November, Here You Come

What a Halloween I've had--a morning call from Jocelyn, an amazing-as-always Cecelia massage followed by a lunch at my favorite (and pet friendly) Thai place where Belle and Kitty bring aprons for Luci to sit on while they kneel down all the way to the floor and speak softly to her: "Concrete floor is too cold and hard for our Luci, need something soft and warm." 

Then a long afternoon nap, a phone call with Carlene, a snuggle with my Trickster dog, three trick-or-treaters (I hope those snack-sized Snickers I found in the pantry were not stale!), a  trip to an actual mall for the first time since pre-Covid, and a late night phone call from my all time favorite ex-boyfriend Mike who recommended a George Carlin video that made me laugh so hard Luci looked at me with genuine concern: "You've turned into somebody else or what?"  

Jon Stewart, former host of The Daily Show, was the emcee of Forty Years of George Carlin.  I rarely like stand-up, but these guys take comedy into a whole other place, an irreverent blend of jazz, truth telling, philosophy and drama. 

So now it's time to wind down and wake up to November.  It's already out there, my phone tells me, gonna be 39 at sunrise.  

Where's Waldo? And what's up, Bersatto?

 

Jackson, at 22, posing as Waldo, is easy to spot in Richmond, Virginia.

Marcus, whose favorite holiday has always been Halloween,  is Carmen Berzatto, the brilliant chef of the 2022 movie, The Bear.

Homecoming to a cold front

Flying into Texas yesterday, 

Luci in her carrier stuffed under the seat, calm as could be, 

I wanted to stay suspended above the thick white blanket of clouds a little longer. 

Leaving is always sad.  When Day was a two-year-old--crying when Nana and Granddaddy left, she said, "I got dirty water in my eyes." 

Day arrived on Thursday and we shared a ride to the Atlanta Airport yesterday, so it was a double whammy, tears in Lawrenceville, then again in Atlanta. 

I'm still not ready to land, but here I am, met by cold weather and a too-quiet house, feeling blue and lonesome and not entirely at home yet. 

Day drove us to Elijay on Sunday, one of our favorite mountain towns.  We had pizza in a little Italian cafe there, one we discovered on our last threesome retreat in the North Georgia mountains two years ago.

On Saturday, we visited Carlene's sister Dot in Warner Robins in her new assisted living apartment.  I'd planned to leave Luci for the day with a young woman I'd met on Rover.com....

Carlene and I drove there, planning to pick up Day and go to Starbucks, then on to see Dot.

I met the woman, walked up a flight of stairs, down another,  and took some convoluted path to her basement apartment.  I hoped Luci would be okay with the other three dogs and the stranger, but didn't feel entirely comfortable. 

By the time I'd gotten back to the car, started it, and set my GPS for home, I saw the woman in the parking lot waving her arms and calling Luci. I was horrified that she was alone in a large parking lot and already lost to the woman I'd trusted to keep her for twelve hours!

"She's in your car!" the woman shouted.

Sure enough, and unbeknownst to me until that moment, Luci has a super power: she can turn invisible.  She had somehow scooted out of the stranger's apartment, taken a different route, and jumped into the car without either of us even seeing her!

How had I not seen her fly into the car when I opened the door?   She's tiny, very fast when she wants to be, and stubbornly loyal.  Long story short, it was the four of us who visited Dot that day. 

We enjoyed seeing Dot in her new space and seeing how much she loves it there. Though she's six years younger than Carlene, she acted like the big sister, sternly cautioning Carlene to use her cane all the time.  "I see it every day," she said, "And I can't stand the thought of you falling."

Neither can I. 

Luci and I want our whole pack together, everybody safe. 

Back Where I Was Born

Athens, Georgia

Photos mostly by Bob Harris

Trials and Trails

We all know our own quirky stoves and faucets and kitchen appliances. I know, for instance, that if you turn on the hot water in my kitchen it takes a full minute to heat up, then it gets scorching hot fast.  

Last night Carlene and I went to Walmart to get three of the mini-Bundt cake pans I use at home, along with cream, butter,  eggs and candles.  While there, Carlene and I got separated for a long hour in the huge store filled with crying kids and babies.  She didn't have her phone, so we both walked miles of aisles looking for each other.  I asked a nice couple to help me look for her, and we were finally relieved to be reunited.

So this morning the butter was soft and the eggs room temperature and I set out to make three little birthday cakes for Jocelyn.  After putting them into the oven and walking Luci, I came home to  the distinctive smell of cake batter burning. Three cakes were running over the rims onto the bottom of the oven.  

I quickly poured the wet batter into the trash and vowed to avoid cooking in anyone else's kitchen.  

Otherwise, we had a beautiful day.  We went to the Harris Greenway Trails, named for my daddy.  It was packed with people walking, riding bikes, and playing games.  Bob said it is the most used park in the state of Georgia.  There could be no better legacy for a man who spent his career as a soil conservationist planting trees and planning parks for recreation. 

Quilts for a Suffering World

 On the last day before Luci and I flew to Georgia, Jan took me to her church, Christ Lutheran, to see some of the quilts made by the women of the church.  Every one was beautiful, and I wished that many more people had been there for the silent auction on these works of art!

Today all the quilts were displayed on the pews of the church before they are sent to people in need all over the world.  Hours and hours went into the construction of these quilts and the women will then start over for next year's quilt show.

Jan said it best in a letter of appreciation to the quilters:

"These kind and thoughtful ladies sew love into every stitch, they spend hours together and hours at home making these colorful masterpieces that will go to sisters and brothers around the world who are suffering – from war, poverty, natural disasters, and other casualties of life.  For many years, quilts from the hands of these CLCAH servants have brought joy, hope, warmth and love to the hearts, minds, and bodies of their recipients."

