A Texas Weekend

In the past few years I've bought, then pretty soon sold, two round dining tables.  One table was glass-topped and modern; the other was a pedestal table with a thick wooden top from Etsy.  Neither was quite right for very long. 

Saturday my search for a table took me to an antique mall in Boerne where I found exactly the table I wanted--a smaller version of the one I had all the years my children were growing up, a table that holds lots of memories and history.  

Then Luci and I went to Comfort.  I was pleasantly surprised that the antique stores and the art gallery welcomed Luci and gave her treats.  

I'd planned to stop on the way home for Elena's Saturday rodeo, but didn't make it.  So Freda joined me this morning for two of five of the Rodeo #2 events. It was delightful--an all-kids event, including children (who looked to be about four or five) on ponies and miniature horses as well as teenagers over 14. 

Elena and her horse, Junior

Luci's first time in the saddle

This wasn't part of the show--
just a bit of showing off

Luci has converted Freda to loving a dog--as you can see.  Neither of us has horseback experience, but we enjoy watching the kids on their horses.

Here's our 10-year-old superstar receiving her championship award at the end of the day:

Spirit Animals

Elena's Papi gave her a dozen chickens for Easter.  They are now in the process of getting names.

"Chickens are my spirit animals," Elena said.  "My friends don't understand my fascination for chickens, so I just sit on the bench and think about them by myself."

So today we went to a Northside Art Fest.  Elena's picture of a chicken had been chosen for the exhibition, a blue chicken against a cloudy night sky. 

Easter in Virginia and San Antonio

At first we didn't know if Luci and Molly would get along, but they did.  Janet sent me texts every day with commentaries, like Molly saying, "I'm going to miss smelling you."

Mia--the black and white one--gets along just fine with all the other dogs in her world, but she's more of a loner, Janet says.  She likes her own private space on the sofa. 

Molly, Janet, Luci, Val and Mia.

Luci and Val played constantly.  Here they are watching TV together.  Luci should be named Velcro--she has to be as close as she can get to people and dogs she loves.  

"Almost Biblical," Janet wrote.  "The laying on of paws."

Camp Jannie even does pick up service.  Janet and Bill came to pick me up curbside late last night. As I was waiting for my luggage, Janet and Luci appeared in baggage claim!  Now we're curled up in bed together for a nap--after having some leftovers from Jan's Easter feast.  

                                             Easter in Virginia

My trip to Virginia couldn't have been better.  Jackson and Leanna came home for Easter and I got to hear about college life and Jackson's membership at the Weight Lifting Club. Deanna and Jackson are so cute together, both sophomores at VCU.  

I got to see one lacrosse game and spend lots of time talking with Marcus.  He loves cooking and made us a delicious Saturday night feast of chicken tacos and rice pudding--grilling the chicken outside.  

Day and I went to the garden center, got some herbs and plants and did a bit of planting Saturday afternoon.  Their new kitchen is stunning--and Day made us yummy spinach and artichoke enchiladas for Easter dinner.  

Sweet Little Tucker
This guy is quite a clown. 

Day and Tom will celebrate their 25th anniversary in June! 

April in Falls Church

Softer cooler air in Virginia--though yesterday we had a bit of a higher temperature than San Antonio. 

Day and Tom are at work today, Marcus in school, so I'm enjoying a porch sit today with books and Tucker--the Hav-a-Poo I've fallen quite in love with.  

We've watched a lacrosse game (Marcus #25 like his brother) and Day and I went to our favorite eatery in Leesburg yesterday, and visited the antique shops in Luckett.  

They have completely remodeled their kitchen since I was last here and it's stunning.  Tonight we're going out for an early celebration of their 25th anniversary and tomorrow night, with Jackson and his girlfriend coming home for the weekend, Marcus will be our chef.  Our guy loves to cook!  

Dog Day in San Antonio

Luci knows something is up.  She eyes my suitcase suspiciously and she follows me around, a miniature shadow.  She wonders if we're going on a trip, but it hasn't occurred to her that we're going in two different directions tomorrow. She senses my apprehension in leaving her. 

