Midsummer Nights

Brooke has posted her thoughts about her reasons to love/like Oregon. And, I have to admit that I'm a little jealous. We talk on the phone daily and usually compare ambient temperature readings---she boasts and I complain (and sweat).

I told her this evening that the temperature gauge in the Jeep registered 114 today after work---that's NOT the inside temperature---that's outside. She reported that the Eugene temperature was very pleasant today.

While she was home this past weekend, we were out on the driveway right after twilight. It was that time of evening when the heat can be felt rising from the ground (or concrete) and there is a slight breeze. It feels akin to opening the oven door while baking cookies. If you are a Texan, you totally identify. Even though we "feel the heat", it is tolerable, almost refreshing from the unbearable beat-down of full sun hitting the concrete at 5:00 PM. Brooke remarked about that feeling of nocturnal blanketing warmth that waves over you in the breeze. She felt it while in Dallas visiting friends on Saturday night and walking outside. Said she missed it...it felt good.

Maybe Oregon is just a bit "too cool!"

Tres Chicas

Brooke is home for the weekend. There was a family wedding in Dallas today and Louisiana family came into town yesterday. We all met Ruth/Chad/Callie at Babe's in Roanoke last evening---lots of fried chicken! Ruth and Callie went to the wedding with Brooke, JoAnn, Jimmie and me. It was a very nice ceremony at First Baptist in downtown Dallas-----a very beautiful building complex. We saw lots of family, some from West Virginia, Arkansas, and of course, Louisiana. Brooke came the longest way---Oregon! JoAnn and Jimmie went back to La. after the reception and Ruth and I left Brooke in Dallas at her friend's house---she will visit there til Sunday morning and go out with a group of friends in Dallas tonite. Tomorrow, Brooke, Zack, and Stephanie and I will go to Ruth' and Chad's for a birthday dinner for Ruth---her B/D is Monday. Brooke flies back to Portland on Monday.



Since I left Brooke in Oregon on 06/04, I knew that she would be coming home for this weekend and her being gone was "temporary". Now that she's here, I have full realization that when she flies back it is not temporary anymore....She really will be "gone". Of course she will come home at Christmas and will be able to stay for about a week, but then, she will leave again. I miss her, but we talk almost daily. Still, it is not the same as seeing her daily.



Callie was so cute last night at Babe's---taking all the commotion in--watching everything, and curious about the chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and biscuits everyone was eating. "Mmmm!" she'd say, watching Chad eat chicken.



Today at the wedding, she made it through the first prelude song in the sanctuary, before starting her verbalization. Ruth had to get up and out with her prior to the wedding party processional. They sat out in the foyer and got to see all the wedding party assemble to enter the sanctuary. At the reception, she gnawed on a celery stick.



Having Ruth, Brooke, and Callie all together in the same place at the same time was great!

TEXAS BLUE BELLS

A favorite pasttime that I shared with my husband was making the trek through various country roads in late June every year. Our mission was two-fold: a. find some ripe field corn, b. look for blue bells. Blue bells are beautiful wildflowers that grow en masse in out of the way places. Texas Highway Department has never planted them along the highways as they have with bluebonnets, indian paintbruushes, etc. Blue bells are light blue to deep-almost purple flowers on long stems. Their leaves are a silvery green, almost of a succulent texture....and when picked, will stay fresh in water for at least 10-18 days. Blue Bell ice cream is named after these flowers as they grow extensively in Central Texas.

Late June celebratory occasions called for Blue Bells. Before retirement, Clu Flu always took blue bells to nurses who worked with him. Gathering blue bells was a ritual. Clu Flu would climb over the barbed wire fence, pull out his handy Christy knife ( a sliding blade knife that is handy for opening mail and other general purposes--not a weapon) and cut blue bells, stripping them of lower leaves as he went. He was always careful not to pick so many that the field was ravaged. There had to be enough left to re-seed for the next June. Most often, we would return to the field the next year and would be rewarded with another gorgeous field of blue, gently swaying in the hot breeze. Sometimes, an industrious individual would have mowed the field before the flowers had a chance to bloom...this was very sad, as that limited the amount of blue bells.

Two years ago, I organized a surprise birthday party for him (B/D is 06/26) and knew that blue bells would be on each table. I made up a story that we had to gather blue bells for a shower Ruth was giving for a friend.

