

Yesterday afternoon we drove to Angleton, a town 72 miles southwest of Houston to watch Sierra play in a girls softball tournament. It was very exciting: great pitching, double plays, runners stealing bases, fanatic parents, umpires threatening to throw coaches out of the game, a tie at the finish necessitating an extra inning, and finally a win for Sierra's team, the Wharton Thunder. Hooray! Then we all...by all I mean Kiki and I, the entire Thunder team plus their brothers and sisters and parents, Gene and Dorothy (Melvin's parents), Melvin and Sheri...went to Chili's to eat and celebrate the victory. Kiki and I got home at 11:15! Ah, the excitement of it all!
Toby has emerged as the barker of the pack, and Teddy is the mama's boy. Toby feels it is his duty to inform everyone of any cow, horse, donkey or persons moving about anywhere within his territory. Also chicken activities must be closely monitored. And any braying by Pedro must be returned in kind. And of course alerts must be issued for unexpected or unfamiliar noises.
Yesterday morning Kiki, Carrel and I were out on the driveway enjoying the nice weather and breeze. Hondo and Teddy were at my feet as I sat knitting away on Lindsay's sweater. Hondo was trying to get Teddy to play with him. Suddenly, in a split second, he grabbed my ball of yarn and took off at a dead run for the barn, yarn unravelling and then snapping off! My expensive yarn! Oh, he was so proud of himself, standing off at a distance looking back at us, shaking the yarn in his mouth. Whenever Kiki or Carrel tried to approach him, off he'd go across the yard. Finally Kiki went in the house and got dog cookies, which Hondo traded for the yarn. Carrel tried to wind it back up for me, but it took a while to restore it to usable order. I figure it makes Lindsay's sweater all the more special!

Scout

Scout's eye is OK! She had 4 stitches to repair her lower eyelid, and one inside somewhere but seems to be doing fine. All of the others were glad to have her back home but they did make fun of her giant Elizabethan collar that made her look like a satellite dish!
Wesley started summer school today at a nearby junior college. He is taking two history courses and one computer science. He's been gone all day (he goes 4 days a week). If it's anything like the summer school I've been in, he'll spend the rest of today studying and writing papers.
I have finished painting the dining room...hooray. It took two coats of Nantucket Dune. Tomorrow we will do the trim. Kiki bought a new light fixture for the ceiling, and we also got a dimmer switch. Then Carrel will install the quarter round, and we can move the furniture back in.

The Hunt

Every now and then the rat population must be brought under control. The dogs do a pretty good job, but boys will be boys. Any excuse to 'shoot em up'. This particular hunt yielded one dead rat and no human casualties.

The boys learning the ropes

Hondo is a blue heeler, and, as you can see, quite handsome! He is definitely Carrel's dog. And what a worker! "Go get 'em, Hondo!" Carrel says, and out into the pasture he goes. He goes around behind the cows (or donkeys or horses) and moves them wherever Carrel wants them. He's quite impressive! I guess he was a big help with the cattle loading the other day.

I think Kiki and Carrel could make a little money on cockfighting with this guy!

Cute little Harley knows how to keep cool. The first day I saw him jump into this trough, he wasn't quite sure how he was going to get out, but he figured it out eventually. The algae in the water turns his white parts kind of green!

This is Pedro, my sister's new and naughty burro. He is a stud (literally) and thinks he is King of the Pasture. He's really pretty little, but you can see he has big cajones, which are going to be removed on Monday.

Trouble in Paradise

Carrel was taking the horse trailer down the road to help a neighbor load some cattle for market this morning, when in all the confusion of gates opening and closing, the trailer, Carrel, Kiki, etc etc a dog fight ensued, and Rio bit Scout's eye out (I think)! Kiki is at the vet's with her now. Will let you know more later. Never a dull moment around here!

July 7th

Today would have been my brother Dick's 70th birthday. My sister and I have been remembering stories about him all day. Happy Birthday, Dickie! We miss you.
During last night's pasture walk, Teddy was a little more confident about leaving my side but he didn't get too far away. Toby, meanwhile, has settled into farm life quite nicely; he races outside with all the other dogs while Teddy looks to see if I am coming. Toby rushes at the fences, barking like crazy at chickens or horses or donkeys. He looks for rats with everyone else. Hondo follows him everywhere. Harley has taken a liking to Teddy, as has Rio who is usually two steps behind him. There are lots and lots of places to pee around here, and while Teddy and Toby have taken advantage of that fact, I have not. Toby did not jump in the pond last night, but we did throw him into a horse trough. He got himself out and immediately rolled in the dust, necessitating a dip in the wading pool when we got back to the house.
Kiki just told me that Pedro has an appointment at the vet on Monday. He's going to have a little procedure which will reduce the amount of testosterone circulating around his little body, and hopefully make him a nicer burro. I think Kiki and I may be taking him by ourselves which should be an adventure.
Here's a priceless "Carrelism" for you: talking about rain down in the city, he said, "We was in a real turd floater down where we was at." I'll keep you posted of any new ones.
My biggest accomplishment for the day was learning how to purl Continental-style. I am not fast yet but my movements are smoother and less awkward. If I can polish up my technique a little it should speed up progress on the sweater I'm knitting.
I'm typing from Kiki's dial-up computer, so no pictures today. Katy Library tomorrow!

My nephew Will riding his horse Doc (after the two of them had been attacked by Pedro the new burro at the other end of this pasture).