Teenagers across the street had the temerity to rouse her from her peaceful sleep and she bolted to the window to bark almost ferociously.  I turned on the porch light.  Just kids standing in their driveway, playing loud music, bright truck lights.    

"You take such good care of us," I told her, handing her a treat.  

Earlier in the day, we had a leisurely sit and a salad at Piati's, just the two of us and the flurry of attention a dog brings.  Waiters and diners squatted to pet her, cooing the way humans do.   She returned their affection, jumped on our waiter's knees, and checked out the competition when a dog named Cooper arrived. She whined: please take off this leash so we can play properly! 

An elderly Asian American man told me his dog was a spy.  "He's always watching me even when I'm in the shower."

"I love your one up one down ears and your big gorgeous tail," a waiter told Luci. 

Another man said, "I like dogs better than kids.  You can train a dog in a couple of months, but kids ain't even trained when they are thirty." 

A young man told me he got a rescue dog during COVID, too, but the dog had to stay with his mother when he got this job.  After three days of that, the mother said, "You have to give me that dog!" So he did.  "She's retired and home all the time, it's better for them both. I couldn't stand leaving him alone all day."

Until I got Luci, I never realized how quickly people connect with tales of dogs.  I can't count the number of times strangers have taken out a phone to show me pictures of  their dogs at home. Name, pedigree, weight, quirks. 

These nonverbal creatures tell us so much about who they are--and who we are.  

Traveling Solo Again--with books for company.

This week, I'm flying to visit Day's family in Virginia for five days.  While I'd prefer to be driving with Luci and a human road trip companion, I chose to fly this trip. 

Driving gives much closer-up looks and tastes of The South. I so enjoy meeting strangers and tasting the foods in small towns along the way.  Having recently read  South to America,  an excellent book I mentioned earlier, I would like to see the places mentioned in the book with a greater awareness of the history and culture: Montgomery, Memphis, the Mississippi Delta, Natchez, and more.

I'm re-reading this morning the chapter "When Beale Street Talks"--a street where I walked on air one night and had a memorable dance.  We saw the room and balcony of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr., spent his last night and was assassinated.  This book is so layered in history, so well-researched, that I'd like to visit these places again after reading Imani Perry.  

I'm saving a new book Bob sent me for my flights: The Potlikker Papers.  If you know what potlikker is, you're a real Southerner.   

The other book I'm taking is The Trouble With Sheep and Goats--recommended highly by Jan.

The Best Fiesta Event

in my opinion, is the annual pooch parade!  Luci and I were just spectators this year, but it's always fun to see the costumes the actual canine parade participants.

It starts at the end of my block by the pool, then the parade wends all around Alamo Heights.  

The Mariachi pups

Friday Night

Luci is prancing around proudly after her spa day--a bath and a much-needed grooming for her shaggy little self.   Here she is with her new groomer, Penny, then at home, wondering what just happened!

A bow on my head?  Really??

In Virginia, Day, Tom and Marcus have spent their spring break visiting colleges.  Among others, they have visited VCU--where Jackson is a student--and Virginia tech, so far Marcus' favorite. 

Marcus wants to major in broadcast journalism--sports.  If all goes well, I'll be watching him play lacrosse this time next week!

Julia on HBO

Sarah Lancashire stars as Julia Childs in the HBO series, Julia. Her portrayal of the cook who brought country French cooking to the United States is brilliant!  

After Janet's February serving of Julia's Beef Bourguignon, and having seen Janet's spot-on imitation of Julia, I have realized all over again what a lazy cook I've become.  Both Janet's Julia and Lancashire's Julia have inspired me to try a single recipe and see if I can pull it off.

Jan, too, excels at cookery, and she's right next door.  I'm starting to pay more attention to what goes on behind the scenes, as it were, in making healthy delicious meals.  She's generously shared a few recipes and when I return from my Virginia trip, I plan to spread my wings and give cooking a go again. 

"I'm not a chef and I'm not French," Julia tells her audience on the pilot of her 1960s PBS show on French cooking.  But she's a terrific teacher and she radiates joy in cooking.