I only saw and bid on two small quilts, but look at the ones being sent to people in need.  It's an awesome project, a collective work of love, a collective work of art. 

Under-Standing

Once upon a time in writing group, Kate introduced Cecelia as "everybody's fairy godmother."  Kate was right. After a long absence, going from doctor to doctor, therapist to therapist, I have returned to Fairy Godmother Cecelia.  She's more than a massage therapist; she's a teacher.  "Bodies talk to me," she said.

Not only is her work helping my neuropathy, but she considers the whole body and mind. Today she asked me three key questions, all with a foot-related issue:What am I not understanding?  In what ways do I not stand up for myself?  What can I not stand?

On the scale of woo-woo, Cecelia is about as far to the high end as it gets. I'm re-finding advantages to unconventional ways of dealing with pain.  

Astrology, trusting one's own guidance, palm reading, meditating, mysticism, finding out what we're here for "in our wisdom years"--these may or may not speak to you, but some of these supernatural pathways may be just what the doctor ordered--though a real doc might look at them with raised eyebrows. 

Scar tissue and neuropathy are real, as are cancer, arthritis, and all the ailments that befall humans.  But the medical community's job is to provide relief (usually with pharmaceuticals), not overall healing.  Maybe, according to woo-woo thinking, the pain has shown up "to show us something" about ourselves.  

Folk and herbal remedies can go a long way toward healing the body and mind.  From here on out, having tried every conventional therapy I know of, I'm putting all my eggs in the basket of the Fairy Godmother! 

The following is related, but I'll save the thread that connects them for another post--when I don't have an Uber coming before the crack of dawn:

Just last night I watched Season 2 of World on Fire (PBS).  

Sir James, who's staying in Robina's house during the war, asks her to marry him.  They are both in their sixties, very strong-willed and attractive people for whom responsibility seems a higher currency than happiness. While it's clear that she has feelings for him, she refuses his proposal.

James: "I think you're afraid to be happy."

Robina: "But I have to choose between my happiness and my greater responsibilities."

This is the take away line, spoken by Sir James: "Your happiness IS your greatest responsibility."

I offer you this line as a ponderable! 

"Nature is Intelligent"

If you haven't watched it yet, check out Fantastic Fungi on Netflix, a beautifully made film about the health benefits of mushrooms.  Amazing time-lapse photography about fungi and what they do for us.  

Día de los Muertos--November 2

When I first moved to San Antonio in 1967, I was wide-eyed at the tradition of skeletons dressed up like brides and grooms, skeletons posed on porches. I thought it was creepy. 

Since then, I've learned a lot more about the tradition and I think it's wonderful.  Today I'm making my first día de los Meuertos altar.

The first step has taken most of the day--gathering pictures of loved ones no longer physically present. 

It all started with my daddy's watch.  Then I found lots of pictures of him throughout his life, pictures of his parents (Mama Jim and Daddy Jim) and his four siblings.  Bob sent me this photo of my daddy's mother, the grandmother I knew less well than Mimi.  She had five children and died in her sixties when I was 12. 

Rose Harris

My nephew Canaan, who died of a very aggressive cancer on March 13th this year, was a pastor in Colorado, a husband, and father of two.   Here he is at Nana and Granddaddy's the year I made clown costumes for all the cousins.  

Others will join these: my friend Gary who died ten years ago; two daughters of two of my closest friends, both of whom died three years ago;  Mary Frances Weathersby, a vibrant yoga teacher and friend for many years; my mother's three brothers and my daddy's four siblings; my great-grandmother Cana so beloved by Carlene, though she died before I was born.

Altars also include items enjoyed by the deceased loved ones--fruit, candy, ornaments, jewelry, books, poems, teddy bears, etc. 

I've included a beautiful red wooden heart covered with Milagros--a birthday present from Charlotte; a garland of orange paper flowers from Mary Locke; an orange ceramic pumpkin and candles and a garland of orange flowers.

The final piece is a strand of twinkly lights or candles, reminders of the lights of friends and family members.

October 15th

My birthday week has been great!

Starting with the coast trip, staying with two of my oldest and dearest friends in Mary Locke's beach house. 

Continuing with dinner at PF Chang's with Carolyn whom I've known and loved since we were SAC faculty wives in the early 70s. 

Watching the eclipse with Kate and Charlotte before going to a wonderful Italian "hole in the wall" cafe called La Sorrenta.  (Charlotte prefers no pictures-- it's hard for me to resist, but I do.) 

Kate and her son, Jakey
with shadows of the eclipse on his green shirt.

The grand finale tonight: Jan hosting Pam and L'Indy and me for a knock-your-socks-off shrimp dish, along with fruit tart and asparagus with pesto

L'Indy (Linda from Indiana)
and Luci

Pam admiring Jan's table
and flowers from Lorraine

Jan is "the hostess with the mostest" 
 who knows how to put together 
a memorable party!

Delivering a birthday tart
with only one candle, enough
to make lots of wishes on.

So happyand grateful
for ALL of you (here and far away)
 who have made Turning 75 so much fun! 

***

       Today is Day's 53rd birthday.  On my 23rd birthday I was in labor all day, but she held off showing up until after midnight so she'd have a birthday of her own, evidence of her independent spirit from day one.

     After a weekend in Richmond with the boys, she and Tom celebrated tonight watching a Buffalo Bill's game and drinking mocktails. 

Two pictures from her first few months as a little "You are my sunshine" Texas girl...

Lloyd and Carlene's first grandchild--
when we lived on Beckmann Hill in Helotes