This year, I have not made any solitary trips to look for blue bells. On his birthday however, I did find some cultivated blue bells for sale at a grocery and bought two bunches to take to his grave. I thought that finding those in the store was serendipitous.

Earlier this week, I pulled into a Walgreen parking lot off 303 to take a lengthy work call---I found a shade tree and parked there, settling in to take notes and interview this person on the cellphone. There was a 3 acre or so empty lot behind the store, and as I looked up and out over the field, I was amazed to see literally thousands of blue bells---right in Arlington city limits. I was very pleased--a good sign--true serendipity. On Friday after work (causal day---jeans) I went out to that field and picked 2 handfuls---being careful to randomly pick them from all over the field. Placed them in a water cup and headed to the cemetery where I placed half of them on his grave....Happy Anniversary, Clu Flu.............

Box of Moonlight

Watched this movie tonight. Recommend it---very offbeat, but a message for any of us who need to be a little reckless and free sometimes.

Thriller/Less Shade

Flipping channels this evening, I found a 1991 movie with Matt Dillon and Sean Young starring as the primary characters. I never cared for Matt Dillon in his "Brat Pack" days, but have since learned that he is a great actor: "CRASH". And I was impressed with Sean Young in the Kevin Costner movie "NO WAY OUT", so I decided to watch this listed movie tonite, titled, "A Kiss Before Dying." Have you seen this movie??? Assuming that this was a romance movie--dramatic and heartfelt, I was very startled that it is a very good mystery movie. I was on the edge of my seat as the movie played out. It is based on the novel by Ira Levin and is a re-make of a 1950's movie with the same title. Highly recommend this movie for a summer escape in front of the TV.

Zack worked in the backyard diligently today, trimming "sucker" limbs from a large backyard tree, trimming hedges, filling in holes left by a long term resident vole. (It is an annual occurrence---and a vicious cycle--very frustrating). As I left for a family wedding shower, he hollered at me from behind the gate, telling me there was a small tree he cut down adjacent to the tree with the errant limbs. "Fine, fine," I said, believing there was a smaller offshoot tree from the large one. Imagine my surprise when I got home late afternoon and discovered that he had whacked down a redbud tree. I was so sorry to see that tree decimated-----as you know from an earlier post, our privacy fence isn't so private on the north side due to every other slat gone to prevent flood damage when and if it floods again. This side faces the jogging trail and we have next door neighbors to the north who have a built up lot (they won't flood). The little redbud afforded some privacy to that side of the yard---no more. I guess the "trimming" just became "whacking" after a while. Anyone have any ideas for fast-growing shrubs, preferably evergreen to replace the little redbud tree?

Let It Be---words of wisdom....let it be

There are certain difficulties we all face....our "monsters"...so to speak. We all have them. Some are able to corral the monster, while others let the monster corral them. There is a fine line between the two, and I always remember the very-cliched line from STEEL MAGNOLIAS----"that which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger."

1. CONTROL...very elusive and a struggle to maintain

2. POSITIVE ATTITUDE...some have it, some don't (does it really make a difference?)

3. SOLID SENSE OF SELF....Buddha, Ghandi, and Mother Teresa had it

Those are the biggies. We are told that we are products of our experiences. But two very different beings could have the same experiences and be on opposite poles. Our genetic make-up (DNA code) also makes us who we are. This has always fascinated me, and granted, no two individuals are alike.

Do we just tell ourselves that we will remain in control, muster up a positive attitude, and have a good working knowledge of who we really are and it is done?
We know that is not true.

These are age-old mysteries. The passages of life, along with the DNA double helix
leave our carbon print for eternity. What we are is passed down to future generations and quite possibly changes the DNA code in tiny ways.

For me, the complexities of human nature, the evolutionary changes in our environment are the proof of a greater being and a greater plan. With this information, I am not afraid of the ultimate end of time. Rather, there will always be a part of us throughout eternity. Let it be.

The Last Time

This just isn't working. I've made an attempt, but it's time to retire the blog. My expectations may have been wrong. I will resume my journaling---the journal is a private place and I can write what I want without worrying about another's interpretation or understanding.

Maybe I will keep a journal on the computer. It's easier to write thoughts with keystrokes than a pen.

Later-

It'd Be A Lot Cooler If You Did!

Another first: I watched Dazed and Confused today for the first time ever today.