This series is streaming on HBO.  A fun trip back to the 1960s.  

Luci's Evil Twin

 Last night on a regular walk, Luci showed Jan and Carma and me her inner demon.  Out of nowhere, this sweet little dog who loves all people and animals so far, spied a cocker spaniel for whom she took an instant dislike.  She snarled and barked and lunged toward the poor little stranger as if she meant business.  

"Wow!" Jan said.  "I didn't know you had that in you, Luci!" We were stunned by her sudden fury.  Even Carma gave her a look of surprise. 

We had a little chat about it and I told her that cocker spaniels are good people, like her, but I'm not sure she got the gist of the talk.  

She's at the vet's this morning.  When I dropped her off at 8, she balked with her whole body and put on her doggie brakes with all her might.  Not all realities are pleasant.  Like shots and, apparently,  cocker spaniels.  

April 2--Fiesta-ish Catch-Up Blog Post

My blog page has been indecipherable since my last post.  It took Daniel, the computer man, about two minutes to switch it from "HTML view" to "Compose."  And five minutes more to fix my long-stalled printer.  Yay for smart people who know the innards of machines!  

Jan and I enjoyed an amazing dinner at her house tonight--our own duo Fiesta!  She made the most phenomenal spinach quiche ever, asparagus in ham, and a particularly wonderful salad, fruity and nutty and green.  We decided we wouldn't trade our quiet little Fiesta for all the crowds in the parks and streets of our fair city this week.

On Saturday, the Pooch Parade will start at 8:00 by the Alamo Heights Pool--a stone's throw from our doors--and it will bring out hundreds of dogs, some in flower-festooned wagons, some wearing colorful costumes.  Maybe I'll put a wreath of paper flowers around Luci's neck and experience some canine Fiesta.  

Today, I've cleaned out every closet in the house today and started spring cleaning.  I've walked Luci a couple of miles and watered my newly-planted beautiful back yard created by "My Garden Genie," the landscape artist Laren.  After last year's freeze and the extreme heat destroyed most of the plants Will and Veronica planted three years ago, it's a thrill to walk outside and see baby blooms on the new plants.  Soon, these small native plants will be lush and green and blooming Fiesta-colored flowers. 

On Friday, Bonnie, Joy, Freda and I celebrated Freda's birthday at Jardin (at the Botanical Gardens). We sat outside under a big umbrella and ordered mezze plates--a variety of appetizer-sized Mediterranean dishes--delish! Joy made each of us a beautiful  pin of a Ukrainian sunflower. 

Freda, Bonnie and Joy

On Wednesday, Luci visited Janet and her three pups, Mia and Val and Molly.  I left her there while I met my new tax preparer, a trial for her upcoming five days at Oglethorpe Doggie Camp.  Janet--who loves this pup almost as much as I do--was wonderfully generous in saying yes to keeping her while I travel to Virginia later this month.  [Her exact words: "Yes, yes, yes!] 

Janet sent me these reassuring photos to let me know that Luci was just fine in my absence.  Since Jan reports hearing howling at the window when I leave Luci alone, I was afraid she might do the same at Janet's window--but she looks happy as can be! 

Before my blog went into spasms of indecipherable letters and symbols, I had wanted to write a HAPPY BIRTHDAY message to my friend-of-69-years, Betty Killebrew Davis.  This is the year we turn 74, but she arrived there in March, half a year ahead of me. 

Since she balks at the mention of photos, I'll have to rely on an oldie to wish her a Happy Birthday this year.

That's Betty in the winter coat.  I'm telling her something apparently hilarious and Bob is smoking a pipe. He has recently chosen to drop out of kindergarten.  Betty and I are in second grade and we're all standing in front of our framed house on Ann Street. The man in the background is Betty's daddy Charlie.  The man behind the camera is my daddy Lloyd. 

Betty's house is four blocks away.  Her phone number is 6627.  Mine is 2059.  Rotary phones, one per house, four digits to dial.  

We started talking when we were five and she's the main cause of my having to write "I will not talk" a hundred times a day through elementary school. There's just so much to say to a best friend whose desk is right across the aisle in almost every grade!